The U.S. State Department warns travelers in Colombia that small towns and rural areas "can still be extremely dangerous due to the presence of narco-terrorists," despite significant improvement in security.
According to the latest update, "violence by narco-terrorist groups continues to affect some rural areas as well as large cities" and "the potential for violence by terrorists and other criminal elements exists in all parts of the country."
The travel warning highlights the bombings that took place in Bogotá, Cali and Neiva over the past few months and warns U.S. citizens traveling in Colombia that "terrorist groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and other criminal organizations continue to kidnap and hold civilians for ransom or as political bargaining chips."
The State Department advises all intercity travel should be done by air and only visit the country's major cities.
lampltr
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... WTF...a frickin' joke....now they come out with this crap! According to Scotland Yard early 2008 there is no threat in country from the ELN that they exist no longer hehe....morons!!  |
gringo michae
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... it sounds like the standard Warden Notice they send out every so often , it bascially hasn't changed in over 2 years they just update it now and then with and current attacks. You can register for the alerts thru the State Dept, I get them because I was Living in Colombia and registered with the Embassy , it is a free service . |
seattlesounder
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... Pretty accurate warning. I was escorted by police out of Mompos due to FARC activity in the area in 2008. The number of naive 20 somethings from Europe and the USA that I met who had been robbed due to traveling at night or in rural areas was pretty high. Course, most of them didn't Spanish and were pretty ignorrant in regard to Colombia in general. If what "lampltr" says about Scotland yard is true then it shows how completely out of touch they are with what goes on in rural Colombia. Maybe if they pay a visit to Arauca they will revisit their comments about the ELN. |
lampltr
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... SS; Point well made!! These agencies just put up a smoke screen as they have personal contacts on the ground and do know what is going on. Cannot be further from the truth. Believe mis-information on purpose, however too ignorance is a bliss! One agency not communicating with another. |
