Canada issues Mexican travel warning

[89coupe]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/02/27/8560841-cp.html

[Redlyne_mr2]

Mexico has always been a sketchy place..

[2jzgte]

That makes me feel better, leaving to Mexico next friday.

[Mixalot27]

Cities like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez have become the frontline of a war between the government and increasingly powerful drug cartels.

I always thought that in Mexico, the Government and the drug cartels were one and the same.

But Tijuana has always been a pretty rough place. Even the police will beat or rob you down there.

[Lex350]

Its like any country. There are good places to go and bad places to avoid.you also always need to use you head and stay away from situations that can cause you harm. Ya no diffrent than travelling to most other countries. I've never had a problem in mexico.

[Lex350]

I'd rather go there than take the bus in Toronto thesr days

[szw]

Originally posted by rotten42
Its like any country. There are good places to go and bad places to avoid.you also always need to use you head and stay away from situations that can cause you harm. Ya no diffrent than travelling to most other countries. I've never had a problem in mexico.

Actually its a lot scummier and more corrupt that most countries (that you'd want to visit, anyways). I would still go to the resorts though even though the advisory is saying even just sticking to the resorts isn't really advised right now.

Keep in mind there is a reason they are issuing this advisory now and not all the time and your advice is based on previous experiences and not the current situation there.

[Lex350]

Mexico over Brazil anyday. You really need your head on striaght walking the streets there. We usually stay in high end resorts in Mexico and dont stray too far off the path when we are in town so I've never had a problem. Again I think it all comes down to travel smarts no matter where you go.

[szw]

Originally posted by rotten42
Mexico over Brazil anyday. You really need your head on striaght walking the streets there. We usually stay in high end resorts in Mexico and dont stray too far off the path when we are in town so I've never had a problem. Again I think it all comes down to travel smarts no matter where you go.

I'm just saying you are basing your opinion off your previous experience and the advisories (from the US also) are saying that things have changed now.

[bamboo_warrier]

mehico is safe, we 0wn a hut there, ign0re the news

[black13]

Actually it is pretty bad and its gotten alot worse recently. My buddy from Mexico is even afraid to go back even for a visit.
Mexico city has like one of the highest kidnappings rates in the world.

It's a beautiful place but the amount of corruption in government from the gangs is getting out of control.

[nusneak]

Not sure what it matters, but Phoenix, Arizona is the kidnapping capital of the USA, and has 788,000 results on google for arizona kidnapping. And mexico kidnapping has 1,190,000 results on google.

Here is a quote from a page saying people that live in Mexico are scared of being kidnapped.

"For all the concern over kidnapping, it is unclear how often it occurs. According to official statistics, about 65 people are kidnapped each month, or about two a day. That figure is up 9.1% from last year. But the actual kidnapping tally is probably far higher: Many families avoid going to the police because they don't trust them. A crime institute said recently that there were probably more than 500 kidnappings a month." - [source (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kidnap1-2008sep01,0,4003595.story)]
:eek:

[Rat Fink]

.

[natejj]

I recently flew to San Diego, took the Trolley to the TJ border crossing, walked across, grabbed a taxi to bus station, got a bus ticket, sat there for 5 hours, took a 6 hour bus ride down the Baja Coast, and spent 8 days at an orphanage, and did the vice versa coming back. I felt 5x safer in Mexico then I did in San Diego, the characters you see on the trolley there? As long as you avoid the strip clubs, and dont travel by yourself at night, you are fine. I hate all this paranoia.

[googe]

Originally posted by bamboo_warrier
mehico is safe, we 0wn a hut there, ign0re the news

stop typing like an idiot and use the real letter O, thanks

[jshel101]

Originally posted by bamboo_warrier
mehico is safe, we 0wn a hut there, ign0re the news
How does YOU owning a hit in Mexico put everyones mind at ease when travelling down there? Do you control the drug cartel down there? Do you know where and when they are going to strike? How do you know if the cartel won't attack an upscale resort to just make a point. It would be easy for htem to do and they wouldn't care who they killed. Saying to ignore the news about this is a pretty stupid thing to say!

[Supa Dexta]

Good, screw mexico.

[R-Audi]

Im heading down in 3 weeks to Puerto Vallarta.. and this doesnt make me even think twice about doing so... obviously the border towns in which the drug trade is rampant isnt the same as going further South to a resort based city....

People need to relax and be smart......

