Just How Dangerous Is Mexico?

October 18, 2008 at 11:15 AM | by pbb | 1 Comment

When Robert Rodriguez released "Desperado" in 1995, he couldn't have known that a decade later Mexico would be locked in a horrifying drug war responsible for thousands of corpses. But that's the case, at least according to the US State Department which recently released an update to its travel alert for the country:

Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have taken on the characteristics of small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and, on occasion, grenades. Firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but particularly in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez.

A number of areas along the border are experiencing rapid growth in the rates of many types of crime. More than 1,600 cars were reportedly stolen in Ciudad Juarez in the month of July 2008, and bank robberies there are up dramatically. Rates for robberies, homicides, petty thefts and carjackings have all increased over the last year across Mexico generally, with notable spikes in Tijuana and northern Baja California.

Cuidad Juarez, Tijuana, and Nogales are among the cities which have recently experienced public shootouts during daylight hours in shopping centers and other public venues. Criminals have followed and harassed US citizens traveling in their vehicles in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Tijuana, and along Route 15 between Nogales and Hermosillo.
The situation in Ciudad Juarez is of special concern. Mexican authorities report that more than 1,000 people have been killed there this year.

But for all the supposed facts in the latest bulletin from the US government, some people are still enjoying their time in Mexico. Rick Steves, for one, gave Tijuana a chance recently and enjoyed the city without being shot to hell by gangsters.

And Mexican tourism authorities are reminding potential visitors that the best way to get killed while on a trip south of the border is to get involved in the drug trade. People just trying to enjoy colonial cities and culture shouldn't have any problems, they insist. Even if they go to Sinaloa?

Related Stories:
· How Armpitty is TJ? [Rick Steves]
· Violence in Nogales Warns US [LAT]
· State Department: Mexico Travel Alert [Official Site]
· TJ Tourism Struggles as Violence Intensifies [Jaunted]

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