Why Migración Colombia Is Searching Tourist Phones at Medellín Airport

📱 Migración Colombia is checking phones at MDE.
🚨 They’re targeting male tourists with sketchy behavior.
🇨🇴 The goal is to stop child exploitation and drug tourism.
🧳 Delete anything that could embarrass you or raise flags.
💡 If you’re here for the right reasons, you’ve got nothing to hide.

EDIT - This is happening for people leaving MDE airport. It's also very random as far as timing goes. I am shocked I have to say this but if you are here to be a predator, don't even come here. I hope you get caught.

Something new is happening at José María Córdova Airport. Male tourists are being pulled aside by Migración Colombia and National Police officers. Phones are being searched. Messages, photos, even WhatsApp chats. The reason? Authorities are cracking down on a rising pattern of predatory tourism and digital evidence of crimes tied to underage exploitation, drugs, and other illegal behavior.

What’s really going on

Officials say the inspections are random, but in reality, they’re not. There is clear profiling going on here. If you are a male tourist, either alone or in a group of males, and obviously a foreign tourist, prepare for your phone to be searched. They are specifically targeting black, white and Asian tourists.

The searches happen after passport control on the international flight side, once you think you're clear of all scrutiny. But as I found out this weekend, they are also walking up to the same demographic group on the national side too. Officers will politely ask for your phone and scroll through your apps. Let's be clear about this, their politeness is a only a formality. You have no right to privacy in Colombia, so they are being nice, trust that.

If they find photos, videos, or chats suggesting drug use or sexual misconduct, you will be detained, questioned, possibly arrested and most certainly flagged for future entry. Another thing they are doing is using sexual tourism activities, which are legal to shame, intimidate and embarrass the tourists. So even if you were within the laws, they are making it seem like you are doing something bad and will threaten you with being flagged as a sexual tourist for future entries.

On the surface this feels like they are harassing visitors, however it’s more about protecting the city’s image. Medellín has worked hard to rebuild its reputation, and locals are tired of outsiders treating it like a sexual playground. The government knows the headlines that come from another foreigner caught in a scandal, not to mention they see the group fights at Lleras, and the lack of respect that many single male tourists display towards Medellin, Colombia and the people and they’re done with it.

EDIT - They are also looking for people coming here to work. It is something that they want to combat especially since they have the Digital Nomad visa. This is likely why they wanted to see emails too.

How to avoid trouble

If you’re visiting Medellín for the right reasons tourism, work, or family , there’s nothing to fear. My encounter with them was 7-8 minutes, and they were polite and as soon as I showed them that I'm a resident, they were much more open, even more so when they found out that I'm press.

Even if you have done nothing wrong, you should still take precautions:

• Keep your digital life clean. Delete anything illegal or questionable before leaving to the airport.

• Be respectful. This includes how you talk to locals, what you film, and what you post online.

• Use discretion. If you wouldn’t want it seen by border officers, don’t bring it on your phone.

The bigger picture

This isn’t just a local crackdown. It’s part of a larger effort across Latin America to combat child exploitation and online grooming by foreign visitors. Colombia, with its booming digital-nomad scene, is leading the charge. It's not happening in all cities, just the ones that have a high number of tourists coming for sexual tourism, IE - Cartagena and Medellin. Though now they are getting smart that people are taking connecting flights out of Bogota, and cracking down on the national side.

Locals support it, and many feel this is long overdue. As one Medellín resident said to me after he saw me getting stopped, he said to tell people “If you’re coming here for the wrong reasons, don’t come at all.”

The bottom line? If your trip is clean, relax. But if your phone tells another story, expect questions when you get ready to leave MDE.