Is buenos aires dangerous? Kidnappings & muggings: 2010 update

[Bajo_cero2]

True, but many of you aren't turists and are living here. I haven't heard of any expats being kidnapped so far, but I think some precautions are always good. Keep a low profile. I don't know (and don't want to know) your status, but if it's high, don't let it show. Show yourself around driving a brand new BMW and you'd probably end up in someone's possible-target list and be scrutinized. If they find out you have a good position in some big company or have local rich friends/relatives, you could become a target. Being a target doesn't mean they want your money, as it's not just money they are after. Some of these groups are very professional, well organized and may want information. I know cases of people who got kidnapped for a few hours and set free after giving names and addresses of other targets. Most kidnappers are ex-cops, and interrogation is something they are very good at. They will make you talk, believe me. Someone in this thread said Argentines (or at least Porteños) are paranoid and it's true. Maybe I'm paranoid too, but if I were you I wouldn't take chances. It's dangerous people you want to avoid at all costs.

You have seen too many movies.
They want information? Who are they, Jack Bauer´s team? Came on! Where´s the b...., where´s the b....

Kidnapping is not an issue nowadays. They don´t have an intelligence agency or access to former KGB database. When there is some intelligence work behind, always this is related to the security guard who is 24/7 looking what you do.

In fact, the main kind of kidnapping some years ago was the secuestro express and this was random.
Nowadays all the kidnapping bands are in jail.

And I think that they aren´t interested in expat because they don´t want to deal with the secret services of your homeland.

Low profile is a good idea for sure but to be paranoiac is not necessary.

 

[steveinbsas]

No. They already tried it and it doesn´t work. The jails just collapses. Social assistance works better.

Reductio ad Absurdum, counselor.

I was pointing out the absurdity of the idea of identifying specific locations of crime in advance.

I wonder what you mean by social assistance. In the US this means redistribution of wealth (AKA "social justice"). Nonetheless, "poverty" is often blamed for crime.

 

[steveinbsas]

Low profile is a good idea for sure but to be paranoiac is not necessary.

When I first arrived in BA my Argentine girlfriend would not speak English with me in a crowded street. She also made sure I knew that if was alone and needed to look at a map to do so in a store if possible and not out on the sidewalk.

I think it was very good advice. I do remember walking down the street in Recloeta with another expat (from England). He was not speaking softly and I noticed we were drawing way too much attention from "guys in track pants."

 

[citygirl]

I don't know of anyone who was kidnapped (I do know someone - and yes personally - who was held up at gunpoint in her house for 8 hours or so while the ransacked the house & waited for her husband to come home - they made him go to the ATM & withdraw all the money). This was back in '04 though.

Muggings - yep, everyone I know has had at least an attempted mugging. Very few with guns though, most were of the snatch and run variety.

As far as dangerous - eh. I feel less safe than I used to but it also hasn't changed my life that drastically - I just take more precautions than I used to (no more walking home from Canitas alone, etc). I also don't take a wallet with me when I go out, just a few 100 pesos in cash at most, never speak English on the street and don't pull out my expensive cellphone on the street, just the cheap one.

You have to be smart but after that, it's just a matter of luck really.

 

[WanderingTrader]

@Amargo - didn't have time to read the article just looked at the date and it wasn't around that date.. so yes I dont "think" it was that one. I've met over 20 people that had more than just a car stolen and a purse stolen

@Uncle Dermot - wasn't listening to middle class people I experienced Buenos Aires first hand by living there.. it is dangerous if you dont watch your back but I def agree with you that you have to have a hightened level of alertness otherwise you will be taken advantage of

@steveinbsas - i was born in Venezuela I do not envy your friend living in Caracas, that place is a disaster! lol

 

[Hache]

You have seen too many movies.
They want information? Who are they, Jack Bauer´s team? Came on! Where´s the b...., where´s the b....

LOL. Jack Bauer isn't involved. Neither is Jason Bourne. Rich people know rich people. They may want information about your rich acquaintances, and they won't ask politely.

Kidnapping is not an issue nowadays.

You mean not enough cases making the news?

They don´t have an intelligence agency or access to former KGB database.

KGB? Who's watched too many movies now? They DO have access to information from a local intelligence agency, though.

When there is some intelligence work behind, always this is related to the security guard who is 24/7 looking what you do.

Security guards may be involved but there's more intelligence work than that.

Nowadays all the kidnapping bands are in jail.

News-related again. Those captures had their fifteen minutes of fame for sure.

And I think that they aren´t interested in expat because they don´t want to deal with the secret services of your homeland.

Or yours, for that matter. I agree 100%. I'd keep a low profile anyway. As they say, shit happens.

Low profile is a good idea for sure but to be paranoiac is not necessary.

Totally right. If you keep a low profile you don't need to be paranoid. Otherwise, you better be.

 

[rrptownley]

My cleaner came to work the other day and at the end of 4 hours she slumped down in a chair in the living room saying she was exhausted.
I enquired as to why and she told me that some guys with a gun had kicked in her door at 6am waking her and her baby and demanded all the money she has in the house (not very well planned because she never has more than 50 pesos at home). They hung around for an hour or so, left, came back 30 minutes later and ransacked the place then left again.
I really didn't know how to respond to that (I did make her a cup of tea).

I remember a friend of mine last year who had a family friend who was held in a lightning kidnap, which seems more frequent. Where they bundle you through your front door at gunpoint and make you call your family to ask to withdraw cash and come within the hour. Gives less time for police involvement although they do go awry.



For me as a tourist, kidnapping is of no concern, but home invasion yes.

 

[fred mertz]

What´s more scary than the killings, kidnappings and robberies that are being reported in the media... are the crimes that aren´t being reported.
When I moved to San Francisco, (EEUU) many years ago, there was NEVER any mention of any crime. Anyone would think that the city was crime free. But when a tourist was killed at Fisherman´s Wharf, they had to report it.
It´s bad for business if tourists hear about the city´s crime problems.

 

[davonz]

What´s more scary than the killings, kidnappings and robberies that are being reported in the media... are the crimes that aren´t being reported.
When I moved to San Francisco, (EEUU) many years ago, there was NEVER any mention of any crime. Anyone would think that the city was crime free. But when a tourist was killed at Fisherman´s Wharf, they had to report it.
It´s bad for business if tourists hear about the city´s crime problems.

Or is it that there is so much crime they dont bother to report most of it anymore... That was/is the case in south africa. I lived in capetown and was shocked to hear that a local night club i had left at 5:45am was robbed (till and customers) and security guard killed at the door at 6am.. It wasnt on the news on the TV, radio or in the news paper.. So not believing that it had happened and guessing that maybe my friend who told me heard wrong i went for a walk to see for myself, and yes it had been robbed, with bullet holds in the wall and blood on the pavement by the door... it just wasnt bad enough to make the news !!!!

 

[WanderingTrader]

You know one of the things that I talk to people about is how the strikes are getting worse and worse.. Lan employees now strike once a month. The inflation is getting unbearable with the official government rate at 10% while the real rate is 30%.

I'd be interested to know if you guys have noticed the increase in prices?