21 stranger tourists attacked in Cartagena de Indias

January 23 2009. A serious incident occurred at night on Monday morning on the 18th of January 2010 in Cartagena de Indias, where 21 stranger tourists where attacked during their sleep. The drama was produced in a small hotel of the historic center in the quarter of Media Luna right beside the Convention Center, a place filled of policemen, but like it’s the usual case in Cartagena, the inaction of those is legendary. The tourists affirm that they found no response and actions from the police authorities of Cartagena for two days.

 

 

 

According to a stranger tourist from Argentina, Maria Marta, the incident was produced around 4am while everyone was sleeping. “About 7 men with cowls came in armed with knifes and guns, the tide us and stole our cameras, cellular phones, passports, clothes, our money and anything that had value. They locked us in a room while they were searching our things, we have nothing left to live, not even one pesos on us, the incident lasted around one hour”, said the victim.

Many different nationalities
Maria Marta explains that the affected people are from different countries: there were tourists from France, Venezuela, Colombia, Italy, Argentina and the United States that were in Cartagena with the intention of making a trip around the country. “I had never imagined that something like this could of happened in Cartagena, the touristic city by excellence of the country, especially in a place at two streets of the Puerta del Reloj (Clock Entrance), which is supposed to be a secure structure that guarantees a complete peacefulness to visitors”, says the woman.

Anxious to see the hotel director, functionaries mentioned that he wasn’t at the hotel, however the tourists receive free lodging and meals from the hotel. However, they didn’t get help from the touristic authorities of the city to guide them in order to go back to there respective country. Some of them received funds sent to them from their close ones.

In other ways, Irvin Munoz Perez, director of the touristic Society of Cartagena de Indias is now making the supervision and explained that he has already joined the consultants of France and Argentina and the other diplomatic institutes of the other countries of the concerned people to assure their return in their countries. Meanwhile, the district is offering food and roofs. The responsible also added that the insurers have been contacted. A reunion was planned yesterday to define the situation.