Katharina & Peter - Similar incidents

Similar Incidents

… Genau so ein Paar waren mein Freund und ich, als wir unsere Südamerikareise machten und obwohl unser Erlebnis in Bolivien nun schon zwei Jahre zurückliegt und ich lange nicht mehr daran gedacht habe, lief es mir kalt den Rücken runter, als ich vor einem Monat von einem Freund, der gerade aus La Paz kam, alles hörte. Wir hätten auch sterben können, denn uns ist genau das gleiche passiert. Wir kamen mit dem Bus aus Peru über Copacabana nach La Paz. Normalerweise halten alle Busse am Busbahnhof, doch Busse aus Copacabana halten direkt im Stadtzentrum, was für Touristen viel gefährlicher ist. Das falsche Taxi parkte direkt hinter dem Bus. Wir fühlten uns sicher, kannten La Paz schon und wussten genau, in welches Hostel wir wollten. Bald darauf stieg der falsche Tourist ein, dann der falsche Polizist. Zuerst wollten sie immer, dass wir aus dem Taxi aussteigen ohne Gepäck, damit sie alles durchsuchen können. Wir weigerten uns, wollten nur mit Gepäck raus. Dann wollten sie die Kreditkarten und Geheimnummern, ich wollte mich weigern, doch mein Freund gab sie ihnen und das hat wohl unser Leben gerettet. In einem einsamen Stadtteil mussten wir aussteigen, freundlicherweise luden sie auch unsere großen Rucksäcke aus dem Kofferraum aus. Da standen wir dann, ohne Kreditkarten, aber mit dem Leben, den Fotos und all unseren Sachen. Ein Taxi fuhr vorbei, ein Passagier saß drin, eine Polizistin auf dem Heimweg von der Arbeit. Auf unser Winken hielten sie sofort an und nahmen uns mit zum Busbahnhof zur Touriinfo. Nach einer Stunde waren die Karten gesperrt. Abends im Hostel lagen wir zu zweit in einem Einzelbett und verstanden langsam, was Schreckliches passiert war und was für ein Glück wir hatten. Am nächsten Tag fuhren wir zur deutschen Botschaft, deren Hilfe lediglich darin bestand, dass unsere Eltern uns anrufen konnten um uns Geld zu schicken (mit Western Union). Wir erstatteten auch Anzeige bei der bolivianischen Touristenpolizei. Die meinten, die Täter kämen aus Peru, wären längst über die Grenze und könnten nicht gefasst werden. Ab da waren wir noch vorsichtiger. Wenn möglich, stiegen wir mit anderen eindeutig "echten" Touristen in die Taxis, so dass kein Platz mehr für zusätzliche Passagiere war. Wir ließen die Taxis von der Hostel unseres Vertrauens rufen und schrieben die Nummer des Radiotaxis auf. Die großen Rucksäcke waren immer auf dem Schoß, so dass wir sofort mit allem rausspringen konnten, wenn nötig. Entspannt war keine Taxifahrt mehr. Zurück in Deutschland schickte ich eine ausführliche Mail an den Bolivien-Reiseführer von Reise-Know-How, der bis auf die fehlende Taxi-Polizisten-Nummer während der Reise eine große Hilfe gewesen war. Eine ausführliche Mail ging auch an das Auswärtige Amt mit der Bitte, die Taxi-Polizisten-Nummer bei Warnhinweisen zu erwähnen. Denn die Warnhinweise hatten wir zu jedem Land vorher gelesen. Leider kam nur eine automatisierte Mail als Antwort und keine weitere Reaktion. Ein Hinweis hätte vielleicht die schrecklichen Morde und Entführungen verhindert! Es ist unverständlich, warum die Täter ungehindert täglich weiter ihre Verbrechen ausüben konnten und im Jahr 2006 trotz mehrfacher Anzeigen immer noch an genau der gleichen Stelle die Touristen entführten wie im Jahr 2004. Inzwischen – so habe ich gesehen - sind die Warnhinweise des auswärtigen Amtes für Bolivien verbessert worden was Ihrem Engagement zu verdanken ist und hoffentlich vielen Touristen furchtbare Situationen ersparen wird. Traurig, dass immer etwas Schreckliches geschehen muss, bevor Veränderungen bewirkt werden können. Unsere vielen bolivianischen Freunde waren sehr unglücklich darüber, was uns passiert ist und sie hatten uns immer vor der Gefahr gewarnt. In La Paz zum Beispiel gaben sie uns die Visitenkarte von einem sicheren Taxifahrer, doch in der Eile und falsch gefühlten Sicherheit nahmen wir das nächstbeste Taxi.

Von den drei Bankkarten hoben die Täter innerhalb einer Stunde den Tageshöchstsatz ab. Die Volks- und Raiffeisenbank zahlte nichts zurück, die Sparkasse die Hälfte und die Barclaycard zahlte den kompletten Betrag zurück. …

Anke R.

URGENT WARNING - COPACABANA to LA PAZ

Two days ago my mother I travelled from Copacabana to La Paz in a small white minibus which charged 10 Bolivianos for the journey. We took the minibus from Plaza Sucre in Copacabana. Just before La Paz, in a place called El Alto, the minibus unexpectedly turned off the main road and onto a dirt track. The car in front of us stopped and 4 men with guns jumped into the minibus, held guns to our heads, tied our hands, wrapped tape around our mouths and blindfolded us. The driver, and the two other people in the minibus were all involved in this kidnapping and robbery.
We were taken to a house nearby and held there, tied up and blindfolded for 24 hours. The majority of our belongings were stolen and we were forced at gun point to give our credit card PIN numbers. The men then repeatedly withdrew the maximum amount they could from our accounts.
After 19 hours, 2 more Dutch travellers were brought (also at gunpoint) to the house where we were being held. They had also taken a white minibus from Copacabana and they later revealed that exactly the same sequence of events had taken place. We were all finally released together that night. We were taken, blindfolded to an area of waste ground in El Alto and kicked out of the minibus, with a few of our belongings.
According to our respective embassies, this is a very real, and increasing risk for travellers. Both embassies have told us that 5 similar cases have been reported in the last 6 months. Apparently three other travellers experienced the same horrific type of kidnapping/robbery only last week.
RECOMMENDATION:
If travelling between Copacabana and La Paz - ONLY TAKE THE TOURIST BUSES, AND NOT THE SMALL MINIBUSES THAT LEAVE FROM COPACABANA. BUY YOUR TICKET FOR THE TOURIST BUS AT AN AGENCY IN COPACABANA BEFORE YOU TRAVEL (dont just pay on the bus).
I dont want to panic people travelling in this area, but at the same time this is a very real risk and I dont want anyone else to go through what we have just experienced.

H.S.

