Security issues in Guaymas, San Carlos and points south

I read your 3 articles and they are narco related, the policemen shot happen to be "municipal" police and they are normally controlled by the local narco gang, a rival gang that wants the territory is sending a message to the local narco gang and the municipal police force.

On the other two items that you refer to they are also narco related, if you check where the "colonias, mentioned are you will see that they are not in the tourist area, as for the beaches, some drug shipments arrive by go fast panga, they even reach Coronado, La Joya and Encinitas beaches in California.

As long as you have no buisness with the narcos you are safer than any Mexican in Mexico , you are a "gringo" and that is something they do not want to mess with, the isolated robbery or "asalto" to a gringo is commited by the local punk.

One reason that the gringos are left alone by the narcos is that a murder of a turista brings the federeal government police and the Mexican Navy Marines,the narcos do not want the attention of the government at all, bad for buisness and the Municipal police and the State police are bribed by the narcos good for buisness.

If you are concerned with your safety, you are safer in Mexico than in the USA even safer than the legitimate Mexican "turistas" in the USA.

navegator

Jeez yotta see the weekly crime report map in the San Diego Union Tribune.

Looks like a freckled redhead with a really bad case of measles.

6th street and Serdan is on the East side of the city. And shopping centers are all on the West end of town. About 3 miles apart. Like any other Mexican city I avoid non tourist areas after say 7:30 PM. I have no reason to be running around after dark nor do I hang out in humdrum areas of any city, anywhere day or night. As I remember it there are few if any businesses of interest to tourists American or Mexican in that area. When I worked for Cooperativa Juan Lopez Ventura I couldn't even find a restaurant in that area, and the Cooperativa address WAS 6th and Serdan.

It isn't that I minimize, trivialize, or ignore reports of violence. The first thing that comes to mind is "What are the chances?" I try and use common sense. Areas that have supermarkets, expensive restaurants, tourist zones, are known to have more aggressive police responses. A supermarket robbery for instance would not bring the police it would bring the state and federal police. So would a gunshot in a tourist zone. Criminals might be boneheads but that do know to screw up in a higher priority area is to invite a nasty response.

Young people's music performances, Mexicano discos, parlores de billares (pool halls) houses of doubtful repute, salones sociales (like rent a hall for events) are more likely to attract criminals.

When we have a birthday party we do not have open invitations -- strictly family and friends only. This keeps out the regional scumbags. Just like in the US.

I would not hesitate to drive the length of Serdan today, from the big curve all the way to the Ferry terminal. And remember Serdan is NOT the main boulevard. There is a bigger street a few blocks inland that serves as the main boulevard.

Then there is a autopista that bypasses the whole rigamarole and it is like 5 miles from the nearest Guaymas structure.

A newspaper reporter or editor who would publish what I wrote above as an addendum in the violence article would be looking for a new job the next day.

The main question is, does this impact RVers. In my experience of over 10 years taking an RV all over Mexico, the answer is no. An acquaintance of mine was shot in Vegas last year in that hotel incident. You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time anytime or anywhere. That does not mean you need to stop living your life. At least violence in Mexico tends to be targeted within the drug trade.

Apparently the moderator here is a little over sensitive, so I’ll try this again.

Making blanket statements about the safety of traveling in a particular country is inaccurate and misleading.

Do your homework before traveling....read news articles and travel warnings.

Unfortunatly news paper articles tend to make every incident as being bigger and worse than what it really is, remember that they need to sell the story to the chief editor so that the news papers sell.

Travel warnings issued are blanket to the entire states and not specific places, would you like to read what other countries advice the tourists going to the USA, same thing a lot of states are very dangerous for foreighn tourists in the USA, as an example the state of Illinois, the State of New York but they fail to state what areas in Chicago are dangerous or in the area of New York City.

Today travelling anywere can be hazardus to your health, you could be blown up in Paris, or shot at the supermarket in Saint Louis or trampled by a pack of llamas in Quito.

What you read in the news is not always what happened, and State Department warnings are to general to be of much use, if all of what you read is true, then stay indoors and do not even venture to Walmart, you might get shot in your own town!

navegator

There was a time that when I read the ravel warnings I just ignored them. My thoughts were that I lived in Sonora ,a peaceful place. Sure we had a few killings in HMO but there is nowhere in Mexico without some activity. They were targeted killings. Beginning about 18 months ago our Mexican friends started to tell us that Sonora was changing. They no longer drove on 15 to visit family in Sinaloa. One family has 4 family members that are truckers. 2 of them were stopped by gangs. Told to hand over their wallets and shoes. The gangs left with the truck and trailers. This has become so common place that truckers travel those areas in some sort of convoy. Buses are stopped and everyone hands over their valuables. These are mostly common criminals. Far more dangerous than cartels. If you don't do drugs and stay away from bars after dark you wont encounter cartels. But the wanabees don't care that you are a tourist. They are armed and looking to add a notch in their belts (or guns). I don't ever remember a travel warning for hwy 15. Nor one for San Carlos. For us this is getting close to home. The police do not respond nor interfere in these criminal actions. We have a new to us RV for travelling south in Mexico. In the spring we decided not to go beyond SC. Now we will not ravel beyond HMO. Nor will we take the back way to Penasco. Things are changing and I really do not care if San Diego is bad. Briansue ( whatever happened to him?) would post all those statistics. If New York is more dangerous than Mexico does that make it OK to travel in Mexico? The Mexican feds are turning a blind eye to all that is happening. I think everyone should open their eyes and ask Real Mexicans about the changes.

Moisheh

What's a foreigner to think about the San Diego area?



My medical center is in the middle of the beehive of polka dots. The Union Tribune is one of the few newspapers anywhere that depicts crime.

So people who are utterly unaware of the crime stats in their area of the USA take one look at M-E-X-I-C-O and freak out.

I've met an uncounted number of visitors who came, who visited and then expressed outrage at skewed publicity. "How could they...?" is a favorite starting line.

When I encountered an alarmist the few times I spent the states I countered the self-serving-hysteria with a probability of an asteroid coming through their living room drapes. My demeanor changes entirely for folks asking legit questions.

navegator's first comment is one of the best responses I've heard. We have traveled in Mexico since 1999 and feel safe enough to ride alone on a motorcycle. Our last five motorcycle trips in Mexico have a cumulative mileage approaching 20,000 miles.

Many of the criminals are not even Mexicans, they are either those that made it to Mexico from central and South America or recently deported South Americans claiming to be Mexicans so that they can try to reenter the USA, the Salvadoreños and Colombians are more agresive and more ruthless and then you have the ms13 guys, so yes there is definitlly change in the level of crime, not just in Mexico but all over the world.

Many years ago some university made a study with rats and they discovered that small population with suficient food there was peace, as soon as there was over crowding of the rat population the fighhts started to increase, so get persons that do not have a job, or enough to eat and you start to have more crime, specially in individuals that do not have anchors, as in immediate family, and of course you will always have the local punks, in some comunities latelly the inhabitants have beaten and linched or burt to death individuals caught stealing.

Slowly the world will decend into anarchy.

navegator

No worries H5N9 Is on the way