Mexico is Way More Screwed than You Think

a reply to: CJS4life

Maybe the most ignorant comment on this thread so far. Mexicans don't have smart phones or TV's?

a reply to: usernameconspiracy

Carlos Slim Helu, enough said.

It amazing the box some choose to live. While Mexico indeed has slums and more wide spread 'real' poverty, Mexico is by no means a poor country on the world scale. The beaches are still beautiful and will still attracted tourist despite all the negative PR in the US about the drug cartels.

The resort towns are generally safe, they know better than to scare off the international tourist.

Eh, this is an exaggeration. I studied in Central America, travelled through Mexico, worked in the Dominican Republic. Yes, there are kidnappings. Yes, things are corrupt. Yes, you have to be extremely street smart. But it is in no way to the level that you are describing. It's a wonderful place, but does have a lot of crime. Many of my friends are from Mexico as well, meaning came here only for grad school or some recent job but grew up there. It's not to the level you are describing and it is by no means like Somalia.

originally posted by: ATODASO

"it happened so fast. it seemed like only a few months."

my good buddy recently got back from a trip to mexico. he met a lady, and now they're touring all around north america. she's great, mid-20s, well educated, funny, sweet. we were up last night drinking on the porch, as you do. he was down there (veracruz) for a couple of months, but that was enough. here's what they told me.

*if you're a gov employee, and you don't play ball, the cartels will kill your family. all of them. it happened to a 2nd cousin of hers, as well as several acquaintances. so guess what? the gov, local and federal, is entirely in the cartels' pockets. the cartels set policy and call the shots, absolutely.

*she has a 1 yr old niece who has never left the family home. if you're a woman or a girl, you do not leave the house alone. if you are a person of either sex, you get indoors before 11pm. and you do not DO NOT allow your children outside. EVER. that's because...

*people get kidnapped EVERY DAY in EVERY COMMUNITY.

my buddy and Y____ went out for tacos one day. they're mowing down on some fine tacos when Y____ perks up, looks nervous. "we have to go. NOW." turns out that she overheard one of the other patrons on the phone telling someone about the american who was just begging to get snatched, and could they send a van and backup? mind you, there are two cops in line toting semi-automatic rifles giving zero #s.

they kidnap men for organs and ransom, they kidnap boys for organs and fresh soldiers, they kidnap girls for child prostitution, child porn, and organs. three months ago in Y___'s hometown, a truck was pulled over for speeding. the cop asked to look in the back, the driver agreed. and then blew his brains out right then and there. open the back and there are DOZENS of children and babies, living and dead, missing organs and missing eyes. standard cartel practice. if you live the kid (usually male) alive, you take the eyes out and dump them in the street. good luck finding accurate stats out there, because...

*one of the things you will be asked to do by the cartels if you work in law enforcement is tamper with the kidnapping reports. bury them, alter them, etc. if you are a police officer, you can bust someone for going shirtless in public, but a body can be chucked out the back of a van in the town plaza right in front of you, and you will do nothing.

*they even kidnap dogs. they take them from yards and parks and either ransom them or sell them to the chinese for meat. Y___ took her dog to the park one day, and a woman approached her and tried to take it. Y___ kicked her and ran like hell with the dog in her arms.

*nobody has a job. unless it's cartel related.

*education is a joke.

*back in may, some super draconian legislation was passed that severely restricted mexicans ability to speak out on the internet. she posted a video about it on my buddy's fb wall, and two weeks later, it was gone. not a dead video, but *poof* disappeared off his timeline altogether.

"they want to silence us, so the world doesn't know how it really is here."

make no mistake, you americans have a full on somalia-style failed state boiling just beneath you. if any american companies/agencies are still selling weapons in mexico, they ought to be ashamed. i'm not saying what is going on with the flood of illegals into your country is ok, or that it's being handled well by your gov. but try to understand, these people aren't coming here to steal your jobs or take your tax dollars. they are terrified, and have every reason to be terrified.

originally posted by: coder
Wow, that's eye opening! Unbelievably sad too. The scale of it is difficult to comprehend but certainly sheds some light on why the flood gates have opened.

