There are many places in South America that are dangerous places to visit, but Buenos Aires until recently was realtively safe.
I was mugged on my recent trip to Buenos Aires. The ladrones were two six foot plus men in their twenties. One twisted my arm behind my back while the other ripped my watch off my wrist leaving behind a tree inch cut that resembled a railroad track.
I ran to the police who were about 25 yards away and who were in plain sight of the mugging. When I told them what happened, they seemed not to care and told me if I wanted to waste my time filling out a report that I could go to the station to do this, but they were sure that nothing would be done about it.
Four Argentinians who had witnessed the attack and then the reponse by the police said it was normal. One called the police statues, another said they were eunuchs, another said they were compensated by the ladrones. He said in the area of Puerto Madera where the mugging occurred, which by the way is considered one of the safest areas of Buenos Aires, that crime was organized.
When I returned to the hotel I told the desk clerk what happened. He shook his head and said I was the third guest of this small hotel that had been mugged that day. One woman they had to take to the hospital because her earrings were ripped from her ears, shredding one of the lobes. He said things had gotten worse and worse since the government had devalued their currency and defaulted on their debt. He said the citizens felt as though if the government could rob the wealthy foreigners who were stupid enough to invest in their country the citizens felt as though they too could legally rob them.
Before I had a chance to leave the front desk a woman of 68 years from Australia stood beside me. She was crying and there was a cut across her neck where her necklaces had been ripped off. She said it was a gold plated necklace from her late husband. At this point the clerk said to us "We Argentinians think it is wrong of our government to promote tourism but then do nothing to protect our visitors. Frankly we are so embarrassed by the increasing lawlessness of our country we would prefer that the tourists stay away. To us, our country is no safer than Nicaragua. When you return home tell your friens to stay away." And so I have.
Reply to this It's such a shame that things like this happen in cities* that people consider safe.
Thanks for the report. I hope you have better luck on the next journey.
* It isn't a phenomenon unique to south america though, muggings and pickpocketings happen the world over - and in my experience apart from the paperwork the police are very rarely bothered.
> wrong of our government to promote tourism but then do nothing to protect our visitors
A good place to report this is to the foreign office of your country - if they get enough reports they may change their advice to visitors - that would apply a vast amount of pressure...
Reply to this Dec 2008
I was mugged in the Palermo Area of buenos aires, in full sight, at 1 pm in the afternoon near the small Plaza Serrano (near the larger Plaza Palermo Viejo) by two large men and a third waiting on a motor bike.
Probably they wanted my Rolex Watch. Lucky for me, I screamed loudly VERY LOUDLY and kicked.
I am 6 ft tall and 185 lbs and a male.
Lesson: Do not wear jewelry, especially ROLEX watches in what otherwise is a lovely city.
No police in the area at all but the citizens were apologetic.
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