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Drug War Travel: Enjoy the Beach while Ducking RPGs in Mexico

September 30, 2008 at 2:31 PM | 1 Comment

The government of Mexico hopes to create yet another heavily developed strip of sand for tourists interested in golf courses, hotels and condos, and President Felipe Calderon has gone so far to say it'll be the country's most important tourism project in a quarter century. But there's one catch: It'll be in Sinaloa, the notorious home to the Mexican drug traffickers known as the Pacific Cartel.

True, the beach-town-turned-resort of Mazatlán is in Sinaloa, and it's established itself as a (relatively for Mexico) off-the-radar place to be. But while there haven't been any grenade attacks there, it has seen some gunplay.

We've already told you about the military-grade weaponry being used by gangs and the shrines to traffickers in Sinaloa's capital of Culiacán. How likely it is that tourists will be lining up to fly down to check out the beach in the middle of a drug-fueled war?

Related Stories:
· US State Department Travel Alert for Mexico [Official Site]
· Mexico Announces New Tourist Resort [AP, via]
· Drug Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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