….. in the past 2 1/2 months (spring 2006) there have been numerous kidnappings (6or7 that I know of) which officials believe are being organized and carried out by the same group. myself and a friend from wales were taken wednesday the 29th of march after taking the 6:30pm bus from copacabana, to la paz. bolivian officials and intelligence from other countires believe that the kidnappings are being set up by european man (6foot 2 ,pale, french german accent,non-descript, 45 ish) who scouts out potential travellers in/on the way from copacabana.

he tells a story that he´s from copacabana,owns a hostel and has an apartment with his girlfriend in la paz. he offers travel advice and recommendations for la paz.

after exiting the bus at around 10pm in la paz we entered an "official" looking taxi with a woman and a baby in the front seat. the taxi driver asked us for the name and directions of our hostel. he then drove around the block and stopped behind a combi( mini-bus). the lady in the front seat exited the taxi while 7-8 men got out of the combi and rushed our cab. they entered the cab through all doors assaulting and restraining us both. they separated us into different vehicles. they took all of our pocessions( cash,credit cards and bank cards) and forced us to give them our pins and banking info. they drove us around separately for 3-4 hours while someone else extracted money from our accounts. luckily, they dropped us off together, bruised and a little shaken up. other travellers haven´t been so lucky.

if you are travelling from copacabana into la paz, please be as safe as possible.

- travel in groups(4 or more)

- travel early in the day

- be wary of anyone offering travel advice (french/ german man 45, tall,pale)

- don´t pick the first taxi waiting outside the bus terminal

- take note of taxi credentials

- try and take a taxi with a functioning radio

- let family and other travellers know where and when you´ll be arriving and please pass this information on to other travellers heading to this area

n.n.

…ich war letztes Jahr mit einer 15-köpfigen Reisegruppe in Bolivien. das Hotel hatten wir in La Paz von wo aus ich an einem Nachmittag zu Fuß alleine in Richtung Stadtmitte ging. Plötzlich kam ein (angeblicher) Tourist aus einer Seitenstrasse der mich angesprochen hatte um mir zu helfen wo ich hin will, ich habe ihn nicht verstanden da ich nicht spanisch kann. Ich ging weiter und er folgte mir nach, nach ca. 50 meter kam ein wie ein Polizist verkleideter Mann entgegen und wollte unsere Pässe, ich hatte keinen Pass bei mir ich sagte dass ich den Pass im Hotel habe, da mußte ich mit den 2 Mann umkehren um ins Hotel den Pass zu holen. Wir sind nicht weit gegangen, hielt der (angebliche) Polizist einen Taxi an (der Taxi gehörte auch zu den Banditen), ich mußte mit beiden in das Taxi einsteigen. Bei der nächsten Abzweigung bog der Taxi nach rechts ab in ein unwegsames Gelände wo er stehen blieb und die Herren mir alles abnahmen. (Digikamera, Bargeld ca. EUR 130,- USD ca. 120,- und Bol. ca. 300,- sowie das schlimmste: die Bankomatkarte. Dann ließen sie mich wieder frei. Ich sperrte so schnell wie möglich die Bankomatkarte es war jedoch schon zu spät, die haben mittlerweile schon 23 x EUR 170,- (USD 200,-) insgesamt mehr als EUR 3900,- abgehoben (Ich habe einen Prozess geführt wo ich von meiner Bank EUR 2000,- wieder zurückbekommen habe). …

E.S.

… I had had a similar experience two years ago in Santa Cruz with my girlfriend. Going to the hotel somebody asked for information and then a false policeman appeared showing a fake ID and asked for our papers. Then two more arrived and said that somebody had robbed a bank and it was a foreigner. Then they asked us o go with them to the Prefectura to check our status. We did not accept and asked to go to our hotel with them to call our embassies (Peru and Brazil). Then they said they were going to wait for us there but never showed up. Then the hotel clerk said to us that we were in risk of being kidnapped and the Police confirmed so, showing us the real IDs. We were latins and had no money, so they would not get to much from us. Probably for that reason they went away and did not use the force to kidnap us.

Carlos E.M.

...After that we went on to Bolivia and had planed to go to the salt desert in the south. Then things did not really go the way we wanted them to go, and we had an experience that challenged me like nothing has challenged me before, we were kidnapped.
We left the bus in La Paz and took a taxi that was standing behind the bus. A Brasilian tourist entered shotly afterwards, then a police officer that wanted to do a pass/drug control. We had to go to the office with him. There they searched our backpacks and found drugs with the brasilian guy. They kept us because we were with him. The next day they put us into another room, told us that their boss would arrive soon, who would then let us go since we had no drugs with us. However, after sitting in a dark room for 4 houres, with hand cuffs, legs tied together and big tape over our mouths we started to shout and make noises. It was just all to weired. Then they came, no Uniform but guns out and told us that they were not police officers, that this was not a police station, that they were terrorists and are going to keep us. After the first shock we started to talk to them, I did most of the talking because my spanish was better then E.'s. The kidnappers told us that they want money, that they need money. They promised that they would not do anything to us if we stayed calm, did not make noises, and did what they told us to do. They brought us food, we could go to the toilet, but then we just had to wait. Hours and hours of waiting and uncertainty. I was just happy that we were two, and that I had some Nia priciples at hand that gave me such a safety net, relaxed, alert and waiting. Moments that caused us to hold our breaths were when the door was opened and the kidnapper came to talk to us and give us food, however, we never exactly knew what was going to happen.

In the first night, the kidnapper showed us pictures of my family he had found in my backpack, and then showed us pictures of his family and started to cry. He told us that they were kidnapped and that he needed $10.000 to get them free. He chose to communicate with us on a quite human level, we responded to that and used it to our advantage when we were talking to him. He told us just as he does not want anything to happen to his family, and similarily he does not want to do anything to us because also we have family and are students.

After some days our credit cards were blocked and he could not get more money from the ATM, so he had to get the rest of the money to him differently. I said I can call my parents and ask my to send us money, so we did that. I knew I could do this with her, that she would stay calm and able to handle the situation, which proved to be sooo true! I called her from the kidnappers mobile, and then after some difficulties and organisational problems the money got to Bolivia some time later. The money arrived some hours later, it was morning in La Paz. The kidnapper had shown us our bus tickets back to Lima all ready, and we were ready to go, when a call from the german embassy in Bolivia came in. They were asking for me. The kidnapper was very nervous and angry, and I had to make some phonecalls after that. First my mom to ask her if she had passed on the number, and then the embassy to tell them that I was ok, that there was nothing to worry about and that a friend of mine had answered the phone and hung up by accident. I would say that this was one of the moments when I was afraid the most, because the situation was not clear, the kidnapper was veeery nervous and I did not know how he would react, what his next steps would be. Luckily he got scared and did not over react, he got us into a car and drove us to the bus station. He gave us 200 Bolivianos ($ 30), told us to get something to eat, not to talk to anyone and get straight on the bus. He said he had people in the stations looking we would not do anything, and that two of his people would go to Lima with us to make sure we would not go to the police along the way. He said once we got back to Lima we would get our luggage back, before he had only given us our pass ports, id cards, flight tickets, and travelers checks.

