My Goodness, Who Could Have Foreseen This?

[haha]

Drug cartel violence drives Mexico's troops to once tranquil towns - Yahoo! News

Mexican drug violence spills over into formerly "safe" spots.

Ha

[Danmar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Drug cartel violence drives Mexico's troops to once tranquil towns - Yahoo! News Mexican drug violence spills over into formerly "safe" spots. Ha

Got any plans to go to Mexico?

[DougViages]

My DW and I are Palace Resorts members, and have been to Cancun/Riviera Maya numerous times, along with visits to Puerto Vallarta. While we have seen many police, some with automatic weapons, we have always felt safe visiting our resorts. We would NOT visit the northern border states of Mexico or Mexico City. We hope that we can use up our PR membership before Mexico turns into a "Narco" state.

[Lancelot]

I heard a report (NPR?) about the ongoing "Drug" violence in Mexico. The Mexican journalist that was interviewed opined that its more than turf wars between drug gangs, basically its an all out struggle for defacto control of huge areas of the country.
He also stated that the profits from kidnapping, prostitution, etc were even greater than that of drugs so carving out huge territories was the goal.

Beats me, I'm just restating what I heard.

But it doesn't look good...

[JPatrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Drug cartel violence drives Mexico's troops to once tranquil towns - Yahoo! News Mexican drug violence spills over into formerly "safe" spots. Ha

What a surprise! Drug violence spreading.
Actually they had been doing pretty good at protecting the tourist goldmines, but--Canada anyone??

[audreyh1]

Hmmmm - I guess the change in political party in power didn't help after all.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougViages While we have seen many police, some with automatic weapons, we have always felt safe visiting our resorts.

If the local constabulary are open-carrying automatic weapons, then I think you may be a tad misinformed on the concept of "safe".

If you had an open-carry automatic weapon then the situation might be a bit better. But it'd be better still to stay away from places where the authorities only feel safe with their fingers on the "full auto" lever.

Did you know that the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger regiment is trained to be ready on a few hours' standby to fly to any foreign country, take over an airfield, and evacuate American citizens from potential hostage/terrorist situations? I'm just sayin'.

[grasshopper]

Cough, cough.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords If you had an open-carry automatic weapon then the situation might be a bit better. But it'd be better still to stay away from places where the authorities only feel safe with their fingers on the "full auto" lever.

They have had these armed convoys of police/federales with heavy weaponry routinely patrolling the streets since at least the late 1990's. I definitely recall seeing them in downtown Mexico City back then.

I guess you just get used to seeing them. Also common (or at least not uncommon) back then was a security guard armed with an assault rifle or shot gun in bank lobbies and acting as security guards in stores. I don't imagine much has changed.

They seem to have a society that has acquiesced to accepting heavily armed protectors on their streets, and it was that way before the current uprising of drug/gang warfare.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO They have had these armed convoys of police/federales with heavy weaponry routinely patrolling the streets since at least the late 1990's. I definitely recall seeing them in downtown Mexico City back then. I guess you just get used to seeing them. Also common (or at least not uncommon) back then was a security guard armed with an assault rifle or shot gun in bank lobbies and acting as security guards in stores. I don't imagine much has changed. They seem to have a society that has acquiesced to accepting heavily armed protectors on their streets, and it was that way before the current uprising of drug/gang warfare.

To torture the analogy even further, perhaps the safest place would be in the middle of the combat zone-- where the most armed forces and heaviest weapons are gathered.

The presence of the heavily armed federales, routine or not, does not make it "safe". It merely reduces the response time and shortens the shooting range...

I've been responsible for the firearms training of military servicemembers, and their knowledge of the use of deadly force. I know how scary a weapon can be in the hands of an average U.S. Army soldier, let alone a submariner, but I have to believe that they have a better shooting discipline than a federale.

I'm just sayin' not to confuse the size of the caliber with the degree of safety.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords To torture the analogy even further, perhaps the safest place would be in the middle of the combat zone-- where the most armed forces and heaviest weapons are gathered. The presence of the heavily armed federales, routine or not, does not make it "safe". It merely reduces the response time and shortens the shooting range...

I'm not saying the heavily armed police make it any safer, just that they have "always been there" in at least some places, and it isn't necessarily a recent response to violent crime/gang warfare.

[brett]

These issues have had an impact on us. Instead of considering Mexico for an AI vacation, we remove it from the list and look at Cuba and Domincan Republic.

We were looking to rent for a month in January. We did not even consider Mexico....rented a condo in Costa Rica instead. We may have a look at property while we are there. We would not even consider buying in Mexico at this point in time. Perhaps in the future.

