U.S. Embassy warns tourists after eight men died in Medellín in two months, often after meeting women on dating apps
BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Minnesota comedian Tou Ger Xiong had fallen in love with the expat lifestyle in the vibrant Colombian city of Medellín: stock trading by day, fine dining and dance clubs by night.
He was one of a rising number of Americans and foreign nationals who began flocking to the country after the Covid-19 pandemic, some on new digital nomad visas introduced to help spur a growing startup scene.
But hours after prosecutors say he went out on a date on Dec. 10, he was calling family and friends back home to wire him $2,000, telling them he had been kidnapped and held for ransom. The next day, police found Xiong’s lifeless body with multiple stab wounds and bruises after being tossed off a 260-foot cliff along the side of a stream in a lush, wooded area of a city renowned for its eternal spring climate and rolling green hills.
Read more here: https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/americans-looking-for-love-are-getting-killed-by-gangs-in-colombia-b12d7671