State Dept. Issues Travel Warning for Mexico

[TheFederalistWeasel]

State Dept. Issues Travel Warning for Mexico
AP ^ | 26 Jan 05 | Associated Press

Posted on 01/26/2005 4:07:53 PM PST by fidelio

WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department on Wednesday issued a travel warning for Americans visiting Mexico, saying violent criminal activity, including murder and kidnaping, has increased in its northern border region.

"U.S. citizens should be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation," the department said in a public announcement. It added that the great majority of victims are Mexican citizens.

The announcement attributed the increased crime to a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade. It said the leaders of several major criminal organizations have been arrested, creating a power vacuum.

"This has resulted in a wave of violence aimed primarily at members of those trafficking organizations and criminal justice officials," the announcement said.








Okay here’s a wild, maybe but not too far-fetched SHTF scenario.

Mexico implodes or explodes depending on how you look at it; basically the animals are now running the zoo, sounds all too familiar. Our government is slow to react to the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Then, before the INS/ICE/DOD knows what way the wind is blowing it’s gone, we now have a huge civil war inside Mexico, certainly the borders would be rushed by many wanting to flee the fighting.

We have scant few BP Agents there as it is, they cannot stop what is already crossing, imagine if a war broke out, how soon would it take to move a significant military force into place to effectively secure the border from a war?

 

[Sindawe]

I'm just guessing here...

since military logistics is not one of my area of knowledge.

Time for the .gov to admit there is a problem: 1-6 months, depending on the number of refugees coming across, and the occurrence of rival groups from Mexico fighting it out on our soil. Just refugees, 6 months. Rivals in open combat against each other, 3 months. Armed groups in open warfare with U.S. police and/or military, 1 month.

Anything near complete control of the border: 6 months after condition one (see above) has been reached.


As for the State Dept. issuing a travel warning. Its about FRELLING time! I've been reading reports of kidnappings, murders and the like for at least two years.

 

[CannibalCrowley]

The public owes the State Department a big "well duh!"

 

[Standing Wolf]

If I wanted to go to Mexico, I'd just go to L.A.: cheaper air fare, but the same bunch of people.

 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I suppose that's nice for the people travelling near the border. They could simply alter their vacation plans accordingly.

But what about the people who live down there? This doesn't help them a bit. And it's pretty obvious that they need real relief, not just some pathetic "travel warning".

If the Fed won't do anything about this, can the various states step in? Can't the governors deploy some National Guard units on their border? Or if not the NG, how about sending state police to back up the border patrol?

Would a state government have the authority to build a real wall along their border with Mexico? My state (Indiana) has acquired right-of-way to build flood walls and levees and such, in order to protect property owners from flood damage. Why couldn't New Mexico acquire right-of-way to build a border wall for protecting property owners from illegal immigration damage? Seems logical to me...

Of course, the real problem is that we pay people too well for entering the country illegally. Welfare benefits should be restricted to US citizens, or eliminated entirely. As others have said, welfare shouldn't be a career, regardless of whether you're American or Mexican.

 

[444]

Have you ever wondered why a country rich in natural resources, wonderful climate, thousands of miles of beautiful beaches etc. is a third world country ?
Because, "basically the animals are now running the zoo"
Situation normal.

 

[artherd]

Then, before the INS/ICE/DOD knows what way the wind is blowing it’s gone, we now have a huge civil war inside Mexico, certainly the borders would be rushed by many wanting to flee the fighting.

If the above happens, we WON'T be 'secureing' the border. Rather, we'll be down granting assylum to all those who seek it (probally the right thing to do anyway.)

With cameras rolling, on home soil, the US is not going to turn away war refugees!!!

 

[Selfdfenz]

TheFederalistWeasel

I have no answer but if there is a lucrative drug trade to be had down there, why wouldn't the BGs not stay and slug it out?

That leaves the non-BGs to come over the border to escape the fighting. Till we hit 6-10 million a year I'm not sure we could tell we were experiencing an issue or an increase. We seem to handle the 3-5 mill they are sending currently pretty well. I seem to recall that one in 10 Mexicans have already left or leave for part of the year already. NPR,I believe, stated that fact.

Haven't most with a mind to travel already arrived?

S-

 

[Art Eatman]

Some Mexican ex-military Special Forces types have formed a drug gang in Nuevo Laredo. There have been frequent shootouts, kidnappings, assassinations of journalists and police, and Lord knows what else. It occasionally spills over to the US side.

Plus, kidnapping for profit is on the rise in central Mexico.

A gringo professor from Brownsville once taught in Matamoros. He was recetnly kidnapped while over there, and released after an $80,000 ransom was paid. He now teaches via Internet and won't go back to Mexico.

Art

 

[unixguy]

I KNEW it. My sister has been bugging me for some time to go with her family down there, and I never would agree because I had this "thing" about what I'd heard was going on there.

I finally agreed to go with them this coming November, and NOW the State Department says "Oh, yeah. Unixguy was right, it's dangerous down there."

