Colombia, not so bloody anymore

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Even though there was a comeback by FARC in 2009, that year was the least violent one Colombia has had in around 25 years.

Colombia's homicide rate (homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) and the number of kidnappings declined in 2009, demonstrating that President Uribe's policy of Democratic Security is still producing good results. In contrast, Socialist Venezuela's murder rate and number of kidnappings double (and now, possibly triple) those of Colombia.

Although there were some increases in violence in Colombia's largest cities (Bogota, Cali, and the situation is specially worrisome in Medellin), overall, the country is a much safer place than it was at the beginning of last decade.

For 2010, the mayors of Colombia's main cities need to improve their police forces in order to reduce levels of violence there. If they are successful, 2010 could set a new record for low levels of violence in modern Colombia. That would be a good start for this new decade.