How safe is the El Dorado Airport in Bogot�, Colombia?

I am planning to travel to Santiago, Chile in December 2010 for about a month. There is one ticket I found for cheap with Avianca, but it has 1 stop in Bogota, Colombia, both ways. Going to Chile it has a layover in the afternoon for almost 9 hrs and coming back to the US the layover is 11 hrs in the afternoon again. I know it's a hle but I would be saving almost $400 dollars, which is a lot for a college student these days. I usually travel with LanChile, which usually stops in Lima for about an hour, so you don't even need to get off the plane, or it's a direct flight. I was wondering how safe would it be for a young American woman to wait in Bogota for that long period of time? My mother is worried as she says it is very unsafe because of the whole drug and political problem in the country. I want to buy this ticket asap as it is extremely cheap, but mother says that it is that low price because no one wants to take a risk and to stop in Colombia. Please help me with your experience and opinion! Thanks!!!