Yikes... dont drink in this bar...

[1KWIK_69]

The two suspects in the shooting have been apprehended and are in custody today. Supposedly there is no question that the correct people are in custody.

I'm betting that the local investigators don't have their hands tied as much as their counterparts in the U.S. would have. They probably didn't have much trouble getting the truth out of them.

 

[Christi]

I'm betting that the local investigators don't have their hands tied as much as their counterparts in the U.S. would have. They probably didn't have much trouble getting the truth out of them.

And the way I look at it - we now have three more drug dealers off the streets! It's at least a step in the right direction!

 

[cruiser]

OK, I know you said you still feel safe in Cozumel, but as far as the rest of your post goes, are you kidding me????? You live in Dallas - where I would be willing to put money on that there are 4 - 5 drug related murders per WEEK if not per DAY not to mention all of the random acts of violence that take place on a daily basis there. How many different gangs do you think there are in Dallas, I can only imagine. I guess I won't be visiting Texas anymore because the violence there is just too much to handle! For that matter, why don't I just blanket the entire country - guess I won't be visiting the USA anymore because I heard there was a drug/gang related shoot out in Los Angeles last week! See how ridiculous that sounds?

In Dallas 5 drug deaths a week may be the norm, I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. I believe crime rates in Coz are lower per capita than Dallas and that's why I'm not crossing Cozumel off my list of dive destinations anytime soon.

If 5 drug related murders in 2 years in Coz is such a non-event, then why is there a campaign to jump on these incidents and try to make them benign? Wouldn't the infrequency of crime on the island speak for itself? Instead, the Coz PR machine kicks in gear to derail the discussion from honest dialogue about crime on Coz, or compartmentalize the event in some way to make it seem more innocuous.

F'rinstance, can we really refer to the earlier drug murders when 4 people were killed as just 1 incident? I'd like for the chief of police in Dallas to start calculating the crime statistics using "incidents," rather than "people killed." Our crime rating would change dramatically for the better.

And does it really matter where the drug dispute began? The 2 main incidents where 5 people were killed were reported to begin on the mainland and the murders ended up on Cozumel. That makes it Cozumel crime, plain and simple.

As I said in another thread - again, not trying to downplay it, simply to put perspective on the issue. One thing that IS different in Mexico and the drug related murders here - is that most of them are contained within the cartel and the people that cross them, not random people - unlike the thug gangs in the US who commit random acts of violence to score their next high and/or to get initiated into their gang of choice. My point again is that these are not random killings and Sundays shooting was a direct SHOOTING, not a shoot out as some have inaccurately reported.

I didn't hear any reports of a shootout, just a shooting. Dead is still dead, however it happened.

 

[1KWIK_69]

In Dallas 5 drug deaths a week may be the norm, I don't know, but I wouldn't doubt it. I believe crime rates in Coz are lower per capita than Dallas and that's why I'm not crossing Cozumel off my list of dive destinations anytime soon.

If 5 drug related murders in 2 years in Coz is such a non-event, then why is there a campaign to jump on these incidents and try to make them benign? Wouldn't the infrequency of crime on the island speak for itself? Instead, the Coz PR machine kicks in gear to derail the discussion from honest dialogue about crime on Coz, or compartmentalize the event in some way to make it seem more innocuous.

I have to ask, what PR machine? Are you speaking of people on this forum speaking out about how safe they feel in Cozumel? I don't remember anyone paying me to say that I see nothing that makes me think Cozumel isn't more safe than the city I live in? I haven't stopped going to Westport in KC because once in a while there's a shooting down there, but I definitely feel the need to watch over my shoulder when I'm there, a lot more than I do walking around even the back streets of San Miguel, day or night.

If the PR machine is something other than people on this forum, please tell us where to find it. If they were hiding the fact that there was a cartel hit on some drug dealer that crossed them, why is it in the news? Maybe what you see as a PR machine trying to make things benign, is really just reasonable people trying to put things in perspective?

 

[ggunn]

...the Coz PR machine kicks in...

What "PR machine"? Does the Cozumel chamber of commerce post here? We are all independent people posting our opinions. Calling us a "PR machine" just looks like a tactic to attempt to invalidate our points of view. Please stick to the facts and cut out the name-calling. Thanks.

 

[cvchief]

What "PR machine"? Does the Cozumel chamber of commerce post here? We are all independent people posting our opinions. Calling us a "PR machine" just looks like a tactic to attempt to invalidate our opinions. Please stick to the facts and cut out the name-calling. Thanks.

Gordo, You need a Coz trip. You seem tense. (I mean you are right, just tense.) Christi does try to make it less scarey. I think she is right of course, but I guess some misinterpret it as "PR". Of course that could be the case when she tells us of the wonderful conditions or posts about the great restaurants. To some degree, we all love the place and don't want to see in get a blackeye from the serious problems in other areas.

