BULLETS OVER BAJA: Attack Yields Grave Consequences

[Papa_Bear]

Went for many years! Will not go until the crap stops and the government cleans up its own act! Kidnapping, shake downs, killings, robberies, and general hassles would tell you there are better places to spend your tourist dollars! Places like Porto Nuevo have suffered and property values have tanked! The bad guys are in charge and you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys! You can't carry protection and your a victim looking for a crime! I will fly to Cozumel or Lereto where the drug dealers have no interest! From someone who has travel in Baja a lot and who has a son involved in the Off-road Racing community and been to Baja many times, like the Terrible's we won't be going anytime soon!

 

[CompuDude]

Give it a rest Sam. I don’t just go to Tijuana to buy Tequila. But not being a drug dealer, competitor to the drug dealers, corrupt policeman, Mexican Drug enforcement officer, gun dealer or smuggler I, like the vast majority of people who visit or work in Baja have little to fear.

To use your analogy, if you base all of Los Angeles’s crime static’s based only on the communities of South Central or East LA, you may not want visit Beverly Hills.

Ok. I wanted to stay out of this, but did you seriously just compare Tijuana to Beverly Hills?

Or were you comparing it to South Central/East LA? (A somewhat more apt comparison... and two places you ALSO won't find me setting foot.)

No one is saying ALL of Mexico (or ALL of L.A.) is bad. Just certain area... and that those areas have become so bad, it's not worth driving through them to get to the good areas. Personally, I would not want to drive through directly South Central to get to a nicer area on the other side, either, although jokes about freeways shootings notwithstanding, there's no real risk here to skirting the area on the freeway, at least. Not quite the same situation down south, though, since there's no easy to way to drive around when the entire border region is the problem area. Flying is the only way I'll be entering Mexico (on my way to areas many hundreds of miles from the border) until things have gotten better.

 

[Sam Miller III]

141 Baja police fired!

Easy to read even in Spanish.

141 Baja police fired....Among the irregularities were bribery, extortion and connections to organized crime.

El Vigía.net = NOTICIAS =

"Cinco agentes de la Policía Estatal Preventiva, 42 ministeriales y 94 preventivos de los cinco municipios de Baja California serán separados de su cargo al encontrarles posibles conductas irregulares, dijo Daniel de la Rosa Anaya.

El Secretario de Seguridad Pública del Estado, acompañado del Procurador de Justicia, Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, señaló que a esa lista se agregan cuatro radio operadores de diversos Centros de Control, Comando, Comunicación y Cómputo (C-4) del Estado.

Estas suspensiones son resultado de los exámenes aplicados a los policías por el Centro Nacional de Evaluación de Control y Confianza, en coordinación con los gobiernos municipales, y estatal.

“Estos agentes tuvieron un indicio de irregularidades en su actuar, por lo tanto son separados de su cargo, desarmados y sometidos a una investigación rigurosa”, dijo.

Entre las irregularidades detectadas se encuentran cohecho, extorsión y vinculación con la delincuencia organizada."

 

[CompuDude]

141 Baja police fired!

Easy to read even in Spanish.

141 Baja police fired....Among the irregularities were bribery, extortion and connections to organized crime.

El Vigía.net = NOTICIAS =

"Cinco agentes de la Policía Estatal Preventiva, 42 ministeriales y 94 preventivos de los cinco municipios de Baja California serán separados de su cargo al encontrarles posibles conductas irregulares, dijo Daniel de la Rosa Anaya.

El Secretario de Seguridad Pública del Estado, acompañado del Procurador de Justicia, Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, señaló que a esa lista se agregan cuatro radio operadores de diversos Centros de Control, Comando, Comunicación y Cómputo (C-4) del Estado.

Estas suspensiones son resultado de los exámenes aplicados a los policías por el Centro Nacional de Evaluación de Control y Confianza, en coordinación con los gobiernos municipales, y estatal.

“Estos agentes tuvieron un indicio de irregularidades en su actuar, por lo tanto son separados de su cargo, desarmados y sometidos a una investigación rigurosa”, dijo.

Entre las irregularidades detectadas se encuentran cohecho, extorsión y vinculación con la delincuencia organizada."

