Crime in Mexico

Was reading recent story re Cancun and it was a few onths ago that Cozumel was in the headlines

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/22/cancun-horror-as-8-bodies-including-2-dismembered-in-bags-found-on-streets.html

State Dept advisory

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html

Sigh---Have you also read the stories of all the recent murders in Chicago??

Many of those were children too. I suppose no one should visit Chicago now?

Those of us who regularly travel to Mexico by sea and who also do land visits there ,understand that gang violence exists there.

It has not affected us in any way on any of our many visits and it has not affected the many many American and Canadian snow birds who live in Mexico for the winter.

Not sure why the headlines you have listed are relevant to us as cruisers except to scare folks who are timid travelers and who don't read past the headlines to see where and how these crimes would/would not affect them.

Plus there have been murders in Iowa, Colorado...several other US cities that have been "in the headlines".

Many people have the mistaken belief that "being on vacation" makes you immune from all things bad in the world. In reality, bad things can happen to good people everywhere in the world at any time. It is important to know that the cruise industry does not visit ports that would place the passenger and crew at risk.

Take a moment and imagine what a US State Department travel warning would look like if it was written for the USA.

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This is an extremely old discussion thread on this site. Tourists are extremely unlikely to experience any violence on their trip to Mexico. It just serves no one's interest to prey on tourists and the Mexicans involved in the tourist industry due their very best to keep violence and crime away from guests.

This is not to say that the level of violence and crime inside the US and Mexico or that an equivalency exists. Mass graves related to violence are uncovered in Mexico all the time. When was the last time a mass grave was uncovered in the US? Kidnappings and extortion are common in the country as another revenue stream for both the cartels and casual criminals. In terms of murders, the rate in Mexico is at least 3 times higher than the US: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/murder-rates-by-country.html

Enjoy your visit, but don't assume everything in every country is the same.

Things are worse in Chicago and Detroit..!

I'd rather walk the streets in Mexico than in South Central LA!

This is not to say that the level of violence and crime inside the US and Mexico or that an equivalency exists. Mass graves related to violence are uncovered in Mexico all the time. When was the last time a mass grave was uncovered in the US?

Feb 14, 2018. Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School. 17 dead. They just weren't buried.

Things are worse in Chicago and Detroit..!

I'd rather walk the streets in Mexico than in South Central LA!

I agree that there are streets in both Mexico and the US that I wouldn't walk on. However, as just one example, the number of murders in Tijuana far outstrip Chicago and Detroit and not all the deaths in TJ are reported.

Chicago 2017 homicides: 682 https://hey*******.com/category/2017-stats/

Detroit 2017 homicides: 267 https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/01/02/detroit-homicides-2017/995167001/

Tijuana 2017 homicides: 1774 http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-homicides-tijuana-20180102-story.html

Even sleepy Ensenada which is the topic of much discussion on this site recorded 191 homicides getting close to what was reported for Detroit. https://bajadock.wordpress.com/2018/01/04/ensenada-murders-up-200/ By comparison, all of San Diego County only recorded 76 in 2017 http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-murder-statistics-20180221-story.html

Feb 14, 2018. Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School. 17 dead. They just weren't buried.

This is definitely a tragic event and is not to be discounted. However, on an overall basis the level of violence and death in Mexico is much higher than the US. The numbers just don't lie.

However, I still don't believe the average tourist has nothing to worry about as long as they don't go looking for trouble. Myself, I have 3 trips planned for Mexico between now and mid-November excluding quick crossings into the TJ /Ensenada area.

We have about one homicide a week in my northern CA town of only 300,000 so I guess I should stay home? Mostly, I don't go to drug dealing locations at 3:00 AM so I am pretty safe.

Out of all the murders reported above in Mexico, how many were tourists??

I think the answer is close to O.(zero)

Drug cartels are busy killing their own people.

I doubt that cruisers would be involved.

Mexico is a great place for all forms of tourism and I cross the border frequently for a variety of reasons including tourism. What I object to in all of these threads is simply the view frequently stated that Mexico as the same as the US with respect to crime and violence. It just doesn't match my experience, reading and understanding.

Family and friends that visit us from Mexico always comment on how relaxed and secure they feel when they are at our house. These comments come from people that live mostly in nice areas of Mexico and sometimes with lots of extra security.

Out of all the murders reported above in Mexico, how many were tourists??

I think the answer is close to O.(zero)

Drug cartels are busy killing their own people.

I doubt that cruisers would be involved.

75 US tourists were murdered in Mexico which exceeded the total US tourist murders in all other countries combined (69). I am sure many of those murdered where doing things that were not advisable.

https://www.newsweek.com/mexico-safe-us-couple-murdered-beach-town-959912

We have about one homicide a week in my northern CA town of only 300,000 so I guess I should stay home? Mostly, I don't go to drug dealing locations at 3:00 AM so I am pretty safe.

Who said stay home? Do you live in Stockton? The rate in Stockton is 15.9 per 100,000 which is about 5 times less than the rate in La Paz - 84.8 per 100,000.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article181299806.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate

Out of all the murders reported above in Mexico, how many were tourists??

I think the answer is close to O.(zero)

Drug cartels are busy killing their own people.

I doubt that cruisers would be involved.

I agree with you. As tourists we have traveled a lot in Mexico in various parts of the country (and yes also in the USA) and never had problems.Apart from that since some years we stay in Puerto Vallarta each winter for about 4 months. I drive our car there, shop, dine, meet friends, sometimes take local buses, be it in Vallarta or surrounding places and again without any problem.

Yes indeed crime exists but as you mention it is almost all times involving drugs (or too much alcohol) one way or the other.

Be alert like you do in many other places in the world, donot take valuebels or much money with you.

@SelectSys,

The article you referenced above mentions a couple who lived in Mexico and were killed when robbers came into their home and they tried to stop them themselves from taking things.

I don't say that no one gets killed in Mexico but that couple is not my idea of a "tourist" .The article also mentions "Americans" but doesn't give details of the other murders. I would bet they are not random tourists.

I am not naive in thinking that no American ever gets killed in a foreign country but we are talking on here about cruisers who are generally in a port for a few hours so to me a very different population.

You can't compare apples and oranges. Yes, I do live in Stockton and our murder rate has been two and three times that in the past. I didn't see a figure on how many foreign tourists are murdered in the US. Not that it's more than that Mexico figure. But, why aren't we talking about it? I bet because nobody keeps track. Point is don't engage in risky behavior and your chances go way down of being a victim of a homicide.