travel to Mexico

9dreizig · 03-04-2012, 08:29 AM

Not for vacation. A couple of my distributors want me to go over the boarder with them to visit some plants ( Delphi and other auto factories).. I talking about crossing at either Brownsville Tx or El Paso ..
How safe (dangerous),, Red Beard ?
Oh and I would be with Mexican nationals the whole time. No rental cars, etc.. Day trips only

Hugo930 · 03-04-2012, 08:45 AM

In and out during day hours. I was just in El Paso and crossed over to Ciudad Juarez, spent 6 hours there. Nothing happened, nothing exciting but I wanted out the second that I went in.

vash · vash's Garage

Eff that. I grew up in EP. My brother is a cop there. He tells stories we don't get to hear on the news.

In summary: every two bit criminal is stepping up the shock value of their crimes to make it look like the work of a cartel. That way no one investigates.

Recently they killed a tourist and skinned him in one piece. They then arranged his skin in front of some business as a threat. Placing it put neatly takes time but no one saw a thing.

Black968 · 03-04-2012, 10:35 AM

I had a switchblade pulled on me just outside the USA/Tijuana border way back in 1984. For no reason. Was there on a day trip with some buddies from College. We were in San Diego for a couple of weeks. I was more worried about the food killing me than being knifed. The Mexican north is a bad bad place. I love to travel there, but I will not go back. Don't do it.

HardDrive · 03-04-2012, 10:54 AM

Its a war zone.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Didn't someone link a page that sells business looking clothing that is resistant to knifeing, or a flakjacket maybe?

s_morrison57 · 03-04-2012, 11:59 AM

I used to work in Mexico and hated it, it was so bad for me that I quit the job, found another one in about 4 days but thats the nature of my job. If I won a free trip to Mexico I'd give it away, I hate everything about that country.
Finn

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

NOT safe...

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Brownsville is safer than Juarez. There are 10-20 murders per day in Juarez. We no longer drive to Chihuahua. People are abducted for ransom.

The cartels are not the ones to worry about. It is a general breakdown of law and order. The small guys know that things are not being investigated so it emboldens them. I would not travel to Juarez at this time. US Consulate people have even been targeted and killed. Oh and the first cross-border injury occured in the past week in El Paso. A woman was hit by a .30 caliber bullet that crossed the border during a gun fight in Juarez.

vash · vash's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by red-beard

Brownsville is safer than Juarez. There are 10-20 murders per day in Juarez. We no longer drive to Chihuahua. People are abducted for ransom.

The cartels are not the ones to worry about. It is a general breakdown of law and order. The small guys know that things are not being investigated so it emboldens them. I would not travel to Juarez at this time. US Consulate people have even been targeted and killed. Oh and the first cross-border injury occured in the past week in El Paso. A woman was hit by a .30 caliber bullet that crossed the border during a gun fight in Juarez.

you didnt hear about it, but the cartels (or somebody) put 3 bullet holes into a downtown el paso government building. they quashed the story so that people didnt panic. a cartel sniper could have a field day shooting cars as they drive by on I-10 with ease.

9dreizig..the Juarez MAYOR lives in el paso. even he wont go. i dont think you should either.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

you didnt hear about it, but the cartels (or somebody) put 3 bullet holes into a downtown el paso government building. they quashed the story so that people didnt panic. a cartel sniper could have a field day shooting cars as they drive by on I-10 with ease.

9dreizig..the Juarez MAYOR lives in el paso. even he wont go. i dont think you should either.

That was last year. This was about a week to 10 days ago that an El Paso person was hit by gunfire from Juarez. My understanding was that in both cases the bullets came from a street fight, not from someone trying to shoot across the border.

vash · vash's Garage

thanks red for the clarification.

where is Delphi? juarez?

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Scary as it is TJ is the safest.....buy them a computer and Skype it.....

9dreizig · 03-04-2012, 01:41 PM

Thanks James, you were the one who's opinion I was waiting for.
Delphi is all over the place Cliff,, used to be a division of GM so big in auto parts production

platas · 03-04-2012, 02:23 PM

Use to travel by land many years ago, and it was not as dangerous as today, still mexico has never being a save place, and much less if you travel by land with out knowing the territory, and language.
Stay home, do a tel conference and enjoy the family, don't go.

LakeCleElum · 03-04-2012, 02:43 PM

Mexico can be dangerous even without crime. I was at this resort last year when an explosion killed 5 Canadians and 3 locals. I had been in the restaurant 18 hrs before the blast.....Incident was really downplayed in the Mexican and US media....

5 Canadians killed in Mexico hotel blast - World - CBC News

TimT · 03-04-2012, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Mexico can be dangerous even without crime.

Mexico is a large country....

My Mother (she is 77 now) has rented a house in Merida for the last 15 years or so... She, my aunt and my uncle split the cost of the house.. they have friends visit them for the duration of the rental.

They rent from the beginning of February until the end of April... (Mom lives in Vermont and she has tired of sub-zero temps finally)

In all the time my elderly mother has spent in Mexico she has never ever had a problem..She walks the streets, goes to the market... rents a car and drives herself when she need to...

She will flag down a cab at random etc..

Its all about location though.... Merida is apparently not a cartel hot spot...

Blanket statements about Mexico being unsafe or a war zone are untrue.... I guess border towns are the issue..

I was in Cancun for a 6 day weekend.. and had not a second thought about safety...

Then again I have spent time in the sand box.. and west bank..

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

I spent a month driving more or less aimlessly around in Mexico in 2009. We crossed at Laredo and I made it a point to have a full tank of gas and not stop until I was as far from the border as possible. It's a different country once you get past the border zone. We avoided cities, and the countryside and the people we met were wonderful. The road from Durango to Mazatlan is an adventure it itself. La Ascension to Lenares is another good stretch. We had a few "interesting" events but all it all it was a great time.

trekkor · 03-04-2012, 06:29 PM

I would not go.

KT

mossguy · 03-04-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I spent a month driving more or less aimlessly around in Mexico in 2009. We crossed at Laredo and I made it a point to have a full tank of gas and not stop until I was as far from the border as possible. It's a different country once you get past the border zone. We avoided cities, and the countryside and the people we met were wonderful. The road from Durango to Mazatlan is an adventure it itself. La Ascension to Lenares is another good stretch. We had a few "interesting" events but all it all it was a great time.

Tell us about these interesting events!