Traveling to Cartagena March 21-28th...should I be worried

tasco66 says on Mar 2, 2008, 14:21:

Nope, the Chavista forces will have been defeated by then

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

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juancegomez says on Mar 2, 2008, 14:29:

You should wait and see for a few days. You have the time do so.

There's lots of speculation and noise around, essentially.

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jaramillo says on Mar 2, 2008, 14:34:

Bochinche, bochinche, that's all. Enjoy Cartagena.

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kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 2, 2008, 14:37:

cali373 says on Mar 2, 2008, 15:03:

YES you should! You might have toooooo much of a good time that you wont want to go home.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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Buongone says on Mar 2, 2008, 15:45:

No problems. Just go enjoy. Keep an open eye, and watch yourself. You should be safe, and have a goodtime.

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juancegomez says on Mar 2, 2008, 16:22:

It's likely nothing will happen, but waiting, in the meanwhile, isn't going to do anyone any harm, will it?

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SiV says on Mar 2, 2008, 17:08:

Re. Robi66, I would worry much more about getting robbed in the street or shot in a bar than a terrorist attack. Violence attributed to the conflict in Colombia only makes up 15% of total homicides, while narcotrafficking makes up another 35%, and "common" crime 50%. Personally, I know very few victims of terrorism here in Colombia, but almost everyone I've met has been robbed at knife/gun-point several times. Myself included.

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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sloopskipper says on Mar 2, 2008, 17:19:

I was planning a return to Cartagena, to look at some apartments in a few weeks, but I am also having some reservations. Old gringos can be a good target.

Seems that some people think "everybody's outa step but me".

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nine inch nails says on Mar 2, 2008, 17:47:

Chavez orders embassy closed in Colombia
Posted on Sun, Mar. 02, 2008Digg del.icio.us AIM print email
By IAN JAMES
Associated Press Writer

JUAN CARLOS HERNANDEZ/AP
Venezuelan soldiers lines up before boarding a military transport at Fort Paramacay in Valencia, Venezuela, on Sunday.
» More Photos
On the web | Video: Venezuelan President's statement
On the web | Colombian news online (Spanish)
On the web | Ecuador news online (Spanish)

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez ordered tanks and thousands of troops on Sunday to the border with Colombia, accusing it of pushing South America to the brink of war by killing a top rebel leader on Ecuadorean soil.

Denouncing Colombia's killing of the rebel commander in a cross-border raid into Ecuador, Chavez said Venezuela will respond militarily if Colombia violates its border. He ordered Venezuela's embassy in Bogota closed.

"Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately - tank battalions. Deploy the air force," Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio program. "We don't want war, but we aren't going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master (of Colombia) ... to come divide us."

Chavez called Colombian President Alvaro Uribe "a criminal," and branded his government a "terrorist state," likening it to Israel for its U.S.-backed attacks on militants.

Colombian officials have long complained that Ecuador's military does not control its sparsely populated border, allowing rebels to take refuge on its territory. The same holds true for Venezuela, where rebel deserters say the guerrillas routinely rest, train, obtain medical care and smuggle drugs.

Chavez denies that his country provides refuge to the FARC.

In protest of Colombia's raid, Ecuador recalled its ambassador from Bogota but said commercial ties would remain unaffected. A spokesman for Uribe, Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, announced Sunday that Colombia would apologize to Ecuador for the military incursion on its territory.

Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, said the rebels were "bombed and massacred as they slept, using precision technology." He said Colombia's military violated Ecuador's airspace and that the camp bombed was 1.2 miles from the border.

Ecuadorean soldiers recovered the bodies of 15 rebels in their jungle camp, and found three wounded guerrillas.

Lt. Col. Jose Nunez told reporters in the remote village of Angostura, where the bodies were found, that officials determined there were two bomb attacks on the camp early Saturday.

Before the Ecuadoreans arrived, Colombian commandos removed the cadavers of Reyes and one other rebel.

Chavez called the raid "cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated."

