Community Forums

inharmswayus · 12-29-2008, 09:02 PM

Narcotics officers will not let their families within 50miles of the border on the U.S side and would not think of a recreational excursion into Mexico. 460 murders in Tijuana this year another 300 in Baja as a whole. Anglos are increasingly targeted as a source of money either by robbery or kidnapping.
You can feel safe and say you are safe. Fact is you are not!!

youmissthepoint · 12-30-2008, 03:50 AM

The US department of justice web site shows nearly 15,000 drug related murders in the latest figures.
Maybe you should be more scared NOB than in Mexico. Here is the link
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/duc.htm
If you have facts, send the link.

Stanbnv · 12-30-2008, 04:48 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Narcotics officers will not let their families within 50miles of the border on the U.S side and would not think of a recreational excursion into Mexico. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> What Narcotics officers? Have any names? Where do they live? How do you know they are narcotics officers? Did you get this information from the same source that just reported an incident that happened in October of 2007 as news?

hamguy · 12-30-2008, 05:47 AM

"hamguy, do you think the pressure from the US government to stem the drug trade has anything to do with the sentence for drug offenses in Mexico?"

You bet. In this case, the Judge is a 32 YO new lawyer/Judge and he is trying to get the rep of being a "hanging" judge. I understand they are hopeful the sentence will be reduced to time served at the appeal hearing.

Note, one of the problem is there are waaay too many people involved in helping this young man. His parents are no help, his sister has written the attorney my daughter found and retained, calling him a crook and firing him.

Of course, he was POed and besides she has no standing to 'fire' him.

I am not sire what the status is right now. I think that possibly his family is going to try to bribe the judge(s) which will result in a problem too big to contemplate.

I really do like the kid and hope he is ok, but I do wish the family would just go away.

BrianSue48 · 12-30-2008, 01:32 PM

These sort of comments of doom and gloom about Mexico have been going on for at least 40 years that I know of. So someone got held up and "sexually asaulted" (I didn't see the word "rape" in the article - what does this mean?) sometime around a year or so ago? Do you mean you are trying to say that in that period of time in the USA there were no "sexual assaults"? So if there was a "sexual assault" say in Los Angeles, does that mean no one should ever go to California because California is too dangerous?? Is anyone paying attention? Are you saying there are no murders in the US? That there are no drug problems in the US? No drug related murders or crimes or even "sexual assaults" in the US? If there is crime in Chicago no one should go to Illinois? Crime in Miami and Florida is off limits? Yes there is a drug war in Mexico and people are getting killed - mostly they are the drug dealers or mules or whatever they are - or the police or the army. And yes, something bad does occasionally happen to a tourist. Serious crimes happen in every major city in the US. Crimes happen in small towns in the US. Should we not go anywhere or do anything because if we leave our bomb shelters something bad might happen to us? I really don't get the point these anti-Mexico people are trying to make. Do any of you ever read the newspaper or watch the evening news. Do you really think that Mexico is the only place these things happen? What are you really talking about?

Here is a Copy&Paste quote from the rv.net forum on the same newsreport:

The incident "reported" on ABC Evening news occurred October 23, 2007 and was first discussed on this forum January 5, 2008. Here is a partial quote form the reporting then; "Lori Hoffman, a San Diego-area emergency room nurse, said she was sexually assaulted Oct. 23 by two masked men in front of her boyfriend, San Diego Surfing Academy owner Pat Weber."

Here is a partial quote from the current ABC story: "That's the way it was for Pat Weber and his girlfriend Lori Hoffman..."

I would say it is the same incident and poor journalism if the current story leaves the impression that this is a recent crime.

Here is a link to the ABC story - where in the story do they use the word "Rape"? What exactly does "sexually assaulted" mean?
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=6539006&page=1
This is just garbage yellow journalism from people who can't seem to find anything worthwhile to talk about....

Here are some statistics from the FBI about murders in the US for those of you who seem to be unaware that there is any crime in the US.

Drug-related homicides in the United States

Year Number of homicides Percent drug related

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1987 17,963 4.9 %
1988 17,971 5.6
1989 18,954 7.4
1990 20,273 6.7
1991 21,676 6.2
1992 22,716 5.7
1993 23,180 5.5
1994 22,084 5.6
1995 20,232 5.1
1996 16,967 5.0
1997 15,837 5.1
1998 14,276 4.8
1999 13,011 4.5
2000 13,230 4.5
2001 14,061 4.1
2002 14,263 4.7
2003 14,465 4.7
2004 14,210 3.9
2005 14,965 4.0
2006 14,990 5.3

Note: The percentages are based on data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) while the totals are from the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Not all homicides in the UCR result in reports in the SHR.
Source: Table constructed by ONDCP Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse staff from FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the United States, annually.

Consider if people in other countries were as concerned about coming to the US as some of you are about going to Mexico. No one would come here. Washington, DC has one of the highest murder rates in the world yet people from all over the US and the rest of the world visit there daily. Are they all just plain crazy???

