Heating Up In Cali

[JimD]

Truth be told there seems to be a bit of a crime wave in Cali right now. Just a heads up in case you are thinking of visiting. Andy lee quoted a report from Colombia Reports in a thread below indicating Colombia is perceived  as having the 5th worst reputation in the world. From events in Cali in the last couple of days  it would be hard to deny. Yesterday it was reported that a girl , evidently a gang mall from one faction of a couple of warring gangs was taken to a house in barrio Marroquín III  (a bad barrio) to be interrogated. She was tortured, first having her implants cut out then having a stick introduced in her anus and finally having her throat cut as eight gang members looked on. She was then cut into pieces with a machete and thrown into the street.
 .
That was reported yesterday. Today it was reported that someone was asassinated in their car in barrio El Refugio (ja ja)  off Calle Quinta  on Cra 66 about 6pm. An hour later while the police were gathering evidence from that crime they heard shots just 300 meters away. Several persons in a taxi and one on a moto had attacked an armored Nissan Navara pickup on Calle Quinta.  One person inside was killed and another gravely injured. The police immediately initiated a chase and ended up killing a bad guy who had an  AK 47. (This is the second time I’ve heard of this scenario). The investigation is in an early stage but the police say the victim in the armored pickup is part of the Cartel del Norte de Valle. I saw the pictures and he was shot through the “armored” window.  There are five different levels to which you can armor a vehicle in Colombia.  I imagine this and another one I read about a while back were armored to level one or two.  Their enemies seem to know this so go after them with an AK 47 which can only be resisted by level 5 armor. 
.http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/judicial/noticias/menos-tres-muertos-deja-balacera-en-sur-cali
.

.
I may just skip reading the paper tomorrow.

[dennislevy]

thanks Jim!

That s great advertising for for going to Cali!!!!!!

[Zon]

I thought Medellin was hotter.   Cali can be problematic too.

No dar papaya is the name of the game - PLUS a little luck.

[Deseo]

Good to be aware of the latest trend (as I hope to make it to Cali in 2012). 
 
I found some startling statistics about the homicide rate in Cali.  The homicide rate in 2006 was 62 murders per 100,000 residents in 2006.  Through the first half of 2011, the rate had climbed to 71 per 100,000.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cali#Crime
 
http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/judicial/conozca-20-barrios-violentos-cali
 
 
By comparison, the highest murder rate of any big city in the United States in 2010 (lastest year for full data) was 49 murders per 100,000 residents in NEW ORLEANS.
 
And the murder rate is far lower in the largest 3 cities in the U.S. in 2010:
 
New York City:  6.4 per 100,000
Los Angeles:     7.6 per 100,000
Chicago:          15.2 per 100,000       
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
 
 

[Samuel]

Jim,


What is your impression of the Cali police force?  How dedicated are they to fighting gangs and criminal activity or are many dishonest and bought by the mafia?

[V_Man]

Jim, I am going to be in Cali very soon. 
It will be my first time in South America, a mentality impaired blind child can see I am a foreigner and I consider myself to be without street smarts.
 
Your news is not entirely condusive to promoting a sence of serenity for me.

[benjio]

Jim, I am going to be in Cali very soon. 
It will be my first time in South America, a mentality impaired blind child can see I am a foreigner and I consider myself to be without street smarts.
 
Your news is not entirely condusive to promoting a sence of serenity for me.

V_Man just stay alert and don't do anything stupid. If you feel that little bubbling in your gut or that little tingle on the back of your neck in any situation while in Colombia, 99% of the times it's for a reason. Gringos travel to, in and around Colombia consistently and for the most part nothing happens to them. From my experience most of the violent crime there is political, cartel related, for revenge, because of personal debt, or the poor taking from those that have more than them (or someone they perceive to have more than them). Attacks like the one described by Jim are no accident. That was a planned ambush. The fact that the victims were riding in an armored car should be proof enough that they had issues the average gringo simply won't have to worry himself with. Usually someone paying close attention can spot a dangerous situation a mile a away and long before their actually in it. I'm a black guy so I have much less to worry about as most Colombians assume I'm from whatever city I'm in, but I'm still as alert as a soldier at war when doing something as simple as walking down the street there. Guys lurking in allies, two guys on a motorcycle, lack of eye contact from someone remaining in your proximity for an unusually long period of time, guys walking with their hands in their pockets...most of the times it's right in front of you long before you pay attention to it. Keep your eyes open and you'll be just fine.