Bogota Airport Security - B.Y.O.R . !!

[Charlie640]

The recent departure from Bogota was interesting to say the least.

I go through the usual security check, carry on and laptop gets X-Rayed and I walk though a Metal Detector. Shoes stay on.. why? don't know.
Soooo just when I think I am done... I get stopped by a guy in Camo's who is with the Narco arm of the COL Army. He proceeds to go through my carry on with a fine tooth comb. Great... now to the gate... wrong ....
I get stopped by another Narco guy in Camo's on the way to the gate who asks me a few questions that I didn't quite comprehend... so... he leads me to a room. So I think .. ohhh great ... maybe there is someone in here that speaks fluent English. In here I observe 2 women dressed in Camo's.. and a sign in english that reads ... "X-Rays can be hazardous for pregnant women" and its at that point I realize what is about to happen. I look behind me and I see a computer screen with an X-Ray of some elses guts.
I am all smiles and start kidding with these gals. I though it was pretty funny that they thought I fit the profile of a drug carrying MULE. I sign the release form, and get zapped. We had lots of fun looking at my Xray... SORRY FOLKS... no Condoms filled with snowy stuff were found BUT HEYYYYY.... I have a curved spine !! I'm like... "Look at that! Is that normal ?? Come on girls... you have seen thousands of spines... what do you think ? What... no Radiologist on staff"!!? bunch of amateurs ".
I said to them that they should have a Radiologist on staff , and for a fee, render a medical opinion. BUT NOOOOOOOOOO this is a BYOR ( Bring Your Own Radiologist ) establishment ! Such a shame... to get an UNHEALTHY dose of X-RAYS and not even be able to get a copy of the XRay. I think they are missing an opportunity here to make some good $$. Every tourist would want an XRAY of their guts with an official COL Gov't Stamp stating " Certified Coke FREE by the COL Gov't ". I'd buy one for sure! T- Shirts... Coffee Mugs.... WOWOWOW these guys are misisng the boat on this.

Ohhhhhhhhh not done yet..............
After my XRAY.... I walk maybe 100 feet and find my gate and YES Another Security Check !!! This gate is the only gate I see that is seperated by a clear wall. To get into the gate you must again get your Carry On Xray'd
and walk through a metal detector.. AND after that my bag was searched by hand and my laptop powered up.

Security like this I have never seen anywhere before ... but why was I never asked to take my shoes off??? I just hope I won't be Xray'd EVERY time I leave BOG as this can be a health hazard.

[Lostagain]

Last summer in Cali they ordered me to undergo an x-ray too. I refused to sign the permission but told them that I would not resist if they ordered me to stand in front of the x-ray machine; only that I refused to undergo a potentially dangerous medical procedure consentually. Eventually, they ordered me into the x-ray machine room for the x-ray and found only some pan de bono and coffee. I thought I'd have problems with entry on the next trip, but it never was an issue.

If x-ray exposure is a requirement for travel to and from Colombia, I am not going to visit for a considerable time. They should be x-raying the government officials who have ties to the AUC.

[KPunch2]

I always get the double take in CR, but never in Colombia or Panama. My last trip there, even before I boarded the return flight, I was approached by a man and a woman and was asked to see my passport. They soon left and after 10 minutes I was called by the airline staff to go to the gate and I was taken outside the terminal and told to open my suitcase which had been set outside of the airplane waiting for me. These two 'officials' went through my stuff and even put Rover to work...no cigar folks! When I landed in Dallas/FW, nothing...zilp, zilch, nada! Went through customs straight to Chi without a hitch. Lets keep our fingers crossed they dont start x-raying people in CR.

I bet both of you guys must of felt real safe on that airplane after that experience...right? Too bad they didnt employ those same tactics here in the US on 9-11.

[Cap'n Jib]

My second to the last trip out of Bogota was interesting. Six not five or seven but six very complete security checks. My personal opinion is that Avianca has tightened up its security in order to impress US security.

Yep, I all most missed the flight while they were powering up my computer. My computer security system almost did me in. It took over 15 minutes to power up and run its’ protective checks. It should be half that time but apparently battery power slows the process down.

[Charlie640]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Jib

. My personal opinion is that Avianca has tightened up its security in order to impress US security.

Yes... my flight was on Avianca.

Impress USA Security ??
I am sure that my tax dollar paid for my Xray in Bogota as is mandated by the TSA and DEA etc etc! The US government wants these invasive procedures done outside USA to avoid lawsuits.

[Clay]

It's more like Uribe scratching our back after we gave him all that money.
A lot of other countries are doing this.
The Bahamas have USA customs at the airports when you leave.
When you are in an airport and see a dog, offer him a wiff of your bag to disarm any suspicions to your person. There are many other ways of swaying suspicions away from you but I don't think it would be appropriate to list them here.

[Clay]

Once they had loaded us on the plane, they paged me by name on the entercom to please step off the plane. To me, this is like asking a gringo to step outside.
My wife insisted on going with me.
When we reached the tarmac, they had about 100 or so suitcases all lined up, with about 3 or 4 drug dogs at work.
They asked me which bags were mine.
Of course this was a military opperation with camo and a lot of machine guns.

[Charlie640]

Personally... I think there are other, far easier and less risky ways for NArcos to bring their wares into the USA. I wonder how many times these days they actually find a person whose stomach is loaded with condoms. I'd venture to say that its rare these days. Our borders are so porus the could drive a tractor trailer through loaded with the stuff. I think they started using animals and a fleet of mini-subs.... and now who knows. I think they should find a way to POP those condoms inside of peoples stomachs with sound waves like they do with kidney stones. Much safer than Xrays I think.
I think I read a story where one person died instantly when one of the condoms opened up in his stomach. YIKES !! Once word got out that the border guys were using this method instead of XRAYS.... WOWOWO... these guys would not be swallowing this stuff anymore and would be sweating like pigs once they were told they'd be sound waved!! Better yet... just run a news story in the COL paper about this new technology being deployed... even though it does not exsist.... make a dummy machine and fake them all out. They'd all admit to be mules before the machine was even used.

[Don]

Gentlemen
Junior Gringo making second trip to Bogata next Saturday
is anyone familiar with Santa Marta beach?
My Amiga wants to go there for 2 or 3 days
What shall i expect? In short is it safe to travel from Bogata to the beach with her ?
My last trip included a couple of the agencys and dinner at local restuarants but not outside of the city
Any Gringo with knowledge of the this beach com bac
Don

[Lostagain]

I think it's our responsibility to come up with new and clever possibilities for the narco smugglers to ply their trade. That way it's all more fair. We give them great ideas and the customs people have equal access to all the possibilities so they can be on the look out. We can even consider the pros and cons of any particular idea so they don't have to experiment with it and find it sucks. And customes won't have to waste their time on the bad ideas either.