While rumors of Mexican drug cartels taking over Texas ranches swirled across the internet last week, Laredo police reported that they had been deluged with calls from concerned citizens across the United States. Since then, the story has reportedly been completely debunked by those on the right and the left. The Laredo Morning Times reported that Officials know nothing of rumored Zeta standoff on Mines Road.
While there is no doubt that the immigration problem needs to be addressed, don't look for the criminal federal government to do anything about it anytime soon. Both parties are satisfied with the status quo; massive unchecked illegal immigration has gone on for years and despite all the rhetoric, little if anything ever changes. Add to this the loss of American jobs, aided and abbetted by NATFTA and GATT, and the economic downturn, which has been characterized as 'the greatest recession' and even a depression.
Much focus of the immigration issue is rife with emotionalism, claims of racism on both sides, and fantastic claims from all corners. Because of the relentless and dramatic coverage in the mainstream and alternative media, many Americans are scared witless at the prospect of daring to cross the 'scary' border. They imagine that as soon as they do, they are more than likely to be killed, maimed, kidnapped and robbed.
While there are plenty of battles, violence and deaths taking place between the drug cartels and law enforcement, the average citizen is not in a great deal of danger if they go for a tourist visit to Mexico. Having regularly travelled to Mexico for several years, to the north in Tijuana, central Mexicali, and south to the nation's capital of Mexico City, (District Federal), I can personally attest that the world will not end once you cross the border. (article with video of the trip continues here
Mexico Travel Warnings Alerts and the violence against American Tourists in Baja in Perspective. www.bajainsider.com/baja...travel/mexico-travel-warning.htm - Cached - Similar
US State Department urges Americans to be aware of current violence in northern Mexico. www.discoverseaz.com/Attractions/MexicoWarning.html - Cached - Similar
Mar 15, 2010 ... Americans are being told to stay away from border cities after at least 50 people were killed in drug violence over the weekend. abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7330543 - Cached
Jul 23, 2010 ... The State Department travel warning tells Americans to stay out of three Mexican border states unless the travel is absolutely necessary. www.kens5.com/.../New-travel-warnings-issued-for-Mexican-border-cities-in-lockdown-99122299.html - Cached
Mexico travel tips posted by real travelers and Mexico locals. .....WARNINGS IN MEXICO CITY and MEXICO TRAVEL ALERT. Tip Rating: ... www.virtualtourist.com › ... › North America › Mexico - Cached - Similar
Mar 17, 2010 ... The U. S. State Department Sunday (3-14-10) issued its strongest travel warning yet for U. S. citizens planning on traveling to Mexico. ... www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-c-2010-03-16-243066.112112_State_Department_issues_travel_warnings_for_Mexico.html - Cached
Mar 15, 2010 ... Violence in Mexico Spurs New Travel Warnings The U.S. Department of State has upped its alert for travel to Mexico's border towns in the ... www.petergreenberg.com/.../bloody-weekend-in-mexico-spurs-new-travel-warnings-for-border-cities/ - Cached
Travel Health Precaution CDC Travel Health Warning for Novel H1N1 Flu in Mexico Removed This information is current as of today, July 30, 2010 at 15:54 EDT ... wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/.../travel.../novel-h1n1-flu-mexico.aspx - Cached - Similar
You maybe surprised - or shocked - to know that a similar Mexico travel warning was also issued by the government. Some Americans may find it very difficult ... aglobalworld.com/...travel-warnings/travel-warnings.php - Cached - Similar
May 6, 2010 ... The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico about the security ... travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4755.html - Cached
Mar 14, 2010 ... The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico of concerns about the ... www.nationalterroralert.com/.../us-state-department-travel-warning-for-mexico/ - Cached
Mar 1, 2009 ... I updated my Mexico travel warnings page to include the latest information on the swine flu and CDC updates. I will expand the information ... www.allstays.com/Features/mexico-travel-warnings/ - Cached - Similar
May 7, 2010 ... The US State Department on Thursday extended a travel warning that had been issued for Mexico because of the region's high level of drug and ... www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/.../mexico.travel.warning/index.html - Cached
Raw video: former News10 reporter on Mexico travel warning A U.S. State Department warning urges U.S. citizens to delay nonessential travel to parts of the ... www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=77307 - Cached
Mar 23, 2010 ... Universities, colleges, and local governments around the world are warning students to be cautious when traveling to Mexico for spring break ... www.nileguide.com/.../mexico-travel-warnings-for-spring-breakers/ - Cached
Mar 16, 2010 ... The US State Department is urging people to avoid travel to three northern Mexican states on the heels of the. azstarnet.com/.../article_58fd6d40-8977-5409-b8e1-b0d689b11212.html - Cached
Mar 15, 2010 ... The U.S. State Department issued travel warnings for Americans in or traveling to Mexico. There have been scores of shootings and murders in ... phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/03/15/daily1.html - Cached
Jan 4, 2010 ... Officials Issue Travel Warnings For Mexico. A copy was sent to your e-mail address. Send Another E-mail. Print Share + ... cbs2.com/local/Mexico.travel.warnings.2.1404497.html - Cached - Similar
You can't drink the water and have to be very careful of what you eat.
Incorrect. In many cities the water is fine to drink.
We have eaten from numerous street vendors and market stalls with excellent results. Have had fresh veggie drinks from the markets in Mexico - recommended.
I will note that once, in a six month travel to Mexico and Central America, Sue and I got very sick in Mexico for a couple of days.
The same thing happened years later in Colorado Springs from eating chicken from Safeway.
Perhaps, but the couple of times that I was there, always on the West Coast, everyone warned me/us not to drink it lest we get sick. They even continued to warn us that even drinking beverages not from bottles that we could see being opened was unwise.
It's common to get those warnings, but they can vary from city to city. Only Ecuador's third largest city has water that's supposedly safe to drink and I'm sure generally is, but when a 5 gallon jug of filtered drinking water can be refilled/replaced for about $2, give or take, why bother?
Also, if you are touring in the tropics then you run the risk of getting some stomach bug that can make you a bit miserable for a few days. It's hard to completely avoid water like when brushing your teeth (if touring then brush with bottled water). But then you get some immunity to it and it's not a big deal.
In the tropics, there are also parasites that live on veggies, and unless they are carefully cleaned, consuming them can give them to you. Lettuce is one type of veggie that needs to be cleaned carefully so avoiding that in lower class places might be prudent. They are intestinal parasites, but some simple medicine can take them out if you get them.
I'm sure you're right, but I'll never forget standing up against the tour bus in the middle of the night, way out in West-bumfuck, with uniformed troops standing there pointing automatic weapons at us after shouting at all of us to line up against the buses.
It's routine in Ecuador for buses to be stopped and the males forced to exit and show ID and be frisked, and any police that doesn't have some kind of arm with a bullet proof vest isn't any good. I've been through that a few times, and always at those places there will be M-16s present, but I don't remember seeing anyone aiming rifles at myself or other passengers. I would certainly guess that things are worse in Mexico than here, at least in that regard.
I didn't enjoy Mexico back then. Again, in Mazatlan, you literally wander three blocks behind the hotels and it's third-world squalor. You could see sewage running in little streams, 10+ people living in a 300 sq. ft. house with two rooms, etc.
THAT I've not seen anywhere in Ecuador. There is poverty here, but mostly concentrated in Ecuador's biggest city.
Equador and other CA countries I would gladly visit if given the opp.
Ecuador has a lot of beauty to it, at least in the mountains, and the beaches are great too. But it's not for everyone. It's a different culture. I think there is certainly more freedom here overall, but less conveniences. It's a bit like traveling back in time.