Authorities Confront the “Passport bros,” Who Want to Come to Medellin to Behave Badly
In Colombia, so far in 2026, one hundred foreigners have been denied entry, and of them, 73 attempted to arrive in Medellin through the international airport in Rionegro. Just last week, 14 people intending to enter Antioquia were denied admission. Their profile raised alerts among authorities, who have also confirmed a new method of attempted access to Colombian territory.
In the case of the Antioquia airport, Migration agents have already returned not isolated individuals, but groups of ‘tourists,’ mainly from the United States, due to alerts over sexual crimes. That denial of entry to groups of foreigners seeking to enter Medellin would confirm that the phenomenon known as “passport bros” or “passport brothers” is taking place in the capital of Antioquia.
Three groups of foreigners denied entry in one week
Under that designation, a large online community of men promotes sex tourism from the developed world to places where they believe it is easier to find women. Paola Salazar Gomez, regional director of Migration, said, quoted by El Colombiano, that several of those denied entry in Rionegro arrived in organized groups and, after migration interviews and inspections, authorities detected possible intentions related to sexual exploitation and the consumption of illicit substances.
Authorities managed to identify three groups: 1) one made up of four Americans coming from Miami, 2) another of seven coming from New York, and 3) another group of three coming from the Dominican Republic. But it was established that those in the first group had already contracted private tours in dollars with exclusive parties for foreigners, which included consumption of “unlimited liquor, drugs, and very young women willing to do anything.”
For those in group two, Migration officials detected similar patterns during control interviews. Finally, those in the third group were denied admission because two of them had possible intentions related to sexual exploitation and the other expressed intentions related to drug consumption. “All of those denied entry already had previous contacts on social media with ‘guides’ to coordinate parties and bacchanals,” the Antioquia newspaper specified.
Director Salazar recalled in the same outlet that the term began consolidating in Medellin between 2013 and 2015, associated with digital communities of foreigners who promoted the city by offering it as a primary destination for drug consumption and secondarily for “sex tourism.” However, with the post-pandemic travel boom and the massification of content on social media, the term underwent a complete transformation that ended up affecting Medellin.
Mirages collide with Medellin authorities
The German outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) offers another perspective on the “passport bros,” according to which they are men, mainly in the United States, who travel abroad in search of a partner. Many defend it as a way of finding relationships more aligned with traditional values. Their critics warn that behind this lie economic imbalances, gender stereotypes, and power dynamics.
Meanwhile, the Swiss news portal swissinfo.ch published an article last year with a suggestive title that would align with what is happening in the capital of Antioquia: Medellin, destination of the “Passport Bros” in search of sex and “docile” women. In one section, it states that “the nightlife, spring-like climate, and low prices make Medellin one of the main destinations for digital nomads, people who work while traveling.”
Salazar explained in El Colombiano that the “passport bros” are not a hierarchical or structured organization, but rather informal networks and digital “brotherhoods” of travelers who consume and share content produced by “influencers” specialized in promoting these types of tours in Medellin. She detailed that the “passport bros” reversed priorities: now the main objective is sex, including the sexual exploitation of women and children.
The reality is that the “passport bros,” turned into influencers, began using TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to market Medellin using expressions such as: “How to get a Latina with a big butt,” “Dating women is better outside the West,” and “You can live in paradise with beautiful people for a fraction of what you used to spend.”
Those mirages, indeed, find customers. But they have also encountered the rejection of Colombians and the determined action of Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez and the authorities of that city. As a result of their work, coordinated with Migration Colombia, foreigners have been denied entry first individually, and now in groups. The work is arduous, but it has been producing results.