Gadianton has left 33 comments

Gadianton comments on Is Colombia safer with Uribe?

"Annual murder rates in Bogotá and Medellín are now lower than in Washington, D.C." Not true. Both cities have much higher murder rates than Washington. Seriously you wouldn't believe how many people spout this crap.

Gadianton comments on "Comeback alive" a review on dangerous Colombia

"This kind of ignorant fear mongering should be deleted from the website. I was in Medellin in the early 90's and saw none of that. The majority of the dead in Medellin in 1990 was targeted." May I ask why? Sure the info's out of date but a typical emotional overreaction. People hype America far more for it's homicides yet they don't seem to mind. Let's face it, it's no Colombia. Most murders in Medellin have, and always have been, carried out by common criminals and the urban poor.

Gadianton comments on Colombianos in London?

It depends on personal experience of course.

I know a guy from Medellin who saw his family get wiped out by thugs and in a country of 40-odd million, 17,479 homicides last year is still way, WAY disproportionate internationally though it's much better than the 28,837 in 2002.

I encourage people to visit Colombia by all means, just don't listen to some of the liars on here and take sensible precautions.

Peace.

Gadianton comments on

Isn't it funny when you look back at old posts eh?

Gadianton comments on

Yeah but the fact is Colombia's worse.

Gadianton comments on Shooting in Medellin, Colombia.

"I wonder how the emergency room in Chicago for example compares with Medellin?"

Given that Medellin's about twice as violent I'd say it's quieter in Chi.


"And to answer your question about Chicago, I would probably feel safer in MED then there or Detroit."

I somehow doubt you'd feel safer in Chicago.

Detroit has a slightly higher murder rate than Medellin but then it'a a lot smaller. The worst barrio(s) in Medellin are probably worse still.


"In the UK for example, just 10% of crimes are reported."

That's a bit dubious.

Secondly, apart from homicides and kidnappings, the cops in Colombia don't seem to bother recording any other crime.


"Yet many foreigners continue to believe in lower crime stats nonetheless, as some sort of gauge of safety in Colombia."

Good point.

Gadianton comments on Information/Safety on Valledupar

London has less homicides than Valledupar with 20 times as many people so is that safe?

Hardly.

I'd be wary about listening to a lot of people on this site as they're insincere and tend to go to ridiculous lengths pretending there's never a problem. By all means go but do ask sensible people about potential dangers and take precautions my friend.

Peace out.

Gadianton comments on Life is great

LMAO Philadelphia is [still] much safer than many Colombian cities - that is a scientific fact.

Gadianton comments on Colombianos in London?

"Missbels, I just saw your BLOG and enjoyed it very much. You are another living legend that reflects that Colombia is not as dangerous as many posters here want it to believe."

Very strange. It's people that make out Colombia's miraculously safe that are the problem on this site.

Gadianton comments on

Let's Be Honest It's annoying when you see people making things up like Liverpool is more dangerous than Bogota or the US is more dangerous than Colombia.

Gadianton comments on

Let's Be Honest It's annoying when you see people making things up like Liverpool is more dangerous than Bogota or the US is more dangerous than Colombia.

Gadianton comments on Mexican v. Colombian Kidnappers

That's true True juancegomez. But THREE times more likely??? That would surprise me a lot.

Gadianton comments on

Gadianton comments on

Political/Terrorist Murders Around 4,000 Unless it's changed DRAMATICALLY the last year (though yes, the common crime is decreasing spectacularly - thank God). Aren't you forgetting all these other cities like Buenaventura, Manizales, Bucaramanga, Tulua, Cucuta, Florencia, Valledupar, Pereira, Santa Marta etc.?

Gadianton comments on

Juanalejo What the hell are you talking about bub?? The vast majority of murders in Colombia are always committed by common criminals.

Gadianton comments on Mexican v. Colombian Kidnappers

Hmmm.... Sounds very suspicious to me. Colombia has a similar number of murders as Mexico in a country with less than half the population. What I'm saying is that it's very unlikely that you're 3 times more likely to be killed by your kidnappers in Mexico than Colombia simply due to the general climate of violence in both countries - Colombian criminals/terrorists are simply more violent.

