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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. 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. 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. 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.
This is the same kind of crap that is happening where I live in the Caribbean. These areas depend exclusively on tourism and the government makes a limp-wristed effort to stop it and in many cases, because of nepotism, corruption, and reverse racism, seem to encourage it. I will not be visiting Mexico any time soon, as much as I would really love to. When the tourist dollars stop flowing, then and only then will the so-called “authorities” wake up.
You couldn’t get me to enter Mexico at gunpoint.
Have a link to the orginal article?
I have heard from a few that have been there that you can easily get mugged. No thanks. Keep your dirty water.
This is the same kind of crap that is happening where I live in the Caribbean.
Where do you live? In Venezuela… This craps happens here too… (I think our thiefs here patented the method, so those mexican bastards will here from their lawyers).
I really do hope someone actually do something before these SOBs kill the latin-america tourism businesses…
Please explain “reverse racism”. Is that term not a racist sentiment in the first place?
Acapulco had quite the string of clashes with narco-terrorists in the past couple years. Actually, sounded more like the middle east than the dirty south. Police chiefs getting their heads cut off and RPG attacks. Either they don’t know, don’t sho or don’t care whats going down in the south.
The authorities will never wake up as long as the US goverment continues to bail them out.
Cancun is very safe though I witnessed a cop pulling over a bread truck where the driver was able to avoid a ticket by giving the policeman a loaf of bread.
Florida’s gulf coast is a safe destination and the beaches are wonderful. Clearwater was nice. I just got back from Naples, Fl where its nickname “Paradise Coast” is not an exageration. Plus the fishing on the famous pier there is a great past time. A dude next to me battled it out with a bonita as onlookers cheered him on.
Maybe this is retaliation for the anti-immigration streak in the US.
It’ll only get worse. In the latest news, a federal court insisted that an employer has to recognize a union that its employees formed, even though it’s mostly made up of illegal immigrants.
It’s not racism if you hate everyone based on their country.
If it were, most liberals would be racists against Americans.
Interesting, I went to Loreto last year by myself and didn’t have one single problem. Guess it depends on where you go, but the locals there were the nicest people I’ve ever met.
I would suggest people fly to Puerto Rico.
US citizens don’t need a passport, since it’s fully under US rule, much like flying to another state.
Oh wait, don’t US citizens require passports to fly between states now too? How quaint.
ANYhow Puerto Rico is lovely, people can get welfare, the police is omni-present, the people very nice.
When I was there two years ago, I rented a minivan and did over 900 miles in six days. Visited Aricebo and the underground caves, etc.
Decent prices, no sales tax.
Educated populace.
#15. As long as you stick to the countryside and avoid San Juan, Fajardo, and Ponce (a notorious drug port), PR can be relatively safe. But even in Old San Juan, the tourist area, the cops are on every corner, armed with machine guns. There is a reason for that.
I popped back to London recently to dig up some old aqaintances,had a very passable fajita in a mexican restaurant,um rather nice.
On leaving said establishment I was forcibly accosted by an Albanian who liked the look of my Mackintosh,possibly mistaking the bulge in my pocket as a mobile phone.
I quickly advised him of his mistake emphasizing the point with a swift toe in the cojones.
I was arrested for assault,and only just managed to convince the police that I was not really Lord Lucan!!
The point is foreigners are everywhere and it is up to us as individuals to ensure that those who rule us,make these visitors abide by our laws.Security begins at home.If other countries are slow on the uptake,then dont go.If you want a boozy break why dont you go to Saudi Arabia,exactly,I rest my case——for now.
#17 – Lordy. I read your post multiple times and could not figure out where you were when you were accosted. Was it London, Albania, Mexico, U.S., Saudi Arabia?
It’s MEXICO. What do you expect?
#7 Matt
“Please explain “reverse racism””
wouldn’t “reverse racism” be where you loved somebody of a different race instead of hating them?
Badgers, badgers, we don’t need no stinkin badgers.
They’re all a bunch of sunny beaches down there anyway.
I have lived in the San Diego area since 1976 and this type of activity has been going on for some time, despite the local government’s half-hearted efforts to stop it. The last time I went south of the border was 1986 and I have no plans on returning to Baja anytime soon.
Adios, muchachos!
The USA ain’t so bad after all…
Does anyone find it interesting that you don’t need a passport to visit border towns in Mexico, but you do need a Passport to get back into the USA?
It seems like the purpose of a US passport these days is to track the movements of Americans.
Next step in the plan: make Americans apply for permission from the US government to travel outside the USA. Hmmm… sounds familiar…
I lived in Puerto Rico for a couple of years and yes, the people are great and the beaches can be as good as anywhere, and yes stay out of San Juan. Not so much for safety but because other parts of the island such as Sabanna Grande and AiBonito are better. The attraction to baja is convenience. Now it is not so convenient. Been there numerous times with no problems, but why risk it now?
[Message deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
A few years ago i worked on a study of the PanAmerican Highway for a major oil company. The project involved driving from the Columbia / Panama Border to the Guatemala / Mexico Border. Passing through Costa Rica, Niceragua, Honduras and El Salvador.
We drove the route in a bulletproof Suburban and had security people with us all the way but had no incidents.
When I asked one of the Oil Co people why we were not continuing the project through Mexico to the US border, he said it was “too dangerous”.
In southern Mexico you are likely to be atacked by bandits and in the north you are likely to be attacked by bandits and/or the police.
Think of this, regarding Mexico:
– Decades of inept and incompetent governments: Slows the country’s progress.
– Decades of generalized corruption: Erodes confidence in the population.
– A bunch of Mexican “traitors” rape the country for decades for their own benefit: Guess what happens.
– A bunch of multinationals and foreign interests rape the country for their own benefit.
– Mexican population remains ignorant and poor, for decades.
– Many Mexicans have the ILLUSION that they will find a better place to work, in the US, so they illegally cross the border.
– The US is a magnificent drug consumer and Mexico is a magnificent bridge to the US.
– The US is a magnificent firearm producer, and, conveniently it’s close to Mexico.
– Mexican and foreign opportunists find a sweet spot in Mexico to do their drugs-weapons-people_trading dirty business.
We, the US and Mexico, as neighbors have a common responsibility. If we stop sending illegals to the US, you’ll be fine; if you stop consuming all those drugs and illegally selling us the firearms, we’ll be fine.
It seems to me that a bunch of someones is trying to make us hate each other, while they get the money of their stupid and profitable game.
And there are still some beautiful (and safe) places to visit here. Tourism is welcome in Mexico
In Mexico, you are either a Mexican or a Mexicant. Which one are you?
#5
“The poorer and ignorant the people, the easier they are for control.”
I thought that was al the Republican Agenda.
Joke aside, the same thing is happening here in Honduras.
#15
“Educated populace.”
If you can stand the non stop 24/7 reggaeton music.
# 21 RockOn said,
“wouldn’t “reverse racism” be where you loved somebody of a different race instead of hating them?”
One would think that, yet whenever an african american has a problem with a “white person”, it’s perceived as reverse racism. Racism is racism, plain and simple.
#31
It’s always been happening in Honduras.
SPS o TGU?
#32. I agree, Racism is racism. I used the term after living in an area that was 85% black, and experiencing for many years a racism towards white people. I call it reverse racism. You may give it any name you desire.