Armed Gang Kidnaps 22 Tourists in Acapulco

[onthehighseas606]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11459463

 

Down right scary.

[CupKayke]

Eh. :eek: Makes me rethink our Spirit cruise in 2012, yet again... I get sooo much slack from friends when I say we are considering that area.

[MsTabbyKats]

Private islands seem to be the only safe place to travel nowadays.

[steffaroonie]

In watching the news, they suspect this might be gang related. As in....the 22 kidnapped are gang members kidnapped by rival gang members.

[zqvol]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11459463

 

Down right scary.

 

Did you read the story? It was Mexican nationals who kidnapped other Mexican nationals about 30 miles outside of town. It is thought to be gang related.

 

The cities in Mexico are as safe as any large US city for tourists.

[lollylew]

I was just going to remark the same thing...Mexican nationals were kidnapped, not Americans. I think the drug gangs know not to try and kidnap foreign nationals because then those countries would get involved and that might not end well for the drug gangs! :o

[sharecruises]

yes, in reading this it seems they were Mexican Nationals...and

who knows?? Maybe from a rival gang

 

I feel safe enough in Cozumel going to the "usual" places

ie, Sanchos, Paradise Beach etc

 

but not sure I would want to rent a car or go to the mainland

 

the "Mexican Riveria" seems even more dangerous

 

I think you will be fine though but just don't go off on your own

 

another thing to remember : in Mexico any car accident is a "crime" not accident and you might have to pay off the "policia" to get off the island

it can be a real scam

[riffatsea]

The kidnapping details are not very clear!

I agree it probably has to do with rival gang members.

The laws in Mexico are based on the Napoleanic code which means you are presumed GUILTY and must prove your innocence.

That is the reason that IF you drive in Mexico you MUST purchase Mexican car insurance which will act as your bond (get out free card) if you get into an accident.

[cruisinthemed]

Eh. :eek: Makes me rethink our Spirit cruise in 2012, yet again... I get sooo much slack from friends when I say we are considering that area.

 

The 9 day isn't going to be going to Acapulco.

[MrPete]

How about that couple where the husband was killed jet skiing. They keep showing a Carnival cruise ship in the background, like it's somehow part of the story.

[Molly BPOE]

I would not hesitate to book this itenerary again, but I decided last time we were in Acapulco that next time I would stay on the ship. That city is a cesspool in my opinion. :(

[Aknot]

Why are people pointing out the obvious asking the OP if they read the story?

 

The OP just said it was scary.... He (or she) didnt say anything about Americans.....

 

Regardless of what was done the OP just posted the link of a general area in and around a popular cruise area.

 

Some people MAY take walks and or their own tours and may find this information helpful with regards to where not to go if they strike out on their own.

 

While it may not happen there is no reason to think someone could not walk into the middle of something.

 

Thanks OP for providing information on a traveled area.

[BigGuy25]

How about that couple where the husband was killed jet skiing. They keep showing a Carnival cruise ship in the background, like it's somehow part of the story.

 

It made me sit up an take notice until I realized that the picture was simply an old vacation photo of the couple. The incident happened as they were jet skiing from the US side of a lake that shares shoreline with Mexico. The story had nothing to do with cruises.

[amc80]

I agree that the chances of anything happening are pretty minimal. But, our group has (almost) decided to cancel our private city tour we had planned. We would just all feel a lot safer staying on/near the beach with all the other tourists. I don't want to have to worry about my safety while I'm on vacation, you know?

[JRinPV]

Can't help but be a bit amused by the report of 20 Mexican Nationals kidnapped on 'Vacation' ? They were all men travelling in three vans. I have never seen Mexican men on vacation without their families, children, brothers, sisters even grandparents !

These were not tourists, bad reporting!

Again!

[CowPrincess]

Can't help but be a bit amused by the report of 20 Mexican Nationals kidnapped on 'Vacation' ? They were all men travelling in three vans. I have never seen Mexican men on vacation without their families, children, brothers, sisters even grandparents !

These were not tourists, bad reporting!

Again!

 

I totally agree with this... seriously, who goes on vacation with all their co-workers? :rolleyes: IMO way the story is pretty sketchy on details, y'know? And the whole incident seems hard to believe as presented. Not saying people were not kidnapped, but interesting that two weren't and were able to report the crime, yet the police have not been able to contact them again?

[buckanear]

It made me sit up an take notice until I realized that the picture was simply an old vacation photo of the couple. The incident happened as they were jet skiing from the US side of a lake that shares shoreline with Mexico. The story had nothing to do with cruises.

 

They were on the Mexican side of the border when it happened, which is so foolish IMO. There have been other incidents on the lake prior to this tragic incident. The wife was scheduled to give a press conference, but suddenly canceled. Her family reported that she feared for her safety if she had held the press conference.

 

The US Government already funds the war against the Mexico drug war. With US $$ and support, they shot 2 druglords just a few blocks from my house. However, I do not believe that Mexico is inheritantly unsafe. Travel smart and be aware of surroundings.

[MSN-Travelers]

I would never be critical of people with concerns for their personal safety or the safety of their family. The press (worldwide) thrives on creating sensationalized fear. Investigation and good reporting seem to be a thing of the past.

This thread, and the other one titled “Travel Warning for Mexico”, are seriously making my butt ache. Both threads are based on crap reporting and fueled by people that feel the need to comment before they check out the facts.

The crime rate, violent crime rate, for most American cities is so high that the daily violence is now considered “normal” and beneath notice. It most countries posted realistic travel warnings for this country, the US travel industry would collapse.

While Acapulco isn’t my favorite Mexican city to visit, the ports on the standard 7-day itinerary are safer for the cruising tourist than most of your home towns. You visit these cities during daylight hours, you travel in tourist packs to tourist traps and your happy, satisfied experience is the only thing that keeps their economies afloat.