Nah this is way over exaggerated. And I say that as someone who has travelled through there, has extensive Mexican friends and contacts, and studied the region. This is a scare story.

Good friend of mine just got back from three months of traveling down Baja by car with her mother and four year old daughter. They car camped on the beach, met locals who welcomed them into their homes. They neither had a single threatening episode, nor had anyone warn them of any dangers of being three women alone in Mexico.

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
Where were you in Mexico? Along the Rivera Maya?

During this recent trip, actually yes I was. I completely understand that it's a safer area than up North.

Leaving the resort can be tricky during certain dates. The military has had to really ramp up to try and keep control of some of the resort locations.

Maybe so, but I have driven from Cancun all the way to the ruins of Tulum, and never had any issues. Doesn't mean you're not thinking something could happen. ~$heopleNation

originally posted by: GogoVicMorrow
Obviously you were in a safe place. I would bet a place that is not listed on the US current report as being dangerous. They have a very detailed outline of where is safe.

Yeah this time I was, many times I have not been in a safe place. Kind of like how I drove up and down Baja (cartel country) for a month while surfing with no problems.

Of course there are safe places where tourists go, but venture inland and you take alot of risks. I would guess you flew in and didnt drive while there.

This last time I flew in, yes so what, do you assume that the cartels cannot pay off a cab driver?

Tell Harry Devert's family it's all exaggeration. Some areas have 40 kidnappings a day. The number of dead.bodies are made up to you i guess?

That is one incident. Tourists are robbed and murdered in certain areas here in the States as well. Happens more often than in Mexico, course it's a larger population though.

You sure guess a lot don't you? Nobody has suggested that no kidnappings are occurring, so calm down.

What some of us are saying is that you are overreacting when it comes to the safety of tourists while visiting Mexico.You're doing a disservice to many good people down there.

~$heopleNation

a reply to: SheopleNation

Baja is dangerous, but less so as it is controlled by the tijuana cartel. Their leader wanted to end kidnappings and focus solely on drugs because kidnappings brought too much attention.

The Tijuana Cartel is one of the weakest of the Mexican Cartels.

Not nearly of the same level of concern.

a reply to: SheopleNation

Of course they do pay off cab drivers. I only pointed out that you likely flew in because the US has issued a air travel entry only warning to many of the tourist spots.

Yeh this is over exaggerated, They could told you anything about Mexico nad you would believe it :/

a reply to: SheopleNation

You are fighting a lost cause. Don't know why you want to down play reality with so much evidence against you?

Actually Harry Devert was the second well reported American death in Mex this year. Another man was killed only hours after entering.

40 percent of Americans killed abroad are killed in Mexico. 511 americans murdered in 6 years (06 to 12).

There were 757 REPORTED kidnappings recorded between January and June 2013. Some places 40 a day.

Anyone more interested in the reality than Sheople here can visit: here

Also you will notice that site lists accidents, negligence related deaths, and murders. However you will see a high number of balcony deaths. People fall off hotel balcony's in Mexico more than any other country in the world it seems.. generally because only part of them are actually accidents. Popular, easier to explain tactic than blowing someones brains out in their room: here

and get a real state by state run down: HERE

a reply to: SylvaneJack13

No.. it's not. Such a weird thing for you guys to be in denial over. Hell there are several people who saw this thread and had personal experiences!

Yeah things are pretty messed up there - this just happened -

news.vice.com...

It's sad, we used to go down to Juarez when I was a kid but you couldn't pay me to go down there now.

Kill the Cartels. Find out where they are bomb their houses and kill them and confiscate their bank accounts. Allow the citizens to carry firearms openly to defend themselves.

originally posted by: GogoVicMorrow

You are fighting a lost cause. Don't know why you want to down play reality with so much evidence against you?

I am not fighting against anything, I am saying that it is not dangerous everywhere in Mexico, just as it is not dangerous everywhere here in the USA.

Actually Harry Devert was the second well reported American death in Mex this year. Another man was killed only hours after entering.

40 percent of Americans killed abroad are killed in Mexico. 511 americans murdered in 6 years (06 to 12).

