Tourists traveling to Mexico due to crime in several Mexican states popular with American tourists. Authorities believe drug cartels are choosing express kidnappings as a way to get high volume . The U.S. State Department recently updated Mexico's travel warning for U.S. Verdin taunts the DEA agents torturing him. Later, the operation expanded to include gambling, prostitution and theft. Mexican criminal organizations require extensive personnel and vast caches of assault rifles and other weapons 70 percent of which come from the US to defend their plazas (strategic points along the drug supply chain) from other gangs and from the Mexican police and military. Similarly, it was announced that in February the number of detainees for this crime increased, with 120 people, while in January there were 35 alleged perpetrators of kidnapping. Mexican cities remain top tourist destinations. or redistributed. The 80 days mark the first two months under the new administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office Dec. 1. With Spring Break travel around the corner, U.S. residents are being urged by the state department to avoid travel to Mexico, with all but two of the country's 32 states under an elevated warning . This is the real story of "Maria" and her husband "Jose". Im asked a lot about travel to Mexico, and my recommendation is dont go.. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. According to Numbeo's 2021 statistics, Merida ranks #8 as the safest city in the Americas. Abducting people and demanding ransom money is one way to do that. The kidnappers were asking for 4 million Mexican pesos, which the family confirms they were unable to collect in time. News and information from Mexico\'s Yucatn Peninsula, MEL unlocks private studios where Mrida artists work, Parque Tho: Mrida unveils plans for 20-acre park in Altabrisa, 70 days after fire, no progress restoring Teatro Pen Contreras. Heat stroke, dehydration and gastroenteritis, better. They are putting David in a vehicle, the message said. Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have been engaged in brutal fights against . Cenotes Santa Barbara. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Zero kidnappings in Yucatan. The stark The states of Veracruz, Mexico City, Puebla, Morelos, and the State of Mexico had the highest incidence of kidnapping crime. He added that because of how kidnappers conducted themselves, he assumes they were police officers. best THINGS TO DO IN MERIDA MEXICO. One kidnapper cut off a victims finger when family members couldnt raise funds to release him, court documents say. Businesswoman beheaded after husband 'wouldn't pay' ransom, found a week after she was kidnapped allegedly with a note claiming she was killed because her husband didnt want to pay a $207,000 ransom, 366 murders over the past 80 days in the Gulf state of Veracruz, telling radio journalist Ciro Gomez Leyva, American tourists risk death to vacation in Mexico, Veracruz prosecutor Jorge Winckler Ortiz reported that his office, as well as the FBI, were investigating, travel advisory for Americans visiting Mexico last year. Save. Guadalajara celebrates the 481 anniversary of its foundation! We have other figures that dont coincide (with those of Alto al Secuestro), Garcia said. Its a trend that experts refer to as the democratization of kidnapping. Market data provided by Factset. No matter the level of difficulty anyone is facing, that is not enough reason to choose kidnapping as an option . The fact does worry us that (kidnappings) have shot up compared to December., He did say he did not agree with the statistics issued by Alto al Secuestro, which is Spanish for Stopping Kidnapping.. Hearing this, my wife and I exited the cab at the next stop light. He covers organized crime, immigration, farm policy, and anything in between. He said he has never spoken to Mexican law enforcement about his ordeal. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. He was able to free himself while the kidnappers were distracted with Jennifer, who attacked one of the men when he attempted to rape her unsuccessfully. But Deborah, Ramirezs older sister, believes the reason is more obvious and more troubling. Telling them that their missing companion may have . At the risk of stating the obvious, the more urban the environment the higher the risk of a kidnapping. But the per capita rate is highest in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, near the U.S. border. We live in purgatory: My wife has a multimillion-dollar trust fund, but my mother-in-law controls it. On Oct. 21, US travel blogger Anjali Ryot, 25, and German tourist Jennifer Henzold, 35, were gunned down in the Tulum shooting. Kidnappings fell briefly thereafter, dipping to 1,069 in 2015, but they are starting to climb again. My main concern is about the people who cant get out, he said. 50. Understand our limits. To put things in perspective, consider that the murder rate in Mexico's Yucatan State is 2 per 100,000. When Jennifer and Frank Massabki traveled to Mexico in May 2017, they had recently gotten engaged and were looking for potential locations to host their wedding later that year. Kidnappings for ransom accounted for 81 of the investigations, 10 cases had no ransom demands, and 25 cases were virtual kidnappings. In 26 days, we did not experience any crime. TheU.S. State Department issued an updated Travel AdvisoryWednesday for