Colombia Edges OUt Venez as South Americas Most Violent Country

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

Surprized me but here it is: https://colombiareports.com/colombia-be … ry-report/

The Colombia expat guide

Updated in 2026, comprehensive and free

Read it now

Peglove Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

Who writes these BS don't believe a word Colombia is a big country exactly where are they talking about.

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

I believe they are talking about in general........If they were talking about specific cities I have no doubt that Caracas would take first prize for violence.......but Colombia is still affected by violence, much more so in certain areas than others without a doubt.......In Eje Cafetero you probably wouldnt know it......Not much different than here in Chiriqui, Panama......But Cali? Buenaventura? Barranquilla? La Guajira?

Peglove Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

I live in the usa for now getting prepared to retire and move there are many states boroughs neighborhoods and streets that scary as hell new yorker have become immune to crime until it happens to them or someone they know you can't even stand on the subway platform to wait for a train without wondering if the person you see coming towards you will push you on the tracks now that's crime don't let me even get started on the teens that walk by you and punch you in the face and knock you out for no reason.

1 member reacted to this post

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

Youre right of course......N.Y. is insane.....completely.......But look at the homicide statistics.........%of people murdered per 100,000....The U.S. is waaaay down the list, albeit much higher than Europe Canada australia Japan, etc.....Japan is almost 0........and of course its a very homogenous society....so that tells you something right there.......Country U.S.A. is still very low in terms of violent crime......But many of our cities are way up there....The city of my birth, Oakland being one of them........Isnt it uncanny that many if not most of the most violent cities, countries in the world are in Latin America where we chose to live? Even the Middle East, if werent for the U.S. meddling and war making would be more peaceful than Latin America. Why do you think that is? Its a Christian socieity.....Christians are supposedly more given to peace, at least thats the theory..........

Peglove Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

You're right it's all insane I say find your place in the world where you feel safest,stay there live life and hope for the best.

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

Where you feel the most alive may well not be in the place you feel the most safe.....Its not necessarily all about just being safe......

Peglove Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

So true

Floridaray Contributor

115POSTS

9 years ago

#10

Amost every city in the US or the world has dangerous spots. I wouldn't walk through the south side of Tallahassee at night...or south side of Chicago ever. But where I live here in Antiochia there's very little crime...not all Antiochia is that way. Including parts of Medellin for sure. But for the most part areas like that are readily identifiable. I try to be careful and not do or say stupid stuff that makes me a target but I refuse to live my retirement in Colombia in fear.
It is sad though I can't go to some places I'd really like to visit, and they would make a ton of money off Eco-tourism like say Amazonia because it's still in the hands of the narco terrorists (pretending to be fighting for the people) like farc and the ELN. But until they run them out or kill them that area is going to remain hostage and btw not all the farc armies signed that agreement! I've yet to see anything that makes the peace agreement worth the paper it's printed on. And that's the opinion I get from my Colombian friends. It's their country. I'm just a guest so I don't stick my head in their internal/political affairs.

Peglove Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

#11

👍

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#12

That wouldnt keep me from visiting Leticia, and the Amazon region down there......Unless theres chit goin on that Im not aware of right now......There are a few renegade FARC companies out there.......and there are Paracos killing FARC and their families now that they (most of them anyway) are unarmed.........But the ELN is also on the verge of signing a peace treaty......Never been so close in 50 yrs.......Give peace a chance.........

Floridaray Contributor

115POSTS

9 years ago

#13

Well that's up to the Colombians as far as giving peace a chance. I hope it works but I seriously doubt most of those arms aren't just in several caches hidden away but no se. I don't know. It's just IMHO more a money issue. As long as the gringos in the US and Europe are throwing billions to these mobsters I can't see an end. Just like prohibition and al Capone, etc.
Yes Leticia is the one safe place in Amazonia I know/heard of and I have a buddy who just spent a couple weeks there with his wife. They loved it. Nothing but good things to say! I wanted to hear about fishing the river but that's not their thing. The only websites I've found charters are about $1000 USD and up but I figure if I went I could find a much more reasonable price.

handymantulsa Active member

67POSTS

9 years ago

#14

Thanks for the link and the info. I have always understood that Cali, where I live, has been called the 4th most dangerous city in the world. HArd to believe but that was the stat last year. Always good to have good links, thanks.