[Seanith]

Originally posted by R-Audi
Im heading down in 3 weeks to Puerto Vallarta.. and this doesnt make me even think twice about doing so... obviously the border towns in which the drug trade is rampant isnt the same as going further South to a resort based city....

People need to relax and be smart......


No doubt. I don't care how dangerous it is in the Capitol city and Tijuana. Haven't these places always been sketchy?
:dunno:

I'm going to the in the Mayan Riviera at the end of April. I don't think it should be a problem... might have to be a bit more cautious in Cancun though.

[toyboy88]

:werd:


But the cities in question are not generally where Canadians travel. Snowbirds flock to the idyllic beaches of the Mayan Riviera, Puerto Vallarta, Hualtuco and other resort towns.

None of those locations were singled out in the travel report, although Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco are located in states that were mentioned - Baja California and Guerrero.

[2jzgte]

Alright, i leave to Mexico this Saturday...if i dont reply back on the 16th...then stay away!

[scat19]

Good luck!

But most of the resort destinations do not border the states, and thats where the conflict areas are

[R-Audi]

As was brought up in previous threads about Mexico...

DON'T BE STUPID.

Its as simple as that. Don't buy drugs, don't be over abnoxious, and don't look for trouble. Basically same as going anywhere else.
I certainly wouldnt be going into some of the Shady areas of Calgary and being a drunk obnoxious fool... so why would you do it in another Country?
I have been vacationing in Mexico for many years, and my parents have owned a place down there for 2.. and we have never had any problems.

[lil*tymer]

I'm pretty sure even ciudad juarez would be safe during the daytime. Every city has bad areas during the night, but we all know Mexico is a third world and a warning like this should come as no suprise.

I just travelled Brasil, Bolivia, and Peru. All of which had travel warnings, and i never had one problem. Sure things can happen, but for the most part just blend in and have fun.

[nbaker00]

I just returned from Mexico last night.
I felt pretty safe with these guys walking up and down the beach every day lol

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o165/nbaker0/Cancun%202009/Cancun101.jpg

[jshel101]

where in Mexico where you?

[szw]

Lol, I would NOT feel safe with those guys around!

[lil*tymer]

Originally posted by szw
Lol, I would NOT feel safe with those guys around!

wow, you're a PUSSY dude.

[bubbley]

Are strip clubs out of the touristy areas? im assuming so

[5hift]

Yah I dont think you guys realize how fucked the situation is there. The tourist areas are safe for the most part, but in the border towns, they are as lawless as Afghanistan.

When the most recent police chief was hired in one of the larger northern town's, the cartels advertised that they would kill a police officer every 48 hours until he resigned. After two cops were murdered the police chief resigned.

The guy who was supposed to be the drug czar fighting the cartels was caught taking a half million per month in bribes and his replacement was killed on his first day on the job along with all his bodyguards.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by 5hift
Yah I dont think you guys realize how fucked the situation is there. The tourist areas are safe for the most part, but in the border towns, they are as lawless as Afghanistan.

When the most recent police chief was hired in one of the larger northern town's, the cartels advertised that they would kill a police officer every 48 hours until he resigned. After two cops were murdered the police chief resigned.

The guy who was supposed to be the drug czar fighting the cartels was caught taking a half million per month in bribes and his replacement was killed on his first day on the job along with all his bodyguards.

Holy fuck

[banned3x]

Abducted Mexican singer strangled

Gomez (centre) and his band had a following in Mexico and the US
The lead singer of a well-known Mexican band has been abducted, tortured and strangled to death, officials say.
Sergio Gomez, of the K-Paz de la Sierra band, was seized after a concert in the western state of Michoacan on Sunday.

The motive for the attack is unclear but Michoacan has been the scene of gruesome drug-related violence.

Several musicians have been killed over the year, including performers of the popular "narcocorrido" music whose lyrics centre on drug-trafficking.

Gomez and several others were travelling in a car in the early hours of Sunday after K-Paz de la Sierra's concert in Morelia, Michoacan's capital, when they were kidnapped by armed men.



The other people were released but Gomez's body was found on Monday on Morelia's outskirts, bearing signs of burns and bruises, police said.

K-Paz de la Sierra, whose members were immigrants to the Chicago area, were one of the best-known bands playing the US and Mexican "Duranguense" music scene, heavy on drums and synthesizers.

Shot in hospital

Gomez was killed hours after another singer, Zayda Pena, was killed in the border city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state.