Well, we got on the bus, arrived in Lima 26 hours later, but no luggage came with us. We went to a hostel, got some glasses for E., telephone cards, medicine and tooth brushes. After that we called our parents, me to say that I was back, and E. to tell his parents about the kidnap, because they did not even know up to that point. What I did not know was that the german embassies in Germany and Peru were notified already, that the police in Germany had started to investigate and that drug teams from Bolivia were looking for us already. My parents had contacted the embassy in Germany and without being asked to do so, they had acted immediately and contacted the police. My parents were with police the same day. One team was investigating together with the BKA, and two officers especially trained fo these cases came to my parents. They said they would be there 24 hours if necessary, help them, answer questions, formulate questions my mom should ask me the next time I called... There was a lot going on at home, my sister got back early from a holiday, they all did the best they could and tried to stay positive. I cannot possibly imagine how difficult, terribly and terrifying this must have been for them. On the phone from Lima my mom gave my the number of the men from the BKA in Peru, who was with us 30 minutes later to find out what had happened. The next day two people from the german embassy took us to a different hotel in a safer part of Lima and had our first day in freedom!!! (they had kept us for 6 days) Just walking down the streets, being able to choose when to go where, choose what to have for dinner, this had a completely different quality ! This was FREEDOM ! ! !
After three more days in Lima we finally managed to get flight tickets back to our countries. ...I am ok, I took it very well and think I got over it. I went to see a trouma psychologist one week after I was back, and she said that she has the impression that I must have been so stable that I had gotten over it already. I always thought that I would be able to handle difficult situations, now I know, and I think this was one of the most difficult situations I will ever be in. While we were waiting, there were some main things. One, we were trying to distract each other, talked about our first school day and stuff like that. Two I thought about how it would be best to talk to the kidnapper and what to tell him. Three was waiting, thinking positive, and not giving up. I knew that there was absolutely nothing we could do apart from waiting. Thinking negative and worrying too much would have made the situation unbearable, so I directed my thought into the other direction. We had no influence on what was going to happen, it would have happened anyway. There were times when this worked very well, and others when it was more difficult. But my feeling told me that we would get out of there alive, and that he did not want to do anything to us, by looking at the way he trated us, by looking at the great food we got, and by talking to him quite a lot. During some conversations he even agreed to put his gun to the side, because we stayed calm and got him to trust us. My only ain was to stay calm, have him trust us, not scare him through anything we would do and gain his trust. It worked! And I am able to write this to you!
...To freedom!

A victim of kidnapping

Warning

We were just in Cochabamba in Bolivia, and upon arrival early in the morning, we got into a taxi. Another passenger (Bolivian) joined us, as he was apparently going the same way. We had only been driving for about 10 seconds when a policeman stopped us and demanded to see all our IDs. The taxi driver and the other passenger showed theirs after seeing the policeman's ID, and though we were a bit sceptical, we showed our passports. Then the policeman got into the taxi, said something about being a tourist police, checking passports etc in Spanish (we didn't get it all), and the taxi started driving. Fortunately we got a bad feeling, and opened the door while the taxi was still driving, and got out. Since there were people around, the taxi driver told us to stay calm and gave us our luggage. We suspected that this was no honest taxi driver, random passenger or a real policeman, and then we read that this was the exact same approached used to lure the two Austrian backpackers who have just been found killed near La Paz after being missing for months.

So, please, please be careful when taking taxis in Bolivia, and elsewhere.
n.n.

… I have just arrived back to my homeland of Australia. I spent the last half of last year in Sth America.

I got kidnapped in Cusco, Peru by a taxi. The taxi (the taxi driver was involved as well) stopped and men out of car following kidnapped us for 3 hours while they stripped our accounts. They had demanded our pin number of us first. They stole all our valuables. It happens in La Paz as well.

There have been a few cases of these express kidnappings. …

Marc

… ich war vor 3 wochen ebenfalls in bolivien und einem australier und mir ist genau das gleiche … passiert. Der vorfall (mit falschen polizisten etc.) ereignete sich am 21.3.06 in cochabamba ….

Monika m.

… 5 ½ years ago, on December 11th 2000, after many sickening hours of chickenbus-travel on the very exact route through Bolivia Katharina and Peter travelled, on the very same spot at the cemetario in La Paz, we were kidnapped in exact the described manner by 3 men, one of them equipped with false drug police identification in olive-green (Bolivian police-like) uniform, taking us into custody for alleged drug possession. Downright exactly to the detail as described did the incident take please.

Other than Katharina and Peter we fortunately were able to unlock and open the door of the car, grab our passports from the oppressors hands and jump the vehicle while running slow on an interjection in east La Paz. With the immediate help of approaching armed civilians we dragged ourselves to security and reported to the local police as well as special forces. Even though we jotted down the number of the false identification presented to us (including name and ID number), police did not feel like this was significant help in finding the already back then operating gang.

After sorting through hundreds of warrants of apprehensions we were finally dismissed with just a shrug and the hint to have been "faster and luckier than two others a month ago".

Following the incident, we immediately informed some of our long-time travelling friends as well as the leading German Guide author on Central America about what was then only marginally described in the respective Peru/Bolivia guides (e.g. Lonely Planet). Whereas we were aware of many such incidents in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia and Peru and even having sorted through various missing "warrants" on the Peru/Bolivia boarder upon entry in December 2000, we failed to carry the message further than necessary. Now, after what fatally has happened to many backpackers, Katharina and Peter among them, we feel a certain guilt of maybe not having helped to carry the message sufficiently. Not the experience of several years of travelling but only pure luck seemed to have saved our lives in 2000.

We would therefore like to contribute to securing others by sending out this warning as contribution to all of you out there in order to carry it to all the backpackers reachable by yourselves. We will also publish all information known to us about unsafe places travelled by us in Latin America, South America as well as Asia on Katharina and Peters webpage (http://www.katharinaandpeter.info) and would like to ask all of you to do likewise.

Travelling free - experiencing, seeing and understanding things most people will never be able to see should NEVER blind our views as to the vulnerability of this way of living and travelling.

Martina & René

On a recent trip to Bolivia , August 2005, my friend and I ran into a bit of trouble. We caught a taxi and a man in police uniform (and with police ID) entered our taxi claiming to be a special unit of the police doing a random check. We were taken to a building where we were handcuffed and held at gunpoint for 5 hours and were forced to give the PIN to our bank cards which they then withdrew money from. My advice is to never let anyone enter your taxi (including police officers), carry all luggage with you in the cabin (not in the boot). If anyone attempts to enter the taxi just get out and walk away.

n.n.

