Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca

For other uses, see Buenaventura (disambiguation).

Buenaventura
—  Municipality and town  —
Seaside park near the main tourist jetty
Flag Seal
Location of the municipality and town of Buenaventura, Colombia in the Valle del Cauca Department of Colombia.
Buenaventura Location in Colombia
Coordinates: 3°53′N 77°02′W
Country	Colombia
Department	Valle del Cauca Department
Time zone	Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5)

Buenaventura is a port city and municipality located in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia (South America). Buenaventura (Spanish for "good fortune") is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean.

Buenaventura is a city with a population of 333 194 2005 census (most of city development lies on Cascajal Island) and it is the size of Los Angeles' metropolitan area; most of the city's land is rural with scattered small villages throughout. It is served by the Gerardo Tobar López Airport.

Geography

It is located a few miles from the western cordillera of the Andes mountain range and the major city of Cali, the department's capital. Buenaventura is one of the rainiest cities in the world with 6000-7000 mm precipitation annually.

Demographics

The city is as of 2011 affected by very high levels of poverty and violence, and is considered a center for the cocaine trade in Colombia.

Buenaventura's population is mostly of African descent (85%) with 10% mixed European/Native Indian and 5% Spanish.

History

Founded about 1545, the city was destroyed by Native Americans before 1600. Later rebuilt, Buenaventura thrived after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Today, the city is crucial for sending raw materials to nearby areas; this has brought prosperity and allowed recent new development to occur.

Crime

Further information: Crime in Colombia

Buenaventura has had a notorious history plagued by the Colombian armed conflict, drug trafficking, violence, and the presence of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Due to the violence of Buenaventura The New York Times wrote an article with the title being "Cocaine Wars Make Port Colombia’s Deadliest City".

Colombian authorities have seized almost US$ 28 million in cash from drug kingpins. The money found was in several shipping containers sent from Manzanillo, Colima (Mexico) and Houston (USA), that belonged to brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, also known as the ‘Combas’.

In the last two years, the amount of reported homicides has doubled. The murder rate that is 24 times that of New York City, making it a crime rate of 175.2. To counter the violence, the Colombian government has set up a marine special forces unit in the worst area of the city.

Notable Residents

• Edison Miranda, A 2000 Colombia Olympian, former WBO Latino, NABA, and IBF Latino Middleweight champion.
• Juan Carlos Candelo, A Former NABF Light Middleweight champion.