Mexico Travel Safety Info

[ad343]

What are some of the crimes that you should be aware of?

For starters there are currently drug wars involving rivalry drug dealers and Mexican police and military officials. Although this is not occurring throughout the country, travelers to border towns should be careful.

There are also a significant number of street crimes. These include pick pocketing, purse snatching, and armed robberies against tourists. Many of these crimes are perpetrated against foreigners using public transportation.

Hotel room thefts are also quiet common in Mexico. For this reason tourists should be sure to place their passports and valuables inside safes in the room. Also, doors should remain closed and locked at all times, even when you are in the room.

Foreigners using ATM machines are often approached by robbers and thieves who force victims to withdraw large amounts of cash and surrender it.

Women traveling alone should use extreme caution. There have been numerous incidents of lone female being sexually assaulted.

Kidnapping is yet another crime that is prevalent through Mexico. Most victims are either foreigners or wealthy Mexican nationals.

Carjacking occurs often against foreigners driving expensive rental cars. Therefore, if visiting, you should practice sound vehicle security and drive with the windows up and doors locked at all times.

Backpackers in Mexico often become victims of robberies after hiking alone on trails and backcountry locations.

A different crime that travelers may see in Mexico that they may not be familiar with is extortion by police officials. Since corruption is so widespread, many police officers will target foreigners and falsely accuse them of committing a crime in order to get them to pay a “fine” rather than be officially charged. Travelers should refrain from paying these corrupt police officers and inform their embassy or consulate about the incident.

These are just a few of the crimes that travelers to Mexico should be aware of. If you are planning to visit, I encourage you to please be careful.
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Al

[Sparky]

I'd heard that the towns along the US border are a bit dodgey, because of the drug trafficking gangs, but you make it sound like the whole country is a hive of scum and villainy; Is it really that bad?
I have an american friend who's worked in Mexico for years and from everything he's ever told me it sounds like a great place, maybe not as safe as your average European or US city, but not too bad either, so long as one is a bit careful & does the research before travelling. *shrug*
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[ad343]

Oh no, by all means I don't mean to make Mexico sound as dangerous as Iraq or anything. On the other hand, don't be fooled by all the beautiful brochures in the travel agencies either.

But I think you nailed it on the head by saying that as long as travelers use basic safety precautions they will be ok. This is true and this is the point I meant to get across.

I encourge travelers to visit Mexico. Heck, I've been there 5 times and would return. I just want travelers to be safe, stop dropping their guard abroad, and getting vicitimized.
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Al

[paul]

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[paul]

If I recall from another thread, though, you believe that every hotel - regardless of where in the world it is - should have a sufficient security presence that is significant enough to prevent (or at least deter) a terrorist attack such as the Mumbai one. I don't believe this is remotely necessary for many hotels.
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[Ginirover]

I suppose (and hope) you're joking ad343.

First of all : all the comment you make about visiting Mexico : yes, I suppose most of the things you describe have happened and will happen again in the future, but if you're that scared of them, just stay at home and hope nobody with bad intentions will enter it...

I mean : you have to be careful when traveling obviously, but starting your journey in a paranoiac way is not the right way either

The same goes for the hotel security you seem to want. Ofcourse this is not possible in 99.5 % (or more) hotels in the world - how would you organize that ? And if you make ALL the hotels terrorist-proof ? What will you do with the shopping malls ? The restaurants ? The big festivities ?

Just realize that the world is not a perfect place and that you have to be careful in what you do, but don't let that lead you to being scared all the time in all places !

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