Mexico is the number one murderer of North Americans
in the world
I remember Mexico. I lived in San
Diego for almost three years, and traveled from Tijuana to Baja several times.
Camped with my new wife below the cliffs once and left my 66 Mustang thousands
of feet away, and it was still there in the morning. I can only shake my head
today thinking about it.
I've also worked three oilfield jobs
there, and found my favorite place to be Villahermosa. And I grew to love the Mexican people too, their culture
of family and Christian values I will remember always. I've rented cars and
drove through the lowlands of Chiapas, from Cozumel to Chechen Itza, and from the Mayan ruins of Palenque
to Agua Azuela, and not once did I ever perceive danger, or enough of it to
fear. I only wanted to take pictures without ingesting a parasite, and found
mostly good people along the way.
I remember too, a warning by a local Lancondon Mayan dressed in his long cotton tunic as I bartered for seed
jewelry at the base of the Yucatan highlands: "Do not go higher, sir,
it is not safe for you there." Seems I laughed about it then, but that
man was telling me the truth. You see, I was raised in the inner city of New Orleans,
the murder capital of the entire United States, and I was carrying three
switchblades in strategic places, my coat pocket, my back pocket and in my
sock. I watch everything, and considered myself on constant guard, and I have
walked the cities of the world with fearless deliberateness. But most likely I
will never go back to Mexico.
According to Agence France Press,
the number of Americans being murdered in Mexico has risen to number one in the
past decade, number one worldwide. Between October 2002 and December 2012, 648
Americans were brutally murdered, nearly 40 percent of the 1,600 Americans
intentionally killed worldwide.
Two other hot spots for Americans
are Honduras and Dominican Republic with 77 murders each. And amazingly, the
second on the list is the Philippines, and the hardest for me to
comprehend at 84 homicides against Americans. I have been to PI, my Navy
home-base was Subic Bay, and I have also worked with Filipinos all around the
world drilling for oil. I thought them personable, honorable and good men, it
seems that times are changing, and it matters little if it is because of our
war machine, or what is in my wallet. The danger is just as real. Still, I
remember Saudi Arabia,
and the smiling Filipino who got caught making hooch, having to spend three
years in a sweltering jail. He smiled the day he went in, and the day he got
out. And I considered him a good man, just like Mexicans.
But Mexico, that is a real mind
blower, and closer to home. More U.S. Citizens are killed there than all
"terrorist action" around the world, as compiled by AFP. And not
surprisingly, most all were killed in border regions dominated by drug cartels.
As New Orleans takes the cake for
both hate and drug related violence, mostly black against black, Ciudad Juárez,
south of California, runs red
as the world’s murder capital, with 120 Americans murders in the last 10 years.
These numbers might be far higher
than indicated by the U.S. State Department database because not all deaths are
reported to our American consulates, where it is tabulated, and they do not
state the name of the victims.
Yes, I think of myself as a timid
adventurer, tongue in cheek, but not a stupid one, and in Mexico I am not
allowed to protect myself. Only the bad guys and punk copes with AR-15s and
bubble glasses have weapons. Sure, it may be that some of these murdered people
were working with or against these drug cartels, but I'm sure the cross-fire is
a dangerous place to be for a tourist traveler.
There is so much more of Mexico left
to explore, but most likely I'll never attempt it, as the adventure is not
worth the risk. In most all of America however, I am allowed to carry a
concealed weapon, and that is why I still go back to the Crescent City. Anyone
not caring a gun in New Orleans is either a fool or amazingly trusting. The
danger there is real, even for a savvy, street-smart local.
My father told me of the dangers of
Tijuana during WW2, and how the US secured the border from San Diego. It
took the Mexican police just a short time to secure it, and both trade and
tourism, the lifeblood of Mexico, flowed again. We could secure the border, but
Progressives hope for another potential voter, that, and Obama's new drug
corridor through our national forests of Arizona. Mexico supplies our
Marijuana, and that is the primary reason. Big bucks.
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