BajaNomad - Google "Mexico+violence+2008+tourism"

Google "Mexico+violence+2008+tourism"

kimberlee - 1-5-2008 at 02:59 PM

This Associated Press article is appearing all over the US and Canada's major newspapers!

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/368234.html

Tourists shun crime-hit Mexico beaches
Sat, Jan. 05, 2008

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer

PLAYAS DE ROSARITO, Mexico --
Assaults on American tourists have brought hard times to hotels and restaurants that dot Mexican beaches just south of the border from San Diego.

Surfers and kayakers are frightened to hit the waters of the northern stretch of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, long popular as a weekend destination for U.S. tourists. Weddings have been canceled. Lobster joints a few steps from the Pacific were almost empty on the usually busy New Year's weekend.

Americans have long tolerated shakedowns by police who boost salaries by pulling over motorists for alleged traffic violations, and tourists know parts of Baja are a hotbed of drug-related violence. But a handful of attacks since summer by masked, armed bandits - some of whom used flashing lights to appear like police - marks a new extreme that has spooked even longtime visitors.

Lori Hoffman, a San Diego-area emergency room nurse, said she was sexually assaulted Oct. 23 by two masked men in front of her boyfriend, San Diego Surfing Academy owner Pat Weber, who was forced to kneel at gunpoint for 45 minutes. They were at a campground with about 30 tents, some 200 miles south of the border.

The men shot out windows of the couple's trailer and forced their way inside, ransacked the cupboards and left with about $7,000 worth of gear, including computers, video equipment and a guitar.

Weber, who has taught dozens of students in Mexico over the last 10 years, plans to surf in Costa Rica or New Zealand. "No more Mexico," said Hoffman, who reported the attack to Mexican police. No arrests have been made.

The Baja California peninsula is known worldwide for clean and sparsely populated beaches, lobster and margaritas and blue waters visited by whales and dolphins. Surfers love the waves; fishermen catch tuna, yellowtail and marlin. Food and hotels are cheap.

News of harrowing assaults on American tourists has begun to overshadow that appeal in the northern part of the peninsula, home to drug gangs and the seedy border city of Tijuana. The comparatively isolated southern tip, with its tony Los Cabos resort, remains safer and is still popular with Hollywood celebrities, anglers and other foreign tourists.

Local media and surfing Web sites that trumpeted Baja in the past have reported several frightening crimes that U.S. and Mexican officials consider credible. Longtime visitors are particularly wary of a toll road near the border that runs through Playas de Rosarito - Rosarito Beach.

In late November, as they returned from the Baja 1000 off-road race, a San Diego-area family was pulled over on the toll road by a car with flashing lights. Heavily armed men held the family hostage for two hours. They eventually released them but stole the family's truck.

Before dawn on Aug. 31, three surfers were carjacked on the same stretch of highway. Gunmen pulled them over in a car with flashing lights, forced them out of their vehicles and ordered one to kneel. They took the trucks and left the surfers.

Aqua Adventures of San Diego scrapped its annual three-day kayak trip to scout for whales in January, ending a run of about 10 years. Customers had already been complaining about longer waits to return to the U.S.; crime gave them another reason to stay away.

"People are just saying, 'No way.' They don't want to deal with the risk," said owner Jen Kleck, who has sponsored trips to Baja about five times a year but hasn't been since July.

Charles Smith, spokesman for the U.S. consulate in Tijuana, said the U.S. government has not found a widespread increase in attacks against Americans, but he acknowledged many crimes go unreported. The State Department has long warned motorists on Mexico's border to watch for people following them, though no new warnings have been issued.

Mexican officials acknowledge crime has threatened a lifeblood of Baja's economy. In Playas de Rosarito, a city of 130,000, police were forced to surrender their weapons last month for testing to determine links to any crimes. Heavily armed men have patrolled City Hall since a failed assassination attempt on the new police chief left one officer dead. On Thursday the bullet-riddled bodies of a Tijuana police official and another man were found dumped near the beach.

"We cannot minimize what's happening to public safety," said Oscar Escobedo Carignan, Baja's new secretary of tourism. "We're going to impose order ... We're indignant about what's happening."

Tourist visits to Baja totaled about 18 million in 2007, down from 21 million the previous year, Escobedo said. Hotel occupancy dropped about 5 percentage points to 53 percent.

Hugo Torres, owner of the storied Rosarito Beach Hotel and the city's new mayor, estimates the number of visitors to Rosarito Beach since summer is down 30 percent.

In the city's Puerto Nuevo tourist enclave, which offers $20 lobster dinners and $1 margaritas, restaurant managers said sales were down as much as 80 percent from last year. One Saturday afternoon in October, masked bandits wielding pistols walked the streets and kidnapped two men - an American and a Spanish citizen - who were later released unharmed. Two people who were with them were shot and wounded.

Omar Armendariz, who manages a Puerto Nuevo lobster restaurant, is counting on the new state and city governments to make tourists feel safer. He has never seen fewer visitors in his nine years on the job.

"It's dead," he said.

Sharksbaja - 1-5-2008 at 09:58 PM

Hooray.....less tourists,ergo less development! :spingrin:

Nomads excepted.

