Friday, January 3, 2014

paseo millonario (Col): express kidnapping

In other countries in Latin America this actually gets called secuestro express in Spanish. I don't think
paseo millonario would be widely understood outside of Colombia.  For those lucky enough not to know what this is and worry about it, it's when you get held for several hours and forced to take money out of cash machines several times.  People are often held until the next day so they can take money out again.  This is why folks are paranoid about writing down the license plates of taxis.

Glad not to be worrying about this one at the moment.  I'm at the opposite extreme of Bogotá really - holed up in a cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan, surrounded by snow.

update: Thanks to Andy for a correction on this one - it turns out secuestro express is a broader term and does not necessarily involve ATMs, but could.  I still think it's your best choice when going in this direction, but you could add the ATM's bit if you weren't doing simul. Ojo, there's even a Venezuelan movie called Secuestro Express! no ATMs involved.