Baja California is a State with interesting places, big cities and many little typical towns, it offers peaceful and safe site to visit, so enjoy the warmth of personal hospitality of the people.Whether you have come for a a day, gateway weekend or longer, Baja California is an interesting mixture of the typical and modern things with big cultural activities.
That is the offical Baja California......
....then there is the unofficial Baja California - the violent, dark and dangerous Baja California.
Yesterday, San Diego 10 News I-team broad-casted a report about the daily growing violence in the border-towns .In October alone 283 people have been killed in the gang-war between the mighty Sinaloa Cartel and the equally notorious Arellano-Felix-Cartel. Both groups want to control the city and will stop at nothing. San Diego 10 News now revealed that an American from Texas is a major player in the killings. The sad infamous highlight - a deadly shootout between "good" police officers and corrupt police officers paid by the cartels .
So far the sad facts.
They interviewed the chief of police. They asked him if he as the highest ranking police officer is safe in his city. He looked at the reporter and said:
"If I went to Iraq or Afghanistan I would be in a safer place."
We think that is one of the most note-worthy comments we have heard in a very long time. It is refreshingly open and honest. If the highest police officer isn't safe in a city then who really is?
Very scary place.Yet it looks so beautiful and tranquil in the picture.That's a lot of crime and corruption for one place.The citizens must not feel safe in their own homes.
ReplyDeleteNot my choice of a holiday spot.
True. We were down there for one weekend. Those shootings happen at any time of the day. The assassins don't really care if someone sees them or not.According to the Internet 11 people have been killed today during the last 6 hours. It is mind-boggling.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't the federal gov't step in?They could send in the army.
ReplyDeleteThey have. 6000 Federales (special armed forces plus the Army) have been sent to the bordertowns one year ago. 6 months ago the Chief of the Federales was assassinated by one of his body-guards (a police officer)
ReplyDeleteLocals tell us that they are not afraid. They are fed up with all the violence. Obviously only people who are in the drug-business/connected with are getting killed. Shootings happen 24/7. Bodies get dumped all over the cities. 6 weeks ago they dumped 23 bodies in front of an elementary school.
We were there visiting two weeks ago. We wanted to go out but our host urged us to stay in the house because 4 shootings within 3 hours- all over town - had been reported. We gladly followed his advice.
My God,there has to be an end to it at some point.All the drug lords and henchmen will be dead ,and then what,new ones move in?
ReplyDeleteRight. That is the reason behind all the shootings - the old cartel wants to hold the power/money - and the cartel from the outside want a piece of the cake/money too.
ReplyDeleteIt is bad against bad. Greedy against more greedy.
It is hard for us - from the civilized world - to understand how something like that can happen.
Our host ( I'll post seperately) said: Not all Mexicans are bad. We are 50 million people, 49 million are good - 1 million are bad . And those one million people have allthe money, all the power and the weapons.
LOL