So, in particular, this comedian from the United States came to the Colombian capital of Medellin and subsequently disappeared.
Colombian police arrested and filed charges against four people suspected of kidnapping and killing 50-year-old Asian American comedian Tou Ger Xiong, who disappeared while on vacation in Colombia. Tou Ger Xiong's death was at least the eighth among the “suspicious deaths” of US citizens found in November and December 2023 in Medellin, a popular destination for tourists visiting Colombia. The US Embassy in Bogota said the incidents were not related, but several had similar circumstances.
This is stated in the material of The Washington Post.
Xiong, 56, traveled from his home in Minnesota to Medellin in late December to try to understand what happened to his brother, a 50-year-old U.S. citizen and prominent Hmong comedian and activist. Tou Ger Xiong was held for ransom, stabbed and beaten, and then thrown off a cliff. His body was discovered on December 11 in one of the most dangerous areas of Medellin.
“Today I dare to visit this peaceful place… where you last breathed fresh air,” said the 56-year-old brother of the deceased star when he arrived at the site where Tou Ger Xiong’s body was found.
What is known about the murder of a star
50-year-old Xiong flew from the United States to the Colombian capital of Medellin on Wednesday, November 29, to spend time with his family. Immediately after this, the man arranged a meeting with a mysterious stranger.
According to journalists, on December 10, at about 7 pm local time, the comedian called his friend on the phone and said that he had been kidnapped, held at gunpoint and demanded a two thousand dollar ransom.
A few hours after this call, the police visited the apartment where Xiong was staying. As it turned out, a mysterious woman from social networks entered there, took some things and ran away before they arrived.
The comedian's body, with more than a dozen stab wounds, blunt force wounds and numerous bruises caused by a fall from a height of more than 18 m, was soon found in the La Corcovado gorge.
What the police report
“Criminals use dating apps to entice victims to meet in public places such as hotels, restaurants and bars, and then attack and rob them,” law enforcement warns.
According to them, US citizens in Colombia are being robbed and even killed.
“Let's be clear: Medellin is a safe city, but as the number of tourists increases, so does the number of certain phenomena surrounding tourism,” said William Vivas, a community rights activist in Medellin.
Tourism here has been steadily growing since the signing of peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC, in 2016. The country began promoting areas that were previously too dangerous to visit, and foreigners quickly poured into the country. The government also proposed new visas for so-called “digital nomads” to encourage Americans and other foreigners to live in the country.
The Resurrection of the Colombian Kidnapping Industry
When Colombia was notorious for its kidnapping industry. The FARC, at the time the largest leftist rebel group in the country, used these tactics to make money and gain political advantage. According to the Colombian National Police, between 1996 and 2006, 23,144 people were kidnapped by the FARC and other criminal organizations (an average of 5.7 people per day).
But public outcry, along with anti-kidnapping organizations, helped reduce the number of foreigner disappearances by 92%. When FARC fighters took up arms and signed a peace agreement, many Colombians hoped that kidnappings would become a thing of the past.
However, now that other armed groups have gained greater control in the areas from which the FARC withdrew, kidnappings have increased again. Last year, the number of such crimes rose to 287, according to police, a figure the country has not seen since 2014.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine near Ternopil, a 50-year-old man who had recently gotten a job at a local feed mill was found dead on the side of the road. Local residents claim that the man suddenly died on the territory of the enterprise, from where he was taken into the buckets of a loader and thrown onto the side of the road.
Related topics:
More news
