FARC, is making a strong comeback and targeting CALI as their stronghold and base of operations. and Just as I thought things might be improving slightly there. Just spoke to the novia, she is getting a little shaken up about Cali and its turn for the worse and told me its all over (RCN AND CARACOL). I will postpone my monthy trip till things calm down a little, Rather be safe than sorry.


• Region's governor says FARC rebels are initial suspects in Cali car bombing
• One person killed and 34 injured when bomb goes off in front of police barracks
• At least 40 stores and houses damaged in blast in Colombia's third-largest city
Adjust font size:


BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A powerful car bomb exploded Monday in front of police barracks in the southwest city of Cali, Colombia, killing one person and injuring 34, the region's governor said.

Gov. Angelino Garzon told Caracol radio that "the first theory we're going with is that it's the work of the FARC," referring to the country's largest leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

"Although we cannot rule out other illegal groups, whether it's drug traffickers, paramilitaries or common criminals."

The explosion killed a taxi driver who was passing the car when the bomb was detonated. The blast also injured 19 officers in the barracks, and 15 civilians on the street outside.

At least 40 stores and houses were damaged.

Cali, Colombia's third largest city about 185 miles (300 kilometers) southwest of the capital of Bogota, is the site of a vicious turf war between leftist rebels, far-right paramilitaries and rival drug traffickers.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/04/09/colombia.bombing.ap/index.html

http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/especiales/policia_atentado/notas/Abril092007/bomba2.html

Cali has a large crime problem at the moment.

BUT as to bombs going off, I have lived in Colombia nearly as long as I lived in London, I have heard far more bombs going off there than I have ever heard in Colombia and a hell of a lot bigger ones in London on two instances.

Also the bomb went off in the early hours of the morning in this particular case, sound travels a long way late at night when everywhere is quite.

The chance of being caught up in a bomb in Colombia is slim, very slim.

Hunter

In the short run, what this means is that taxistas and caleños in general will avoid getting anywhere near police facilities. This is the second serious incident (in recent times) involving an attack on the Cali police that I can recall, the first being back in my first trip in November. The pics show the blast to have been powerful - the barracks looks like it's pretty much unusable at this point.

If I was visiting Cali now, I would stay away from those facilities also. By the way, I wouldn't recommend hiking up the Monte de los Tres Cruces (Mount of the Three Crosses) anymore as there's a police station up there at the top as well. Glad I did it on my first trip but no repeats now for sure! The other mountain with the large statue of Jesus at the top has also been off the to-do list for quite some time now, according to the locals, as the area is known to be dangerous.

Sobe9ball, the timing of the attack (midnight) indicates to me that the FARC, or whomever, weren't going for maximum casualties but rather to send a message.

Now I know this sounds evil and cynical. . . but incidents like these help keep prices down, and I'm not just talking about monger activities. It helps prevent Colombia from being overrun by the "six-pack" crowd, but also other kinds of tourists and commercial interests that drive up prices for all kinds of things for both tourists AND locals!

From what I heard conversing with caleños on my last trip, it seems the local economy is flaky compared to other Colombian cities for some time now, with high unemployment. These attacks are likely to keep the Cali economy pretty crappy, at least until the "turf war" settles down.

The shaky economy means continuing crime issues in Cali, which is already a serious problem as Hunter pointed out. Robbery is a legit concern for mongers in Cali, far more than getting kidnapped, or caught in a middle of a terrorist attack. But assuming the situation doesn't devolve into the craziness that was Medellín in the Escobar years (and I suppose the country in general during that time), this might not be such a bad thing.