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#15

Now THAT is 100% Real FAKE news..

What a total load of BS garbage I have ever seen

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#16

Colombia Reports is all garbage Fake news. I think they are shut down now,

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#17

Well, one thing for certain...what you just said is fake news...they are not shut down. Why not just go to their site and see for yourself? Colombia Reports does some good work. Whats your problem with them? Why do you say that? Are you suggesting perhaps that they have an underlying agenda like for example, CNN? or FOX? I would be interested to hear what bone you have to pick with them......

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#18

But of course youre not prepared to back up your statement.....just blasting and blathering without rhyme or reason......

OsageArcher Colombia Expert

1671POSTS

9 years ago

#19

I think that there's only one comment on the Colombia Reports story, says a lot about both its credibility and the number of people who read and heed it.

To assert that Colombia, with its active, bustling economy and mostly happy people and their hope for the future with peace which is an ongoing real possibility, is worse off in terms of crime than Venezuela, where anarchy and shortages reign, where gangs roam stealing food to survive, eating dogs, flamingos, anteaters and zoo animals, where political rallies face threats of government thug violence, is to me just not credible. Especially when you have first-hand accounts of life in both countries as it stands now.

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#20

I have lived in both places and seen it in real life,

Also , there are several sources online that you can check this out.
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp

Yes, I think FOX, CNN, BBC, Al Jaheera andy other mews source other than Tel Sur is way mor reliable than CR.

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#21

I just checked your numbeo link out and found it to be even less credible. It has Costa Rica, Argentina, and even Uruguay with a higher crime index than Colombia. Uruguay!!! Do you believe that? I dont know much about Colombia Reports really, but I the information you get on numbeo is definately specious...... How about go to more serious academic sites?

1 member reacted to this post

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#22

Ive just checked four different sites and they all pretty much agree so I will just offer one of them. And it would seem that you are right about Colombia Reports article on Colombia edging out Venez as the most violent.....Doesnt add up.....but neither does Numbeo: http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analys … e-round-up

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#23

Im gonna be reading colombiareports with a certain sense of skepticism after that one.......

1 member reacted to this post

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#24

you can go to a hundred links and you will see the same.

Venezuela is way more dangerous than Colombia.

If you dont believe me , go there yourself.

Have fun

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#25

you can go to a hundred links and you will see the same.

Venezuela is way more dangerous than Colombia.

If you dont believe me , go there yourself.

Have fun

The numbeo site is supposed to be overall crime, not just murder rate.

My friend got robbed in a bus in Costa Rica, I have never been robbed on a bus in Colombia 13 years travelling and living here, and I ave taken many hundred bus rides.

1 member reacted to this post

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#26

Wow! What a guy! An offer I cant refuse.......You gonna be my guide right? Where will we start? Maracaibo, Valencia, or just jump right into the thick of it in Caracas without any further adieu? Ive already got offers of homestays in Merida with a nice local family......Probably the nicest place in all of Venezuela.....high and cool, and clean......city of old Spanish architecture......lots of universities........My new Venez friend tells me its still in much better shape than the rest, but they too are hurtin.........So be prepared to give.........

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

9 years ago

#27

Quechimba wrote:
you can go to a hundred links and you will see the same.

Venezuela is way more dangerous than Colombia.

If you dont believe me , go there yourself....

I have never been robbed on a bus in Colombia 13 years travelling and living here, and I have taken many hundred bus rides.

I've been stolen from twice in recent years, pickpocketed actually, getting on and off buses (the Ecovía line) in Quito, Ecuador. Non-violent heists of a cellphone and a pair of sunglasses, total losses about $35.

But it's misleading to think that one individual's bus experiences show how dangerous and violent a country is or is not.

As for Quechimba's advice to visit Venezuela to sample its level of danger ... don't do it.

Dumluk's tongue-in-cheek comments show he understands the realities. I take a more serious tone.

Stay out of Venezuela.

-- cccmedia in Quindío, Colombia (Juan Valdez Coffee Country)

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#28

Merida has always been the best place in Venezuela.

Merida , the Andes and Zulia state have always been anti-Chavez

Still a big hassle going there , crossing the border, and money changing , bureaucracy issues...

