War in mexico?

tomalom

tomalom

Member
so this summer i might be studying abroad for two months in Guadalajara Mexico but recently I've heard alot about how the drug war in mexico is getting worse every day but i don't really know what the whole deal is with it. can somebody inform me of whats going down there and whether or not i should study abroad there this summer. (read is it safe for me to study there this summer)thanks +k for help
 
basically if you're a whitey they will kidnap you, hold you ransom for money. 80% of the time, even if paid, they will kill their captives. It has turned into a business practice, just be careful man
 
there have also been cases where they kidnap american college students and sacrifice them in ways that are unimaginable and eat their brains because they were smart. basically, if it aint cancun or cabo, i wouldnt go
 
they wont necesarily kidnap you haha i dont know mucha bout mexico but i come from Colombia where the whole kidnaping deal is also a problem and basically if you stay in the city and be smart about where u go and the times hang out out in the street you'll be fine. DEFINITELY dont take any road trips out of the city to small towns or whatever just stay in the city and be careful with your shit, dont wear too fancy stuff when walking around the street, dont get much of a fancy car etc just to avoid anything. good luck if you go man!
 
i dont know that it matters right now... the governor of cancun was shot in the middle of the streets in cancun last week wasnt he?
 
my question is why do you want to go study in Mexico? or for what cause/ course...?

if you are careful where you go and what you do you might be fine.

with that said I know reports have come out that with the 2 top drug cartels, that may be teaming up, hold more than 100,000 foot men. the mexican army only has like 130,000 or something like that. Actually the only other top 2 countries that pose a greater national security threat than Mexico are Iran and Pakistan right now; Mexico is even above Iraq and Afghanistan and thats where we are fighting the war right now.

if its a relatively save place your going than you are probably fine, its not like you will be the only American down there and our government would never let the drug cartels take over Mexico.
 
well the only classes ill be taking are like 4 hours of spanish a day. its supposed to be an intensive spanish immersion program. im really siked to go but with how bad its getting im starting to wonder if its really a good idea. I'm not exactly the best at avoiding trouble and i know i'd be going out to bars around the city and gettying wasty pants and probablly end up buying some drugs at some point so i dunno. btw is that true about the 100,000 foot soldiers vs. 130,000 national soldiers? if so shit is gonna get so fucked up
 
oh dude i'd be scared to buy drugs there haha but maybe take a little break from the mary j unless you make legit friends wiht someone who you know wont get you in weird shit... idk never bought drugs in colombia haha but sounds a little scarry if its a sketchy place like that
 
yo man I'm just going to be up front with you. You need to scratch this trip all together. If you want to learn the language, look into tourist locations like cancun or acapulco. You'll be able to party in a safe environment. It sounds to me like you want to go out and enjoy yourself...if you go out drinking or looking for drugs, I am going to guarantee you are either jumped/robbed, murdered or abducted. It's almost inevitable. And believe me when I say you cannot trust anyone out there... someone will pretend to be your friend and then fuck you over, the cops are involved in this shit, and in some instances, even the governors.
 
personally i wouldnt go. i came back from mexico city with my school from a charity thing. two kids got jumped (beated up) one got a knife pulled on him because he wouldnt buy a necklace from the guy. guess where this happened? right outside our hotel.keep in mind that our hotel was on the border of the shady part of town.

i think mexico will collapse. from being there and seeing everything its only a matter of time. and when it does all hell will break loose.

im not trying to scare you but you should choose your locations wisely. and its all a matter of common sence. and dont buy drugs. come on. ill be willing to bet that most of the people who were kidnapped were trying to get a cheap high off some cartel member.
 
Guadalajara is a pretty safe area of mexico. Ive been down there numerous times visiting foreign exchange family and as long as your smart and dont do something dumb, youll live.
 
"Estimates for the total number killed from January through November 2008 run from 4,900 to 5,100"

Even bureaucratese-riddled State Department warnings about travel in Mexico are pretty stiff. For example, from October: "The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and

timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted. ... While most

of the crime victims are Mexican citizens, the uncertain security

situation poses risks for U.S. citizens, as well."

That was taken from one article I found. The situation is horrible in border towns like Cuidad Juarez.