Pena, 28, was shot by an unknown assailant in hospital where she was recovering from a previous gunshot wound.

The motive behind her murder is also unknown.

Several of the murders of musicians over the past year are believed to be tied to organised crime and drug-trafficking.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico this year as drug cartels battle for territory and drug routes.


so just stay in the tourist areas

[5hift]

I'm surprised there hasnt been more disscussion about this on here, whats going on in Mexico is so fucked.


"In Mexico City, cartel gunmen assassinated the nation's police commander in the grounds of his home. In the state of Chihuahua, drug gangs have, in the past fortnight, put up hit lists and wanted posters with names and photographs of police commanders, and offers of reward money for their deaths. In the border city of Juarez, the list was posted on a police memorial statue. No one dared take it down, and so far 17 names have been crossed off it – dead. "


Drug violence spins Mexico toward 'civil war'

A shootout in a border city that leaves five alleged drug traffickers sprawled dead on the street and seven police wounded. A police chief and his bodyguards gunned down outside his house in another border city. Four bridges into the United States shut down by protesters who want the military out of their towns and who officials say are backed by narcotraffickers.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/18/mexico.drug.violence/index.html#cnnSTCText



5 human heads discovered in ice chests in central Mexico

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/10/mexico.heads/index.html?iref=mpstoryview


Cartel 'stewmaker' says he dissolved 300 bodies

A suspect in police custody calls himself a "stewmaker" for a Mexican drug lord, saying he disposed of about 300 bodies by dissolving them in acid.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/24/mexico.cartel.arrest/index.html#cnnSTCText

[alloroc]

Every time I read the thread title I think of the following converstaion

Canada: Hey You!
Mexican: Me joo talking to me?
Canada: Ya You! MExican
Mexican: What why me why you picking on a Mexican man?
Canada: Don't travel I'm warning you, Eh.

[UndrgroundRider]

This shit is fucked. Having worked in a lot of bad areas in the states, I have a pretty high tolerance for sketchy people... but this is just ridiculous.

[R-Audi]

Meh.. off to PV in 13 days!

[gkAeris]

so would you guys say cancun is generally safe if we stay in the tourist area?:confused:

[toyboy88]

Originally posted by gkAeris
so would you guys say cancun is generally safe if we stay in the tourist area?:confused:

Yes, just stick to tourist resorts/areas in town.

Don't be flashy/stupid/obnoxious walking down streets attracting unwanted attention - basically anything you wouldn't want to do here in Calgary...same thing applies.

At night, can't hurt to walk in groups of 3+ if you need to go anywhere - if you don't have that many people make some new friends! As I'm sure most people in the touristy areas will all be partying/clubbing/bar hopping in the evening/night.

Was in Cabo in January and never felt "unsafe"...just be an extra tad smart and conscious and stay in "main" areas of town.

[2jzgte]

So i got back on Sunday...from Mazatlan.

Like a bunch of people said earlier stay in the resort/tourist area you pretty much safe.

We had an amazing time down there...wont hesitate to go there again or tell people to head down there someday.

[Ajay]

I'm going to the Mayan Riviera in April. I don't think it's a hotbed of drug activity so I'm not very worried.

[autumnrain]

how is mazatlan?
its closer to the border than cancun!

i'm comtemplating going to the new riu hotel opening.
but cancun has nicer sand.

or should I just forget about mexico!
lol

[R-Audi]

Mazatlan is fine...
If you've ever been to Florida.. Cancun is basically the Mexican version. Nice beaches and water.. but VERY american.

Im leaving for Puerto Vallarta on tuesday!! woot!

[berbatov]

Originally posted by natejj
I felt 5x safer in Mexico then I did in San Diego, the characters you see on the trolley there? As long as you avoid the strip clubs, and dont travel by yourself at night, you are fine. I hate all this paranoia.

Ya, but you have a uni brow ...

[gkAeris]

anybody go there recently with an update? i heard it was even WORST now, i'm going for my sisters wedding in June....

[PGTze]

I'm going down next week, I will report back if I come home alive.

[R-Audi]

I was down in Puerto Vallarta for two weeks from March 24-April 7th.. as long as you arent in Tijuana... you wont have to worry about a damn thing.


THIS WARNING IS ONLY FOR BORDER TOWNS!
(And possibly Mexico city. Yeck!)

[Seanith]

I'm more concerned about the swine disease... i leave on Sunday! :eek: