TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » General Discussion

Okay, now that I have your attention

All 3 major institutions of higher learning in San Diego have highly regarded programs or institutes dealing with Mexico or Latin America. At USD the Trans-Border Institute has done a trememdous amount of work on the drug violence in Mexico. They recently released their latest report covering the period 2006-2012. While it is somewhat dry and academic, or at least governmental in tone, there is a ton of valuable information in it.

http://justiceinmexico.org/2013/02/0...-through-2012/

What is it they say...forewarned is forearmed? Or at least something like that. And for those of us that either live or frequently travel in Mexico having information, or at least access to it, can be a useful tool.

I just wish people understood that drug violence is not wide-spread throughout Mexico!

I appears to be centered in the north-east part of the country.

I have, however, heard of some in the major border towns. Does that include Tijuana and Tecate?

Originally Posted by sargentodiaz

I just wish people understood that drug violence is not wide-spread throughout Mexico!

I appears to be centered in the north-east part of the country.

I have, however, heard of some in the major border towns. Does that include Tijuana and Tecate?

The movement of drugs and associated violence is all along the border. Tijuana, Tecate and Mexicali are no exception. But almost all the drug violence is between the narcos or those who do business with them. The exception is human trafficking and extortions which can target innocent migrants and successful business owners because "that's where the easy money is".

For the most part Baja Norte tourists stay west of the toll road and stay close to the beaches while the narco violence is in the City of Tijuana- mostly on the east side. That separation makes Baja Norte a little safer along the coast, but occasionally there is spillover violence. Acapulco has recently seen violence creep into the tourist zones with very damaging results to tourism. Most of the cruise ships stopped calling on México ports because of security problems for their passengers. So narco violence can infest a tourist area, it just hasn't done that in Baja as dramatically, yet. It's all around us, we just don't normally intersect with it. If you do, it will ruin your day though.

In Rosarito the Army patrols daily in open trucks with manned machine guns. Mexicans feel safe when they see them, Americans tend to think there must be a reason for them being there. I can def see where military checkpoints could unnerve a family with children. But again- this is how Mexico is choosing to communicate with tourist that the area is safe. IMHO the absence of armed roving military patrols makes tourists feel safer because It's not something we see often in the USA and associate with an area being peaceful.

The US State Department frequently updates it's travel advisories, but Baja's warning has not been lifted. It's not terribly negative, but México hates it. The travel warning for Baja basically says keep your head up at all times and don't drive around at night. That's not rocket science.

Originally Posted by sargentodiaz

I just wish people understood that drug violence is not wide-spread throughout Mexico!

I appears to be centered in the north-east part of the country.

I have, however, heard of some in the major border towns. Does that include Tijuana and Tecate?

The drug violence is much more spread throughout Mexico than people realize. It seems the further south the violencia, the less we hear up here.

But, closer to home, the DEA, CIA, FBI AFT and all their counterparts in Mexico began a major offensive against the AFO, the Arellano-Felix Organization, about 20 years ago. You can Google-search the Arellano-Felix cartel for more information. In a nutshell, they were a branch of the notorious Sinoloa cartel operating out of Tijuana. They also pioneered the use of airplanes to ferry drugs and they initiated and developed connections and trade with the Colombians, introducing cocaine into what had been a mostly pot trade. Essentially, the AFO changed the face of drug traffiking in Mexico, and they were brutal, very brutal. Operating out of Tijuana they were sitting right on the US border and were considered a serious and viable threat to SD and the US by the US government.

It took a long, long time, but all those government agencies eventually, killed and captured all the principals in the AFO cartel. As it was going down the drug violence on the border at Tijuana escalated dramatically due to the power vacuum at the top and the competition between the next rank of capos battling for dominance. From about 2008 to late 2010/early 2011, Tijuana was a pretty dangerous place to be.

The narcoviolencia has abated in Baja but as Whoosh said, it's simply moved to the eastern parts of Tijuana and the areas away from tourists. But in Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Guerrero, Michoacan, Zacatecas, Sinola, Sonora, Veracruz, Jalisco, Morelos and to a lesser extent Oaxaca and Chiapas, the drug trade is alive and well, and that covers more than just northeastern Mexico.

If you truly want to know more, you can check out Borderlandbeat.com. Everything you never wanted to know and more

Been to Acapulco lately?

Originally Posted by DENNIS

Been to Acapulco lately?

Wife and I made many trips down there years ago and at one time even considered buying a small, simple place up in the hills above town with a pretty amazing view.. On the one hand we are glad we decided to stay closer to home based on all the violence going on in Acapulco now but as it turn out I guess we aren't too smart in real estate. A good friend of my wife's family ended up buying the place and a few years ago they built a multi-million dollar community right next door. She sold it and bought a very expensive condo right on the beach in Puerto Vallarta with cash left in her pocket (purse).