About Dangers in Colombia, Is Colombia Safe for Travel?
All the news and media buzz about war in Colombia have left you wondering if it is safe to visit? I might know where that’s coming from: The rise of Narcos, cocaine and Escobar as part of the pop culture haven’t helped much in the past few years. In this entry I will do my best to paint the whole story so that you can make up your mind and assess if it is worth the visit. First, a brief history on why you ended up thinking this beautiful country was dangerous, and I felt this entry was necessary; second, some clarifications about myths you may have heard; and finally, some good reasons to come visit.
Yes, come visit. I am a Colombian currently living in Bogotá but I have lived in Sweden and traveled extensively across europe and the US. And that matters because I am both knowledgeable about my country’s situation, and aware of your standards for ‘safe’ and can compare the two.
So, coming back to it: is it dangerous? That’s a tricky question with many answers. The shortest: No, come visit. The better: No, but it still is a latin american country. With the same risks as some places in Europe and Asia, meaning tourists can rest assured that their stay will be perfectly safe, albeit some minor considerations should be taken in big cities, like don’t walk a dark alley at 3am in the morning, and beware of pickpockets in crowded places.
Over the years, that is how the conversation has gone with my friends abroad. But, as you can imagine, it rarely ends there. You know what follows: “Why is it that I’ve heard so many bad things about the country?”. And this is where I give a brief background on how it all came to happen.
Brief history of the conflict
Guerrillas were already around when the drug business flourished in the early 80s. Those were formed in the 60s by communist ‘peasant leagues’ that felt abandoned by the government. “Colombia’s geography is a blessing to the eye, but a logistical nightmare” says a british journalist about the three massive chain of mountains crossing the country. And thus, the untidy central government couldn’t provide for their citizens living in remote locations. Jump 20 years ahead and a few criminal entrepreneurs thought that they would rather grow and transform coca leaves into cocaine than transporting the raw product from Perú and Bolivia and the infamous Cartels were born. The leftists guerrillas were armed, trained and had men, so they started serving as security and logistics for the Cartels in exchange of vasts amount of money.
For 15 years we lived in grieve. News on bombings, murders and kidnappings were part of our daily lives. With the power of the Cartels diminished and big figures killed or apprehended, the guerrillas took the drug trade and took the conflict from the major cities to the fields but their war against the government was still going. With the money collected they got access to more weapons, and training which made things more complicated. Again, fast forward a few years and the guerillas start suffering some major setbacks to the hands of Colombian army. Time after time they are being hit and losing control over many regions. The government then announces the start of the peace negotiation which after a few years end with an agreement with the largest and oldest guerrilla in the western hemisphere.
The accord put an end to a 52-year war and was recognized with a Nobel peace prize in 2017.
Clarifications on myths about Colombia
Colombians love Pablo Escobar and the streets are flooded with drugs. I honestly don’t know how that is a thing. The conflict left 220.000 victims over 50 years and the guy represents the very worst of one of the darkest periods of it. Why would we love him? And second, the streets are not flooded with drugs. Marijuana is quite common in big cities as the law is very flexible about it, but I’ve only seen cocaine twice in my lifetime. The majority of the illicit trade ends up in foreign countries. So please don’t bring that up again, it is not funny and people will feel offended.
If you go to Colombia, you risk being murdered and kidnapped by outlaws. Remember we signed a peace agreement with the largest guerrilla in the western hemisphere? By the time the negotiations started, they were roughly 8.000 armed men. Colombian active military forces account for 470.000, yet a military defeat was ruled impossible. If you connect the dots, you’ll find that the underlying reason is that they are masters of hiding, and wouldn’t even risk to be near urban areas nor famous landmarks, so chances of spotting one are close to zero.
Reasons to come visit
“The peace deal meant that many areas once deemed too dangerous to travel in – generally the most beautiful – were finally open for exploration. Instantly, Colombia had joined the likes of Cuba and Burma as a destination for which visiting was less a treat than a matter of desperate urgency.
Of course, what’s really meant when people say it’s ‘the perfect time to go’ somewhere is: get there before it’s overrun with Americans in shorts, shops selling ‘I love Colombia’ T-shirts and plastic Irish pubs. […] Go, and go now, before it’s just like everywhere else.”
Do you would like to go on a cycling tour in Colombia? (Colombian Bike Junkies).