Of course things are going to happen. Nobody has suggested that it doesn't.

There were 757 REPORTED kidnappings recorded between January and June 2013. Some places 40 a day.

What you fail to mention is how many of those kidnappings involved tourists?

Anyone more interested in the reality than Sheople here can visit: here

Now you see, this is what I am talking about. Your own link shows that the overall majority of tourist deaths that occur in Mexico are accidents. You're misleading people. There are far more accidents than murders, and most of the murders occurred during a robbery, not the cartels.

Also you will notice that site lists accidents, negligence related deaths, and murders. However you will see a high number of balcony deaths. People fall off hotel balcony's in Mexico more than any other country in the world it seems.. generally because only part of them are actually accidents. Popular, easier to explain tactic than blowing someones brains out in their room: here

and get a real state by state run down: HERE

More likely having to do with consuming way too much alcohol, and all day long at that, in most cases. I mean 3:00 am falling off a balcony? = It's called being hammered. In other cases, the balcony collapsed. Yes the Cartels are kidnapping Mexicans, but rarely any tourists as your own link proves.

Again, nobody is in denial about the dangers of Mexico, and yes it's getting worse but that danger exists only in certain areas, or in various areas where freak accidents or murders occur just like they do in any other Country. So let's use a little commonsense instead of fabricating arguments that nobody has made. ~$heopleNation

originally posted by: texasyeti
Kill the Cartels. Find out where they are bomb their houses and kill them and confiscate their bank accounts. Allow the citizens to carry firearms openly to defend themselves.

Yeah you know something needs to be done about the problem, it's way out of hand, just as with the border. That is one unfortunate thing about Mexico, not having the ability to carry a firearm legally. ~$heopleNation

I'm going to read this whole thread -- call me weird, I do that -- but first I have to say that if Mexico is more screwed than I think, Godzilla AND Gamera must be on the way.

There's no Mexican organized crime, of course...because it's all Russian. As far as I can tell, the US and Russia have been using Mexico as a conduit for crime for so long, the good Mexican people might as well have had radioactive waste dumped on them for a hundred years. All the will in the world can't rebottle the toxic genie now. They're not just screwed, they are skah-roo-ed. Very sad.

Okay, so the claim is that everywhere you go in Mexico you'll be kidnapped, beheaded, and possibly forced to eat cilantro. Goodness no, that's not the case. My grandparents are ex-pats and they and their friends couldn't try harder all the time to convince people in the US how safe and great it is there. But to me, this is one of the signs of Screwed in the sense that the good Mexican people have little chance of making anything better, and it's going to keep getting worse. The more I hear Americans living the dollar life over there and loving it, the more I wonder how much it costs the locals in protection money so the golden goose doesn't fly away. The violence is horrific in some places, but it's the constant wearing away at financial and natural resources, and the impossibility of a people having democratic autonomy when the biggest gangs in the world are using their homeland as a compost heap.

I live in casa Grande AZ, near the "times square" of smuggling roads. I met some private security guards that our company hired to watch over us due to a disgruntled employees action and we as got to know each other I found his history interesting. The security company he works for gets hired by local drilling companies, surveyors, etc. And he knows that the cartel runs the border exclusively, they have a unwritten agreement to NOT interfere with their operations and they will not interfere with their business. The guns and manpower they have on a moments notice is very scary he said, but they honored the agreement between each other. Make no mistake, the cartel runs the border according to him.

a reply to: ATODASO

During the previous prohibition, it took 10 years to figure out that prohibition doesn't help and actually spawns massive gang violence. For some reason we are almost 50 years into prohibition round two and people are still accepting of prohibition. Sure they may accept decriminalization of marijuana but they still want illegal hard drugs to stay illegal regardless of how many tens of thousands of people are killed each year in the drug wars, all despite the fact almost nobody is saved from drug prohibition. In fact, prohibition means that the drugs will be more unsafe and more widely available. There are no stats out that support a drug war. None. But that won't stop people from thinking drugs should be illegal. Facts are irrelevant when its all really about controlling people.