U.S. travelers visiting Mexico, including new state-level adviceandinformation on "kidnapping risk.". The monthly report detailed that in January the number of detainees for the crime of kidnapping decreased to 72.4 percent, since only 35 people were apprehended, while in December 127 arrests were reported. One hundred and thirty Yucatecans were attacked by snakes in 2022, Discrimination is the main cause of the decrease in the number of Mayan speakers, Mexico will send 84 athletes to the 2023 Youth Para-Panamerican Games, Cholera, number one enemy during the hot season, Oceanfront Evenings announced in Progreso, A vehicle catches fire in Conkal, Yucatn, Metropolitan Circuit joins the Va y Ven Route; it will be free of charge from March 4 -19, A man was found dead in a soccer field in Mrida, Man brutally beaten for running a stop sign in Kanasn, Rainless weekend and intense heat for the Yucatan. With longtime kingpin El Chapo gone, things have been a bit messy in the organization, which smuggles a wide variety of drugs, including opioids. Violent drug . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Similarly, the State Public Safety Council was installed and through Yucatn Seguro technological equipment was acquired to strengthen State security through video cameras, among other strategies. The men commanded the couple to remove all of their jewelry and blindfolded Frank as the assailants drove them to a second location. Yucatn Magazine is a resource for curious readers looking for news, information and inspiration about living in Mexico. Beginning next month, the soldiers will be stationed in Cancun and surrounding areas, including Tulum, where Mexican law enforcement said there are 10 groups fighting for drug dominance in the picture-postcard resort town. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? The Gulf Cartel among the oldest criminal enterprises in Mexico is mired in infighting, according to security experts. CANCUN CLUB SHOOTING LEAVES 5 DEAD, 5 WOUNDED, AUTHORITIES SAY. The State Department issued new do not travel advisories for five Mexico states following surges in gang-related violent crime in February and March. Gomez said there are now hundreds, and possibly thousands, of gangs of organized kidnappers. It seems that the once safe Tulum is the latest victim in Mexico's safety crisis. Flix offers opium dealer Guerra a partnership deal. They know where they are. The U.S. State Department issued an updated Travel Advisory Wednesday for U.S. travelers visiting Mexico, including new state-level advice and information on "kidnapping . Information about crime in Merida, Mexico. Two weeks later, dozens of tourists were forced to scramble for cover when 15 gang members, their faces hidden by ski masks, went on a daylight shooting rampage on a beach in the village of Puerto Morelos, south of Cancun, killing two suspected traffickers. Despite the recent spate of drug violence, Tulums foreign residents are staying put. The 2019 study details that the bloody incidents have created a negative image of the tourist gem, which has a . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. This is going to get a lot worse for you, Jennifer recalls one attacker telling her (she and Frank are both fluent in Spanish). American photographer John Sevigny was kidnapped while visiting the city of Cordoba in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where violence and crime is on the rise. The Civil Association Stop Kidnapping announced that the number of victims by kidnapping in Mexico increased 29.5 percent, compared to the month of December, registering 114 victims.. If you decide to travel to Mexico City to shop, and you leave your kids outside expensive jewelry stores in your Rolls Royce, and you do this every Saturday, then there is a small chance they will be kidnapped. (Reuters). The states Americans have been strictly told to avoid are Colima, Guerrero, Michoacn, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas. What were seeing is a huge increase in street fighting from the plaza bosses, Texas-based security consultant Robert Almonte, an expert on Mexican cartels, told The Post. Jennifer said she still has nightmares about the couples ordeal. Beginning around 2006, criminal groups began to use kidnappings and the ransom money they got from desperate families to help fund those activities, according to Vctor Manuel Snchez Valds, a research professor at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico. State governor Carlos Joaquin called the recent beach commando raid a serious blow to the development and security of the state putting the state at grave risk. With turf wars increasing among rival cartels, homicides in the state rose from 145 in 2015 to 628 in 2020 a 333 percent increase in a place where 75 percent of the local economy is based on tourism, according to Mexican statistics. Each of these cases may have involved more than one victim, so the total number of homicides is likely to be higher. MONTERREY, Mexico David Ramirez, a 19-year-old college student from Mexico City, and his best friend Miguel Angel Rivera, 20, were on their way to celebrate Miguels birthday in Zihuatanejo, a coastal village in the Mexican state of Guerrero. After hours of being held hostage, several violent altercations, and a failed attempted rape, the two were able to free themselves. If you do decide to go to Mexico, here are some tips for staying as safe as