…. The report regarding the incidents in La Paz, and respectively from the time of the bus stop after the ride from Copacabana to La Paz read like a déjà vu to me. The year before last in Sept./Oct. Friends and I were in South America (Argentina and Bolivia). We visited friends and in Bolivia we also wanted to explore a little bit of the country. Everything was good and beautiful, apart from the altitude sickness, which started already in La Paz before we drove to the Titicaca Lake. Then the robbery happened as we arrived back in La Paz.

Exactly the same modus operandi, exactly the same bus station…Why on earth – thank God – we were only robbed of our whole cash, and then we were kicked out of the Taxi with all our stuff. We live and we still have all our credit cards, however the ‘Drug control policeman’ first took away our credit cards and wanted to know our secret PIN-codes. My friend told him a number but was so shocked that he did not know himself if it was the right number. I even carried old, expired credit cards in a special-purse and my other really important things I carried on my body. Anyhow, hours later at the airport we checked our entire luggage again and again, since we could not believe that they only stole around € 50.

We thought that they might have stuffed heroin in our luggage since we flew from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz, and we were angst-ridden that they hide something in our luggage. Since we found nothing we calmed down. We also fought hard and long if we should report it to the police, decided however to see and forget it as bagatelle. I have to say, that physically I still felt terrible, I already suffered from diarrhoea for a week and practically lived on the toilet – but once we were back in Cochabamba I felt immediately better (lower altitude). NOW I really regret that I did not report the crime, maybe than Peter and Katharina might have not died, because the police might have been further in their investigations!! I am terrible sorry!!!

I also have to say that Bolivia is a beautiful country with many nice people and I also would like to go back one day, however I would prefer not to go back to La Paz, simply because I only had negative experiences (my sickness and the robbery) – besides there is simply to much tourism and naturally the poor people are lured into taking a piece of the cake. I don’t want to make excuses, but these were my deepest impressions from this city with huge differences.

Gabriele S.

… Ich sende Ihnen meinen email-Bericht! Vielleicht können Sie etwas damit anfangen!

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 29.03.2004

Also, liebe Leute! Heute war ein Tag, so einen habe ich noch nie erlebt! Ich wurde so richtig beklaut, und wenn ich sage so richtig, dann so, dass heute fuer die Diebe wohl Weihnachten und Ostern zusammengefallen ist!

Also, von vorne:

Ich bin gestern abend in Santa Cruz angekommen und eigentlich gefiel es mir auch ganz gut, denn irgendwie ist die Atmosphaere europaeischer als hochoben im Altiplano! Die Leute sehen hier auch anders aus, die Frauen sind wirklich nicht die haesslichsten!;) Es ist sehr heiss hier, allerdings laesst der starke Wind das ganze einigermassen angenehm erscheinen! Die Stadt erscheint wie ein riesiges Dorf! Hat wohl heute knapp 1,5 Mio. Einwohner und ist in den letzten 20 bis 30 Jahren weit in die Flaeche gewachsen!

Heut morgen habe ich, weil ich kaum noch fluessig war, zwei Traveller Checks (zu je 100 Dollar) eingeloest! Warum gleich zwei? - Einen brauchte ich, um die Herberge fuer die kommenden drei Wochen zu bezahlen! Das wollte ich morgen vormittag machen!

Nun musste ich heute Vormittag aber zur Migration, um in meinem Pass eine Verlaengerung auf 90 Tage zu veranlassen (momentan sind es nur 30!). Die Migration ist ziemlich weit draussen und ich hatte keine Ahnung, welche Busnummer ich nehmen sollte, weil es ja Hunderte verschiedene Busse gibt und ich nicht sonst wo rauskommen will! Also bin ich gelaufen! Und wie ich so schnellen Schrittes an der Hauptstrasse entlang ging, merkte ich, dass ein kleiner, etwa ein halber Meter kuerzerer Typ die ganze Zeit in meinem zügigen Tempo mitging! Ziemlich ungewoehnlich! In jenem Moment hatte ich schon so meine Zweifel, ob das mit rechten Dingen zuging! Dann kamen wir an eine kleine Kreuzung und liefen auf einen relativ großen, dicken, mittelalten Mann auf! Der wollte unsere Ausweise sehen. Mein ungewoehnlicher Begleiter sollte Paraguayer sein und der Tat doch alles ganz ohne Beanstandungen! Ich sagte, er sollte mir seinen Polizeiausweis zeigen, den er mir dann prompt unter die Nase hielt. Nur kann ich als Laie kein Original von einer Faelschung unterscheiden. Außerdem wollte er wissen, in welchem Hotel ich untergebracht bin, rief dort an und tat so, als wuerde er seinen Job ernst nehmen! Nun, so zeigte ich ihm dann meinen Reisepass und entgegnete ihm, dass ich nun aber gleich weiter zur Migration muesste! Damit war der „Dicke" jedoch nicht einverstanden. Er antwortete mir, dass er uns beide fuer fuenf Minuten zum Revier nehmen muesste, um die Daten zu ueberpruefen! Auf einmal kam ein Taxi aus der Seitengasse gefahren! Der Paraguayer stieg auch gleich hinten ein! Ich wollte meinen Ausweis zurueck – ich kam mir mittlerweile vor, wie in einem schlechten Film. Der angebliche Polizist sass mittlerweile auf dem Beifahrersitz und sagte mir, ich solle doch endlich einsteigen! Als Auslaender sich ohne Ausweis in Bolivien aufhalten, koennte erhebliche Probleme verursachen und so stieg ich dann doch hinten ein! Kaum hatte ich mich gesetzt, da kam der „Dicke" nach hinten und nun war ich in der Mitte der Rueckbank eingekesselt!

Wir fuhren los und die beiden spielten ihr Spiel weiter! Der „Paraguayer" liess sich vom "Polizisten" die Tasche inspizieren, der auch noch ganz verdrossen an seinem Rucksack roch! Dann fragte er ihn, wieviel Geld er mithabe und ging zum Zaehlen der Dollarscheine ueber. Dann kam ich an die Reihe! Er nahm meine Tasche, durchsuchte sie und spielte an meiner Kamera rum. Ich sagte, die waere nichts wert! Dann wollte er mein Geld sehen! Ich sollte ihm alles zeigen! Ich hatte es ja vorher in zwei verschiedene Geldbeutel getan, aber er verwies deutlich darauf, mir alles zu zeigen, weil es sonst auf dem Revier ganz sicher Probleme gaebe! Ich kam mir so eingeschlossen vor, war nervlich total am Ende und wollte die Situation so schnell wie moeglich hinter mir haben! Ich war so dumm, dass ich ihm all mein Geld gezeigt habe! Er zaehlte (es war nicht wenig) und tat so, als wuerde er es wieder in meinen Geldbeutel tun und entgegnete mir, ich koennte jetzt doch mit meinem bolivianischem Geld aussteigen, der „Paraguayer" muesse noch mit aufs Revier, weil der auslaendisches Geld besitzt und somit verdaechtigt sei, mit Drogen zu handeln...

