Zona Rosa Attack

[valuedcustomer]

[This message has been edited by valuedcustomer]

According to an Associated press article today, the Zona Rosa bombing attack was aimed specifically at American citizens.

The U.S. Embassy said Tuesday the attack "was apparently intended to kill or injure American citizens," marking the first time that rebels have targeted Americans in a terror-style assault in the Colombian capital.

Here is the link to the article:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&ncid=734&e=1&u=/ap/20031119/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/colombia_brewpub_attacks

Here is the article on US Embassy warning:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&ncid=734&e=5&u=/ap/20031119/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/colombia_attack_us

[Pete E]

... in response to Zona Rosa Attack, posted by valuedcustomer on Nov 19, 2003

Makes me worry a little about a certain gringo bar in Cali.
But the area hit in Bogota was a known hang out of US military types.Hopefully they are not p!ssed off at ordinary gringos chasing chicas.
But you never know so I would be a little nervious sitting there right now.
And talk about a way to put somebody out of Business.That brewery is doomed to failure now I would think.
I had the impression the rebels were trying to avoid causing US casualties because it could be very counterproductive in terms of getting the US to kick in some more help.
Just when we can kick anybodys butt in the world we have these dirty sneaky little terrorists to deal with.I guess they know they would lose a regular fight.It makes sense in a perverse way,if you don't mind killing innocent people for whatever your cause is you think is so important.
Well,moral lectures will not do it,so we need to give Colombia some more support here.I would put them right up there on the top of the list for people we need to deal with.I for one am glad we don't have a whimp in the white house.Too bad there is so much distraction elsewhere or I think we would be all over it.
Ben Laden is a dead man walikng.Saddam Housein is too.Then we can pay more attention  to helping kick some butt in Colombia.
No time to wimp out.Do some idiots think they scared us with 9/11? They really p!ssed us off,thats what they did.Same for bombs in Bogota.Why is counterproductive so hard for these idiots to get?

Pete

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Zona Rosa Attack, posted by Pete E on Nov 19, 2003

With the current status quo I don't think we'll be seeing any more US involvement anytime soon. As long as we have contractors doing the job - no way to gain popular support for it.  Speaking of those hostage contractors, they've got a template set up for anyone wishing to write their politicians:

http://www.heldhostageincolombia.com/documents/Letter_Campaign_FINAL.html

[cancunhound]

... in response to Zona Rosa Attack, posted by valuedcustomer on Nov 19, 2003

There was another story the other day with an interview of the wounded AA pilot.  He said that although he did not like the thought of being more "low key" and avoiding such areas due to the impact on the local economy and such - he was definitely not going out on the town in Bogota anymore.  Well maybe a positive outcome here is that fewer pilots will be showing up drunk for work after an evening out on the town!

I posted a poll about safety concerns in Colombia after the attack here for anyone interested in participating:

http://www.caligringo.com/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=117&s=8e4d9c330dd2df914beef916bb3de24d

[pablo]

... in response to Re: Zona Rosa Attack, posted by cancunhound on Nov 19, 2003


Thanks Cancun for the link.  I thought their homepage was informative. (http://www.heldhostageincolombia.com)

Pablo

[Wasp]

... in response to Re: Zona Rosa Attack, posted by cancunhound on Nov 19, 2003

There were several other places I was in that were loaded with Gringos. I'm not going to name them.

It seems as if Farc is morphing into an urban terrorist group. Oddly enough, this is a good sign. It means they are having difficulty openly controlling vast areas of the countryside. In the long term, it's good. Short term, it may mean they will be specifically targeting Americans in the urban areas.

[Calipro]

... in response to Re: Re: Zona Rosa Attack, posted by Wasp on Nov 19, 2003

Has anybody looked into how much it would cost to get a permitt to carry a hand gun in Colombia???

Also I wonder how much the army charges to purchase a hand gun.

They'll never take me alive!!!

Count down to Cali!! I have less than a month of hard time to go!!

[Tigre]

... in response to Has anybody......., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

You can have a lawyer go to DAS and get them for you in you have a business Visa.  I have a 12 Gauge shotgun and 38 pistol. I tried to get something more powerful like a AK-47 or UZI, but DAS says this is the best you can get as a foreigner.  I sucks being outgunned by the FARC, ELN, Paramilitaries, Mafia, ect. I could have also got a 9mm but the price is crazy. I paid 7 Million pesos for the 2 guns.

[puckster]

... in response to Has anybody......., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

i once had to give up my pocket knife coming down into Cartagena, to retrieve it I had to go into a room, others, too had also gone in to get there arms, some of these guys were carring some pretty mean pistols. they were sitting there out on the desk. You would never know they were carrying.

[Pete E]

... in response to Has anybody......., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

I think you can get a permit if you can demonstrate a good reason,like handling alot of money.If you don't have a permit I think you are in trouble if you have a gun in Colombia.Its like the NRA said,when guns are illegal only criminals will have them.Thats true in Colombia I think.
But I remember what I thought was a shoot out one night while staying at latin love.The guys next door were celebrating,No cops showed up.I mean automatic weapon fire.pop pop pop.It was a little scary.
Giving every Colombian a gun might be a good idea.Sure some people would shoot thier wifes and lovers.But the bad guys would be running scared.Which would solve a VERY big problem there.

Pete

[beenthere]

... in response to Has anybody......., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

The last time I heard it is illegal for any civilian or non security personnel to carry an arm in Colombia.................why anyone would even consider it in a foreign country (especially Colombia) is beyond me.

[Calipro]

... in response to Re: Has anybody......., posted by beenthere on Nov 19, 2003

No, I heard you can get a permitt to carry one. A pretty good reason to carry one is for protection.

Anyway if you are still lost as to why someone in Colombia would want to carry a gun just ask Walter Mora. He told me he was going to get a permitt to carry one.

But, you are right. You wouldn't need one. Anybody that spends most of their time lounging around the pool at the hotel, who never walks anywhere except around malls and never goes where he is invited only where he decides to go would never need one.

I like to play it a little differently.

[beenthere]

... in response to Re: Re: Has anybody......., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

[This message has been edited by beenthere]

My post to any gringo who would consider carrying a gun in Colombia would be "Don't do it!!!!!!!
Not sure what the reference to the pool and mall is about.  But, maybe you should spend a little more time thinking about Calenas while in Cali, instead of worrying about what I do.  Have you been spying on me???  I am flattered though.
I'm only concerned about some of the gringos who might be naive enough to take your advice and even consider carrying a gun in Colombia.
As far as Walter Mora goes..... ok, if he gets a gun, I guess we ALL should get one.  Great advice!!!!!
Don't even think about it gringos, trust me!!!

[Calipro]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Has anybody......., posted by beenthere on Nov 19, 2003

Are you worried about me to?

Before this whole thing gets blow out of proportion, I hope you guys don't think you need to get a hand gun permit to visit Colombia. I was just wondering if someone had looked into the idea before.

I'm not giving any advice. It was just an inquiry.

[cancunhound]

... in response to I'm a gringo., posted by Calipro on Nov 19, 2003

I did inquire once - I don't recall the exact figure but it was an outrageous one.  I remember thinking that it'd be about the same price and less of a hastle just to hire a couple of armed security guards for times that might require that kind of protection.  Firearms are priced outrageous too.  On the other hand, blackmarket guns are cheap, plentiful, and readily available.  

I could easily justify carrying a weapon in the countryside.  However, I would imagine many hastles at police roadblocks - we were thoroughly searched in two of the 5 random checks encountered recently on the drive from Cali to zona cafetera.  My guess is those checks would have been much more than just a slight inconvenience had I been packing, even with a permit.