Don't make me work. It's called Babelfish. Not perfect, but good enough for this:

Five agents of the Preventive State Police, 42 ministerial and 94 preventive ones of the five municipalities of Baja California will be separated of their position when finding possible irregular conducts, said Daniel them of the Anaya Rose. The Secretary of Public Security of the State, accompanied by the Solicitor of Justice, Brown Rommel Manjarrez, indicated that to that list four are added radio operating of diverse Commando, Control centers, Communication and Calculation (C-4) of the State. These suspensions are been from the examinations applied to the police by the Center National of Evaluation of Control and Confidence, in coordination with the municipal governments, and state. "These agents had an indication of irregularities in his to act, therefore they are separated of his position, disarmed and put under a rigorous investigation", she said. Between the detected irregularities they are bribe, extorsion and entailment with the organized delinquency.

 

[cdiver2]

BBC Thursday, 8 May 2008 19:33 UK


Top policeman shot dead in Mexico

Gunmen were waiting for Mr Millan outside his home, police said

A senior Mexican police official has been gunned down in the capital, Mexico City, officials have said.

Edgar Millan Gomez was in charge of co-ordinating national police operations against drugs traffickers.

He was shot nine times outside his home early on Thursday and died later in hospital, officials said. Two of his bodyguards were wounded in the attack.

Police are investigating if the attack was drug-related. Several top policemen have been killed in the past week.

Police said a group of gunmen had attacked Mr Millan.

"They were hunting him," a spokesman for the security ministry told Reuters news agency.

Police have arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with the attack.

Lucrative trafficking routes

Mexico has seen a surge in drug-related killings recently. Last year, 2,500 people were killed; so far this year, 1,100 people have been killed.

Two other senior police officers were killed in Mexico City in separate incidents last week.

And earlier this week, a senior officer in Ciudad Juarez - across the border from the United States - was ambushed as he left police headquarters.

President Felipe Calderon has sent nearly 30,000 soldiers and federal police to fight Mexico's powerful drug cartels since he took office in 2006.

The drugs cartels have fought back by attacking security forces. They are also fighting with each other to control lucrative trafficking routes.

 

[Bugmang]

JimLap brought out a good point. Where the hell was Pat's defensive weapon? Going on a travel vehicle trip into North America or South America without a weapon is just plain foolish. The couple is very fortunate to have survived!!!

 

[MissyP]

Not quite the same situation down south, though, since there's no easy to way to drive around when the entire border region is the problem area. Flying is the only way I'll be entering Mexico (on my way to areas many hundreds of miles from the border) until things have gotten better.

I'd love to go back to La Buf again for some diving~ but theres NO way I'm going out there until they've cleaned up their act.. its just not worth it...
Sad thing really~ the lack of tourism is going to hurt the honest businesses (I dont mean the hagglers lol..)..

 

[bluesbro1982]

JimLap brought out a good point. Where the hell was Pat's defensive weapon? Going on a travel vehicle trip into North America or South America without a weapon is just plain foolish. The couple is very fortunate to have survived!!!

Please read the thread. It has been discussed that carrying a weapon in Mexico is a very good way to get thrown into jail. You have no chance of getting out of a TJ jail on a weapons charge without well-connected or well-funded friends. That is, if they even can find where you are.

By the way, Mexico's legal system is based on Napoleonic Law - the burden of proof is on the accused.

I will not be driving in Baja until things calm down at least a little bit, which is irritating because i've been wanting to do la bufadora for a while.

If I absolutely had to go, I would only drive in the daytime, on well-traveled roads, and would stay at the most occupied hotel possible before the sun even hinted at going down. I would also fashion a hidden compartment or three in my car to stash a weapon, but given the cleverness level of your average drug smuggler and resulting thoroughness level of the searches, I would have to be so creative with it that the weapon would be useless in an emergency. Probably not worth the risk.

Hence why I won't be going down there via car anytime soon. Cozumel and PV, definitely still a possibility.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I'd love to go back to La Buf again for some diving~ but theres NO way I'm going out there until they've cleaned up their act.. its just not worth it...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Missy P..

Don't give up diving La Buffadora ( which means buffalo snorting in Spanish)

Our fearless leader the senior moderator, what ever that means, of this noble tribe, TeamCasa, often travels to Baja with any hesitation or fear of loss of property and life or limb.

I some how suspect if asked by you he would volunteer to personally rapidly escort you through TJ, Rosarito, Ensenada to Maneadero on to La Buffadora.

Might even volunteer to dig a personal hot tub in the sand at La Jolla for your after diving warm up...

But that is only speculation...sdm

 

[scjoe]

Just wondering if anyone saw the translated letter in the Times the other day from the Tijuana resident whose brother was kidnapped and then had her cousin kidnapped paying the ransom. Both are now presumed dead and the family has left Tijuana out of fear and frustration. It did not appear this was a wealthy family that was targeted for kidnapping or one with any connections to the drug trade.