Also you may have noticed that despite the significant difference in population, Colombia has nearly as many kidnappings so it's actually worse than Mexico anyway. It sounds to me as if they've deliberately twisted the statistics to suit their own argument. Plus the fact they said the trend will hold for the rest of the year [note the two countries are very close in reported kidnappings and in fact Colombia's worse] suggests they've already made their mind up. Very erroneous.

Gadianton comments on Cali impressions

Gadianton Peter, that is [amongst] the biggest crock of shit I've ever read on this site. I've got nothing but respect for the people of Cali but let's be frank here. You said "so now tell me what makes London different to Cali?"


2004 murders:

London (Pop. 7.3m) 192
Cali (Pop. 2.8m) 2,402


So much for Brixton, Tottenham, Harlesden or Peckham. By all means defend Cali but at least be honest about it.

Also I've been to L.A. and El Salvador and the Central American nation is far more dangerous. It has far worse murder statistics so I don't know what the previous poster was talking about. I was woken by gunfire several times (as I have been in Colombia), while on my many trips to L.A. I've yet to hear a single gunshot. The violence is so tame and mundane in Los Angeles.

Why are people always criticizing America for crime yet making far more dangerous countries (like Colombia, El Salvador etc.) seem miraculously safe in comparison?? Hmmm.......more than mere coincidence I suspect.

Going back to London, how come I've lived a significant portion of my life in the city and not heard a single pop of gunfire. Remarkable huh? And I walk around everywhere at all hours without any problems.

Gadianton comments on

Mr Hollywood The maras were a form of Salvadoran street gang, many of whom fled their home country in the wake of the civil war. They're disorganised rather than organised, I was watching a documentary about them in San Salvador recently, and the notion that they're some kind of mafia phenomenon is laughable. Basically, they're very violent bands of youth and unemployed young men, who live and operate in shanty town areas.

This 'organized' tag is used far too loosely, particularly with drug dealing gangs. The vast majority of drug dealers are common thugs rather than an organization. Gangs that get misleadingly classified as organized are the favela gangs of Rio de Janeiro, the vast majority of yardie gangs, the vast majority of bloods and crips, and the vast majority of drug dealers in Cape Town.

Gadianton comments on Is Medellin safe?

Hunter Firstly Hunter, I have been to Colombia. Medellin, Bogota and Cali. Secondly, you said stats don't mean anything? Now let me get this right. You're saying that Medellin, which has many multiple times the murders of London (a far larger city too), is a lot safer????

I was in London recently and I wouldn't describe it as even dangerous man! Try telling the families of the [normally anyway] thousands of murder victims per annum in Medellin that stats don't mean jack. You're not even defending Medellin, merely insulting peoples intelligence and what the slum dwellers have to go through.

Gadianton comments on

Common Misconceptions The maras were originally formed in El Salvador - not Los Angeles like the media insist. Why do they keep saying this? You tell me, but it's pretty obvious they have a long-standing fixation with crime and violence in L.A.

Also, these mara street gangs are clearly common criminals rather than organized crime like the Guatemalan president seems to be suggesting.

Gadianton comments on Areas of Cali

Be Careful Despite what adela said, Cali's far more dangerous than California. California has over 10 times the population yet only a similar number of murders.

Also Peter Miami, it's interesting people say that Colombia isn't as bad as it's made out. I have to say that you hear far more about America's gun violence than Colombia's for instance. Despite the fact that Colombia has around twice as many gun murders a year in a far smaller country.

Gadianton comments on Is Medellin safe?

Safer Than It Was, But No Again, some of the comparisons on here are bizarre! London's one of the bonafide, safest cities in the world. I have many friends in London and hardly any of them think it's dangerous AT ALL. Interestingly, the only ones who do tend to read too much of the more sensationalist newspapers in the UK.

In almost every year of the last 15, Medellin has had multiple times as many murders as larger cities such as L.A., New York and of course *sniggers* London! Rio's normally safer than Medellin but a lot more dangerous than those cities as well.

Gadianton comments on Bogota and Medellin - crime statistics

Tinto Interesting figures there, thanks. That chart with the most violent towns and cities at the bottom of the page? I would've thought Barrancabermeja and Buenaventura would've been on it?

