Trouble in Cartagena

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  03.28.07 | 3:36 PM ET

Thanks to reports of dropping crime under President Alvaro Uribe, Colombia just might be the hipster tropical destination du jour. International visits to the country have risen by two-thirds since 2002. But according to an Associated Press report, those flocking to the celebrated colonial port city of Cartagena expecting to find a similarly shrinking crime rate are in for a surprise.

While murder is down in Bogota and Medellin, the AP reports, it’s up in Cartagena, along with armed robberies.

Never mind that Bill Clinton, King Juan Carlos of Spain and others were in town Monday honoring Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or that visitors from cruise ships are expected to double over the next year.

“Cartagena’s efforts to set itself apart from so many other Latin American cities ringed by poverty are failing,” the wire service reports. “No longer, it appears, can it claim immunity from the violence of Colombia’s half-century-old civil conflict.”

Related on World Hum:
* Colombia: Beseiged by Narcoterrorists or Emerging Hot Destination?
* Nouveau Sandalista on Venezuela: ‘There Is So Much Vibe and Passion’



6 Comments for Trouble in Cartagena

Wendy Knight 03.30.07 | 8:08 AM ET

Very interesting story. I visited Cartagena last winter with my then sixteen-year old daughter. I was initially apprehensive about our visit but after a day wandering the lovely historic part of town, I never once felt unsafe, even at night. Of course, we stayed primarily behind the stone ramparts in the city’s old section which I suppose might be a dispiriting metaphor. We’re only safe when behind a fortress?

Craig Heimburger 03.30.07 | 2:35 PM ET

I’ve been traveling in Latin America for over a year, and visited this city August 2006.

Impressions were noted here at

http://travelvice.com/archive/2006/08/cookin-in-cartagena.php

I love Colombia. The stigma of crime is great, as it keeps the tourism down. :)

jack jackson 04.02.07 | 7:29 AM ET

the picture here is not cartagena de indias..it is more than likely taken in cartagena in spain

Michael Yessis 04.02.07 | 8:39 AM ET

Thanks, Jack. Indeed, we had a photo mix-up.

Living in Colombia 10.12.07 | 1:29 PM ET

Can’t say I agree.  Cartagena seemed perfectly safe when I visited a couple of months ago.  The nearby Rosario Islands are beautiful too.

Julio Osorio 03.29.08 | 8:56 PM ET

I was in Cartagena,on December/07 and for me was an unforgettable experience.
Such a beautiful city plenty of castles and history.
And We did not have any problem with security.
I visited the city with my wife and my son and we are going to visit the city in the future with another friends.
One of the most spectaculars cities in the world.
Julio Osorio

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