BajaNomad - Might be some bad news about a Nomad

Might be some bad news about a Nomad

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 01:24 AM

There's just a short blurb on a TJ newschannel that a businessman from the San Quintin area who owned some gasoline stations in that area was killed tonight in a kidnapping attempt in Tijuana.

http://www.sintesistv.info/content/view/12253/76/

palmeto99 - 8-19-2008 at 05:33 AM

This is sad news indeed. There was a blurb on the national news out of New York last night on the plague these abductions are becoming to the ordinary business people in Mexico as the criminals use the drug war for cover.
My mexican Doctor and his office staff in TJ have moved to SD. and get an armed escort to and from the border everyday he works. He told me the hardest part about hiring an off duty cop to escort them was finding one who was not going to give up his route for money. This is very sad. :cool:

bajabound2005 - 8-19-2008 at 07:05 AM

How is this about a Nomad?

Diver - 8-19-2008 at 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajabound2005
How is this about a Nomad?

Someone please check on Antonio; just to make sure.

They might think it's about Antonio/BajaCactus

Keri - 8-19-2008 at 07:16 AM

He lives in TJ and has a station in El Rosario. I thought about it also. Hope David k checks with him to make sure he is alright.k

Timo1 - 8-19-2008 at 08:02 AM

It is the 19th of Aug. at 8 am and I just walked downstairs to the office of Baja Cactus and asked about Antonio....He's in Tijuana and is just fine

Tim

David K - 8-19-2008 at 08:14 AM

Thanks Timo,

I just read the post and wanted to let Nomads know that Antonio's family owns just the one gas station... along with the motel, which was not what the article described for the poor victim.

Scary stuff... I would sure like to see more done so the criminals are scared and not honest businessmen (or tourists)!

Woooosh - 8-19-2008 at 08:44 AM

A close call. I'm sure Antonio would know the victim and the details of this incident. Maybe he'll check in today and fill us in.

The NBC Nightly News ran a story last night about kidnappings in Mexico becoming a big business- with most victims middle or upper-middle class. It's not just the rich or the foreign businessmen. They said the problem was worse in the border areas, was hard to judge the full scope of because of under-reporting, was complicated because of the failed judicial system and emphasized just how much the Mexican people distrust the police. It also showed their apathy- if armored cars and bodyguards can't protect a teenage boy- what are we to do when they come for us?

Will local craime and kidnap news posted under the "Baja News" section be considered appropriate now- or not until a nomad is actually dead? The security situation is getting worse not better. The more Mexicans that move to the USA to stay safe- the more crime will be targeted at those of us who are left behind.

The reality is that we all know the truth about the security problem- no matter what is printed, spoken, dismissed or denied. Now that we know the truth, we need to understand our risks and minimize them the best we can. Then get on with life and remember that if you were to be a victim- you will be among good company. Thousands of innocents are slaughtered every day around the world for no reason- you would just be another one and the world will go on spinning.

fishbuck - 8-19-2008 at 09:33 AM

Just stay calm and don't over react to this. It is cause for concern but not an actual threat to us I don't believe.
Wait for the facts and details of the story.
There are several pemex stations in San Quintin.
Don't be afraid. Be cautious and aware.
The fear mongers are just trying to scare us again.
Life is still good. Baja is still good.

David K - 8-19-2008 at 09:45 AM

Thanks Grover... two very good people we knew personally, killed in Baja by murderers... who still run free?

Woooosh - 8-19-2008 at 09:45 AM

sorry- I didn't know.

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 03:16 PM

The political pundits in TJ are so fed up with the crime rate that they are calling Mayor Jorge Ramos, "Jorge Gramos". It doesn't translate directly, but it's like saying "Jorge Lightweight". This is after all his campaign promises to fight crime and the reality that it is only getting worse.

gramo=gram in Spainsh.

fdt - 8-19-2008 at 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tsgarcia69
The political pundits in TJ are so fed up with the crime rate that they are calling Mayor Jorge Ramos, "Jorge Gramos". It doesn't translate directly, but it's like saying "Jorge Lightweight". This is after all his campaign promises to fight crime and the reality that it is only getting worse.

gramo=gram in Spainsh.

While I don't know were you came from or what your motives are, by this post I can surely see that you have no clue as to what you are talking about

IMHMO you are just a rumour-monger. Double

[Edited on 8-20-2008 by fdt]

palmeto99 - 8-19-2008 at 05:15 PM

Do you have info that disputes his post or are you upset that TJ. just can not get its act together to protect its people? :cool:

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 05:17 PM

Well fdt, I can see this is a touchy subject for you. Is Mexican politics another one of those taboo subjects on Baja Nomad? We've already been told that the mainland and anything to do with crime is a no-no.

Will you be having PAN with your dinner tonight?

fdt - 8-19-2008 at 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by palmeto99
Do you have info that disputes his post or are you upset that TJ. just can not get its act together to protect its people? :cool:

Yes I do have that info or I would not be saying anything. He has had that nickname since forever. And I was not replying to you or are you one and the same?

Bob and Susan - 8-19-2008 at 05:31 PM

compare the stats for the city of los angeles california then complain about baja...

Murder: 1 per day

Rape: 3 per day

Robbery: 45 per day

Assault: 84 per day

Burglary: 69 per day

Theft: 211 per day

Car Theft: 92 a day (~4 per hour) WOW!!!

Arson: 6 per day

fdt - 8-19-2008 at 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tsgarcia69
Well fdt, I can see this is a touchy subject for you. Is Mexican politics another one of those taboo subjects on Baja Nomad? We've already been told that the mainland and anything to do with crime is a no-no.

