{"id":1451132,"date":"2024-01-17T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1451132"},"modified":"2024-01-17T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:00:00","slug":"americans-warned-about-dating-apps-after-8-suspicious-deaths-in-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/americans-warned-about-dating-apps-after-8-suspicious-deaths-in-colombia\/1451132\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans Warned About Dating Apps After 8 Suspicious Deaths In Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Americans Warned About Dating Apps After 8 Suspicious Deaths In Colombia<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The State Department has issued a warning to American travelers, urging them not to use dating apps while in Colombia after reports of multiple \u201csuspicious deaths\u201d of U.S. citizens in the South American country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A man texts on his smartphone as he walks along a street in New York on March 4, 2015. (Jewel Samad\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Colombia has been marked as a \u201creconsider travel\u201d destination for Americans since Jan. 2<\/a>, with the State Department citing concerns about crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cViolent crime, such as homicide, assault, and armed robbery, is widespread<\/strong>,\u201d the State Department states in the advisory. \u201cOrganized criminal activities, such as extortion, robbery, and kidnapping, are common in some areas.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

More recently, the State Department issued a warning of a new threat\u2014with the use of dating apps being a common denominator.<\/p>\n

Suspicious Deaths<\/h2>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, was made aware of eight \u201csuspicious deaths\u201d of private U.S. citizens in Medell\u00edn between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, according to a Jan. 10 advisory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deaths appear to involve either involuntary drugging overdose or are suspected homicides,\u201d the advisory states.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not believed that the deaths are directly linked as each involved \u201cdistinct circumstances,\u201d a number of them involved the use of online dating apps, along with possible drugging, overdose, and robbery.<\/p>\n

Disturbing Trends in Crime Against Foreign Visitors<\/h2>\n

Local authorities in Medell\u00edn have noted a significant increase in crimes against foreign visitors.<\/p>\n

Observatory of the District Personnel of Medell\u00edn reports that the number of thefts committed against foreigners (with the exception of Venezuelans) jumped 200 percent in the latter part of last year.<\/p>\n

Additionally, violent deaths of visitors from other countries have jumped 29 percent\u2014with a notable majority of the victims being U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

Dating Apps as Tools for Criminal Activities<\/h2>\n

Criminals in Colombia are reportedly using dating apps to lure victims, particularly foreigners, to meet them in places like hotels, restaurants, and bars\u2014with the aim of robbing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumerous U.S. citizens in Colombia have been drugged, robbed, and even killed by their Colombian dates,\u201d the advisory warns.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy notes that these incidents are on the rise, with major cities like Medell\u00edn, Cartagena, and Bogot\u00e1 being hotspots for such crimes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While such incidents are reported regularly to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, it\u2019s likely that the scale of the problem is greater than it seems as these types of crimes \u201croutinely go underreported\u201d because victims are often embarrassed and reluctant to pursue legal action.<\/p>\n

Precautionary Measures<\/h2>\n

Some key actions to take include being cautious when using online dating apps and meeting strangers only in public places.<\/p>\n

Travelers to Colombia are also advised to avoid isolated locations when meeting people who they found through dating apps, and informing friends or family members about plans for the meeting.<\/p>\n

The advisory also suggests taking extra security measures when meeting new acquaintances and not physically resisting any robbery attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictims of crime who resist robbery are more likely to be killed<\/strong>,\u201d the advisory states.<\/p>\n

The Colombia travel advisory\u2014and the warning about criminals using dating apps to lure victims\u2014comes after the State Department issued a worldwide caution alert for Americans traveling abroad after the outbreak of the Israel\u2013Hamas war last October.<\/p>\n

Worldwide Caution Alert<\/h2>\n

The State Department\u2019s worldwide caution alert<\/a> cites increased tensions globally and the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests.<\/p>\n

The latest alert was prompted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which came after Hamas (a designated terror group) attacked parts of Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and leading to an extensive Israeli bombing campaign targeting Gaza, the area Hamas controls.<\/p>\n

This caution alert comes after the last worldwide advisory in 2022, which followed a U.S. strike that killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 01\/16\/2024 – 23:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans Warned About Dating Apps After 8 Suspicious Deaths In Colombia Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The State Department has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1451132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1451132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1451132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1451132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1451132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}