Ich war unendlich froh, als ich endlich draussen war! Ich schaute aber sofort nach meinem Geldbeutel und ich ahnte, was geschehen war, all mein Geld war tatsaechlich weg! Umgerechnet 200 Euro einfach ueber den Jordan! Verdammt! Ich stand inmitten eines Wohnviertels, hatte meine Orientierung verloren und war komplett blank! Dann kam ich irgendwann an eine Hauptstrasse und nach einigen Bloecken erreichte ich die Migration, wo man mir sagte, dass ich morgen wieder kommen soll, weil solche Aufgaben heute nicht mehr bearbeitet werden! Das sollte wohl einfach nicht mein Tag sein! Ich haette echt heulen koennen! Gestern waere ich nur 200 Bolivianos losgeworden, heute und nur heute hatte ich mehr als 2.000 Bolivianos dabei! Als Vergleich: ein durchschnittlicher Bolivianer verdient pro Tag nur 30 Bolivianos! Einfach zu dumm!

Nun habe ich natuerlich ziemlich Angst, erneut auf derartige Personen zu treffen! Immerhin bin ich noch ueber drei Wochen hier und werde wegen meiner Datensuche die Stadt auf- und ablaufen! Aber beim naechsten Mal werde ich rechtzeitig davonlaufen... Hoffentlich..

Alexander K.

… Ich bin besonders geschockt, weil ich im Dezember 2005 aus meiner halbjaehrigen Reise aus Peru wiedergekommen bin. Im Oktober 2005 bin ich aber mit einer Freundin (Italienerin) nach La Paz gefahren zwecks Visumerneuerrung. Weil ich frueher wieder nach Cuzco zurück wollte bin ich nach einer Woche alleine (was mir im Nachhinein schockt) zurück nach Cuzco gefahren und meine Freundin wollte weiter nach Copacabana und andere Städte.

… ich habe aus Cuzco von ihrem peruanischem Mann gehört, dass sie von 2 falschen! Bolivianischen Polizisten angehalten wurde, wegen einer Drogenkontrolle. Meine Freundin kann perfekt spanisch und ist sehr powervoll und nicht sehr feminin gekleidet (was ja manche Männer anlocken könnte). 2 Männer sprachen sie an, sie solle doch mal bitte mitkommen. Sie meinte sie könnte mit den (gefälschten) Polizeiausweisen der "Polizisten" nichts

anfangen und sie sollten doch bitte einen Streifenwagen und weitere Polizisten holen, damit sie sicher gehen könnte, dass es sich um echte Polizisten handelt...

Der Mann rief einen Kollegen an, der aber auch so seltsam war (beide waren gross und muskolös) und zeigte auch nur irgendein unleserliches Papier vor. Plötzlich hatte sie eine Pistole im Rücken und sie musste sie mit in ihre Jugendherberge nehmen um ihre EC-Karte zu holen. Am Empfang behauptete sie, die beiden Männer seien Freunde von ihr. In ihrem Zimmer wollten sie ihre Karte haben und den Pinn. Sie gab ihre Pinnnummer an, und kurz darauf telefonierte der eine wild herum um die Richtigkeit des Pins zu überprüfen (da war wohl jemand, der das sofort am Rechner alles gecheckt hatte). Anschliessend (Gott sei Dank haben sie ihr nichts getan!!!) musste sie noch mit auf ihre vermeindliche Polizeistation (ein schäbiges kleines Zimmer mit einer Tischlampe und falschen Polizeiartikeln) und ihr wurde gesagt, dass sie sich gut verhalten hätte und alles seine Richtigkeit hatte. Dann durfte sie gehen.

Sie hatte nur noch sehr wenig Geld und musste sofort zurück nach Cuzco, von wo sie ihre Karte sofort sperren lassen musste. Die "Polizisten" hatten nur 400$ abgehoben (naja nur)...aber ihr geht es gut....aber was da alles hätte noch passieren können.

Ich wusste auch nicht, dass dort so viel passieren kann. Es gibt noch viele weitere Geschichten. von "Polizisten" die einem Freund von mir Ecstasy Pillen vor die Füße warfen und meinten es seien seine(korrupt!!!) und er müsste jetzt sofort 100$ zahlen...hat er auch getan, wer weiß, was die sonst noch getan hätten. …

Johanna H.

….. During my stay in Colombia I have been given "Burundanga " tablets (they contain scopolamine or something similar) to drug me and rob everything I had. While I was in a in coma in hospital, the criminals spent about 6000 $ on my Visa card. This is also why there should be limits to purchases within realistic situations. Since no backpacker thinks it will happen to him/her, banks should require - in order to scare them - higher amounts in order to issue cards and must give its authorisation on very high amounts/withdrawals, which in fact would correspond with the risk (and, at the time of receiving, banks are fast). That way, only those who really need it would ask for high amounts. By the way, my travellers cheques, were also cashed in, even three months after I cancelled them . At first Amex refused to refund me, since - according to them -I had cashed them in in a bank in Bogota (Colombia) with my ID. The bank even showed me a copy of my passport - robbed - saying that I must have been there to carry out the transaction. But, on the same day in Bogota that another cheque had been cashed, I had also cashed in, in Quito (Ecuador), two cheques I had just bought, and as I couldn't have been in the two places at once, in the end Amex gave in. This means, that even the banks work with the criminals. I am tall, very European in appearance and I doubt that anyone else can pull themselves off as me using my passport and original photo except me. This means that the bank employee (?) must have lied and thought he could get away with it. If it were a murder case they probably would have squeezed him for information, but in my case nothing happened. In the hospital in Colombia, when saying farewell, they even gave me an old pair of trainers (I had been robbed of everything) and the nurses and doctors apologized on behalf of Colombia for what had happened to me. There are really some very nice people there. I really hope that Morales in Boliva can fight against corruption and be successful in everything else.And for you I hope that in your flight your children will not have died in vain-it's so serious for something similar to have happened.

Henning P.

…. Mit dem Urlaub in Südamerika im letzten Jahr (Ende Sept. bis Ende November 05), wollte ich zusammen mit einem Freund das vergangene Jahr 2005 verarbeiten, …

Wir sind in Lima gelandet und flogen von Santiago de Chile zurück. Die Reiseroute führte und natürlich auch durch Bolivien. in Cochabamba ist uns dann genau dasselbe passiert, wie Sie auf ihrer Homepage schildern.

