Nightlife in Bogotá.Kevin Drum

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I’m sitting in the Bogotá airport about an hour away from returning home. I haven’t written much about my visit to Colombia, mostly for reasons outside my control, but I will!

For now, I’d just like to say that the first thing everyone said to me when I told them where I was going was some version of But is it safe? I assured them it was, but that was based only on what I’d read about Bogotá. I admit I had a few bouts of nervousness myself.

Having been here for a week, though, I can say that everything I read was right. I simply never sensed a moment of danger during the entire visit. The adults were all just going about their business, the teenagers were all having a good time, and there wasn’t the slightest sense of threat anywhere or anytime. I felt safer than I do in Rome.

On the other hand, the Bogotá airport is the only one I’ve been to that has no signage telling you where to return a rental car. Weird.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

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