 

[garyk/nm]

Thompson Gunner

Would a state government have the authority to build a real wall along their border with Mexico? My state (Indiana) has acquired right-of-way to build flood walls and levees and such, in order to protect property owners from flood damage. Why couldn't New Mexico acquire right-of-way to build a border wall for protecting property owners from illegal immigration damage? Seems logical to me...

Why would they want to? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but they are already in control of every aspect of city, county and state government in New Mexico. Non-Hispanic trying to get a gov't job in NM? Good luck!

 

[Lennyjoe]

Wow, we go to Nogales and Pueto Penasco (rocky point) all the time. Dont really see much violence there at all.

Guess I'm gonna have to keep my eye out when I'm down there shopping and enjoying the food and beverage.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Haven't most with a mind to travel already arrived?

You're joking.

Right?

 

[NMshooter]

The only thing new is the official acknowledgement of the situation.

The U.S. has been propping up Mexico and parts of Central and South America for years.

Unfortunately the people living in those countries are not sufficiently interested in changing their situation.

With the incredible corruption of most of those governments, I suspect any chance of peaceful reform is gone.

Well, we certainly live in interesting times...

 

[Firethorn]

I agree, if there's open fighting, major civil war, we'd be welcoming the refugees across.

As for securing the border, really securing it, that wouldn't take long at all once the order is made. After all, we're used to seeing how long it takes for us to take action on the other side of the world. That's an awfully long way, the lever's pretty short on our side. Problems with mexico? Suddeny the length of the lever is reversed.

Remember the stuff where they said we could occupy Canada in something like four hours?

 

[moa]

Kidnapping for money is a major industry in Mexico city. Sometimes it involves the police themselves as the kidnappers. Many of the kidnappers do not try and find a high roller as a victim. Many of them roam the streets of upscale neigborhoods and just snatch whomever they please. And they do this over and over in order to make as much money as they want.

Not a pretty picture.

 

[Jay Kominek]

I don't doubt any of the statements made, but I'd really appreciate some URLs discussing the severity of the kidnapping problem, so I can pass them on to some friends who recently visited Mexico. (They were trying to get me to go, and I wasn't having any of it. I feel vindicated, now.)

Thanks.

 

[Waitone]

It will be interesting to see how long the advisory stands. I don't see how you can sport open borders when there exists de factor insurrection across the way. Opps. Silly me. Logic. Gotta stop that nonsense.

 

[Selfdfenz]

"Kidnapping for money is a major industry in Mexico city. Sometimes it involves the police themselves as the kidnappers. Many of the kidnappers do not try and find a high roller as a victim. Many of them roam the streets of upscale neigborhoods and just snatch whomever they please. And they do this over and over in order to make as much money as they want."

Like Man on Fire


Hawkmoon,
Yes, my attempt anyway...
S-

 

[moa]

The stuff I cited in my remarks came from the newspapers in the past year or so. It was either Washington Times or the Washington Post.

IIRC, one of the other things mentioned is being careful getting into a taxi. Could be a fast track to a kidnapping.

 

[R.H. Lee]

We have scant few BP Agents there as it is, they cannot stop what is already crossing, imagine if a war broke out, how soon would it take to move a significant military force into place to effectively secure the border from a war?

{{Internet macho armchair commando voice}} If they manage to overrun San Diego, Orange and L.A. counties, we'll stop 'em when they get up here. YEEHAW! {{/Internet macho armchair commando voice}}

 

[thorn726]

boy it took this long for them to admit Mexico might not be safe???

man, interesting scenario Federalist Weasel.

worse, no easy solution to a very likely problem.

heH= here's how we would end up dealing with it= (maybe)

waves and waves of illegals now crossing the borders, Cali and TX would end up having to use regular police to round up crowds of day laborers all over the place, then storing them in county jails for months trying to process them back to mexico
the borders themselves, it would take a year to get enough people down there to stop the influx.

wow man, we'd be in BIG trouble.

 

[WolfDog]

Maybe Dubya should use the "War on Drugs" to justify invading Mexico now before it is too late?

I mean if all these illegals want to come here so bad why not just annex the whole darn country of Mexico and get it over with. Plenty of room down there for our Military to play war games after all. Turn the entire northern portion of Mexico into on huge live Fire Range for our gunners and flyboys to play with.


Seriously. If things south of the border don't improve sometime in the next few years we are seriously looking at having a land war on our own continent eventually. I don't see how we will avoid not having to use a show of military force eventually if the civil unrest in Mexico isn't brought back under control soon. If we can invade Iraq to fix the political mess there then we should do the same to remove the corrupt and useless regime in Mexico before it is too late IMHO.

They have the potential there to become a great country with as much political pull as the US if they would just get thier heads out of thier rears long enough to organise and improve things in Mexico for the workers so they might actually be willing to work in thier own country instead of coming en masse into the US and draining our money back south to fund the corrupt politicians and thier dictatorship of fear they have going down thier.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

And my wife keeps telling me how nice Mexico is to visit. She started again this morning, and I finally told her SHE can go to Mexico, and I'll go to Alaska. She said okay.

Before y'all get on my case for abandoning my wife, she's a citizen of a South American country and won't be traveling on an American passport, so they're not likely to grab her. And she won't be either in Mexico City or near the American border.