Lo siento, Méjico.
I was sorry to hear the news today about the mass grave found in the city of Durango. I had planned to live in Mexico when I retired. I even was offered jobs by two different schools to teach English.
I decided not to go because of all the killings as a result of the drug cartels. It reminds me of Pablo Escobar in Columbia. I don't know what the solution to all this should be. Perhaps some cooperation between Mexico and groups like seal team 6 etc. It worked for Columbia which is safer than it was before.
The sad part to me is the poor people just trying to live their lives in peace in a beautiful country like Mexico being caught up in the cross fire.
It used to be that safety could be found by just leaving the border area with the US. Even Chiapas was relatively safe as long as you were not an enemy of the Zapatistas. Sadly, this seems to no longer be true.
My thoughts are with the innocents caught up in this.
Durango Mass Graves
3 Answers
There is really very little danger living in Mexico, despite all the sensational news. Almost all the violence occurs along the northern border, and, sad to say, involves Mexicans involved with the cartels or the government/armed forces, and now latinos passing through al norte. In most of the country, life goes on as always and, in fact, is statistically safer than almost any other country in Latin America, and safer than Mexico in the recent past. I live in Mexico 6 months of the year, and I assure you the danger there is no different than anywhere else. In my little town of 10,000 in Vermont there were two murders this past year, making it statistically more dangerous than Mexico City regarding murders. At least go and visit to see for yourself. Give in to your dreams, not your fears. Sabes el refrán, "Si suena el rio, es que piedras trae"? En este caso, no es así. J
We have never encountered any problems in the Chiapas region of Mexico. I'm planning on going there next month. Is there anything new that has happened there?
TO return to the subject of safety in Mexico:
Officially, 111 U.S. citizens were killed in Mexico last year, ONE THIRD IN JUST TWO CITIES. Almost all of them were involved in illicit vocations, usually the trafficking of guns, drugs, or people across the border. This is 111 out of close to 8 million visitors, with nearly 1 million of those being part- or full-time residents choosing Mexico over the U.S. or Canada.
Then there's the U.S. proper, which can't get a State Department travel alert because it's, well, not a foreign country. (Note, this is an ironic comment, yes?)
[1]: http://travel. booklocker. com/2011/ 05/18/travel- safety-in- perspective- usa-vs-mexico/
