Travel Warnings-Mexico

[srmom]

My husband does a lot of business in the Maquilladoras (along the Tex-Mex border) and has salesmen that travel into the area all the time. It has gotten more and more dangerous, where in years past, they would stay on the Mexican side of the border for convenience, now, NO WAY! They also only go during the day, and if they have to stay for a night time dinner, they hire a Mexican driver who knows how to navigate the streets safely (or as safely as possible). Also, they never take their own cars, it is better to fly into McAllen, Laredo, El Paso, etc. and rent a car - because if its going to get jacked, much better to not be your own.

It is no joke that it has gotten incredibly dangerous.

I can remember how many years ago, my mom and her friends would take day trips into the northern Mexican towns, with us kids tagging along, to buy pottery and neat furniture and fixings. It was a completely different time - I feel really sorry for those poor people, the crime has gotten totally out of control.

[texas*princess]

this has been going on for some time -- I vaguely recall posting something similar a year or so ago.... it was the same story --- people getting caught in the middle of the drug wars.

personally i've never gone to Mexico for Spring Break. I hear it's beautiful and fun, but I am really just too scared that I'm gonna say the wrong thing in my broken Spanish or something and I'll come back with a missing kidney or not at all

[PeppyGPhiB]

Mexico's not a safe place to be right now. A few weeks ago, rebels in Tijuana stormed the police chief's house, killing him and his family. My mom and some of her friends cancelled their trip they were going to take to further south in Mexico this spring.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Mexico's not a safe place to be right now. A few weeks ago, rebels in Tijuana stormed the police chief's house, killing him and his family. My mom and some of her friends cancelled their trip they were going to take to further south in Mexico this spring.

wow that's really scary

i was actually in tijuana for work just a few short months ago. it was my first trip to mexico - believe it or not.... and i grew up in south texas!

[EE-BO]

Mexico has for a long time been fairly unsafe, but in recent years it has gotten out of control. Even in the late 1990s things were starting to get ugly. Now it is not safe on either side of the border.

Makes you wonder how Bush can hope to bring peace and stability to the world when he couldn't even be bothered to take care of US citizens in his home state.

[Educatingblue]

This is kind of scary. My husband and I will be going to Tijuana the first week in April. I will keep checking the travel advisories before we leave.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Why are you and your husband going to TJ? It's where college kids go to party, or where other tourists just pass through on their way to other places. It's really dirty and skeezy, just warning you.

[bejazd]

We have lots of clients and employees that live in TJ , Rosarito, and Ensenada, so we've been down there for quite a few weddings etc. Not going to any now. Aside from the increase in violent crime, the border wait time is about 2/12 hours to cross at San Ysidro. And, keep in mind you now need a passport to re-enter the States, even if you're only going across to shop for the day. Not worth the hassle. Enjoy San Diego, shop, eat and stay here instead! and above all, be SAFE.

[Educatingblue]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Why are you and your husband going to TJ? It's where college kids go to party, or where other tourists just pass through on their way to other places. It's really dirty and skeezy, just warning you.

We will actually be passing through as well. We are flying in to Las Vegas, hanging out there a few days and then driving to San Diego to see some friends.

[Scandia]

I went on a cruise that included Mexico this year. Had a lot of Spring Breakers in it. I had no problems whatsoever. But two people apparently got fake IDs in Cozumel and tried to use them to buy alcohol on the ship. They were kicked out of the ship and had to go straight home from Cozumel. Another girl got so drunk that she just passed out on a street in Cozumel- but was found and rescued on time.

Overall, I felt very safe both in Cozumel and in mainland Mexico. But then, I did not drink while in foreign soil, took good care of myself and my belongings, and spoke Spanish to the natives so they knew not to take advantage of me.

[jon1856]

Sort of a sub section to this thread:
Briefing: The gang war that’s ravaging Mexico
How powerful are Mexico’s drug gangs?
In much of the country, more powerful than the government itself. Mexico’s three main drug cartels are effectively in control of swaths of the country’s Pacific Coast, industrial heartland, and tourist havens of the Gulf Coast.
With their staggering income from drug smuggling—$8 billion to $23 billion a year, according to U.S. estimates—the gangs can afford more powerful weapons than the police, and they don’t hesitate to kill the politicians, cops, and journalists they can’t bribe or intimidate.
http://www.theweekdaily.com/news_opi...ng_mexico.html

Drug trade tyranny on the border

Mexican cartels maintain grasp with weapons, cash and savagery
TIJUANA, Mexico - The killers prowled through Loma Bonita in the pre-dawn chill.
In silence, they navigated a labyrinth of wood shacks at the crest of a dirt lane in the blighted Tijuana neighborhood, police say. They were looking for Margarito Saldaña, an easygoing 43-year-old district police commander. They found a house full of sleeping people.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23656496/

[epchick]

Just a note after re-reading this thread.....if you visit Mexico don't assume that because you speak Spanish to the "natives" that you won't get taken advantage of. I know it sounds harsh, but they can tell who is a tourist and who isn't, especially if you aren't of Mexican descent.

I learned this when I was traveling in Mexico a few years ago. I was in a sort of touristy city in southern Mexico and was looking for gifts and I was just talking to the people who worked at the shops about tourists and such. Its amazing what they were telling me, like the price differences for people who they think are non-Mexican tourists vs. Mexican tourists.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by Scandia

IBut then, I ....spoke Spanish to the natives so they knew not to take advantage of me.

LOL