Comments by "VisibilityFoggy" (@VisibilityFoggy) on "Colombia's Failing Peace Deal & Migrant Clinics: VICE News Tonight Full Episode" video.

Because she's not a straight white male, which makes what she says much more valuable to the good liberal reporters at ol' racist-sexist identity-politics-obsessed Vice.
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@juanprietob - I was there for work (digital media) as well as having been there as a tourist. I understand there are "bad" parts of the city, but the statistical crime rates are actually lower than quite a few American cities. I was stunned at what's happening in Spain right now when I was there recently. Lots of shady characters walking around, eyeing you, seeing if you're a mark. I never got that vibe in Medellin, regardless of the neighborhood. Obviously I didn't grow up there, but I've gotten to know the city pretty well from spending time there. I've always found it to be a reasonably safe place.
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@juanprietob - When was the last time you were in Barcelona and when was the last time you were in Medellin? I've been in both within the last eight months. And yes, Barcelona's crime is absolutely out of control. Walking anywhere near Las Ramblas at night is going to get you robbed or assaulted. I never feel that way in Medellin. I'm sure if I looked for trouble I could find it, but that's anywhere.
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Well, when you kill and take up arms against people, the deal they offer you once you're beaten is generally not going to be in your favor. But with that said, this was an amazing deal for the likes of the FARC. Colombia could have gone and just shredded every last one of these rebels with Super Tucano counterinsurgency planes, but instead they recognized them and even gave them seats in the legislature. The government absolutely should have spent some money on social programs (perhaps the U.S. could've nudged Nike, or something, to open a facility down there) but some people will never be satisfied. The ELN have been hanging around in the jungle since the mid-1960s and have never accomplished anything. They're actually a pretty pathetic group.
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Well, if nothing else, we learned that recruit training for the ELN involves barbecues, TV time and Wifi. There are probably guys at Parris Island right now wishing they had it that good.
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The DNC was probably more interested in the ELN segment, given the left's penchant for violence.
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@juanprietob - No, the previous government hastily hatched the deal so the former president could win a big prize. But the OP is correct... Colombia is generally pretty safe. I've felt much more uncomfortable in some European cities (Barcelona, for instance) than Medellin or Cartagena.
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@juanprietob - I've been in the comunas too, and they've really improved them with the escalators and civic facilities they've built there. Would I go walking around in the middle of the night in the comunas as a non-local? No, of course not – at least not yet – but having been to both of these cities in a relatively short span of time, I would say "no dar papaya" applies more in Barcelona than Medellin, even outside of El Poblado and similar areas.
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@TheDivinity29 - Be careful what you wish for. If the U.S. stops spending money on its military, plenty of countries will have to pony up to fill in the gap.
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@mugnuz - It's not, but Europeans don't seem to be able to face reality. They riot in the streets every time tax increases are proposed to deliver the social services they demand. If they had to pay for their own defense, there is no way the European welfare state, which is already failing one country at a time, can remain as it current stands.
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@liamhennessey2735 - Some people in this thread are confused. The guys in the video are ELN, not FARC. The FARC was assembled more like the IRA – a paramilitary group using arms to obtain political goals and recognition. The ELN has never had centralized leadership and is, at its core, just a group of dissatisfied thugs who engage in criminal activity, tacitly supported by Maduro. I would be surprised if many of its members even knew who Marx was, much less read his writings.
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And three days after this report, most of the FARC leftover leaders have been arrested or killed. And the U.S. put a $5 million bounty on the head of one of the rebel drug traffickers. This was a poor strategic move for these people. Why not just stay in Venezuela and become colectivos for Maduro?
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@davidalegria8147 - How do you know the OP isn't or wasn't in the armed services of whatever country he comes from?
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