Es war ein So. Mittag und sehr warm. Wir hatten schon die Tickets zur Weiterfahrt nach Sucre gebucht. Die Zeit bis zur Abfahrt wollten wir damit verbringen, uns die übergroße Jesusstatue anzuschauen. Als wir dort angekommen waren, diskutierten wir, ob wir lieber die Seilbahn nehmen oder hochlaufen sollten. Wir einigten uns, hoch zu fahren und runter zu laufen.

Dann wurden wir von einem argentinischen Tourist angesprochen, der den Eingang zur Seilbahn suchte. Wir zeigten ihm den Weg. Es hielt ein Taxi und der Taxifahrer gab vor, nicht viel Arbeit zu haben an einem So. und bot uns eine billige Fahrt nach oben an. Wir nahmen an und schon da kam es mir komisch vor, dass der Taxifahrer nicht zuließ, dass mein Kumpel vorne auf dem Beifahrersitz platz nahm. Nun sassen wir also zu dritt hinten und geschah, was geschehen musste:

Der Taxifahrer nahm nicht den direkten Weg nach oben zur Statue, sondern machte einen Umweg. Irgendwo stieg dann vorne jemand zu, der uns seinen Polizeiausweiss zeigte und nach drogen suchte. Er fing beim arg. Touristen an, um uns in Sicherheit zu wiegen. Dann wurden wir gefilzt und während er uns ablenkte, mit immer neuen Fragen, raubte er uns aus (was wir bis dahin noch nicht wussten).

Richtig misstrauisch wurden wir, als uns der Polizist nach unseren PINs der Kreditkarten fragte. Wir gaben vor sie nicht zu kennen und nie damit Geld zu holen, sondern nur mit den Reisechecks und bestanden darauf zu einem Polizeirevier gebracht zu werden. Anscheinend gingen der "Polizist" darauf ein. Irgendwann gab er vor, wir wären nun am Revier angelangt und gab uns unsere Tagesrucksäcke zurück. Ich war so froh, endlich aus dem engen Taxi austeigen zu dürfen, dass ich nicht in meinen Rucksack schaute ob noch alles da war, sondern lediglich nach meinem Paß schauten. Kaum waren wir aus dem Taxi ausgestiegen, gab der Fahrer Gas und sie waren weg. Ich konnte mir zwar noch das Kennzeichen merken, aber das hat am Schuß auch nicht geholfen.

Schaden für uns beide zusammen: knapp 600 Euro.

Wir haben noch lange diskutiert, was wir falsch gemacht haben und sind zum Schluß gekommen, dass wir einfach nur Glück hatten. Es wäre ein leichtes gewesen uns einfach irgendwo hin zu fahren und uns dort komplett auszurauben. Wer weiss schon, was für Waffen der falsche argentinische Tourist in seiner Tasche hatte.

…. Die Regierungen der Südamerikanischen Länder sind alle auf den Tourismus angewiesen, wenn diese Geschichten größere Kreise ziehen, hat das fatale Folgen für den Tourismus in diesen Ländern. Wenn Sie weitermachen, finden Sie bestimmt bald Gehör….

Stephan F.

… Vor, während und auch nach unserer Reise um die Welt, die über 13 Monate dauerte, ist uns nicht bewußt gewesen, wie groß die Gefahr in Südamerika doch ist, Opfer eines Raubüberfalls zu werden, obwohl Thomas schon am ersten Tag in La Paz, Bolivien beinahe selbst in eine dieser Fallen getappt wäre.

Der Vorfall ereignete sich in den Abendstunden auf eine der großen Hauptverkehrsstraßen im Stadtzentrum von La Paz. Ich lag mit Höhenkrankheit im Bett. Wir brauchten Geld, da wir früh am nächsten Morgen mit einem extra gemieteten Minibus mit anderen Reisenden nach Coroico fahren wollten, um der Höhe zu entfliehen. Thomas zog einen größeren Geldbetrag an einem Automaten mitten auf einer belebten Straße. Drei Ecken weiter - schon ein ganzes Stück entfernt vom Automaten - bemerkte er plötzlich wie ein klein gewachsener Bolivianer unbedingt mit seinen langen schnellen Schritten Schritt halten wollte. Plötzlich tauchten um ihn herum immer mehr Leute auf, die den Weg versperrten. Der Strahl einer Wasserpistole traf ihn mitten ins Gesicht. Im letzten Moment gelang es Thomas auf Grund seines schnellen Reaktionsvermögens durch eine kleine seitliche Lücke zu hüpfen und ein paar Häuser weiter in ein Internetcafe zu verschwinden. Er ist sich bis heute sicher, dass er beim Geld abheben beobachtet wurde und die Leute an sein Geld wollten. Auch die belebte Umgebung hat die Räuber nicht davon abgehalten ihr Glück zu versuchen. Einzig alleine Thomas Wachsamkeit und sein schnelles Reaktionsvermögen … hat ihn vor Schlimmeren bewahrt.

Trotz dieses Erlebnisses, dass wir schon fast vergessen hatten, haben wir uns nie wirklich unsicher in Südamerika gefühlt und die Schauergeschichten, die uns schon vor der Abreise in Deutschland erzählt worden waren, als westliche Panikmache abgetan. Auch haben Reisende, die wir unterwegs trafen nie von irgendwelchen Überfällen berichtet und wenn dann doch nur von kleinen Diebstählen.

… Wir haben übrigens auf unserer Reise so gehalten, dass uns monatlich ein maximaler Betrag von 600,00 Euro von einer Vertrauensperson von Zuhause aus auf unser Girokonto überwiesen wurde. Ich hatte leider leichtsinniger Weise noch einen Dispokredit in Höhe von 3.200,00 Euro zur Verfügung. Thomas hat sich aus Sicherheitsgründen gar keinen für sein Konto geben lassen.

Thomas und Nadja

es passiert oft, dass Touristen von Copacabana kommend im "Cementerio" genannten Stadtteil von La Paz in Taxis einsteigen, deren Fahrer mit Banditen zusammenarbeiten. Dafür bieten sie die Fahrt ins Stadtzentrum zum halben Preis an. Anstatt ein Euro kostet die Reise einen halben Euro, geht aber direkt in die Hände der Banditen. In einem Land wie Bolivien, wo von 20 Neugeborenen eines kein Jahr alt wird, und man mit ehrlicher Arbeit zu nichts kommt ausser zum Mittagessen, ist es nichts als logisch, dass jeder um einen Zusatzverdienst bemüht ist. Wenn jemand glaubt, dass sich die Polizei nicht mit den Banditen trifft und sich mit denen die Beute aufteilt, sollte nach La Paz kommen und zusehen wenn sich die vom 110 (Polizei mit Fahrzeugen)und die Banditen tagsüber in der Öffentlichkeit begrüssen. Ich habe mit eigenen Augen gesehen, dass sich diese beiden Parteien ergänzen.

