Slayings of tourists and Colombian women expose the dark side of Medellin's tourism boom
Associated Press
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Tourists take photos in the Comuna 13 neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Once a battleground for fighting among drug cartels, leftist guerrillas, military forces and government-linked paramilitary groups, the area is now a tourist attraction. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)A tourist rides a bungee jump in the Comuna 13 neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Once a battleground for fighting among drug cartels, leftist guerrillas, military forces, and government-linked paramilitary groups, the area is now a tourist attraction. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)Visitors walk through Botero Plaza in Medellin, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Medellin was once the heart of a brutal war involving the Colombian government, drug cartels, and other armed groups, but a sharp dip in violence here has attracted a flood of tourists. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)A couple strolls past the Coyote nightclub in Lleras Park in Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. A tourism boom in Medellin has presented officials with a new set of challenges, including an uptick in sex trafficking and the killing of tourists and Colombian women after rendezvous on dating apps. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)The Mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez, center, talks with one of his municipal workers as he visits police patrolling Lleras Park to enforce a curfew on minors in Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. A tourism boom in Medellin has presented officials with a new set of challenges, including an uptick in sex trafficking and the killing of tourists and Colombian women after rendezvous on dating apps. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)A hotel worker displays a sign that says in Spanish "No to pornographic exploitation and sex tourism" in Medellin, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. A tourism boom in Medellin has presented officials with a new set of challenges, including an uptick in sex trafficking and the killing of tourists and Colombian women after rendezvous on dating apps. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)Police check women's identification cards for age and frisk them at a checkpoint at an entrance Lleras Park during an operation to enforce a curfew for minors in Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The city has imposed an evening curfew on minors as part of its efforts to reduce sex trafficking. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)Police detain a minor for breaking curfew in Lleras Park in Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The city has imposed an evening curfew on minors as part of its efforts to reduce sex trafficking. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)Police ask a woman for proof of age at a checkpoint at an entrance to Lleras Park during an operation to enforce a curfew for minors in Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. The city has imposed an evening curfew on minors, as part of its efforts to reduce sex trafficking. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Tourists take photos in the Comuna 13 neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Once a battleground for fighting among drug cartels, leftist guerrillas, military forces and government-linked paramilitary groups, the area is now a tourist attraction. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)