Colombians Living Under Siege

NPR | By Martin Kaste

Published August 11, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT

The citizens of Valledupar, Colombia, live two hours from beautiful mountains, Caribbean beaches and clear-water rivers. But it's a huge risk to visit any of these places. In fact, it's dangerous to go more than five minutes in any direction. If you don't run into the paramilitaries, you'll run into the guerillas. And if they think there's any chance you or your family have money (or if you're American or work for the government), they'll kidnap you. So people in this hot, dusty town have become used to staying home, watching TV and generally being cooped up. NPR's Martin Kaste brings us a portrait of life under siege.

Martin Kaste

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