Es wäre der erste tragische Zwischenfall dieser Art in La Paz seit Jahren. Das Problem wird sein, dass es sehr rasch viele Nachahmer geben wird. ….

Ich denke nicht, dass die neue Regierung für mehr Ordnung sorgen kann, da dies ein Prozess ist, der über Generationen dauert. So ist bestens eine Trendwende möglich. In einem einzigen Jahr hat die Kriminalität, welche die Touristen betrifft, in dieser Stadt um mehr als 200% zugenommen. Es wurden aber noch nie Schusswaffen eingesetzt.

Momentan sehe ich als einzige Schutzmassnahme eine bessere Information der Touristen an. Die mehr als 30'000 Polizisten in diesem Land können in ihrer Denkart nicht geändert werden. In Peru hat die Polizei sogar ihre Dienstwaffen den Banditen ausgeliehen, damit die damit für sie Kohle machen.

Wenn ich eine genaue Beschreibung von den Kleidern der Opfer hätte -besonders der Jacken- wäre es möglich eines Tages zufällig auf die Täter zu stossen. Die Banditen kleiden sich mit den geklauten Sachen, damit sie nicht so direkt den Touristen auffallen. Da ich lange genug hier bin, weiss ich aber, dass nur Banditen Markenkleider haben.
n.n.

… Auch ich reiste vergangenes jahr mit meinem freund durch südamerika. Unter anderem waren wir in bolivien. in santa cruz ist uns fast die selbe geschichte passiert, nur das wir unheimliches glück hatten. ich war zwar schon damals unheimlich froh, über den glimpflichen ausgang; doch wird mir erst heute richtig bewusst, wie es auch hätte ausgehen können.....

auch bei uns gab es einen "pseudo-tourist aus ecuador, der uns schon vorher ansprach. nachdem wir eine weile mit ihm gesprochen hatten. kam der "polizist", der uns kontrolierte und uns zur überprüfung unserer angeblich gefälschten ausweise, aufs revier mitnehmen wollte. er hielt ein wahrscheinlich vorher bekanntes taxi an und schon waren wir mittendrin. unser verhalten war sehr leichtsinnig. wir haben einen großen teil zu diesem leichten spiel beigetragen, denn wir stiegen quasi "freiwillig" ins taxi. katharina und peter haben keinen fehler gemacht, sie mussten trotzdem mit dem leben bezahlen..... im taxi wechselte die situation schnell zu einer drogendurchsuchung. der polizist steckte seine nase buchstäblich in all unsere sachen, um kokain zu finden. all das war schon sehr merkwürdig. als er dann die pinnnummern zu unseren konten haben wollte, um zu überprüfen, ob wir größere geldsummen für evtl drogengeschäfte verbraucht hätten. der "andere tourist" gab bereitwillig seine pin, wahrscheinlich um auch uns zum handeln zu bewegen. wir haben uns geweigert, verlangt zur polizeistation zu fahren. irgendwann fing ich an zu weinen und auf einemal ließen sie uns aussteigen. nach kurzer bilanz stellten wir fest, dass unser photoapparat fehlte. sicherheitshalberließen wir unsere konten sperren.

anscheinend war unser polizeiteam noch nicht so abgebrüht. Wahrschienlich merkten sie, dass ohne gewalt nichts aus uns herauszubekommen war und wahrscheinlich nahmen sie daher vorlieb mit der kamera.

ich kann ihnen nicht sagen, wie glücklich ich bin dies hier noch schreiben zu können. vor allem, wie tief erschüttert ich bin; dass dies menschen, genau wie ich und mein freund, nicht mehr können.

n.n.

…The crime rate in Rio is also very high. Probably even higher than anywhere in South America. Death is my constant companion. Only yesterday 2 people were killed in a taxi, in the middle of the day, in the middle of Copacabana. Doors were opened, two shots and gone. Nobody knows why
If one was raised in Vienna like me than it is not easy to come across such things. Sometimes ones values change which we have learned from our parents and society.
The tricks with drugs are also omnipresent, although the tricks are on a different level. For example, you buy a bracelet on the beach and 2 minutes later the police (the real police) conduct a drug control. Naturally they find something, because the seller had put something in the plastic bag and gave the police a sign.
Then, one has to pay about € 5000,- otherwise one ends up in prison. Since no one wants to end up in a Brazilian prison (not even for an hour), the sum usually is quickly organised. € 1000,- goes to the seller, the rest takes the corrupt police.
I have not experienced this myself, because I have Brazilian friends who warned me, but if one looks around the beaches of Ipanema or Copacabana, you can follow it easily.
When I look at the pictures on the webpage of your dead children my heart is crying and I feel deepest sympathy. Unfortunately, we can only steer our destiny a little bit and exactly that little bit (world journey) proved to be your children’s fate. …..

Mario

…. I am also backpacking in Latin America, and I have been in Bolivia for the last 2 weeks. I arrived the day before yesterday. I started to search for a hostel in the region around Plaza San Francisco (Tourist accommodation), when I was all of a sudden strangled from behind until I was unconscious by 3 guys. When I gained consciousness I lay on the street by myself. The Swiss Embassy helped me to close my credit card account. However, I also heard that this kind of incident happens on a daily basis. This simplification of violence is terrible. …..

Simone D.

… Regardless of all precautions that we took we have been robbed during a South America trip in 2003 by „banditos" and held captive for two hours in the jungle. We had only cash with us.
The police was no help at all – certainly an additional reason why crimes can be committed so easily! We have been treated correctly by the banditos – if one can say so at all – and came back to germany unharmed, thank god. In germany we were restless and tried everything to make this incident public. We received a lot of threatening mail from travel agencies in Ecuador, we would try to harm the country and only talk bad about it and ruin their business.
In the meantime I have to go to South America quite often because of my job – I´m always cautious, but still – we also were cautious back then!
…

M.B.

The bus station in Cochabama is a scary place - within 12 hours I've had 3 attempted robberies, one successful. The first was the classic 2 man pickpocket scenario where one guy distracted me getting off a bus, while his mate got my wallet out of my pocket. Fortunately with not much in it. The second was 15 minutes later leaving the station to look for a hostel. A guy came up to me, dressed like a policeman, with police ID. He told me that it was dangerous to be there on my own, and to follow him. I ran away, but the hostel owner told me that he would have taken me to an alley and demanded my passport/money. The third incident was walking down a main street, when a guy coming the other way "found" a wallet lying on the street. It was stuffed full of cash, and the guy told me that he'd share it with me, if I followed him down a nearby road. If I hadn't legged it I think I would have found myself without my money/passport. Please warn your readers to be very careful near Cochabama bus station. The problem is worse because a lot of buses (e.g. from Sucre) only arrive in the early hours of the morning. Be Careful!

