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(Sorry, too long to translate and I don't trust the current translators online which make a mess with the syntax. Basically three tourists were assaulted by knife one of them was injured and disappeared for a while but are all alright. I guess they will be fleeing the island of enfrightenment soon enough.)
Last edited by espizarro; 02-16-2013 at 03:48 PM..
(Sorry, too long to translate and I don't trust the current translators online which make a mess with the syntax. Basically three tourists were assaulted by knife one of them was injured and disappeared for a while but are all alright. I guess they will be fleeing the island of enfrightenment soon enough.)
It is happening in the USA, and has happened before. And not very far from Tampa.....
This stuff can happen everywhere. But murders in PR are way out of control. Tampa Bay does not have 1/10 of the amount of murders in PR per year. 900-1000 murders in a 100 x 35 island of 3.5 millions is totally unacceptable.
You're so right, espizarro. Puerto Rico is BAAAD. Not good for you. Reinforce this for all your fellow Boricua Bashers and assimilated Neoricans. Puerto Rico, stay AWAAAAY. No need to come here, too crowded and full of bad people. Tell your stateside-bred kids not to entertain thoughts of squatting here, we have cannibals and there is no work for them; and please, take some of the angry kids with death wishes and crybabies with you, they'd be better off hawking EBT cards in Orlando. Better yet, take the entire Puerto Rico state legislature, they're really good with words and will sell anything you pay them to, I believe they'd be right at home in Washington. Us older backward hicks can stay here when you empty the island out, don't worry, we'll be FIIINE.
Its very rare that tourists are attacked in Puerto Rico, but it happens. Like someone mentioned before, it also happens stateside. It's true that PR has a high murder rate, however by the postings of some here one would imagine that there are shoot outs right and left, more like the civil war in Syria. Like in most places of the U.S. some violence is more, some less.
The murder rate on the island is tied to the drug trade, with outrageous rub outs in public places. If one looks at the folks involved most are poor folks, from housing projects with a few middle class drug king pins here and there. It's sad that "Sometimes" ( rarely) someone gets caught in the cross fire. The island news papers thrive on hysteria because thats the way they get people to buy papers. TV stations also get ratings by reporting the most gruesome crimes. In the US poor folks get their thrills by watching the 6 O'clock news that is mainly filled with crime, most of it minority crime.
Its very sad that this happens, but I think the most outrageous things tourists should complain about is how hotels are ripping them off with service fees as high as 18% plus 8% tax. They also add an extra fee for the daily cleanup crew and the bell hop, need it or not. It's surprising tourists still go to Puerto Rico, but they do.
The murders are very out of control at this point. That being said there are still plenty of safe places to live and visit here in pr. I avoid the big cities especially at night. I enjoy Ponce, Mayaguez and Aguadilla. Just make sure you don't get lost in a rough neighborhood at night. Cabo Rojo Rincon and Aguada are extremely safe. Some of my friends here both American and rican called them boring. I love it. I'm kind of a beach bum and a bit of a hill billy tho. A little bit of situational awareness goes along way on the island.
Crime rates don't really affect visitors. This is true in Puerto Rico as it is everywhere else. Its the locals that have to live with that reality, because their chance of being a victim of crime is much higher than that of a tourist for the simple reason that the longer a person spends in a high crime area, the greater the risk something will happen to them. If you live in a high crime area, then guess what? Those 12 months of every year that you spend in your high crime area makes it much more likely that you will be a victim of crime than that tourist that spends 5 days in San Juan and its vicinity.
There are plenty of dangerous cities in the USA that receive many tourists. Look at Miami (its crime reputation is not so good) and its still one of the top vacation spots in the USA. Orlando is now one of the most dangerous cities and you don't see tourists not visiting the place. The only thing that has dampen Orlando's tourism is the economic crisis, that's it. Chicago isn't peachy either and yet many people visit that city.
I don't see why Puerto Rico will be any different.
How many tourists visit PR every year? 2 million? 3 million?
How many are victims of crime? I don't know the number, but I will be shocked if it surpasses 50.
Tourists should take the normal precautions as anywhere else and have fun!
You have to be careful anywhere in the world that you go. Crime does not discriminate nor stay in one location.
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