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Are tourists the victims of kidnaping?
By Laura Wong
The recent violent shoot-out between rival drug gangs in the East side of Tijuana killed fifteen people. It made me think seriously about several different issues. First of all, most of the victims were very young - just teenagers - and they came to Tijuana from states in the south of Mexico. These young people travel to the border with dreams of a better life, and get dazzled by the misleading offers of the drug dealers, who promise them overnight riches without hard work. They drive luxury cars - mostly stolen - often with dark windows. They wield powerful weapons, many designed for the special use of the military. Working for the drug cartels gives them large sums of money (likely more than they have ever seen), women, and power.
These can be an irresistible lure for kids of humble origins who come to the big city and see luxuries they never imagined back in their small villages.
I am surprised by their age; most of them are hardly 20 years old. And I`m disturbed by the lack of moral values in so much of Mexican society. They grow up admiring the felons, singing songs about drug dealers as lullabies to their children, and above all dreaming of someday becoming like their “idols” - the Arellanos or El Chapo - so they too can provide luxuries for their families. When you are young, and dreaming about your future, this life seems pretty easy, and the big money can be a big temptation to kids who are ambitious, uneducated, jobless, and without opportunities.
But, is it worth it? Who will pay for the suffering and grief of their mothers, wives and children when they die? That easy money they send home does not pay for a burial in a common grave.
Because the reality is that instead of a better future, most of the time they find death. Nor does it pay for the pain of the thousands of families destroyed because someone they love is addicted to drugs sold to them by these young people.
Increased security at the Mexico/US border is leading to more and more drug seizures every day, and that is leading to more kidnapings. What`s the connection? Where else do the cartels get the money to pay their debts for drug shipments intercepted by the feds? From kidnaping people, of course.
Kidnapings are carefully studied and cautiously planned crimes. They require incredible levels of research, with information obtained from bank accounts, credit, property ownership, work schedules, types of recreation, frequent hangouts, homes of friends and relatives, phone numbers, etc. Without this meticulous study of the potential target it is unlikely the kidnaping will succeed in producing the thousands of dollars they seek.
Not long ago someone asked me if I knew of any tourist being kidnaped in Northern Baja, and the truth is that I don`t. And I do not want to even imagine the reaction of the American media if someday an American tourist did get kidnaped here. So, if it has happened here, we haven`t heard of it, and you can be sure that if it did the story would have traveled around the globe already!
Have any tourists been killed in a shooting? Again, not that we know of. Shoot-outs take place in areas without surveillance, and at times when no traffic passes by - because the criminals need a clear way out to flee in case of trouble, and they don`t want to be caught by street traffic. So this hardly ever happens in areas where tourists walk along slowly shopping and taking in the sights in broad daylight. A “Narco”drug dealer does not go to the curio shops or the “all you can drink” bars where gringos go.
They kill each other in the territories they claim for their gangs.
I assure you that no drug dealer is interested in killing a tourist who comes for a brief vacation in Baja California.
And they don`t just randomly select a kidnaping victim - it would be a waste of time and effort. Believe me, they are criminal specialists who spend weeks or months studying their potential victims.
So, are tourists victims of kidnappings? There is a lot of speculation, a lot of misinformation, and far too many rumors. But in my opinion, the answer is NO. And I assure you that if they were, the press has already been commissioned to shout it from the roof tops - and not just with a "Travel warning" but with names and details in an 8-column story on the front page of the main newspapers.
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Letter to the Editor
Dear Readers of the Baja Times:
I am the public relations representative for the city of Rosarito Beach, and a U.S. citizen who has lived here for three years. I also spent 30 years as a frequent Baja visitor before that, and I have never had an incident of any kind down here. That`s better than my experience in
the U.S.
The Baja State Secretary of Tourism last year reported about 20 crimes against the state`s millions of visitors. I believe some crimes went unreported, but it still looks like a very low number.
A few incidents have been highly publicized, in part because of the ongoing struggle between authorities and organized crime, which led to those recent Tijuana killings. This type of violence is very troubling and likely will go on for some time, but it has not involved tourists.
No one can guarantee someone`s safety anywhere. But I surely feel
secure here and have no problem at all in having friends and family come to visit. I would just advise the same alertness a visitor should use in any area. Because of increased efforts by the authorities, the area seems to me even more secure for visitors than in the past.
Rosarito under new Mayor Hugo Torres has taken major steps to ensure
the well-being of city visitors, including establishing a special Tourist Police Force. We also have made it easier for visitors to report a problem, which in the past was difficult to do. You can read about those by visiting www.rosarito.org.
If I can provide any additional information, please call me. I have the Cingular North American plan so you can reach me down here anytime by dialing (619)948-3740 in the U.S.
Best Wishes,
Ron Raposa, Public Relations
City of Rosarito Beach
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