The US has warned its citizens not to use Tinder or Grindr in Medellin following the suspicious deaths of eight tourists.

Eight American men lost their lives in Medellin in the past two months. They died under different, strange circumstances, with no evidence of a link between the cases. But there’s one factor in particular that repeats and catches attention: Many of them went out with people they met through dating apps in the last hours of their lives. The pattern is repeated to the point that this Thursday the United States Embassy in Medellin warned its citizens not to use these platforms – the most well-known…

Eight American men lost their lives in Medellin in the past two months. They died under different, strange circumstances, with no evidence of a link between the cases. But there’s one factor in particular that repeats and catches attention: Many of them went out with people they met through dating apps in the last hours of their lives. The pattern is repeated to the point that this Thursday the United States Embassy in Medellin warned its citizens not to use these platforms – the best known being Tinder, Bumble and Grindr. “Numerous American citizens have been drugged, robbed, and even murdered by their Colombian dates,” the text reads.

The warning shows that violent deaths of foreign nationals in the last quarter of 2023 increased by 29% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data provided by the Tourism Observatory of the Medellin District Personnel and does not include Venezuela. American tourists, the embassy notes, make up the majority of the dead. The figures, he adds, add to complaints received by diplomatic missions from Medellin, Bogotá, Cartagena and other Colombian cities. “Over the past year, the embassy has seen an increase in reports of incidents involving the use of dating apps to lure victims with the goal of robbing them by force or sedation.”

According to Colombian media, the case reflects all kinds of methods. Hewett Jeffrey Hutson, a 55-year-old communications specialist, was found dead on November 11 in an apartment he rented on Airbnb in El Poblado. He suffered more than 20 stab wounds and was allegedly the victim of an 18-year-old woman who entered the home with him on the same day. Artist and lecturer Tou Ger Xiong, on the other hand, was found in an unlikely place in mid-December: he appeared with stab wounds in the La Corcovada gorge, northeast of the city. He met a woman on the afternoon of December 10 and hours later her friend demanded a $2,000 ransom.

Not all the dead showed signs of violence on their bodies. Johnny Jerome, a New Yorker who traveled to celebrate his 45th birthday in late October, was found dead in his hotel jacuzzi by his cousin. Both spent the night with the two women and were unhurt. Philip Ryan Mullins, for his part, was found in his hotel with psychoactive substances that likely caused his death. He was 32 years old and was last seen partying with friends on December 15.

The embassy notes that not all victims use dating platforms. However, it expands the recommendations regarding this particular risk, which is not limited to cases of heterosexual relationships reported in recent months. “Be careful if you use dating apps in Colombia. If you are going to meet a stranger, you should consider meeting only in public places and avoid isolated places like homes and hotels, where crimes are more frequent,” the warning asserts. “Where you are going, Tell a friend or family member about your plan, including who the person you’re meeting is and what app you use to meet them. (Criminals) usually steal the electronic devices with which they met their victims and which contain the communications. All the evidence is there,” he adds.

Tourism boom

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The district representative of the capital of Antioquia, William Yeffer Vivas, confirmed by telephone that tourism-related crimes have increased in recent years. It also says Americans are the main victims among groups of foreigners — with no breakdown among resident citizens or tourists. However, the official insists that the use of dating apps is not among the main reasons for the increase in violence. “It is possible that some tourists will use this platform. But those are exceptional cases,” he says.

The reasons are varied. Part of that has to do with the fact that Madeleine has established itself as a tourist mecca — it’s set to surpass 1.4 million visitors in 2022, according to the mayor’s office. This indicates a natural rise in crimes linked to the economic sector. However, the representative admits that they have also identified a large proportion of people interested in the consumption of psychoactive substances, sexual exploitation of minors and medical trips to unlicensed clinics. “They are the most victims of this type of situation that results in theft or death,” he points out. Simultaneously, criminal organizations have been able to take advantage of the opportunity with tourist packages that range from Pablo Escobar’s drug route to drug consumption.

Former Green Party councilor Daniel Duke adds two other reasons. “The great tourism boom is linked to the fact that we have an inherited culture of drug trafficking that stereotypes hypersexualized pesa women compared to other cities in Latin America. She is supposed to be sensual with big breasts, huge butt and blonde hair. It has created expectations among some tourists visiting our city,” he explains over phone. Likewise, the politician blames former mayor Daniel Quintero (2020-2023) for “ignoring the event” and negligence in tourism planning policies.

questions

The embassy’s suggestion has raised some questions in the city. Mayor Federico Gutierrez supported the warning, but pointed to tourists who engage in criminal activities. “(I) want to tell all citizens and foreigners that they are welcome in Medellin, but they do things well and respect the rules,” he commented in statements collected by Caracol radio. “We want them to come in for tourism that adds value. We don’t want tourists, national or foreign, coming to sexually exploit our children and teenagers,” he added in other expressions. Time.

Duke is even more forceful in portraying the warning that stigmatizes the city and its inhabitants. “It is discriminatory because it is based on the fact that, if you come here, you will meet women who want to kill foreigners, and that is a lie,” she says in a conversation with this newspaper. According to the former councilman, it is important to separate the cases of dead Americans from the broader and more complex dynamics of sex work and tourism. “There is a big danger that when we talk about this incident, it blames women, that they kill tourists. Or to blame all tourists, even though the majority come with noble intentions,” he adds.

Valerie Pera Ramírez, president of the Antioquia Sex Workers Union, explains that there are always foreigners with money who come to Medellin looking for sex. For him, the difference now is that criminal gangs are more interested in taking advantage of sex work. “As they see that foreigners attract a lot of money, they infiltrate us. But we are not criminals, but we are victims of these pimping or trafficking gangs that threaten us,” he says by phone. “All lives matter, but it seems that some deaths hurt more. In December three trans Women were killed and no one cared to publish it. But a foreigner dies and all the media causes a social explosion,” he concludes.

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