Medellín Got Expensive. Stop Blaming the Gringos

Medellín's getting rich, but not the way Instagram thinks it is.

So there’s this whole thing blowing up right now in Medellín. Some American influencer posted a video saying locals should be grateful for the Passport Bros because, hey, at least they’re bringing money in. His whole argument was basically: Medellín isn’t a real tourist city anyway, it’s mostly just about sex tourism, so what are you complaining about?

That’s when I knew this conversation needed to happen. And not the sanitized version everyone’s pretending to have on Twitter.

Let me be straight with you first: the gringo’s not completely wrong. But he’s also not completely right. And that’s the part that makes people uncomfortable.

I’ve spent time in Medellín’s tourist zones. The vibe is clear if you pay attention. And yeah, there’s actual tourism happening: Provenza, La 70, Guatapé, Comuna 13. But here’s the thing nobody says out loud, there’s a reason Medellín and Cartagena are both known as tourist cities AND both have some of the highest prostitution activity in the country. That’s not coincidence. That’s not random.

So when the gringo says sex tourism is a huge part of the economy? He’s pointing at something real. But then everybody loses their mind instead of asking the actual questions.

Here’s what gets me, though: the response from locals is to blame the Passport Bros for everything. Rent going up? “Blame the gringos!” Property prices insane? “Blame the gringos!” Everyone wants a simple villain.

Except that’s lazy thinking, parcero.

The real story is messier and darker, and it actually requires you to look at what’s happening underneath.

Follow the money, it doesn’t go where you think

Last year I was looking at rentals in Medellín. You can find places for 5 million pesos (roughly USD $1,200) all the way up to 60 million pesos (USD $14,500) for a nice apartment. Properties selling for millions of dollars. G-Wagons everywhere. Ferraris in the street like it’s nothing. Mercedes with tinted windows.

Now, Colombia makes things. Colombia has entrepreneurs. That’s real, I’m not saying the wealth is fake. But you’d have to be blind not to see what’s actually happening: massive money laundering operations. And I’m talking about massive.

The cocaine production under the Petro government has gone through the roof, we’re talking record numbers. And all that money has to go somewhere. You can’t just deposit USD $10 million in a bank and say “don’t ask questions.” So what do you do? You buy property. You buy cars. You start businesses. You open bars and clubs and “massage” places. You buy apartments and rent them out.

This is what people should be angry about. Not the gringo looking for a girlfriend.

The “security” everyone keeps praising? Yeah, about that...

Here’s the thing nobody likes to say: Medellín feels safer than Bogotá. It feels safer than Cartagena. And most tourists feel that difference immediately. They walk around, they go out at night, and yeah, it’s fine.

But why?

Because there are roughly 400 criminal band structures operating in that city, and they’ve made a pact. With the mayor’s office, with the government, with whoever’s in charge. These groups have basically agreed: we control security in our territories, we keep it manageable, we don’t make big scandals, and in exchange, you let us operate. We bring tourism dollars, we keep things “calm,” everybody wins.

That’s not safety, amigos. That’s a business arrangement. It’s organized crime providing a service.

And yeah, compared to other Colombian cities where there’s chaos and robberies happening every night, it works. It’s efficient, even. But it’s built on a foundation that’s completely rotten. The gangs use tourism as a front, it gives them cover to move drugs, move money, move prostitution, all while the hotels and the influencers and the tourists take their pictures.

It’s a perfect ecosystem for money laundering.

So who’s really responsible for the prices?

When rent goes from 2 million pesos to 5 million pesos in two years, and everyone screams “PASSPORT BROS!”, they’re missing the actual story.

The locals are the ones jacking up the prices. A landlord sees gringos coming in with dollars, and suddenly they’re thinking “why am I charging 3 million when I can charge 8?” A property owner sees foreign investors buying, sees the money floating around, and they’re not thinking about their countrymen, they’re thinking about profit.

The Passport Bros are just the excuse. The locals are the ones using them as a reason to extract money from the economy and stick it somewhere that gets cleaned.

But here’s what really pisses me off: people won’t admit this because it requires looking in the mirror. It’s easier to blame the foreigners than to acknowledge that your own neighbor is choosing to price you out of your own city.

The regional pride thing, and why it’s keeping you blind

This is where I’m going to sound harsh, but it needs to be said: a lot of Colombians, especially Paisas, carry a pride that feels good until you realize it’s the thing keeping you from seeing clearly.

“Medellín is the best!” “Paisas are the hardest workers!” “We don’t need anybody!”

That kind of pride stops you from asking the real questions. You want to know what actually moves you forward? Recognizing your problems. Working with people who aren’t from your region. Learning from other places. Humble competence beats proud mediocrity every single time.

A person is good or bad based on what they can do, not where they’re from. A city improves when it’s honest about what’s happening inside it, not when it defends itself against outsiders.

Medellín’s a beautiful city. It’s green, it’s got incredible weather, it’s got real entrepreneurs and real culture. But it’s also got massive drug production feeding criminal organizations that have basically taken over the economy. Both things are true at the same time.

And until locals stop pointing fingers at Passport Bros and start pointing them at the actual systems that are broken, the prices won’t come down. The money laundering won’t stop. The structure won’t change.

What should actually happen?

First, stop with the tribalism. Medellín vs Bogotá, Paisa vs Costeño, it’s baby thinking. You want progress? Work with everybody.

Second, look at what’s actually happening with money. Not all of it is criminal, but enough of it is that it’s distorting the entire economy. And that’s not the Passport Bros’ fault. That’s a policy problem.

Third, understand that tourists are going to come. Some will be there for beautiful reasons, some for gross reasons. Both are happening. You can’t change human nature. What you can do is make sure the money that comes in actually develops the city instead of just cleaning it.

And maybe the hardest part: admit that your own people are choosing profit over community. That’s where the real shame is.

The gringo was right about one thing: there is a lot of sex tourism in Medellín. He was wrong about everything else. But instead of arguing about whether he’s right or wrong, maybe ask yourself why that’s even true. And who benefits from keeping it that way

Dios te bendiga, amigos. Keep your eyes open.