I currently live in Austin, Texas and although I would like to go to Mexico I'm definitely not going now. The resort towns seem relatively safer. However, the anti-drug chief in Cancun did get kindnapped, tortured and beheaded despite having security forces present. And that happened within a few days of him accepting the position. So you can't pretend like the cartels influence doesn't reach there. I'm sure they make quite a bit of business from college kids there. They aren't really targeting Americans for the most part, but really anything can happen. I don't know much about Guadelaraja but I don't think I'd go. Why not go somewhere else that speaks spanish? There's plenty of better options like Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile etc.

 
eh i woudnt go if ur only studying spanish plenty of places here to do it and uc an just go to a sick city. its such a dirty whole country even the tourist areas are pretty fucken dirty i mean its fun and all but so much risk goin now not worth it
 
your sister will be fine, i went to cancun in the summer and it was totally safe. Its basicaly all tourists. I even went to a sketchy part of cancun with my family to look for some flea market and we were fine, everyone was really nice. The only problem is that all the mexicans there expect you to buy their stuff since your an american. i tried to buy as much as i could to buy stuff so i could help them but even if you dont its all good. the other parts of mexico id shit myself though. Im just worried that the US is gonna get dragged into another war if they have to go and help the mexican army. Thats the last thing this country needs
 
I've run down to Tijuana to get drunk quite a few times since the drug wars started and I'm still alive. (I think its worst right on the border?)
 
They should put that stimulus money to use and build a god damn wall on the boarder. Then they need to arm it with Texans who will shoot to kill.
 
just kick in the door and wave that 44. haha, seriously tho. BE CAREFUL i heard about a lot of kidnappings and ransoms, pretty crazy shit.
 
unless you dress like a rich bitch you will be fine and as long as you dont get involved in the cartels you will be ok. mexicans make like 100s of millions of dollars selling drugs to tourists every year, if they kidnap tourists they are shooting themselves in the vag look at how fucked aruba is now
 
i got back from Mazatlan 2 weeks ago, nothing really happened, don't stop yourself from going, Mexico is a awesome place, just wear cheap shit, don't wear a watch, carry round more cash then you need etc.

im heading back there next month for a few months, if you careful its not that bad
 
if your going to a resort area u should be fine other than that though i would not go not worth the riski mexico is such a dirtry grimly fucked up place out side of these nice areas
 
You're an idiot. Have you even been to Mexico? I have done some stupid things in the deep dark bowels of Mexico and haven't been robbed, raped or kidnapped. I highly suggest getting wasted and going to local strip clubs, if you need directions for one in a warehouse in Manzanillo I can provide them.
Guadalajara is hot in the summer and not that close to the beach, I wouldn't suggest that.Mexicans overall are good people. As long as you look grimy and poor, people really aren't going to fuck with you. Since you are going with a school they are going to put in you a pretty safe place. Stop being such a pussy.
 
Holy fuck, what is up with Americans and being scared to leave their own country. Way to many of you are CNN junkies. There is no way that Mexico is more dangerous than your own country.
To the thread creator: Go to Guadalajara, its a very safe place. Its prosperous, semi clean, and if your on exchange you'll meet a lot of other kids in your exact situation when you get down there. It is an easy place to learn spanish, since a large portion on the population of guadalajara is well educated and speaks english very well. I have been there numerous times. I drive the highways from Guadalajara to the coast every year. This year there was an accident on the highway and it was closed for 4 hours. I ended up on some dirt roads through corn fields then taking back roads through little towns and villages. If you visit the coast. Santiago is a nice little spot outside Manzanillo, thats where I have a place. Puerto Vallarta is nice but busy. Fun parties though. Sayulita is just north or Puerto. Such a fun place. Nice waves, super friendly hippie town and the cheapest road side tacos that are soooo good. South of Manzanillo is Pasquales and La Ticlas. More good places to surf. Pasquales is a really heavy beach break and can get huge. When I was there this past winter the waves were 15 feet high and every time one crashes, everything on the beach shakes. Such a crazy amount of power. La ticlas is still big, but the waves are mellow and are more like rolling hills than heavy tubes. Plus the beach is shallower and the waves are more consistant.
Dont listen to the fucking garbage in this thread. Mexico is safe. I agree areas in the north are not very safe, and some port towns like acapulco have had some bad press lately, but unless you go looking for the drug trade its not finding you. Its easy to get bud to, once you are there, some kid you meet will have a hook up and its all legit. Dont go walking around asking for it, and DON'T get caught. Its expensive to get out of and thats if they are going to take a bribe for it. They are pretty heavy with their policies and Mexican prisons suck. Even the holding cells and drunk tank is worse than anything in the states or canada. I've seen the inside of both. Just be cautious like is you were traveling to any new place. Its definitely not the middle east. The people are friendly. If you respect them you'll have more friends than you can imagine.
 