possible. Christopher Burgess is a writer, speaker and commentator on global security issues. All rights reserved. Cecilia A. narrated that she was walking on the aforementioned avenue whensuddenly two subjects aboard a red Jeep approached. The decapitated body of Mexican businesswoman Susana Carrera was found last week after her family was unable to pay kidnappers the ransom they demanded. This is a kidnapping.. These criminal organizations have found a special interest in the region due to the drug and people trafficking network. The Yucatan peninsula was close to the U.S., which it had tried to join on three separate occasions. As a result, criminal groups, beginning in the early 2000s, shifted their efforts toward the middle and lower classes. The couple believed they were able to escape because both spoke fluent Spanish and were physically fit. While the states with a record of zero kidnappings were: Baja California, Campeche, Coahuila, Durango, Nayarit, Quertaro, San Luis Potos, and Yucatn, said Miranda de Wallace. All of which means that many kidnappers feel, rightly, that the odds of police having the skill or inclination to come after them are pretty low. The following is a . It wasnt her brother. Government of Mazatln analyzes promoting the game of Ulama in the city, Puerto Peasco Rocky Point delivers hot meal to the neediest families, Despite Mazatlan Mayor allowing restaurants to open state health official overrule him, They arrest a Russian couple and a Sinaloan with half a million dollars, Denuncia Paisano, the app to report corruption and extortions of travelers in Mexico by authorities, In the middle of Mazatlan Motorcycle Week, a Tijuana biker is shot to death. [The authorities] say they dont have enough information, Davids sister, Lourdes, said. In our piece, How to manager you Mexico vacation and not get shot I tell the story of a taxi ride in Puerto Vallarta where the driver of the cab makes a call to an unidentified individual and speaks of how the cab with the older white haired male and redheaded female will arrive in about 20 mins. They tied her up and went to look for Frank and, while they were gone, she was able to free herself and make a run for it. Cuitalhuac Garcia, governor of Veracruz, appeared to acknowledge Wednesday morning that the number of kidnappings had shut up last month, telling radio journalist Ciro Gomez Leyva that it was worrisome. Without jinxing anything, what we want to make clear is that Merida is a very safe place to be. On Monday in a press briefing,Department spokesperson Ned Price said there were no reports to share on U.S. citizens being injured or killed in the incident. Dangerous Areas in Cancun. Rory Smith is a freelance data journalist based in Europe. AN updated Mexico Danger Map prompted US government officials to warn travelers about "widespread" crime, as murders, kidnappings, carjackings and robberies continue to rise. | (clockwise from top right) Miguel Tovar; Yuri Cortez; Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images. That has put me in the crosshairs of governments, gangs, and cartels., MEXICAN MAYOR GUNNED DOWN DURING HIS FIRST DAY IN OFFICE. It had access to European ideas as well, since its capital Mrida was less than thirty miles from Yucatan's main port, Progreso. Between 2000 and 2006, there were about 400 kidnappings a year, which, while still a lot, pales in comparison to current numbers. Forget about the Traffic Light entering Mexico. In fact, we were hardly bothered by anyone whose attention we did not want. It all started in 2017 when the local authorities carried out the arrest of two men of Russian origin, who in the United States had a criminal record implicated in drug dealing. Mexico City's . Sometimes kidnappers hold their captives longer in order to demand more money from the victim's relatives or associates. Call Davids mom! The U.S Depart of State has updated its Mexico travel advisory and has decided to keep Mexico at Level Three: Reconsider Travel. Arrested in an upscale Guadalajara neighborhood on Monday, Gonzalez Valencia is charged with laundering money for the cartel. The entities with thehighest number of kidnappingscommitted during the month of August for every 100 inhabitants were;Tlaxcala, Quintana Roo, Hidalgo, Morelos, and Baja California. Yucatan kidnapping and killing of businessman. Im in trouble, he pleaded, crying over the phone. My concern is that, as a tourist, you are not going to be the target, but you might be sitting at a table next to a target, and suddenly that vacation becomes your last.. The one we read about the most is Kidnap for Ransom. Other forms are Express Kidnapping where the victim is kidnapped for the sole purpose of making ATM withdrawals and Virtual Kidnappings where no kidnapping has actually occurred but family members are manipulated into thinking one has in an attempt to induce them to pay a ransom. While celebrating his 40th birthday, Flix worries about his associates' loyalty and confronts Pacho. That said, the risk of kidnapping, especially for the foreign business person or tourist who is perceived to be wealthy exists. If money was paid, the victims were sent on a bus to the U.S. border and instructed to ask for asylum, according to prosecutors. Fifty-one of the kidnappings in Veracruz happened in the month January, Alto al Secuestro reported. Mexico is a wonderful country, and one that is high on our list of vacation destinations. Two