"Mexico Safer than Headlines Indicate"

[annlaur]

[…]Isla of Mujeres, which sits right across from Cancun, it has a rather largish Mexican Naval base and next to it is an area filled with dozens and dozens of confiscated drug runner boats. They are there for anybody to see and cannot be mistaken for what they are. (There aren't too many fisherman who need a fleet of brand new boats all outfitted with triple 250 HP out boards and cheap fishing rods taped to the rigging)

Last year I and hundreds of tourists watched the Mexican navy surround and confiscate and tow away (very quietly) a 100 foot drug running yacht less than 100 yds off shore on the most popular tourist beach on Isla Mujeres, 50 caliber machine guns pointed and at the ready, two Mexican Navy gun boats involved. A few people on the beach remarked - "isn't it nice how their navy helped tow that guys boat for him", which of course displays to me how naive a lot of us are.[…]

While I agree with most everything you wrote, I'd like to add some perspective to what I quoted above. The illegal activities going on in Isla Mujeres and other locales of the Mexican Riviera are nothing new. The whole Caribbean has been a well-known route for all kinds of traffics for decades (drugs, immigrants, weapons, counterfeit goods, fuel), not just Mexico. The boats you saw in Isla Mujeres don't only carry drugs, they are also (mainly ?) used to bring in Cubans (Isla has been a major entry point for them for years). Drugs are nothing new there. I don't know if the area was ruled by a specific cartel or just a bunch of "independants", but when I used to live there, I heard many stories (I don't know the specifics or even if they were true and I won't post about them). Suffice to say that when a "business disagreement" occurred, it was dealt with discreetly and off the island.
That was years before Calderon launched his controversial "war on drugs" with the consequences that we read about everyday in the news.

To me the main difference (in the Riviera Maya) between then and today is that those same "business disagreements" are not disguised as accidents or suicides or plain disappearances, they're conducted in a way that is sure to bring a lot of media attention, usually with narco messages and evident signs of torture. So, while violence has most certainly increased in several parts of the country, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are no more murders nowadays than there used to be 10 years ago in the Cancun area. Of course we'll never now.

Correction.......drug related crime and OR deaths. Drug related arrests are happening much more and some deaths also.

More drug related arrests doesn't necessarily mean more drug-related illegal activities. On the contrary, it could be perceived as an increased attempt by authorities to do their job. Corruption has been rampant in the country, and it is a well-known fact that some Mexican officials are/were involved in the drug business.

There have been very few drug-related deaths in Cozumel over the past few years. To me, the mere fact that some bad guys have gone there to try and hide from the cartels speaks for itself of the safeness of the island.

[…]The bottom line is that Cozumel is geographically as well as culturally isolated from those wars and will most likely stay that way.

I agree with Dave and cvchief. On top of the geography (Cozumel is much farther from the mainland than, say, Isla Mujeres, which is a mere 12 minute ferry ride from the peninsula), I believe the island also benefits from the protection of many politicians : not only does the presidency of the country have a federal residence there, the current governor of the state and the president of the PRI party are both from Cozumel.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

As best I know, there have not been more than 2 US deaths, outside of diving, in the 20 years I have been here. One was a propeller strike strike from a drunken cruise ship passenger getting off their party boat, and the other is still a mystery. We have not even caught up with Aruba!


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Mike]

Okay, someone compare Coz to Washington DC. 2009 had 122 murders that year. Mexico hasn't had that many Americans killed in two years.

Coz, or DC? Coz, or DC . . . Of course, I would go to DC, but would be smart about where I go.

This is such a wasted effort, you really don't need to go there. It doesn't really matter if you have 1 murder or 2 until with 2 one of them is a stranger and the 2nd one is someone in your family. Then it matters a whole lot.

You can try to argue with statistics all you want, but trying to pretend that a country where 40 people are burned to death in a casino over a drug cartel battle, where 120, 80, 60, 40, 20, and dozens and dozens of people are discovered buried in a shallow graves as a result of a drug cartel, where a 15 year old slits the throat of two women in Cancun in relation to a drug cartel, where police have to wear masks to protect themselves and their families from death, where bullets whip across our border and land in American buildings walls on the USA side, where beheadings are taking place routinely, where they discover bodies hung by the neck from bridges, where mayors are skinned alive and left as a message to others, where the last two Mexicans to hold the 2nd highest position in the country in relation to the drug war both die in mysterious 'accidents'...

