Two of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico are alive, two dead

rgp said:
Years ago, I was on a motorcycle trip in the S/west. While in Texas, I decided to take the bridge over to Mexico ... just cuz. Nothing bad happened to me but .... all the time i was there [30-45 minutes] I just had the most uneasy feeling . I just felt like I was being 'sized-up' so I just had a Coke [canned] and headed back to the U.S.

An ex-girlfriend of mine had some scary moments down there as well. Her & her friends left the resort to attend a another bar about three miles away. When they decided to leave that bar, the shuttle had stopped running .... they had to walk, in the dark, back to the resort. It's a long story, [I'll spare you] But she said when they got back ... all three of them realized how dumb it was to go in the first place , and they just werre trembling.
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Yep, your gut was telling you something, when the hair on the back of your neck stands up it's time to go.
You were very lucky.
 

SeniorBen said:
The mother of six wanted a "tummy-tuck."
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Didn't she ever watch Botched? I went across the border to a dentist, he was actually quite good. We also would go across the border for fun, but we never ever took our car across the border! If you want to vacation there FLY, hire a taxi.
 
@SeniorBen The ABC news report I saw said she has 5 children. Apparently they were mistaken for rival human traffickers of the men who attacked and kidnapped them after following them, according to the report. But what doesn't make sense to me about that is they had N.C. or S.C. plates on the car.
@hollydolly My husband and I went to Cancun in 1994 (I think). We had a wonderful time and weren't concerned about crime at that time. I'm sure things have gotten worse over the years just like every major city elsewhere.
 

rgp said:
Years ago, I was on a motorcycle trip in the S/west. While in Texas, I decided to take the bridge over to Mexico ... just cuz. Nothing bad happened to me but .... all the time i was there [30-45 minutes] I just had the most uneasy feeling . I just felt like I was being 'sized-up' so I just had a Coke [canned] and headed back to the U.S.

An ex-girlfriend of mine had some scary moments down there as well. Her & her friends left the resort to attend a another bar about three miles away. When they decided to leave that bar, the shuttle had stopped running .... they had to walk, in the dark, back to the resort. It's a long story, [I'll spare you] But she said when they got back ... all three of them realized how dumb it was to go in the first place , and they just werre trembling.
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The road trip from Brownsville into Matamoros looks ordinary ... doesn't reflect the ominous feelings of a dangerous place.

 
Myrtle said:
MEXICO CITY, March 7 (Reuters) - Two of four Americans who went missing on Friday in the Mexican northern border state of Tamaulipas are alive, and two are dead, the state governor said on Tuesday.

"It's been confirmed by the attorney general's office, of the four, two of them have died, there's one person injured, and the other person is alive," Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal said on a call with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the president gave his daily news conference.

ABC News on Monday named the four people as Latavia "Tay" McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

Authorities said that a Mexican bystander was killed when the four were abducted last week.

Separately, a Mexican official told Reuters that two of the men had been found dead. The woman and another man were alive, safe and in the hands of authorities, the official said.

Lopez Obrador said one person was in custody in relation to the kidnapping in Tamaulipas, which has long been one of the most violent states in Mexico.

The four Americans were in a white minivan when they entered the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on Friday.

Gunmen fired on the passengers shortly after they crossed into Mexico and then herded them into another vehicle before fleeing the scene, according to the U.S. embassy in Mexico.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/two-americans-kidnapped-mexico-are-alive-two-dead-2023-03-07/
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Mexico is, by far, the most dangerous country in the world šŸ‘‡ so why go there for non-necessary business if you can't afford armed guardsā‰ļø

MostCrimesCities.jpg

As you can see, the only non-Mexican city in the top 10 most dangerous is New Orleans, mayor LaToya Cantrell.
 
This murder of American citizens in Mexico must not stand. Time to close the entry points and seal the entire length of the southern border. Nobody comes north. Nobody goes south. Close the embassy and recall our ambassador. Full stop. Time for debate on the issue is over.
 
Don M. said:
Our oldest Daughter and Son-in-law used to go to Mexico on vacation every year...usually Cancun....but with the drug gangs ruling half that country, they stopped going 5 or 6 years ago....it's just not worth the risk.
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The drug cartels are typically much more careful with tourists in places like Cancun because it is an income stream for them as well. These people were crossing the border into one of the most dangerous gang territories in the country where there is no tourism. There is a difference.
 
Myrtle said:
I heard earlier that they ran through a cartel checkpoint without stopping but like Kate said, I donā€™t know if thatā€™s true. According to other recent stories the cartels are pretty much in charge of large parts of Mexico now.