1 member reacted to this post

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#29

The 50 most violent cities in the world. As expected most are in Latin America: Acording to Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/most-vio … sidents-49

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

9 years ago

#30

dumluk wrote:
The 50 most violent cities in the world. As expected most are in Latin America: According to Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/most-vio … sidents-49

The list is based on the number of reported homicides per 100,000 population.

19 of the 50 violent cities are in Brazil, eight are in Mexico .. and seven are in Venezuela.

At the top of this list are Caracas (Venezuela), Acapulco (Mexico) and two cities in Honduras.

Also on the list are Detroit, Baltimore, St. Louis and New Orleans.

Among the several Colombian cities on the list are Cali (#21 on the list) and Armenia, Quindío (#44). Also Cucutá, Colombia (#48), a border town where Venezuela has apparently been deporting people.

Hardly any cities outside the Western Hemisphere are on the list of most violent cities. However, two cities in South Africa do appear on the list -- Capetown and Nelson Mandela Bay.

cccmedia in Armenia, Colombia

dumluk Serial expat

430POSTS

9 years ago

#31

The big surprize on that list for me was Armenia.....Does that make sense to you cc, considering that you live there, at least part time? I always thought that Armenia in el eje cafetero was a safe city, a refuge city from the civil war and the narco disputes......

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

9 years ago

#32

dumluk wrote:
The big surprise on that list for me was Armenia.....Does that make sense to you cc, considering that you live there, at least part time? I always thought that Armenia in el eje cafetero was a safe city, a refuge city from the civil war and the narco disputes.

It absolutely surprised me, although I was aware that numerous narcos have homes in the area.

cccmedia in Armenia, Quindío

Karen.ådahl Active member

26POSTS

9 years ago

#33

Sadly, the narcos have houses everywhere in the country

and it is true that the places where the narcos have the production are the most dangerous. But, it is same in the big cities where there are not enough opportunities for everyone.
The coffee triangle is very safe area in general but of course if you live in a bad neighborhood there are your chances to be robbed or find yourself (accidentally or not) in the middle of a dispute related to narco- business .
If you go the border states "departamentos" the situation is critical! the massive arrivals of Venezuela people desperate and hungry only made worse the situation that already was there caused by narco traffic in the east of the country... of course this is not safe place for any expat, not even for locals. It is the true! you can be killed only for steal you a cellphone.
But there are very good and safe cities to live, Colombia is not a damn battle field like the media want to make it look!

Quechimba Banned

338POSTS

9 years ago

#34

Dont know where you read Armenia. I see Palmira and; Cali and Pereira.

Also Buenaventura is the most dangerous city in Colombia, though it is smaller.

I saw a sicario assassination occur 6 metres from me in one of the best restaurants, in Pinares, the best barrio in Pereira. Ended up like a shoot out at the OK corral with 3 dead.

Yes all of the perps were gangsters from a small towns outside of Armenia, doing their "business " in Pereira.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

9 years ago

#35

Quechimba wrote:
Dont know where you read Armenia. I see Palmira and Cali and Pereira.

Armenia, Colombia, is #44 on that list.

cccmedia in Armenia, Colombia

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

10285POSTS

9 years ago

#36

Quechimba wrote:
I see Palmira and; Cali and Pereira.

Pereira, Colombia, is not on that list of 50 cities.

If you doubt me, state the number-ranking of Pereira.

cccmedia

OsageArcher Colombia Expert

1671POSTS

9 years ago

#37

cccmedia wrote:
Quechimba wrote:
Dont know where you read Armenia. I see Palmira and Cali and Pereira.

Armenia, Colombia, is #44 on that list.

cccmedia in Armenia, Colombia

Hmmm...are they editing the list as we speak? Now, #45 is Pereira, #44 is Curitiba, Brazil. I didn't see Armenia anywhere on the list.

All articles like this are click-bait anyway. Don't do drugs, don't do drug deals, and you probably won't have a problem in any of these cities...regardless, I certainly feel safer overall in Cali and Palmira than I do overall in Detroit, Baltimore, St. Louis, East St. Louis...

Addendum: Oops, apparently there are several different lists. Here is the one I saw, for the 50 most violent cities in the world:
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-vio … esidents-1

It does not help the credibility of these articles from the same publication if they have multiple lists!