It's something we don't want to think about when we're making our traavel plans, but personal security and safety is a huge issue and needs to be addressed.
How to Avoid a Kidnapping (Latin business Chronicle): "Today it is estimated that over 50 percent of all kidnappings throughout the world occur in Latin America."
Mexico has become the number one kidnapping locale, but Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru are also experiencing a rise in kidnapping. The author of this article suggests some tips and saety practices that hold good for travel anywhere.
Become aware of the Safety Issues. Do your best to practice the safety recommendations and include them as you Plan Your Trip to South America.
I am sorry to contradict your comment ,but if you take a chance to look into official reports the kidnapping in Colombia has DECREASED not increased as mentioned in your add.
Official reports in 2003 show that it began decreasing with 23% then in 2004 with 42% and in 2005 48% , and everything shows that for 2006 the decreasing continued almost to 60%.
in some citie’s even to 70% (for example Medellin).
I am not saying it does not happen anymore ,but found that it was not fair to include Colombia in that comment.
Even thouhg kidnappings have decreased some in Colombia it still ranks in the top three by a large margin. Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil are Latin America’s contribution to the worldwide top five list of kidnappings. Other countries throughout the region are following suit. It is a big problem.