A kid who went to my school (CU) got shot and killed in broad daylight while visiting Cancun during spring break of last year.
 
i went to cancun last july and did everything i probably shouldnt have. i kept notes of my whole experience. i was there for a night and a day. read on.

i get to cancun at 8pm, get off the plane, and walk through mexican immagration. I am out in the open airport full of latinas y latinos. They try to trick you into paying full fare 50 usd to drive you from the airport to downtown cancun when in reality it only costs 15 bucks. i was told about that on the plane, so i just passed by

i take a bus downtown for 3 bucks. then flag down a taxi and say cheap hotel. 30 -40 bucks. easy. i get dropped off at a sketchy ass hotel but its cheap and clean and the doors lock. its about 9 pm now. I take my wallet out of my pants and stick it in the vcr, hid my back pack under the bed. stick my passport in my pillow. .i go down to the desk clerk and say i want a good bar some good food and to dance. he says something in spanish and points so i start walking down the street.

i run into a cute spanish girl on the street and say "donde cerveza y baila" she looks at me and says i speak english and we laugh. she walks me to a corner and says the bars are down that way and be careful then we go our seperate ways.

i meet this guy working the corner. it was his part of the street. he helped cars parallel park and watches the cars so no one would steal or break into them. in return the people would tip him. his name was hector and he was 32 years old. he told me a good place to get some beer and food. which the place was awesome i had 4 beers and a bunch of tacos for 8 dollars.

i went back down the street and ran into him again and asked where a good bar to go to was. he said it was to early. so i asked him if he wanted some beer and he said sure. i bought a six pack from the store oxxo and split it with him. we talked for awhile. about mexican mafia and the corrupt police. since what he does isnt legal work the police often hassle him and take half of his money. but in return they let him work that part of the street. if he doesnt pay he gets beat up or arrested. i bought another six pack.

Next i tell him i feel like getting high, he says okay follow me. we go for a 15 minute walk through the slums and run down part of cancun. these are houses that are run down with dirt floors. windows boarded up. he looks at me and says i will be your protector. but keep your eyes open. i get kinda fucking nervous. either way we walk into this house that just has a sheet of plywood over the door. he does some special knock and they open it up. we walk in and there are a bunch of mexicans squatting around a fire on the dirt floor smoking and dealing crack. at this point im like oh fuck. bad place for the white kid to be. they are just looking at me like who the fuck is this gringo.

anyway hector gets some weed and we leave and go sit behind a building and roll a joint and smoke. then i buy another six pack and we drink while walking back to the bar street.

as we are walking i say "necisito cerveza y baila con chica guapa" he says you want hot girls. i say si. we stop at a house he rings the doorbell, then nocks, then rings the doorbell again. it opens we cruise in. i thought it was a friends house. a girl walks up to me and goes 1500 peso for everything and im like whaaaa? then i find out im in a whore house, she wasnt even hot. so we leave and he starts laughing at me. we walk down the street to where i first met him. he has to get back to work. so i sit with him and we talk about how he used to live in san deigo but got introuble for some bogus thing with the police. his wife was hitting the kids but he got the charge and went to jail for four months. then when he got out he came back to mexico.

its around 230 now. and some girls come up to me and start talking they werent ugly but just different and as tall as me. and kept asking if i wanted to go party with them. hector was laughing. hector told them to leave then tells me they were trannys. i watched them work their corner and man they were getting used by tons of people. fucking gnarly. some stacked mexican with swastikas all over his neck and tats every where walks past me and says he knows me. hector says quietly to be careful talking to this guy. i quickly get nervous and offer my new friend a beer. his name was george (whore-hey) and he served 6 and a half years in walla walla washington for accidently killing someone? so he said. he kept saying he hates niggers, friends with the skinheads. english was really bad but i told him it was perfect. he liked that. he walked off. then some guy started following me around he was small and skinny but it still sketched me out.

it was about 530 in the morning now. and i was slowing down. i talked to hector for awhile and then said it was time for me to go to sleep. the bum followed me and when i saw i walked back to hector and was like yo can you keep this guy from following me. hectors parting words were "youve seen the real cancun, think you will come back" i laughed and said adios mi amigo. after all my walking i found my hotel and passed out then got up at 11 went to the beach and swam and talked to foreigners then came home. all in a night and a day of cancun.

 
all my boys just went to cancun for spring break one refunded his trip becasue of what was goin on, but they said they didnt feel endangered once and everything was fine
 
I was just in Mexico over Winter Break for a kayaking trip in Veracruz. We landed in Mexico City, then drove the 5 hours to Veracruz. We encountered a few military check points that would make suspicious vehicles stop, while they checked the cars for drugs and weapons, but we saw no fighting at all. The check points created huge traffic jams, but that was it. I had a lot of fun and we were not hassled at all. I hope you have a fun and safe time. Good luck. If you have anymore questions feel free to hit me up.
 
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