Sex Tourism Crackdown in Medellín: Parque Lleras Raid and the End of Entitled Visitors

• 🚨 Parque Lleras raid last weekend shows Medellín has had enough

• 💥 Mayor Fico used emergency rules to ban sex work in El Poblado for six months

• 🤦‍♂️ “Passport bros” exploiting liberal laws and flaunting Instagram lives triggered backlash

• 🌎 Similar raids now happening in DR, Brazil and beyond

• 👥 Respect Medellín: you’re a guest, not a king

The term "Passport Bro", which used to be a term that was used to describe any man who wasn't finding the traditional relationship that they desired in their home country. There were always people who grumbled a bit about this, but it was never a source of shame. Since Medellin reopened after the COVID pandemic, the term has progressively been degrading, now being synonymous with sexual tourist.

There are many of us who live here, work here, and we see a new group of entitled morons every weekend coming to see the famous Parque Lleras, walking through an open-air exploitation market and doing Instagram lives like they own the city, and the people. They are not the kings they play it up to be, they're pathetic. They treat this city like a cheap strip club, cash in hand, ego inflated, with absolutely zero discretion or respect.

Last weekend’s raid on Parque Lleras proved the mayor and city leadership are sick of it. Colombian police shut down bars, cordoned off the prostitution zones and enforced the new emergency decrees. That was a message: the city will not tolerate loud, aggressive sex tourism anymore. This was an answer to back to back weekends of idiotic American tourists having fights in Parque Lleras with both fights going viral on TikTok and Instagram. The first fight was between friend groups over the attention of a group of sex workers, and the second was over the bill at a bar within a friend group. Both showed that the situation in Lleras had spiraled out of control, prompting a backlash from the city.

Mayor Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez used emergency powers to ban prostitution in El Poblado and Parque Lleras for six months. Bars and clubs must close at 1 a.m. for at least a month. These actions are close to one year after the events of Timothy Livingston, a U.S. citizen who was arrested with two minors in a hotel, yet somehow escaped prosecution in Colombia and got back to the US where he faced zero consequences at all. Those of us who live here had to deal with the repercussions, and the media image that people visiting Medellin are here to sexually exploit.

Fico recently travelled to the U.S. to forge law enforcement ties and coordinate investigations. That trip strengthened cooperation with agencies like U.S. Homeland Security to crack down on organized networks facilitating human trafficking and sex tourism in Medellín.

Meanwhile other Latin American sexual tourism hot spots ; Dominican Republic, Brazil and Mexico have begun similar enforcement. They finally see the impact of “passport bro” tourism: foreigners exploiting liberal sexual laws, posting women like trophies, streaming their “success” live, treating other cultures as open buffets.

These behaviors made this crackdown inevitable. If anyone wants to point the finger at anyone for this, you can look no further than the planeloads of entitled morons who think that Medellin is excited to have them come. The guys that think that Medellin should throw them a parade for gracing the city with their special presence. If you came here thinking you're HIM, you're a lame, and you fucked it up for everyone who knows how to move discreetly.

Locals are tired of you. We, as the people who live here are tired of being lumped in with sex tourists who show zero subtlety or respect to this city. You don’t get bonus points for posting a story of your purchases in bars. Buying attention from women and posting it online does not make you powerful. It makes you look insecure and weak.

Say you want to engage in transactional sex, great. Be discreet and respect is required. Treat these women, not as content for your IG lives or props to your online baller life, but as people, not objects. If you act like you’re owed a good time here because you pay for it, then you reveal how poorly you think of yourself and of Medellín. The way that some of you act makes everyone question how you were raised.

Police told local media that loud, aggressive tourists fighting over prostitutes and making scenes were direct catalysts for the raid. These aren’t private moments. They are public disruptions. They invaded the space of locals and residents.

Shame the entitled. Shame the “passport bros” who swagger and stream and treat Parque Lleras like their personal strip mall. Shame the ones who believe their money gives them cultural license.

If you come here to party, fine. Medellín can be fun. But:

• Learn to be subtle

• Act like a guest, not a king

• Don’t treat women as trophies on your feed

• Leave your entitlement at the airport

Tourism can boost Medellín. But bad tourism; loud, ego-driven and exploitative idiots coming here to do tusi and cocaine forces the city into reactive enforcement.

Similar city crackdowns across Latin America show a regional shift. Governments and local communities won’t tolerate visitors who view cities like entertaining extensions of their Porn Hub playlist. Parque Lleras and El Poblado are no longer zones you can treat as open-air sex markets. The mayor made it clear. With the support of enforcement partners and federal agencies, punishment will follow violations.

Residents notice. Business owners, workers, domestic tourists, they all pressure leaders to act. The timing was very purposeful, with Feria de Flores starting yesterday. The fatigue is real. Three years ago you might have seen discreet encounters. Now it’s group shots, Instagram lives, shouting explicit propositions, fights over bills, guys throwing pesos on tables to show off and flexing like they're a baller. That behavior is unacceptable. It’s disrespectful. It’s self-serving. It invited the crackdown.

This article isn’t about condemning sex work. It’s about condemning disrespect. Prostitution may be legal in Colombia. But organized exploitation and public display? The city won’t ignore that. Especially when minors are involved.

The raid on Parque Lleras is a turning point. It sent a message loud enough to reach every entitled tourist who wants to come to Medellin to party. Medellín will no longer let itself be treated like a party destination for sexual tourism. The mayor and city have stepped in.

Now it’s on you. If you plan to visit:

• Behave like a visitor, not a conqueror

• Be quiet about your conquests

• Don’t stream your hook-ups in public spaces

• Understand you are a guest in someone else’s home

Local residents of Medellín are watching. Foreigners who treat women as props aren’t welcomed. Entitled, flashy sex tourists triggered this. They lost whatever goodwill they might have had. Medellín deserves visitors who respect its rules, its culture and its people. Sex work exists legally. Exploitation does not. And the city is no longer tolerant of exploitation masquerading as pleasure.

Parque Lleras raid was only the start. Enforcement will continue. Tourists will be watched. Rental platforms are under fire. Bars must follow curfews. Illegal behavior leads to closure, fines and worse.

If you can't come here and read the room, stay home. Medellin isn't for everyone. Treat this city right; or don’t come at all.