There are many options. As Mexico inches toward being a failed state and visitors no longer have confidence in the police and judiciary, tourist dollars will decrease. And I suspect that it will decrease exponentially. Too bad, because it will be the average, hard working Mexican who is most impacted by this.

[grasshopper]

It is everywhere.

(Reuters) - The lush national parks of Costa Rica have long attracted tourists from around the globe with their evergreen rainforests, white beaches and thermal springs. Recently, they have lured more unsavory visitors in the form of drug traffickers.


Cascades and cocaine in Costa Rica's national parks | Reuters

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper It is everywhere. (Reuters) - The lush national parks of Costa Rica have long attracted tourists from around the globe with their evergreen rainforests, white beaches and thermal springs. Recently, they have lured more unsavory visitors in the form of drug traffickers. Cascades and cocaine in Costa Rica's national parks | Reuters

Heck, in 2009 here in CO a major marijuana grow was discovered in a wildlife area I will be hunting in this winter. The hunters who found the grow informed the authorities, but I cannot help but wonder if they helped themselves first.

[H2ODude]

It was over a year ago but DW needed some sunshine and warmth. Did 5 days south of Cancun on Playa del Carmen, one of the all inclusive resorts. Had a great time but will always remember how grateful some of the help was...as in taking us off to side and thanking us for coming. Had no indication to feel unsafe at all, it's just a shame that it was a beautiful place, friendly staffs, and they were really hurting thanks to what was going on (mainly, I guess) ELSEWHERE in their country.

[NW-Bound]

Very sad when drug trafficking destroys nations. Yet, the problem stems from American drug users.

Could it be that the solution to dry up all that money flow is by giving drug users all they could use? No more money for drug traffic, and after a short time, no more drug users either.

[heyyou]

Free drugs but the users have to reside in a locked up facility. If the user wants out, he/she must pass a drug test every day for a substantial period while living in a place with free drugs.

That removes the money from the drug cartels. The public is already indirectly paying for those drugs so lower the price to free, that will solve the supply and demand pricing.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyou Free drugs but the users have to reside in a locked up facility. If the user wants out, he/she must pass a drug test every day for a substantial period while living in a place with free drugs. That removes the money from the drug cartels. The public is already indirectly paying for those drugs so lower the price to free, that will solve the supply and demand pricing.

Well, I have the locked up facility part down. It's called "w*rk"...

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyou Free drugs but the users have to reside in a locked up facility. If the user wants out, he/she must pass a drug test every day for a substantial period while living in a place with free drugs. That removes the money from the drug cartels. The public is already indirectly paying for those drugs so lower the price to free, that will solve the supply and demand pricing.

You have to remember - drugs induce a chemical reaction that occurs inside your body which helps to create an addiction. This isn't like us deciding whether or not to have a second slice of cake for dessert, or postponing a $5k 3D TV purchase.

If we did open up such 'centers' to try and reduce the profits from the drug cartels, it would only create an onslaught of people wanting free drugs. And then, you're assuming the cartels will simply vanish. Many cartels are already 'diversified' in human trafficking/prostitution, and other unsavory activities. Just like other mafia and organizations have 'diversified' into other illegal activities over the years to maintain power and money.

But even if your assumption is correct about the cartels going away when the money flow stops...why won't the cartels suddenly spring back up as soon as the free gov't drug clinics close? There will still be people wanting to get that high from the drugs, and if the gov't doesn't offer the free drugs, they'll be willing to pay for an alternate source (the drug dealer that is now back in business).

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heyyou Free drugs but the users have to reside in a locked up facility. If the user wants out, he/she must pass a drug test every day for a substantial period while living in a place with free drugs. That removes the money from the drug cartels. The public is already indirectly paying for those drugs so lower the price to free, that will solve the supply and demand pricing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooreBonds You have to remember - drugs induce a chemical reaction that occurs inside your body which helps to create an addiction. This isn't like us deciding whether or not to have a second slice of cake for dessert, or postponing a $5k 3D TV purchase. If we did open up such 'centers' to try and reduce the profits from the drug cartels, it would only create an onslaught of people wanting free drugs. And then, you're assuming the cartels will simply vanish. Many cartels are already 'diversified' in human trafficking/prostitution, and other unsavory activities. Just like other mafia and organizations have 'diversified' into other illegal activities over the years to maintain power and money. But even if your assumption is correct about the cartels going away when the money flow stops...why won't the cartels suddenly spring back up as soon as the free gov't drug clinics close? There will still be people wanting to get that high from the drugs, and if the gov't doesn't offer the free drugs, they'll be willing to pay for an alternate source (the drug dealer that is now back in business).

I think I've seen this "resort."

Do you think this is what Princess Cruise Lines means when they say, "Escape Completely!"

Escape From New York - TRAILER - YouTube