"This could be the start of a war in South America," Chavez said. He warned Uribe: "If it occurs to you to do this in Venezuela, President Uribe, I'll send some Sukhois" - Russian warplanes recently bought by Venezuela.

He called Uribe a "lapdog" of Washington, saying "Dracula's fangs (are) are covered in blood."

Neither Colombia's foreign minister nor the country's military leadership would comment on Chavez's actions when asked by reporters on Sunday in Bogota as they departed a funeral for the lone Colombian soldier killed in Saturday's raid.

Chavez has increasingly revealed his sympathies for the FARC. In January, Chavez asked that it be struck from lists of terrorist groups internationally.

His Sunday announcement pushes tense relations with Colombia to a new nadir, though cross-border trade, worth some US$5 billion (euro3 billion) annually, has not yet been seriously affected.

It could not be determined whether troops had yet been mobilized for the border. Chavez did not specify how many he was sending. A Venezuelan battalion traditionally has roughly 600 soldiers.

The peasant-based FARC has been fighting Colombia's government for more than four decades, seeking a more equitable distribution of wealth. It funds itself largely through the cocaine trade and kidnaps for ransom and political ends.

Reyes was the FARC's key interlocutor with journalists and with foreign governments trying to mediate in the conflict, and thus the member of its leadership most vulnerable to being located, though eavesdropping or other intelligence.

In Texas, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said of Chavez's latest moves: "This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia's efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage."

Colombia did not deny it attacked the FARC on Ecuadorean soil.

Its defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, said Colombian commandos, tracking Reyes through an informant, first bombed a camp on the Colombian side of the Ecuadorean border. He said the troops came under fire from across the border in Ecuador and encountered Reyes' body when they overran that camp.

How exactly Reyes was killed was not immediately clear.

In a statement, Colombia said FARC "terrorists" including Reyes "have had the custom of killing in Colombia and taking refuge in the territory of neighboring countries."

After observing a moment of silence during his program Sunday in honor of the slain rebels, he praised Reyes as "a true revolutionary," recalling meeting the former trade union leader in Brazil in 1995.

Chavez called Uribe's government "the Israel of Latin America," criticizing the Jewish state's military strikes on Palestinian militants.

"We aren't going to permit Colombia to become the Israel of these lands," he declared. "We have to liberate Colombia" from U.S. dominance, he added.

Colombia and Venezuela have been locked in a diplomatic crisis since Uribe sought in November to halt Chavez's efforts to mediate a prisoner swap. The FARC has since freed six hostages to delegates of Chavez, including four released last week.

The FARC has demanded that a safe zone be created in Colombia to negotiate a swap of some 40 high-value captives, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors, for hundreds of imprisoned guerrillas.

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nine inch nails says on Mar 2, 2008, 17:51:

If that Psycho sends an air assault proly would only get off a few bombs. Some of CO's Air Force proly already in the air in a wait mode in case Hugo trys anything stupid.

If Hugo trys to invade CO on the ground don't think the tanks will make it much further than 5-10 miles. Tank busters can take care of that. Unless trying to take ground air superiority always rules.

Also remember CTG has a large military force (Armada and Marinas) so it is proly well defensible.

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lampltr says on Mar 2, 2008, 18:32:

Mama mia...stop worrying about anything...just have a good time and be street wise!

Colombia does not have any "Tank Busters" nor will the U.S. sell these to any foreign nation ever! The planes have aged but are now being retro with more powerful turbo fan engines, better Avionics and the like.

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iggy says on Mar 3, 2008, 02:41:

I should be there even under the bombs of Chavez or anybody. Just go and forget threats and headlines. THE ONLY RISK IS YOU WANTING TO STAY.

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Chriscan (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 3, 2008, 04:09:

nueva york bombero says on Mar 3, 2008, 06:58:

Right on Chris... I'll be heading to SM also next month and I'm not too concerned!

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juli says on Mar 3, 2008, 10:53:

Mucho ruido pocas nueces.

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