Ray,IN · 12-31-2008, 04:15 AM

I only posted what I watched on that program. I didn't elaborate or berate, there is no need to go ballistic or get angry. Lets keep the irv2 mission statement in mind, please.
I had no idea this "news" was over a year old, that's not the way it was presented by Charles Gibson. He is perhaps the one to which you should express your strong opinion.

read & learn · 12-31-2008, 04:43 AM

OK everyone, it is time to move on RAY,IN said he made a mistake posting something the was old information.
Thank all of you for your posts We are now going to go to Rocky Point, Mexico, with about 9 other RVs.
As we read the different posts we realized that Mexico is no different then here in the USA, and you must know where your are and there is safety in numbers.
We wish everyone of the iRV2 family a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

diandtom · 12-31-2008, 05:44 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by moisheh:
A lot of nonsense in this thread. That incident took place in Baja over a year ago. They were parked in a deserted area. BTW : They walked back to the border and US customs would not let them use their bathrooms!! All of the stories in this thread are heresay. My friend, my buddy, etc. No first hand incidents. There have been no attacks on RV'rs in Mexico. AS for the story about paying the cops $3000 . This is bunk!! BTW : The law about hitting animals changed in Mexico many years ago. If a farmer's animals are on the road and there is an accident, he is at fault. Most of the crime you hear about in Mexico is between drug cartels. If you dont sell or use drugs there is no problem. Those kids with bullets and Hash deserve to be in jail. I guarantee there is more to that story than was reported. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ok,I'm confused! IF this happened over a year ago,then why was it just on tv? I saw an interview with the couple,don't think they would broadcast year old news when there is so much new news to report. I'm sure there has been more than one such episode.maybe there was one or more a year ago but I do think this one was much more recent!!

Dianne

Ceratto's Grotto · 12-31-2008, 06:35 AM

My family owned a large manufacturing business with plants in the US, Taiwan, and Mexico. The corruption got so bad in Mexico, one night we packed semis with the equipment we wanted to keep and could move, drove it back across the border and just walked away from the whole situation.

I'd love to travel down the Baja in an RV, but in today's environment it would have to be in a big caravan of RVs and with a Blackwater-like escort!

Ray,IN · 12-31-2008, 06:36 AM

I should have done my research before posting. Here is the documentation that this occurred in 2007. CBS news Jan. 7, 2008
I really should have known better, once again sorry for my mistake.
Charles Gibson anchor for CBS nightly news is the one to address if you are upset by the story last week. He reported it as a recent event.

FatDog · 12-31-2008, 09:43 AM

I see in this thread 2 different sorts of biases.

Those who have worked or lived in the immediate vicinity, like Ceratto's Grotto who just posted, or myself who has lived and camped here forever, ... tend to be very very concerned about the border area.

Those who primarily only spend time in parks much further south and don't have the extended living border region experience ... tend to think the danger level there is the same there as it is anywhere in the US.

It has nothing to do with 'bravery'.

Grumpytrkr · 12-31-2008, 07:36 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Finhawk:
You couldn't pay me enough to go into that Country. I've seen enough 3rd World dumps in my life </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I second that. I've been to Korea, Japan, Marshall Islands, Germany, and other places. There isn't anything that will get me to go to Mexico, or Canada, for that matter.

TF36DSMatt · 01-01-2009, 11:54 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by moisheh:
A lot of nonsense in this thread. That incident took place in Baja over a year ago. They were parked in a deserted area. BTW : They walked back to the border and US customs would not let them use their bathrooms!! All of the stories in this thread are heresay. My friend, my buddy, etc. No first hand incidents. There have been no attacks on RV'rs in Mexico. AS for the story about paying the cops $3000 . This is bunk!! BTW : The law about hitting animals changed in Mexico many years ago. If a farmer's animals are on the road and there is an accident, he is at fault. Most of the crime you hear about in Mexico is between drug cartels. If you dont sell or use drugs there is no problem. Those kids with bullets and Hash deserve to be in jail. I guarantee there is more to that story than was reported. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Here's a fairly good compilation of tourist-related events that have transpired and been reported widely across the internet over the past 2 years.

http://www.advrider.com/forums...wthread.php?t=404204

GraciesMom · 01-03-2009, 01:59 PM

Wow - what a thread. I have a friend that is a retired Marine GySgt. that has led expeditions to Mexico for YEARS. He's not the least bit afraid to go. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to leave this coming week, but his girlfriend heard about the Baja story and chickened out. When I was in Deming, I saw on the news all the time about shootings related to drug cartels. There was a shooting that hurt some tourists in one of the border cities just last month. When I was in Sonoyta (sp), I saw guys in cammie pants, grey sweatshirts and boots walking around with AK-47's and I have to tell you , that freaked me out a little bit. I mean, you HAVE to go through the 'border cities" to get into Mexico to start with and it sounds as though most of the trouble is around the border cities, with the drug cartels. Anyway - I will probably fly down to Mexico or take a cruise. I don't think I'll take my RV. I don't speak the language, and it's a fact that corruption is rampant there, even with the police. I have friends who had their cars rammed and were put in jail as if it was their fault. Just not worth it to me.