Yes, it's just like Washington DC. Or no I guess not really.

Let's pretend all we want that the violence in Mexico is just like what goes on in the United States, or let's all collectively just say realistically "It's pretty F'd up down there, but thank God, it's staying pretty clear of the places I like to go diving". and let's all just hope it stays that way, and lets stop trying to pretend that what's going on is really nothing at all.

 

[WSOPFAN]

As best I know, there have not been more than 2 US deaths, outside of diving, in the 20 years I have been here. One was a propeller strike strike from a drunken cruise ship passenger getting off their party boat, and the other is still a mystery. We have not even caught up with Aruba!


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

I guess you forgot about the moped meets pole from last month, or the MANY moped and car accidents over the years. As far as how many drug related executions happen an article from today says 11 drug related deaths alone in the last 3 years. Guess you don't read the news much.........oh yea that's right cause all the papers do is lie right? I wonder where they get the pictures from with the people lying there in a pool of blood? Maybe those are fake too huh?

Google Translate

 

[Brendon]

As best I know, there have not been more than 2 US deaths, outside of diving, in the 20 years I have been here. One was a propeller strike strike from a drunken cruise ship passenger getting off their party boat, and the other is still a mystery. We have not even caught up with Aruba!


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

2 deaths in 20yrs...? I think you need to decrease the ppN your breathing.

 

[annlaur]

So that's :
1 in 2008.
5 in 2009 (including 4 killed at the same time, of which two had just come from Cancun where they owed 2 kilos of cocaine to the Zetas)
3 in 2010 (including 2 at the same time)
2 in 2011.
All of the deceased (but one where it's unclear) were known for being drug traffickers. None of them American.

For those who want to do maths, as of 2010, the island totaled 85 618 inhabitants (source here).

 

[cvchief]

I guess you forgot about the moped meets pole from last month, or the MANY moped and car accidents over the years. As far as how many drug related executions happen an article from today says 11 drug related deaths alone in the last 3 years. Guess you don't read the news much.........oh yea that's right cause all the papers do is lie right? I wonder where they get the pictures from with the people lying there in a pool of blood? Maybe those are fake too huh?

Google Translate

Seriously, a minute ago it was . Now its 11 in three years, so that would be there are .07 murders of drug dealers EVERY WEEK.

After that EPIC FAIL, NOW, you want to say it is unsafe because of mopeds? Seriously? Mexico is unsafe because people come here and do dumb things that get them hurt and killed? Do you want Mexico to stop being Mexico and letting YOU make the choice to be stupid.

I think it comes down to making a judgement on a large place like Mexico as a whole and then trying to apply the generalization locally is bound to fail. Arguing about whether MX is safe or not is kinda stupid unless you are traveling through the whole country.

Can everyone but the Pokerkid agree that Cozumel is pretty safe for tourists who don't intentionally do risky things? Then you can move the "is the whole D#$% country of Mexico safe?" to the Mexico forum and the rest of us can stay in our nice safe Coz bubble where we know it is all good....

 

[Basscat]

OK, so you hate Mexico, or at least don't trust the people there, and don't want to go there. Cool, don't. No worries. I probably will. Thank you for caring, but I'll probably be OK. If not, it's probably not going to bother you too much. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your poker.
bye

I guess you forgot about the moped meets pole from last month, or the MANY moped and car accidents over the years. As far as how many drug related executions happen an article from today says 11 drug related deaths alone in the last 3 years. Guess you don't read the news much.........oh yea that's right cause all the papers do is lie right? I wonder where they get the pictures from with the people lying there in a pool of blood? Maybe those are fake too huh?

Google Translate

 

[Tanked]

My landscapers are Mexican. Should I be worried?

 

[annlaur]

My landscapers are Mexican. Should I be worried?

Depends… Are they growing funny smelling plants in your backyard ?