Pstreet1 - 1-6-2008 at 10:18 AM

No, it's not all drug related, and there have been other examples of violence, but it sounds a lot worse than it is. The media has, in my opinion, blown it way out of proportion. According to the article, since September, there have been "a handful" of carjackings. I think the actual number is 4, but I could be wrong. All occurred at about 1-4 in the morning; all occurred with people driving big trucks with lots of "toys:" atv's, surfing equipment, etc. That's not to say that it's a good thing, but I bet every major city in the U.S., including San Diego, has had 4 car jackings since September. They generally are not reported in the news, though, whereas the California papers grab just about everything that happens to a tourist in Baja and give it bold coverage--and no, I'm not trying to make a case that problems in Baja shouldn't be reported. They should; people deserve to know....but I think they deserve to know about some of the things in the U.S. that aren't getting coverage also.

The area of Orlando which surrounds Disneyworld is one of the worst in the U.S. for violent crime, and tourists are targeted--but it doesn't get reported; it's bad for business.

The Rosarito mayor, Hugo Torres, the President, Calderon, and the Tijuana mayor--whose name escapes me--have truly targeted crime, and the drug lords don't like it. Torres fired 30 police personal for corruption, and they retaliated by hiring a hit on a police casita--not the main station. It takes a brave man to be an honest policeman right now, but fortunately, the Mexican men seem to be taking the challenge. They are standing up to the drug lords. The mayors and Calderon have called in the Federales, and it is not a disturbing presence to see them. We were in Rosarito over New Years and paid our taxes; the Federales were on guard. I don't think the drug lords would take on the Federal troops who are specially trained for this work.

We stopped to see our insurance man and chatted about the safety issues. He said, as all our friends have said, "Tourists aren't the targets; I am much more a target, and I keep a low profile." It really doesn't have anything to do with "ordinary" people, but it has a lot to do with those Mexicans who are fighting the drug lords. We felt perfectly safe in everything we did, as do our friends. We talked to many garbacho businessmen who are there full time; they don't feel a threat--but none of us are out driving at 1-4 a.m. either.

Definitely not a great situation, but not what the media is making it either. There are things that aren't safe now: camping alone on a beach, driving in the small hours of the morning. I definitely would not drive the toll road when the "bad guys" are likely to be abroad. But, all that said, for us, Rosarito is still a place we do want to be.

rdrrm8e - 1-6-2008 at 11:16 AM

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[Edited on 1-7-2008 by BajaNomad]

[Edited on 1-7-2008 by rdrrm8e]

Pstreet1 - 1-6-2008 at 12:07 PM

Naturally, I disagree.

However, google carjacking + San Diego and you'll see what I mean about Americans' general lack of concern about what happens in the U.S.

I certainly don't think the dead police are ordinary; I think they are extraordinary for standing up to organized crime.

wilderone - 1-7-2008 at 11:37 AM

But San Diego's police force are not thieves and in business with drug dealers. And I don't remember the last time a headless police officer was dumped on San Diego's streets. Norteamericanos come to Baja norte for a good time - so the pivotal choice to come or not come is in question. And being educated on what is going on, is fundamental to any traveler going anywhere.

Pstreet1 - 1-7-2008 at 01:06 PM

I agree that being informed is important to any traveler, and that the drug-related violence directed at Mexican police is truly horrible. As I said, the honest Mexican policeman who battles the drug families is very brave.

Woooosh - 1-7-2008 at 01:06 PM

There will alwys be people in denial. A few crazies really believe that 911 was the action of the US government- so a few nuts denying that crime is a real problem in northern Baja is to be expected.

Crime is very underreported. I know for a fact that an American lady was freed from her kidnappers at a house near mine in Rosarito last week. I also know they caught the responsible parties and they were sent away for a long long time (50 years I was told). Mexican justice can be swift I guess. Not a peep on this story anywhere in the media though. I didn't report it when my truck was stolen a few months ago (from my garage no less) either- why waste the time reporting it to the police? They won't/can't do anything about the petty crimes when they are trying to stay alive hiding from the real criminals. That's my point- How can the Mexican police protect americans right now when they are just trying to stay alive themselves?

[Edited on 1-7-2008 by Woooosh]

Al G - 1-7-2008 at 02:26 PM

It is what happens everytime I say NO :lol:

Gene knows when I am being stupid :lol:

gnukid - 1-7-2008 at 02:30 PM

On subject, my friends had their camper robbed yesterday down here in la ventana. Thye went for a hike and in the time they were gone, they lost everything of value. The robbers broke in during daylight and found everything they hid and stole everything and left one credit card.

While many less people are here this year, the crime is way up and its definitely better to never ever leave your things as they say, 'don't leave camp' and be prepared to protect yourself.

Al G - 1-7-2008 at 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gnukid
On subject, my friends had their camper robbed yesterday down here in la ventana. Thye went for a hike and in the time they were gone, they lost everything of value. The robbers broke in during daylight and found everything they hid and stole everything and left one credit card.

While many less people are here this year, the crime is way up and its definitely better to never ever leave your things as they say, 'don't leave camp' and be prepared to protect yourself.

