Kidnapping, general safety in Bogota

Hello Daviddove,

Welcome on board !

Are you planning to move to Colombia ?

You can check for alerts on your embassy's website till members in Bogota provide some feedback : https://co.usembassy.gov/category/alert/

All the best

Bhavna

Even a quarter century after the Escobar era,

there is crime, sometimes violent, in Colombia.

The keys for Expats are to avoid low-class favelas,

major-city downtowns especially after dark

and intercity driving at night. Also avoid

sketchy areas that tend to be empty of

foot traffic.

Much of the violent crime is directed not at

Expats, but at community organizers and

political opponents of the perpetrators.

Best to stay inside the cities and travel

intercity roads in the daytime. The rural

areas are home to paramilitaries,

guerrillas and other ne'er-do-wells who

thirst for the acquisition of territory.

The police long ago decided to protect

the cities as best they can and leave

low-population rural areas to the

dubious actors.

Hisitorically, the Coffee Zone is an exception --

relatively safe and navigable even after dark.

This is supposedly because some of the

bad actors have homes or second homes

in this zone and have made it clear they

don't want folks molested there.

My only incident was south of Popayán

when I was delayed in driving North on

my first day as a motorist in Colombia

and ended up doing some night driving.

Two guys trailing me on motos threw rocks,

damaging my rear windshield as I

lead-footed the gas in the rain and

tried to escape them.  The malditos

disappeared when my car spun out

on a deserted highway. Fortunately,

there were no injuries. My windshield

was totaled.

cccmedia

@daviddove The State Department and other foriegn embassies have been putting these cover their *** caveats in for the last 20 years I have been coming to Colombia (living for 11) and I havent been kidnapperd yet.

Just dont go trekking in the jungle in Cauca, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, Arauca and any of the Amazonas or Llanos border departments in bermuda shorts, Hawaian shirt and knee socks and you will be OK