It is what it is. A guy got popped. And I got to say the trafficantes seem to shoot really well, so on the WAY FAR out chance you get near a shooting, its good to know that they must practice. Of course I guess with bullets being a controlled item down there, you really don't want to waste them?

On a lighter note, I read yesterday or today that the cops arrested a, (and how stereotypical is this) drunk MX sailor. Actually a couple. For insulting authorities. A drunken sailor getting arrested for cursing like a ..... drunken sailor?

 

[vladimir]

One murder a night is probably below average for most US cities.

You need a denominator. The population of Cozumel is about 80,000. I'm not suggesting that Cozumel's crime rate does not compare well with most US cities, just that a rate needs a denominator.

OK, I know you said you still feel safe in Cozumel, but as far as the rest of your post goes, are you kidding me????? You live in Dallas - where I would be willing to put money on that there are 4 - 5 drug related murders per WEEK if not per DAY not to mention all of the random acts of violence that take place on a daily basis there. How many different gangs do you think there are in Dallas, I can only imagine. I guess I won't be visiting Texas anymore because the violence there is just too much to handle! For that matter, why don't I just blanket the entire country - guess I won't be visiting the USA anymore because I heard there was a drug/gang related shoot out in Los Angeles last week! See how ridiculous that sounds?

It sounds ridiculous because you need denominators. The population of Dallas is 1.2 million, or about 15 times Cozumel's.The population of Los Angeles is 3.8 million, or about 50 times Cozumel's. The population of Texas is about 25 million, or about 300 times Cozumel's. Again, I'm not suggesting that Cozumel's crime rate does not compare well with most US cities, just that a rate needs a denominator.

 

[Aigtbootbp]

I nominate the town where I work to compare to Cozumel.
St. Louis, MO. Vs. Cozumel (entire island)
Let's see.... we have a population around 300k here but we are the most violent/dangerous city in the US... (depends on the year and who is doing the research)

Yeah, I think I would much rather be in Cozumel...

Posting from downtown St Louis....
Gary

 

[vladimir]

I nominate the town where I work to compare to Cozumel.
St. Louis, MO. Vs. Cozumel (entire island)
Let's see.... we have a population around 300k here but we are the most violent/dangerous city in the US... (depends on the year and who is doing the research)

Yeah, I think I would much rather be in Cozumel...

Posting from downtown St Louis....
Gary

Yeah, plus the diving sucks in St Louis. Which is one of the many reasons I have never vacationed there. The common refrain, "It's safer than ____", is a useful way to put things into context, but it's not without its pitfalls. For example, I live in Hong Kong because I get paid to do so, because the tax rates are low, because it has the infrastructure I need, etc. There are probably good reasons that you live in St Louis (though, I confess, it's hard for me to imagine what they might be :joke. But I wouldn't vacation in Hong Kong, and you probably wouldn't vacation in St Louis if you had no ties to the city. Where you vacation is a choice, and whether you vacation is also a choice. So Cozumel doesn't just have to be better than St Louis, it also has to be better than Bonaire, Saba, Key Largo, etc., and it has to better than staying home (and saving the cost of vacation).

 

[cvchief]

You need a denominator. The population of Cozumel is about 80,000. I'm not suggesting that Cozumel's crime rate does not compare well with most US cities, just that a rate needs a denominator.

It sounds ridiculous because you need denominators. The population of Dallas is 1.2 million, or about 15 times Cozumel's.The population of Los Angeles is 3.8 million, or about 50 times Cozumel's. The population of Texas is about 25 million, or about 300 times Cozumel's. Again, I'm not suggesting that Cozumel's crime rate does not compare well with most US cities, just that a rate needs a denominator.

Vlad,
Actually, I supplied the denominator on earlier in the thread:

Best I can roughly figure San Miguel itself has about 77,236 residents and averaging 3 murders a year gives them a rate of .039 murders per year per 1,000 residents. Using 2009 FBI numbers, that would say they have a bit more murder than Anaheim, California (at .03) , but less than Virginia Beach, VA (at .04).
So if you are considering vacations, you would be slightly safer in downtown San Miguel than in all-American family beach resort town of Virginia Beach. (Esp if you involved in being a narcotraficante. If not, you might be even safer in Coz) That's half the murder rate of Vegas and only a third of the rate in Pittsburgh. (Go Steelers...)

Now on the other hand, Saint Louis is 0.4 or more than 10 times as many murders per person than Coz. For you St. Louie peeps: learn the phase: Dead Man Walking.... jeez. I mean you tied freaking Detroit. The only one worse is the Big Easy at .52. That is still on my bucket list for some gumbo, jazz, blues, and beignets. Now Hong Kong has like what 7 million people? They had 47 murders in 2009. That is like .007 per 1000. That is either way safe or someone is fibbing.

Now you tell me I gotta take Hong Kong off the bucket list as no fun. The Commies ruin it?