Do you go to Mexico? Would you vacation there now? Itā€™s time for spring break which usually means hordes of students down there.
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I haven't been lately, but I've been to Mexico City, Puerta Vallarta, Acapulco (which is now dangerous), Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Ensenada. I would go again. I have a good friend who has a time share in Mexico and she spends two weeks of the year there. She loves the experience.
 
seadoug said:
The drug cartels are typically much more careful with tourists in places like Cancun because it is an income stream for them as well. These people were crossing the border into one of the most dangerous gang territories in the country where there is no tourism. There is a difference.
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Just last month we stayed a week in Zihuatanejo which is located in the state of Guerrero. The U.S. State Dept. implores U.S. citizens to not travel to any destinations in Guerrero, but the U.S. ex-pats living there say that caution is exaggerated, and that they have not see or experienced such problems.
 
I have a friend who lives in the Oaxaca region six months a year and has never had any issues. It has a huge international community living there so the Feds do have a strong presence . Los Algondones is basically a "dental town" on the border which caters to American's who seek dental treatment cheaper then it costs in the US. I have been there a few times and never had an issues. On the flip side , I would never visit Nogales or Tijuana, especially at night time. There are parts of the city that I live in that I avoid visit at night time also.

I'm not saying there aren't very dangerous parts of Mexico, obliviously there are but the same can be said for parts of the US. I wonder how many people who live outside of the US are hesitant to visit the US because of all the shootings and such that occur here.
 
I've been to Mexico a few times. Liked it, didn't love it. No plans to go back.

There is a YT channel (perhaps one of many) of a 30-something American girl who has moved permanently to Mexico (originally with her boyfriend but they have since broken up). She has a travel blog. Her name is MaddieGold (https://www.youtube.com/@MaddieGold).
 
MarkinPhx said:
I have a friend who lives in the Oaxaca region six months a year and has never had any issues. It has a huge international community living there so the Feds do have a strong presence . Los Algondones is basically a "dental town" on the border which caters to American's who seek dental treatment cheaper then it costs in the US. I have been there a few times and never had an issues. On the flip side , I would never visit Nogales or Tijuana, especially at night time. There are parts of the city that I live in that I avoid visit at night time also.

I'm not saying there aren't very dangerous parts of Mexico, obliviously there are but the same can be said for parts of the US. I wonder how many people who live outside of the US are hesitant to visit the US because of all the shootings and such that occur here.
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I've heard from several folks who got great dental work there.

U.S. murder rates are down in 2022, but the numbers are still high:
In 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. pewresearch.org
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I was in Mexico decades ago at an all inclusive resort for about 4 days. Had a good time. Since then, the only time I visit is when on a cruise ship which means only the touristy ports/cities. One thing I noticed is that there is always a lot of security (police and military). Sometimes I get an uneasy feeling with so many of them carrying both holstered weapons and long guns. Some of these uniform people look very young like17-18 years old. Don't really care for Mexico overall and sometimes just stay on board the ship.

Read about an American couple who were driving a rental between Mexican cities years ago.
They were pulled over by a cop(s). It was a bogus violation but they got the message pretty quickly. To avoid going to jail (bad news in Mexico), the cop(s) indicated that they just had to pay something like $200 and they could be on their way. The couple handed over the cash and there were no further shakedowns.

Americans go to Mexico all the time for cheaper medical treatment and prescription drugs. Antibiotics and other needed drugs are much cheaper there than at CVS or Walgreens.

If I recall correctly, Ye or Kanye West's mother went to Mexico for some type of liposuction and unfortunately the procedure caused her death.
 
seadoug said:
The drug cartels are typically much more careful with tourists in places like Cancun because it is an income stream for them as well. These people were crossing the border into one of the most dangerous gang territories in the country where there is no tourism. There is a difference.
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Most 'professional' gangsters/criminals don't want to draw attention/police and know high profile media attention doesn't help. This is what makes inner American so dangerous the kiddy gangsters haven't managed discretion yet nor do they intend to.
 
I've never been to Mexico. I live on the other side of the country, so there's one reason. I would have loved to have gone when I was young but was too busy working and going to school. I wouldn't go near it now because of the crime. I feel too old for that stuff nowadays.
 
chic said:
I've never been to Mexico. I live on the other side of the country, so there's one reason. I would have loved to have gone when I was young but was too busy working and going to school. I wouldn't go near it now because of the crime. I feel too old for that stuff nowadays.
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What do you mean by "that stuff" (crime or travel)? :D
 

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