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Tijuana: Now More Dangerous Than Baghdad?

You know the violence is getting out of hand in Tijuana when Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton in California are now effectively prohibited from visiting. The new rules apply to 44,000 Marines, many of whom who have recently been in Iraq and Afghanistan or are there now, and were implemented during the Christmas holiday and extended indefinitely. Base commanders cite Tijuana's shocking rise in gang violence, with 843 killings in 2008 compared with only 337 in 2007. Marines can still visit Tijuana, but it takes plenty of planning and the proper authorization. According to USA Today, Marines now need written approval from a lieutenant colonel or higher-ranking officer to cross the border, and must also "complete anti-terrorism training, receive a military security briefing, and 'use the buddy system.'" Sounds like a lot of time and effort to go through for some R&R. The irony of preventing people who've spent time in Middle East war zones from guzzling cheap tequila in TJ isn't lost on anyone, but the military seems to have taken a better-safe-than-sorry approach. After all, Baghdad might be dangerous, but Tijuana is where authorities recently nabbed Santiago Meza Lopez, who confessed to dissolving the bodies of 300 murdered enemies of a drug kingpin in vats of acid. Any reasonable person would proceed with caution.

[Photo: USA Today]

Related Stories:
· Tijuana Off-Limits To U.S. Marines [USA Today]
· Base Commanders Issue New Restrictions on Travel to Mexico [Stars and Stripes]
· Alleged Acid Disposal Man for Mexico Gang Nabbed [AP]
· Tijuana Tourism Struggles as Violence Itensifies [Jaunted]