men promised to smuggle at least three Cuban migrants into the United States, but instead locked them in a Merida house and tortured them, Florida prosecutors say. I am getting better. This month we had 82 events, which means a decrease of 5.7%, but there was a greater decrease in victims, last month we had 124 victims, today we had 107 victims, which represents a decrease of 13.7,explained Wallace. Country Summary: Violent crime - such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery - is widespread and common in Mexico. The agency cited an "increased risk of crime and kidnapping" in certain areas of Mexico. Mexico is not doing anything to fix the problem, Almonte told The Post. 775. Her burned-out bullet-ridden SUV was reportedly found . A police cordon marks the perimeter of the site where a forensic team and judicial authorities work in unmarked graves where skulls were found, on the outskirts of Veracruz, Mexico March 16, 2017. According to a message from the victim on social media, the events occurred on 32nd avenue, near the Nuestra Seora del Rosario church. Mexican prosecutors say they have found a total of eight dead people on Cancun with two bodies dumped in two spots and four others individually found shot to death. Two men promised to smuggle at least three Cuban migrants into the United States, but instead locked them in a Merida house and tortured them, Florida prosecutors say. Some restrictions include not hailing taxis from the street but rather using a rideshare service like Uber or regulated taxi stands, and to not travel alone. Some areas of Mexico have increased risk of crime and kidnapping. I have to say I have traveled in Guerrero, precisely in Taxco, one of the beautiful Mexican Pueblos Magicos (magic towns) at about 2-hour bus from Mexico City. MRIDA YUCATAN.-. According to a study by the National Commission on Human Rights in Mexico, 85 to 95 percent of Mexicans believe the police are corrupt. While the majority of Cancun is pretty safe, it's still not the safest place to stay in Mexico. However, experts agree that negative news about the violent situation discourages tourists from going to southern Baja California. Alea lacta Est. The Arzates, led by Ismael El Mayo Zambada,direct drug trafficking on the northern border of Baja California. Two of the . The State Department has suggested caution in the state of Quintana Roo, which includes the popular destinations of Cancun, Tulum, and Cozumel. Legal Statement. Country officers are available to speak with you Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For assistance with an abduction in progress or any emergency situation that occurs after normal business hours, on weekends, or federal holidays, please call toll free at 1-888-407-4747. Re: Cartels and kidnapping in PV. Unfortunately, their story is part of a much larger trend in Mexico, where almost 11 million Americans vacationed last year. Violence is on the rise in Mexicos central and southern states, a 2018 report from the OSAC found. In addition to battling their enemies in the Jalisco and Gulf cartels, they are fighting among themselves for control, said Almonte. The report presented on Monday warned thatSalamanca and Tecomncomplete the list of the top five violent cities. Reader support helps us keep our explainers free for all. The Australian Government is not able to guarantee your safety. Report sightings of monkeys in crops in Sinanch, Yucatn. In its monthly report, the organizationAlto al Secuestrorecorded a decrease in the crime of kidnapping in Mexico. I moved around by bus, alone, and felt extremely safe. (many of these crimes are never reported to the police). Crespo and Valdez [] Kidnappings in Mexico come in three forms. I feel safer here than I do in Los Angeles, he said, adding that after the October shootings, the Mexican government dispatched 450 National Guard soldiers to Tulum to keep the peace. Only "1 percent of all kidnappers are captured and carried to justice," said Torres Landa, the Mexico United Against Organized Crime consultant. Safety in Yucatan Peninsula. Is Merida Mexico safe? And then there is the Sinaloa Cartel. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It ended on Sunday the 18th, when police officers broke into the building at 113 . 11 March 2016. He is a former Senior Security Advisor to Cisco and served 30+ years within the CIA which awarded him the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal upon his retirement. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); "Alto al Secuestro" announced that Yucatn is among the 8 states of the republic that report zero kidnappings. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was founded in 2009 by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (El Mencho), who is among the most wanted drug traffickers on the planet after the 2014 arrest of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel. Walt and his team plan retaliatory kidnappings. In recent weeks, many popular destinations for U.S travelers have changed to Level Four: Do Not Travel. The kidnappers told the Massabkis to start thinking of people to call in the U.S. for a ransom. The civil association Stop Kidnapping revealed that the number of victims associated with kidnapping decreased in February on Mexicowith a ratio of 7.9 percent, 131 victims were reported during the month.. Things have become so dangerous that on Wednesday, Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the creation of a tourist battalion 1,500 National Guard soldiers wielding automatic weapons to keep visitors safe. With Mexicos kidnapping problem only getting worse, more and more families are experiencing the pain of seeing a loved one disappear and facing up to the grim reality that they may never come home. There are no tourist kidnappings in Puerto Vallarta that I'm aware of. Tulum will keep growing because the Mexican government is really investing in tourism here, said Susann Rottloff, a Tulum-based realtor and German expatriate who has lived in Tulum for the last three years. Police are often involved in the kidnappings, either by conducting them jointly with criminal groups or by taking their cut and looking the other way. Meanwhile, a nonprofit organization revealed Tuesday that there have been 69 reported kidnapping cases over the same period. Instead, they were nabbed en route by armed gunmen, making them just two of the thousands of Mexicans rich and poor, young and old kidnapped each year. The police captured a cartel boss, who may have died in the encounter, but that's about all the news for PV, other than they are bringing in more Military/ National Guard to keep things safe, a normal thing . Both men face charges of conspiring to induce aliens to come to the United States and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Like a scene out of a movie, the friends of an American tourist had a miserable night out in the Cancun area. They had both been to Mexico a handful of times over the years, but said that experience didnt help them avoid this incident. Aileen Teague, assistant professor at The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University,reminds people that while organized crime does exist in parts of northeastern Mexico, there are also "beautiful places that are dependent on tourism and relatively safe. Make informed decisions that reduce your risk of being kidnapped. However the tragic death of Susana Carrera, whose body was found a week after she was kidnapped allegedly with a note claiming she was killed because her husband didnt want to pay a $207,000 ransom, is just one of the dozens of kidnappings and murders reported in the first two months of the year. 0:00. If convicted, they could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for kidnapping and a maximum of 15 years for human smuggling, according to media reports. Nearly 1,200 kidnappings occurred in Mexico last year. I would be surprised if one tourist per year (out of the millions who come annually) was ever kidnapped. According to the U.S. Department of State, 66 of these were U.S. citizens, 14 of these cases involved Legal Permanent Residents. Its slogan is: Were all going to behave. (AP), Lopez Obrador has launched a campaign aimed at persuading people to not break the law. After the 'Colado' was kidnapped, his alleged captors sent photographs to the man's family to ask for a ransom of about 10 million pesos. Unfortunately, in other latitudes of the country, the victims and investigation files for the crime of kidnapping have increased significantly. The only U.S. cities that rank higher than Merida are Irvine, California, and Amarillo, Texas. We've received your submission. However, these risks aren't especially more prevalent in Mexico than elsewhere so it's a case of packing your usual street smarts. The formerly bustling tourist town faces a marked wave of drug-related violence and human trafficking. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The embassy notes, that in some cases ransom is paid and the victim freed, in other cases the victim is killed despite a ransom being paid. Then the kidnappers sent a video of the torture to his family members in Las Vegas, according to the complaint.The kidnappers contacted a second victims family in Miami and said their relative would be beaten and killed if they didnt fork over $7,000, according to court records. End your day with a swim in Cenote Zaci, just five minutes from downtown. People keep asking me if Tulum is safe. According to the 2012 estimates, there were 100,000 Mennonites living in Mexico [1] (including 32,167 baptized adult church members), [5] the vast majority of them, or about 90,000 are established in the state of Chihuahua, [2] 6,500 were living in Durango, [3] with the rest living in small colonies in the states of . Who knows what kind of information she will give to authorities, Almonte told The Post. Travel.State.Gov. Am I crazy? After my mother died, my cousin took her designer purse, and my aunt took 8 paintings from her home then things really escalated, What's next for bonds in 2023 after the worst year in history. You can also contribute via. In the tourist town of Rosarito, the presence ofthe Jalisco Nueva Generacin Cartel,Sinaloa, Tijuana, and Santa Rosa de Limahave been identified. The NGO detailed that, from December 2018 to September 2021, 5 thousand 234 victims of kidnapping have been registered, . Kidnapping has been a problem in Mexico for decades, but it's gotten much, much worse in recent years. They had to find other sources of income, which gave the hitmen in these groups carte blanche to participate in activities like kidnapping and extortion, he said. Mexico had an estimated 30,000 homicides in 2017, according to a study published by the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego.

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