Will you be having PAN with your dinner tonight?

Liars is what I can not stand, you can talk all you want about politics, just get it straight or say nothing.
No pan, tortillas tonight

fdt - 8-19-2008 at 05:33 PM

The title on this thread makes you a rumour-monger.

palmeto99 - 8-19-2008 at 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
compare the stats for the city of los angeles california then complain about baja...

Murder: 1 per day

Rape: 3 per day

Robbery: 45 per day

Assault: 84 per day

Burglary: 69 per day

Theft: 211 per day

Car Theft: 92 a day (~4 per hour) WOW!!!

Arson: 6 per day

Bob, compare the stats in a regional by population basis.
The Baja crime waves started last fall and by your reasoning, its ok as long as the crime does not get as bad as LAs.
You in Mulege and myself in Loreto are rather insulated from some of this but we still have to run the gauntlet to get to our little pockets of safe Baja. I, like you drive a large newer diesel pickup that the banditos would love to have even more so if my boat is towed behind it. I did not worry as much with travel until last fall and I now travel every few weeks to SD. by truck because of the higher costs of flying.

I am in LA a lot and have never had to worry about being robbed or extorted by a policeman. Even in San Pedro.

Bajafun777 - 8-19-2008 at 06:08 PM

Same things are happening in Mexicali and due to dual citizenship issues we have the FBI also working with the Mexican Authorities on some of these people that have businesses in Mexicali and San Felipe. This is just tough on everyone and they actually get a number of them back and the FBI have so good sources as I know several cases they got the victims back. Our local Victim Witness Agency also assists the family members while the kidnapping is unsolved and family in distress. Later-------- bajafun777

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 06:11 PM

Quote:

Arson: 6 per day

Good stats, Bob or Susan. I took your advice and compared that to Tijuana, just as you suggested, since you offered up no comparisons, just some one-sided statistics. Let me show you how to make sense out of all that, as if you were in college and had to pass a statistics course:

Homicides in Los Angeles year-to-date 7/19/2008 = 206
Population of Los Angeles = 4,220,260

Homicides in Tijuana year-to-date 7/6/2008 = 260
Population of Tijuana = 1,286,187

Homicides per year per 100,000 population
Los Angeles = 9.76
Tijuana = 40.4

DOUBLE WOW!!!

Do you have any more non-comparative statistics you would like to post?

palmeto99 - 8-19-2008 at 06:17 PM

Those numbers are huge. I had no idea. How does it compare by region. It must get much worse.

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by palmeto99
Those numbers are huge. I had no idea. How does it compare by region. It must get much worse.

I could only pull up homicide numbers for TJ because it is being watched in the media. It is all but impossible to pull up regional data for all of Baja. Even worse, the crime data in Baja is significantly under-reported. It is estimated that 80% of all crimes are not reported in Baja because of fear of the police and general antipathy. Rape is very under-reported due to cultural differences.

What bothers me is the people who try to downplay the crime in Baja are almost all people with some kind of a tourist-related business there. They make such ridiculous statements like the one I saw the other day from some Rosarito real estate agent. She said something like, "crime is no worse in Baja than Detroit". As if some family is sitting around the dinner table planning their next vacation and saying, "Let's see, should we go to Baja or Detroit?"

Bob and Susan - 8-19-2008 at 06:41 PM

here is my source for crime stats in los angeles california...
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Los+Angeles&...

plese post where you found your stats...

otherewise you MAY have made them up :light:

Bajafun777 - 8-19-2008 at 09:01 PM

Yes crime rates show you something if you can also get the data on exactly where the crime is happening, what gangs are in that area, what frequency of the crime is happening, what is the victim criteria the criminals are looking for, what type of patrol and investigative response the police give these areas of crime. Will it make crime rate go down? Nope, not if your judges, city and state officials are not all working together to give quick effective justice to those committing these crimes. Additionally, Mexico needs to have a "Witness Protection Program" to get people to give up information to take these cold blooded criminals off the streets. Mexico also needs to put the death sentence on the books and go after any crooks relatives that have benefited in housing, bank accounts, cars, property, etc. and sell it off to put money into going after more crooks. All of this will take money and Mexico is a lot closer than Iraq, so lets channel some monies with experts from here to end this mess from always being front page news. With that said too many good people on both sides of these criminals actions are making our Baja less desirable for us or relatives we want to share it with. I am too old to change I don't runaway from trouble too easy and will continue to enjoy Baja and other parts of Mexico. I will just always be real careful, know what type of area I am in at all times, keep my belief in God strong, and enjoy life as it is suppose to be enjoyed not in fear. "No Hurry, No Worry, Just Fun" bajafun777

tsgarcia69 - 8-19-2008 at 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
here is my source for crime stats in los angeles california...
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Los+Angeles&...

plese post where you found your stats...

otherewise you MAY have made them up :light:

I wouldn't make up something like that.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/08/world/fg-tijuana8

"The weekend tally pushed the city’s death toll this year to more than 260, compared with about 152 homicides at this time last year, and underscored authorities’ difficulties curbing organized crime."

http://www.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/cityprof.pdf

Note YTD to 8/16/2008 homicides in 232, less 26 for 7/20 - 8/16 = 206.

palmeto99 - 8-20-2008 at 05:50 AM

Thank you for a very useful post that gives us an accurate picture of where this is heading. :cool:

Bob and Susan - 8-20-2008 at 05:59 AM

yes thank you tsgarcia69

the world up there is a dangerous place!!!

Bajajack - 8-20-2008 at 08:14 AM

Another day of the mushroom treatment???

Sure seems to be a lot of posts deleted. :mad: