Robbed at Gunpoint near Carrefour Las Vegas !
Hi guys,
Most of you know that I've always been upfront with you and if I ever thought this Medellin Paradise would become dangerous for tourist I would be the first to tell you! Read Daryll Musicians "quote" below, he is right on the money! Unfortunately 4 of my guests and I got robbed at "gunpoint" near Carrefour Las Vegas in a stratus 4-5 zone! I am really sadden as this is happenning more often and it was a specific targetting of tourists! My 4 guests were four young oriental college students, really nice guys, but obviously tourist! They were so happy because of the beauty of Medellin and the beautiful women and then this happens just a few hours after arriving in Medellin!
If I had been robbed alone I would not be so sadden, it would have been just another robbery, but when a Country starts to target their tourists and the police is slow to respond, then I don't believe they deserve a tourism industry! I was making La Mayorista a tourist attraction, but although the robberry didn't occur in La Mayorista I'm tired of the way they look at me and my guests, as nothing more than a "cash" or "mac" machine! I've always felt a lot of the lower end paisas look at us with envy, not as something to emmulate, but as "what can I get from you today"! Although nothing has ever occurred to me or my guests at La Mayorista, I can no longer look them in the eye with innocence, this I apply to Laureles, la 70, Bello or any other place where I have felt the same!
For now I will exclude Parque Lleras, El Poblado, Envigado and Sabaneta! I have never felt that way in these areas! This is not to say that if the violence level and instability in Medellin continue to rise, as exposed by Daryll Musician, that these places could not become just as dangerous, specially if tourist continue to be targetted.
I am in a very deppressed mood right now as you all know how much I love this place, but I will never endanger the lifes of my guests or expose them to any threats. So I'm officially closing My Place and will put it up for sale with local Real Estae! I might purchase another property in Envigado for high end to mid level tourism for 150k a night with winging services to only high to midle end places and regular Discos. Places like Mangos, Palmahia, La Doctora in Sabaneta, Dulce Jesus Mio, Envigado, Babylon, Loutron, luna Lunera, Fase ll, La dolce Vita near Fase ll, San Diego, Parque Lleras, El poblado, Sexy, New Life, Energy, etc. But no more walking tours with tourist through El Centro and La Mayorista, Laureles or El Estadio-La 70! My car was robbed twice in Laureles so I can't reccommend it either, maybe some areas, but definitely not la "70"!
Any "winging" of my guests will be done mostly in my personal vehicle and maybe sometimes by Taxi from my local "Taxis Envigado" or Sabaneta Taxis! Maybe also from some ot the Taxi drivers from WorldTravel69 list like "Hector" & company and "Fernando"! And this is still "iffy", I havn't decided yet! I thought of going back to Tampa, FL, but I love this Medellin Paradise too much and I think I will be to bored in Tampa! But just in case, do any of you know what is the best way to transfer money to the USA from real estate sales in Colombia without loosing your shirt?
Well, again guys I'm very sorry about all this, but it's out of my control and I have to tell you the truth as I see it! I will refund all deposits to all of you who have future reservations and will reccommend Tiger Paw in Parque Lleras. Good luck to everyone!
Frank Casio!
[QUOTE=Daryll Musician][/QUOTE]Gentlemen,
Since I am contracted to the Government, I will give insight on the rising crime in Colombia. Since I have traveled to Colombia last year, I have been briefed by Operational Security personnel about increasing crime in Colombia, which includes Medellin. The effects of the Global Recession are beginning to take its toll on Colombia. Jobs in Colombia are dwindling, especially Medellin are dwindling. Colombia's GDP is decreasing. Colombians are desperate, therefore-to obtain funding to take care of their basic necessities-criminal acts are increasing. Also, President Uribe is approaching the end of his presidential tenure. Cartels and paramilitary groups are preparing to overtake/test the incoming President and his/her officials. I will not create a variable equation to determine the prospective rise in Crime in Colombia because there is much more to both scenarios than arithmetic. Expect crime to rise to significant levels. You do not have to take heed to my information. I am only requesting that everybody on this board have fun, but be cautious and vigilant. The coming months will Test Colombia.[/QUOTE]Quote:
Originally Posted by Aussie Greg
Yep, its to dangerous here in Medellin, I'm going to Australia!
Aussie Greg.
One girl from MDE wrote in her email:
"now there are some fights for power and control between criminal gangs, they are killing themselves and a regular person should not be too worried. For me everything looks pretty much normal".
I guess locals are kinda used to it, so they don't give much shit. I understand that since I've been in a similar situation for years.
And the good news are that the "bad" guys are not after gringos.? This is now questionable from my point of view!