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The only reason I'm looking through this case, and this family, is I really believe that except in the very rarest of situations, an American family who is truly a "tourist", visiting restaurants and staying in resorts and sunbathing at the pools, are typically very safe in Mexico.
Even the cartels have no interest in shutting off that very lucrative source of income.
That, and the family is making no effort to get the boy back, it appears.
So. Who were they, and what exactly were they doing in the wee hours that caught the eye of the cartel?
Agreed. I think Mexico is generally safe for most people not up to no good. Standard and nearly universal advice is to not drive at night in Mexico, although I have many times within cities or on major highways especially cuotas. There is more to this story than we know.
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"This too shall pass. But possibly, like a kidney stone."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia
Agreed. I think Mexico is generally safe for most people not up to no good. Standard and nearly universal advice is to not drive at night in Mexico, although I have many times within cities or on major highways especially cuotas. There is more to this story than we know.
It appears the state department also knows the "more to the story" and they're opting not to comment.
Probably the scariest thing was the highways. They are NOT like highways in the US!
They often are now. Many of the old 2-lane highways have been replaced by 4-lane median-divided highways between major cities, often limited access interstate-like.
Years ago (I'm talking 40) There was a short warning given to US citizens... "Enter at your own risk" The dearth of "Heepies" has the mexican police looking for targets and now US Citizens are the targets. This is even now worse due to the gangs.
Location: Unlike most on CD, I'm not afraid to give my location: Milwaukee, WI.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi
Probably the scariest thing was the highways. They are NOT like highways in the US! You’d see a bunch of shrines on all the blind curves & they drive these big, old pickups; overloaded with people, cows, you name it ... & they love to play ‘chicken’ with other cars on the roads; driving head on towards you & swerving away in the nick of time, usually with a big grin on their face.
Yep, these are just the type of people we need coming into America by the millions.
By way of comparison, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Turkey are at level 3, while Greece, where Suzanne Eaton was murdered, is at level 1. Venezuela is at level 4: you'd have to drag me there.
If the NYP story was "oddly written," it was no more so than multiple news sources. In addition, the NYP article didn't state that he wasn't treated for the gunshot wound.
And BTW, multiple publications and sites used the term nervous breakdown. Why? Because that's what was reported by local (Mexican) outlets. Every account I've read or heard on this, references "reports." So did the NYP article, where they also provided a link.
Since I'm fluent in Spanish, I'll translate the pertinent paragraph:
"The minor was also treated by the Red Cross in Petatlán for his injuries and because he had a nervous breakdown [emphasis mine]."
The term they used was "crisis nerviosa"--nervous breakdown. That's not even a medical term. It never was, even though it's certainly outmoded and has fallen into the garbage heap of long-gone terms.
I suspect, then, that most publications, sites, and TV news broadcasts simply went for the direct translation. I did notice one which used the term "emotional trauma"--certainly more appropriate, and medically descriptive of his mental state.
So now you know the rest of the story!
Nearly all if not most news media (especially print, even with online editions) has experienced consolidation, cuts in staffing, and used technology to "outsource" or whatever reporter coverage. As such stories are not always written by a local in house reporter, but could be anyone from a freelancer to someone from another division of parent company somewhere else.
Just read an article on Deutsche Bank in New York Post where reporter used the word "redundant" to describe laid off/terminated employees. No one in USA uses that word; "redundant" is however commonly used in GB and other parts of Europe to describe fired, laid off, terminated employees.
Editor of a US newspaper or media source would likely tell a "British" reporter on their staff to change such a word because it is unfamiliar to Americans.
IMO, this couple made some very poor choices. I'm not sure why they weren't in bed that time of night. They didn't deserve to die. Mexico is simply not safe. I don't trust resorts in tourist locations. I wouldn't drive there either. The laws are very different. Too many people have ended up dead or in prison for things we would consider simple mistakes.
Mexico is not safe? Ask the survivor's of the massacre at the Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, less than 2 years ago, where 600 innocent people were shot at by a 63YO senior citizen, how safe they now feel in Las Vegas. Yes, 58 innocent people died in that massacre. Ever hear of 600 tourists being shot, as a group, in Mexico?
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