Gadianton comments on Americano Killed at ATM holdup in Cali

Aren't Most Deaths In Colombia Due To Delinquency? I thought the biggest percentage of deaths in Colombia are as a result of street-level drug dealers and the like, rather than Terrorism/organized crime?

Gadianton comments on Bogota and Medellin - crime statistics

juanalejo You sure about that???? Medellin 43 per 100,000??? That's a remarkable drop considering it was nearing 200 per 100,000 in 2002. I have heard Medellin's stats have dropped a lot in the last couple of years. I'd like to see the 'murders reported to police' figures as they tend to be higher than government/mayoral stats (maybe they're from the police?).

Also according to a BBC report in May 2002, Bogota would have recorded over 6,000 murders that year had it kept going at the same rate. These appear to be police figures. So how come most figures have it less than 2,000?????

Gadianton comments on Filming in Medellin

Tim Cole I'd say go for it. The violence in Medellin needs to be brought to the attention of an international audience.

Gadianton comments on Filming in Medellin

juanalejo I've travelled all around the world and, to be brutally honest, I hardly hear about Medellin's problems with guns and violence. While you hear about Los Angeles (which IS far safer) all the time.

Gadianton comments on Medellin- need some facts for a planned visit- May 2004

Sam Salmon Sorry, but I was just doing some research on the net and came across your post. L.A. more dangerous than Medellin? Medellin has consistently outmurdered L.A. many times over - despite being the smaller city.

Also, is there good evidence that this 'strangler' is an American, or at least lived in the states for some time?

Gadianton comments on Americano Killed at ATM holdup in Cali

Gomezman5 You're quite correct. Colombia consistently has more murders than the US, despite having a small fraction of the population.

Gadianton comments on In Medellin Now-- This is Absolutely One of The Most Beautiful Cities Anywhere

Hunter You have a very peculiar view of London there. Medellin has far more robberies, fights etc. Crime isn't out of control in the UK AT ALL. Murders do of course, happen over a large segment of Medellin. It is extraordinary what people post. I've walked all over London and in the worst parts at all hours.

I've also spoke to many Colombians and Mexicans, and while some clearly don't want to admit it, the ones who do talk about crime universally claim London is far, far safer from whence they came. Strange how our experiences differ isn't it? The statistics don't lie. You can fudge, twist and shape them how you want.

Gadianton comments on In Medellin Now-- This is Absolutely One of The Most Beautiful Cities Anywhere

Hunter You're mistaken Hunter, I've been researching crime stats for many years and have lived in London. Your viewpoint is so off the wall that it can't possibly be taken seriously. I'm wondering wether you work for the Medellin tourist board or something? London has a negligable murder rate while Medellin had the worst murder stats of any city in the world for many years, only recently dislodged by the brutally violent Honduran metropolis of San Pedro Sula.

Medellin still has very few foreigners despite what you said. I also think you were being a bit selective with the truth when you mentioned Colombians and Mexicans living in London. London more dangerous than Medellin and Mexico City? Complete and utter nonsense.

Gadianton comments on In Medellin Now-- This is Absolutely One of The Most Beautiful Cities Anywhere

London Is Not Medellin Hunter! You also said "I wouldn't walk around large parts of London at 8pm, without taking security precautions either" in reference to Medellin.

Personally, I think you'd find very few people who are unwilling to walk around the overwhelming majority of London at that time of the evening. And the worst you'd expect in London when you do get in trouble is a punch in the face, or merely intimidation by youths without coming to physical harm. At least in the vast majority of incidents. Medellin of course is rather different.

Gadianton comments on In Medellin Now-- This is Absolutely One of The Most Beautiful Cities Anywhere

Are You Serious Hunter? You said "I look over my shoulder less here than when I am in London"? Then how do you explain Medellin having a peak 6,804 murders in 1992 to London's average of 180 to 200 since that time? Even in 2002 Medellin had 4,933 murders - with it's populace gone from 2 million in '92 to 3 million during that period.

So your telling me that a city that's been 2.5 to 3.5 times larger and had 25 times to 40 times less murders, is more dangerous than Medellin? A remarkable coincidence! I guess it was just your personal experience eh?