For anyone thinking of taking a trip to Colombia, it’s common for people to read up on how safe it is down here. And if you have been reading the news, you might have noticed more coverage of Venezuelan crime in Colombia
As Colombia is right next to Venezuela, there have been a lot of Venezuelans that have came over. Most are trying to make a honest living while others have gone to crime over the years
Especially as many of them are getting more desperate and are hungry — here’s a story that illustrates that
A few months ago I was sitting with my girlfriend at a Starbucks where we were sitting outside
It was a normal cloudy day in Bogota with little sun and a little bit chilly and windy also
While sitting outside, we were just hanging out and talking after having had spent some time in a park some hours before
About an hour or so into being here, we even had a person walk up to us and ask us for money to buy a flower from him
Which is the case sometimes as there are people living in the streets or are just poor here who either sell something like flowers or just ask for money in general
It was a young teenager – maybe 18 at oldest
So I offered some money to help him out and gave the flower to my girlfriend and that was that
However, as is always the case, there’s somebody else who needs money also
And unfortunately I don’t have enough money to help everyone
Some older guy – looked around middle aged – walked up to us and asked for money
In this case, I didn’t have much money left on person because the most of the remaining money in my pockets was going to be used for the bus to get us back to my place afterwards
So I said no
Given that I didn’t have any money
The guy then goes into his situation – that he is from a city in Venezuela called San Cristóbal (which is a beautiful place) and that he needs just a little bit of money for food
And I repeated that I didn’t have anything left because we need money to get back to my apartment and my girlfriend said she didn’t have anything either
Then the guy started switching his tune a bit – getting more irritated and insistent that I offer him something
Having heard my accent, the guy then said “give me 5 dollars, 10, how many dollars do you got?”
And of course, being in Colombia, I didn’t have any dollars – since they use the peso here
But he assumed that I must have had lots of dollars on person because I’m a foreigner
And when I tell him no another time, he goes off saying how could I not have any money if I could afford to travel all the way to Colombia
And how I’m from the US and obviously I got some money – dollars! – to hand out
But he said a lot of other things I didn’t catch either because he starts to mumble and walk away a few steps
Then turns his head and looks back at us – and at this point he just starts begging for anything he can get
But at this point the guy had already gotten me irritated and I wasn’t going to offer anything anyway given how rude and aggressive he was
He then stopped talking and just looks at me in the eye and neither one of us breaks eye contact for some odd seconds
And then I noticed his eyes going away from mine to the table quickly
And instantly I thought he might reach over to grab something from the table
But just as he reached for my phone that was on the table, my girlfriend took it
Then I stood up and got the guy backing up
He was just a little bit shorter than I was and thankfully didn’t have any weapon on him I suppose
Or else maybe he would have used it
But then like before he goes off mumbling to himself and half of it I didn’t understand
A bunch of “putos” and other similar words probably mixed in his angry mumbling
“Have a good day!” I thought
The guy walked away mumbling and then I sat down when he was out of sight
The Broader Issue
Back when I first moved to Colombia many years ago, Venezuelan crime in Colombia was less of an issue from what I remember
Back then you had Venezuelans moving to Colombia but most of them were hard working and willing to make an honest way to earn a living
To this day, I would argue most of them still try that
Because to be fair, there is a lot of discrimination against Venezuelans for being assumed of being “violent” or “thieves” among other things
For example, it was reported in AP News that some Venezuelans migrants are being targeted, killed or forced to move out ofColombian neighborhoods by Colombians who don’t want them there
In part because of the association of crime and poverty that is connected to Venezuelans
In my experience, there are plenty of Venezuelans here who still live an honest life
However, as more and more Venezuelans have entered Colombia without any money or security, more of them are going to crime to make ends meet
As a result, Colombia has seen more insecurity and crime from more and more Venezuelans each day
According to El Tiempo, there were 13 Venezuelans on average being taken in by police per day in just Bogota
With more than 1.3 million Venezuelans having already settled here, many of them without jobs or money, of course you are going to see some of them engage in crime
Not all of them. But plenty of them like the guy above who are willing to perhaps try to steal something or whatever else
So it’s a complicated situation for Colombia to handle
Especially as it was common many years ago for Colombians to move to Venezuela when the tables were revered with Colombia being a very dangerous country and Venezuela being much richer
So of course there are Colombians who remember those years and have more tolerance for the mass migration
But as the years go by and more and more Venezuelans are entering the country and many of those are committing more crimes..
You are seeing less tolerance and patience among the Colombian population
And to some degree, I would say some of those fears are justified given the higher crime rates that we are seeing in Colombia these days
Some of which is associated with the mass migration from Venezuela
So how does this apply to you?
Well, in the end, if you choose to ever visit or even live in Colombia, it’s important to know how things are changing here as time goes by
When it comes to Venezuelan crime in Colombia, the basic lesson here is to not assume all Venezuelans are criminals but be careful with some of them
As there are plenty who are resorting to criminal measures to make ends meet, increasing the issue of Venezuelan crime in Colombia
Like with anything else, be cautious always regardless of where you are in the world
And also make sure to prepare yourself as well. Though Colombia is safe enough to visit, you should perhaps buy some protective items. For example, a money belt or a theft proof backpack both work well.
Hope this article was helpful. Leave any questions or insights you may have regarding Venezuelan crime in Colombia
If you want to better know how to stay safe in Colombia, check out my Ultimate Safety Guide on this website
And if you are more interested in topics regarding Venezuela, check out my Ultimate Guide to Dating Sexy Venezuelan Women in Colombia
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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