Several people I met in Bolivia were robbed as soon as they arrived in La Paz off the bus from Copacabana. There are several scams going on. One of the women robbed got off the bus and straight into a taxi. Instead of being taken to her hotel a man got in the taxi claiming to be from 'the immigration police'. He searched her bags and stole her camera without her seeing, then demanded her credit card and pin number. She was then dumped at the edge of the city.

….I am 26 years old and in summer 2004 I also travelled in Bolivia for two months. I also have a bit of knowledge concerning the situation there, luckily I got off lightly. It happened on the 15.08 in Cochabamba, as an allegedly Ecuadorian refugee asked me if I could give him some money for food, since he is illegal in the country etc. At precisely the same moment a plainclothes policeman arrived, and he conducted an ID check up. Once he saw that my conversational partner did not carry any ID with him, he ordered a taxi to take us both with him…

However, only a short while before this I met a German guy, who was attacked with the same method (he entered the taxi, and was abandoned in a remote corner – without credit cards etc.), and therefore I knew what was going on. I started to yell for help, I firmly refused to get into the taxi, and made a lot of noise. I was so loud, that the ‘refugee’ reassuringly tapped me on my shoulder. Since I train martial arts for the last 5 years, I took this as motive to knock him down with a throw – most certainly I broke his arm with this move. How it turned out this way – I don’t remember; it was a reflex. As a result of this, and the fact that through my screaming other people took notice, the two escaped with a vehicle.
Two hours later I was still trembling. It must have been one gang of many, in any case those people were relatively young, and they tried their luck with me. In hindsight, I would never react like this again, this I swore to myself und I would also not fight back, because I am convinced that I was only lucky. Most probably they happened to be young and inexperienced robbers….If I had not met the German tourist beforehand, I would have also been robbed, but that way I was warned in advance.

Alexander S.

… Often one does not realise, that those trips are not as safe as one would like to think, and that the concerns and worries of the one’s left at home are not without reason or that their view does not simply reflect the ‘blurred picture presented by the media’.
Often I have sent similar emails to my parents, my brother and my friends, just like you received them until the end: everything is still alright, the picture we have in Europe is entirely exaggerated, and no danger is apparent, if one only remains reasonable; the natives are in principal nice, and only a bit of money, camera or other exchangeable values have been lost (and that mostly, because we have left stuff somewhere).
Then one day in Peru, my girlfriend and I were robbed in a rather violent manner; she was pushed against a house wall with her head, until today agonising pictures. I have heard of many similar incidents in Peru, it seems that it is similar in Bolivia.
2 years later I was sick with malaria and high fever for a week in east Africa, and was not sure if this would have a happy ending. I mention this, because while travelling one never really realises through what kind of worries the loved ones left behind have to go through if an alarming email arrives, or if one does not get in touch as frequently as usual…

Roman H.

… My partner and I were in Bolivia and Peru in autumn 2004. We also travelled to the Isla de al Sol, we also drove with the bus to La Paz, and we also got off at the old cemetery and took a taxi into the city. We would also not have had the slightest chance against these organised crimes.

On our last but one day of our journey we were at midday on the main road, which leads through La Paz, attacked by a group of around 7 people – one woman, several men and children. We screamed loudly and ran away, so that we escaped them. I travel with my backpack around the world since my 17. Birthday. Such a violent act – which luckily was not successful for the robbers – I have never experienced before.

Frauke U.

… I received your cry for help via email from my sister and immediately forwarded it to further 300 people, among them many backpackers and South Americans.
Three years ago I also backpacked through Bolivia, that’s why I could really imagine myself in their situation. As a matter of fact, I also travelled with the same bus from Copacabana to La Paz, and probably disembarked at the same cemetery.
Thank god I was lucky enough that nothing happened to me, however one of my roommates from the hostel in Potosi was also abducted with the same trick, beaten and robbed. Eventually he could flee, with a laceration on his head.
…

Manuel Z.

Two years ago I was also in Bolivia…we also travelled through Copacabana….barely 3 hours in the country, and we were already held in a taxi against our will…the men used false ID’s…national police…they wanted our credit cards badly…they were 3 men.
We escaped with $ 20 loss…
It seems we were extremely lucky at that time… The pattern seems to be similar in this case. …

Matthias S.

… and I am also perplexed and angry that the situation in Bolivia has not improved since the last 4 years, actually it seems to have worsened. I was for half a year also in Bolivia during which I was working in Cochabamba in an orphanage, there I was confronted with burglaries on several occasions. Very much in the same manner as your children had to endure. However, it happened at the bus station in Cochabamba, where I was approached by a foreign (strange) taxi driver. Since I had 2 big backpacks with me I accepted his offer, however after only a few meters driving I realised my mistake as another ‘tourist’ joined us. She was approximately in her early 30s, had middle length, blond coloured hair and was for a native born Bolivian a bit too ‘light-skinned’. A short while later, a ‘police man’ (early 40s, short hair, dark-skinned) joined us in the taxi and allegedly had to check us in case of drug smuggling and cheque fraud. He asked the women next to me to search me; on this occasion she seemed to have stolen 5 dollars from me. The rest of my valuable things I had tucked away in a secret compartment in my backpack. Asked if I had more cash or a credit card on me, I negated. Fortunately, they let me out in a dark side street, and also threw my backpack on the street. The taxi was dark grey with green stripes and had no ‘radio taxi number’ displayed, which you can normally find on the legal taxis in Bolivia. I am not a hundred percent sure if I might have seen the female ‘tourist’ again on a trip to Potosi approximately 2 weeks later.I wish you courage and strength in processing this tragic event.

Nicole O.

… Exactly 8 weeks before this happened to the two we arrived at the same bus stop. We were pressed by a taxi driver, who wanted to bring us to our hotel. We were distrusful and did not take the ride. Who knows what would have happened otherwise… Actually, 3 weeks previously we were robbed on the second day of our journey in Buenos Aires. …

Anja & Frank

… I myself travelled in South America as well as in Bolivia. I immediately forwarded the link from your web-page to all my friends and also to natives in Bolivia and Peru, in the hope that this might help.
In May 2005 something similar happened to me and my friend, and that’s why time and again I feel a cold shudder run down my spine. … We did also not know about this kind of scam, even though it is quite well known, as we discovered at the ‘tourist’ police station. In a few travel guides you can find information on these scams, however not in all of them. Even a few local travel agencies give advice regarding well known scams – however, not everyone has the chance to get this information in advance before something happens. This must be changed, because then many travellers could have reacted differently.
Tanja K.

… since in 2004 (Bolivia, Cochabamba) I was blackmailed with exactly the same scheme, in a taxi with 2 false policemen, however I heard of this scam before and immediately realised that it was a trick. ….

Gerhard N.