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Posts: 3470
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
Travel to Mexico Dangerous
The recent kidnapping of four Americans, and the killing of two of them, in Matamoros, Mexico led me to review the US State Department's Travel Advisory for Mexico. To anyone on the Foro who might be contemplating travel to Mexico, particularly to Paracho to purchase a guitar, I offer the following. State Department Advisories have a numerical system ranging from one to four, with four being the highest threat with the warning not to travel to that area. Since 2022, 30 of the 32 Mexican states have a numerical travel threat, and six of them--Sinaloa, Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Zacatecas, and Tamaulipas--are listed at level four threat. Matamoros is located in the state of Tamaulipas, and Paracho is located in the state of Michoacan.
Having spent a career in the U.S. Foreign Service and State Department, I can assure you that the State Department does not issue these advisories and warnings lightly. They are the product of consultations among several U.S. government agencies, and they accurately reflect the threat on the ground. Consequently, I would advise fellow Foro members not to travel to Paracho. If anyone is thinking of having a guitar made by a Paracho Luthier, I strongly advise it be done via E-mail and telephonic communication. It is dangerous to travel in that area.
It is clear that the four who were kidnapped in Matamoros either ignored the State Department Travel Advisory or didn't bother to look it up. They have paid a high price for their negligence. There are always those who think the State Department, as an element of the U.S. government, does not know what it is talking about. They are wrong. I would hope that anyone contemplating travel to Mexico would read the State Department Travel Advisory before going, but I strongly advise against going to Paracho, which is a likely destination for Foro members.
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
RE: Travel to Mexico Dangerous (in reply to BarkellWH)
Been in Mexico for the last 2 months and have not been too concerned though that can change in a second. I have only been to few large cities here so I think it is probably safer. There seems to be a heavy police and military presence. I read the country was listed as a level 2 threat prior to the pandemic and so on the same level as France, Germany and the UK. I have never been too worried while traveling except maybe one time while working on the Isle of Lewis. I went for dinner and a pint one night but kept watching my back due to what we're called back then as "Neds". They seemed to travel in packs.
A Belgian friend of ours had a machete held to her throat in Columbia a couple of months ago but those guys push the envelope. She got out of it physically unscathed.
I read the country was listed as a level 2 threat prior to the pandemic and so on the same level as France, Germany and the UK.
Most countries are listed at a numerical threat level for the entire country. Mexico is unique in that for several years the country has been broken down by the threat level in individual states.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
RE: Travel to Mexico Dangerous (in reply to BarkellWH)
You know this event has all the indicators of a drug deal gone bad. The Mexican government said the Americans were there to purchase pharmaceuticals and not to get treatment as the US media repeated.
I could vary well see some guys get together and go, hay let’s go to Mexico and get a Kelo of fentanyl cheap, something like that. Gringo gets stupid, shows a gun, boom boom, the cartel doesn’t suffer fools…
Anyway, certain segments of the US media, if it bleeds it leads or trying to find a way to make the current US administration look bad, or whatever just jump on this to get people riled up?
The cartel is fairly organized and they gave a protocol for dealing with average Americans. For shots fired some gringo had to do something really really stupid.
Just my two cents…
HR
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
Posts: 3454
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Travel to Mexico Dangerous (in reply to Escribano)
I'll repeat this from several years ago:
In about 2009 we were in Michoacan, Mexico. This was before the Cartel La Familia was setting cars on fire in a main street of a big city.
Patzcuaro is a delightful small city. Sitting at a restaurant's outdoor table in the main square we noticed a young man at the next table, close by. We spoke. Turned out he was a 20-something from the Netherlands. He made his living driving a cross-country truck. He was taking a couple of months off to see the world. Seemed like a nice kid. We invited him to join us.
Next day I was ill. The Dutchman and Larisa toured the countryside, making it as far as Tzintzuntzan. I joined them for dinner at the market. Next day he continued on his journey.
Back in Morelia, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Larisa and I walked around the glorious downtown, shopped, had a nice dinner, met a tuna (traditional music group) from the local university. They serenaded Larisa. Walking back to the hotel through the sqare next to the Cathedral we came upon a group of Mexican clowns putting on an acrobatic performance. We sat on a high backed concrete bench, secure from pickpockets, and enjoyed the show. Finally I said, "I'm about ready for bed."
Larisa replied, "I'd like to stay a little while and watch the clowns some more."
I walked less than a block to the hotel, changed into my pajamas. Just as my head was about to hit the pillow, I thought, "At this moment my phone is going to ring, and somebody is going to say, 'OK gringo, a million dolares for your blonde' "
I put my clothes back on, picked up the aluminum hiking staff with the razor sharp steel point, walked back to the square and said, "Have you seen enough of the clowns by now, Sweetheart?"
"Yes. I was starting to think about walking back to the hotel by myself. Thanks for coming back."
I should add that Larisa is tall, strong, and highly skilled in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. But even Chuck Norris would be no match for three sicarios with pistols.
A couple of months later Larisa received a message from the Dutchman's parents. Her contact info was in his phone. He had been found dead somewhere in southern Mexico. The cops said there were drugs in his body.
I wrote back giving the parents contact info for some people in Mexico City who might be able to help. We heard that there was a mistake. There were no drugs in his body. A couple of weeks later we heard that in fact there had been no autopsy. The cops were diligently working on the case. Right. I warned the parents not to get their hopes up. It was the last we heard.
Thing is, the Dutchman was doing everything exactly right. His clothes fit right in with working class Mexicans. No jewelry, no camera. Public transportation, not first class. Only problems were he was maybe six feet tall, blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin.
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