I wholly agree with this...then you gotta ask the question...What am i doing here in the first place :cool:

gnukid - 1-7-2008 at 02:55 PM

I do not subscribe to the 'don't leave camp' mentality but most people I know do. I love to go and visit places and seek out places I have never been, often times alone because most people won't leave camp. Just saying, best not to bring anything you can't afford to loose.

Have fun, Mexico is a beautiful and a fantastic place.

[Edited on 1-7-2008 by gnukid]

Slowmad - 1-7-2008 at 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pstreet1
Naturally, I disagree.

However, google carjacking + San Diego and you'll see what I mean about Americans' general lack of concern about what happens in the U.S.

.

Comparisons of crime in Baja versus crime in San Diego, Santa Barbara, or Detroit are pointless.

This is a discussion board for Baja aficionados, so let's keep things apples-to-apples.

How many Baja aficionados have been sexually assaulted, jacked, or robbed by men in uniform in the United States?
Show of hands?
OK.
Now how many Baja aficionados have suffered these travesties in Baja?
Those numbers speak for themselves, and are the focus of the "overblown media."

And I must have missed the report of 20 armed commandos overwhelming the Orlando police headquarters, disembodied heads rolling down storm drains, or dead cops festooning the Toll Road. To be fare, none of those directly impacted Baja travelers. But that's the new Rosarito Beach, for better or worse.

When you get in a jam in Mexico, remember the old dicho:
"The lamb cries for help. Sometimes comes the mother...sometimes comes the wolf."

bajaguy - 1-7-2008 at 04:26 PM

Quote:

Not to pick nits, but it sounds to me that their camper was burglarized. There is a BIG difference between a robbery and a burglary. Unfortunately, people interchange those two words and may create a false impression.

Gnu, I do not mean to trivialize your friends loss. I'm glad it was a burglary instead of a robbery.

gnukid - 1-7-2008 at 04:36 PM

Aha thank you for the correction.

wilderone - 1-7-2008 at 04:42 PM

"found everything they hid and stole everything and left one credit card.......... "
Moral of the story: hide things better or take them with you. I once hid $600 cash in a peanut can and put that can with the rest of my canned goods. A friend of mine sliced open a sponge and put a folded $100 bill inside. That sponge is inside a duffle of rags and cheap tools. Another friend has a rip in his driver seat upholstery - which is where we put $200 cash in a baggie. I have a hide-a-key gorilla-glued to my bumper where I keep $$. Don't travel with a laptop and all that crap. And keep some pepper spray handy. If you KNOW about burglaries, you are forewarned and thus, can combat these crimes. NOW you KNOW.
Poll: where are your hiding places?

bajaguy - 1-7-2008 at 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
".... And keep some pepper spray handy.......

And a green laser pointer

[Edited on 1-7-2008 by bajaguy]

Debra - 1-7-2008 at 04:59 PM

Hum? Media hype?

If so, what are the chances that I know PERSONALY friends of 3 independent events, 1) trying to be run off the road (escaped) 2nd) trying to be run off the road (eacaped with a bullet in his leg. 3rd) a (who knows) but it ended up with a friend DEAD!

So again, what are the chances if these are really such isolated events?

Something is going on down there that makes me really nervous (I travel alone most often with just my young son) Will it keep me from going? NO!, but I sure do what the information without the "It's really not Americans that are being targeted" I need to know so I can keep my son and I as safe as possible.

Banditos apprehended?

Slowmad - 4-1-2008 at 03:54 PM

Just got off the horn with a longtime Cuatras Casas resident.
He stated that the two men responsible for the Pat Weber robbery cited in the top of this thread had been arrested and sentenced to 54 years each.
They were from Ensenada, and had been working over the area between Punta San Jacinto and Punta Colnett.

Will post more definitive/credible news if I hear of it.

surfer jim - 4-1-2008 at 04:17 PM

While the police are at it they can get the guys who hang out at the house on the very end (corner) of the point...sure love it when the "band" starts playing at 3 am......

conquestkm - 4-1-2008 at 04:23 PM

I think I figured out a way to stop the Drug gangs in TJ and all thru out Mexico . Everyone who buys those drugs from the gangs and their sources in the US just stop buying . Simple

vgabndo - 4-1-2008 at 06:13 PM

Right you are Conquest...and when people up north stop buying and using tobacco and alcohol it will save about a million lives a year. The quality of life, however, would decline terribly from the necessity of dodging the falling crap from all those flying pigs. :lol:

RockhouseTom - 4-2-2008 at 04:44 PM

More than 1 1/2 years has past since my family experienced an attempted car-jacking on the toll road. We have heard of the many other examples of violence that have happened in Baja, and have been back to our beloved Bahia de los Angeles many times with out trouble.

I still view the safety issue in Baja as I did then. I became so use to violating the rule of not driving at night that I made my family a target (My Fault). The difference for me in comparing the violence in Baja vs. the U.S. is the fact that in Baja sometimes you can't tell the good guys from the bad.

Be informed, follow the basic rules of driving in Baja that have been around for ever and enjoy the truly wonderful people and freedom that Baja has to offer.