The hysteria created over H1N1 really hurt the Mexican Riviera ports while it was never reported that any outbreak ever occurred in them. You do yourself, and the Mexican nationals who make their living serving you, a serious disservice by caving in to media hysteria.

My family returns to Vallarta for our annual vacation in about a month and we look forward to getting back to our home away from home.

Get on the ship, get on an airplane and go enjoy yourself on the Mexican Riviera!

[riffatsea]

I agree that people are taking this waaaay out of proportion!

We had a lovely day in Acapulco walking to some of the sights near the cruise port and taking a taxi to other sites.

I thought the city was quite interesting!

It would be a shame to go to Mexico and not see any of it!

I really wish the Spirit would do those 9days down to Acapulco again.

I really do NOT like Cabo!

[gomexico]

The best available information confirms - at this point - that the 22 kidnapped tourists in Acapulco and the 7 or more kidnapped tourists in Manzanillo a week or two ago were indeed tourists. There has been no speculation otherwise in the media by the media reporters or by law enforcement and church officials who identify the kidnapped persons in Acapulco as tourists. Some of you may discount crimes against Mexicans, and that line of thinking is troubling. Tourists are tourists.

 

The Acapulco incident didn't take place 30-miles outside of Acapulco as someone earlier misrepresented. The mass kidnappings took place in the heart of the buisiest tourist zone - and the busiest for foreign tourists as well (if that matters) and were witnessed by many.

 

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the manner the tourists were vacationing and it's been confirmed by their families that they took similar vacations - fathers and sons or co-workers - each year to a different destination.

 

If this and the Manzanillo mass kidnappings turn out to be a hoax I'll be surprised. I won't be surprised if they've been taken by terrorists because terrorist activity is widespread in parts of the country. Terrorists are said to have been responsible for the armed attack on US tourists last week during which attack one US resident was murdered while on his jet ski.

 

The risk all tourists run is visiting a port city such as Acapulco and coming upon a firefight, kidnapping or other major crime and becoming victimized as an "innocent bystander." While some people from the USA have been targeted for kidnapping I don't think they're the principal target. But, many of these most serious crimes are "crimes of opportunity" and we can be at risk when we least expect it because we walked a block too far from this or from that and walk into a situation.

 

The press is often attacked for reporting incidents. As far as the violence in Mexico is concerned I think the matters have been under-reported, not exaggerated. This is a war, a major war that's fluid and for which battlefields change quickly. I'm not suggesting anyone change their trip plans but if you're not concerned about these things then I think you should be and each person should assess, for him or herself, the level of risk you're willing to take. Being better informed is preferable to sticking your head in the sand.

[MSN-Travelers]

The best available information confirms - at this point - that the 22 kidnapped tourists in Acapulco and the 7 or more kidnapped tourists in Manzanillo a week or two ago were indeed tourists. There has been no speculation otherwise in the media by the media reporters or by law enforcement and church officials who identify the kidnapped persons in Acapulco as tourists. Some of you may discount crimes against Mexicans, and that line of thinking is troubling. Tourists are tourists.

 

The Acapulco incident didn't take place 30-miles outside of Acapulco as someone earlier misrepresented. The mass kidnappings took place in the heart of the buisiest tourist zone - and the busiest for foreign tourists as well (if that matters) and were witnessed by many.

 

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the manner the tourists were vacationing and it's been confirmed by their families that they took similar vacations - fathers and sons or co-workers - each year to a different destination.

 

If this and the Manzanillo mass kidnappings turn out to be a hoax I'll be surprised. I won't be surprised if they've been taken by terrorists because terrorist activity is widespread in parts of the country. Terrorists are said to have been responsible for the armed attack on US tourists last week during which attack one US resident was murdered while on his jet ski.

 

The risk all tourists run is visiting a port city such as Acapulco and coming upon a firefight, kidnapping or other major crime and becoming victimized as an "innocent bystander." While some people from the USA have been targeted for kidnapping I don't think they're the principal target. But, many of these most serious crimes are "crimes of opportunity" and we can be at risk when we least expect it because we walked a block too far from this or from that and walk into a situation.

 

The press is often attacked for reporting incidents. As far as the violence in Mexico is concerned I think the matters have been under-reported, not exaggerated. This is a war, a major war that's fluid and for which battlefields change quickly. I'm not suggesting anyone change their trip plans but if you're not concerned about these things then I think you should be and each person should assess, for him or herself, the level of risk you're willing to take. Being better informed is preferable to sticking your head in the sand.

 

This coming from the guy who lives in the murder capital of the US. So many they have a web site dedicated to tracking them http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/ . Should I change my flight plans for Mexico next month just because I happen to fly out of O'Hare??? NOBODY is saying we should discount the news reports or bury our heads in the sand ... Just put these reports in context. How may murders and other violent crimes happened in LA today, yesterday or will happen tomorrow??? What level of risk do we put ourselves at when we take a shuttle from LAX to San Pedro or Long Beach.

 

Get a grip! Mexico has pockets of violence and nearly all of them are linked to the drug trade. Tell me how many tourists have been attacked in Cabo, Mazatlan or Vallarta. Tell all of us how may violent crimes have occured in Vallarta toward tourists?

[gomexico]

Apologists for Mexico and the reign of terror currently underway in much of the country often try to change the topic from crime in Mexico where they vacation to other places in the world. It's an old, and failed, tactic.

 

Your information about crime in the USA seems as misinformed as your information about what's happening in Mexico. You can learn something about crime in the USA, since you're preoccupied with that on this Mexican Riviera specific forum by reading this:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

 

Similar statistics for Mexico don't exist, so it's not so easy to say what the rates of crime are in any one of the port cities. Crimes are classified differently in Mexico and many mulicipalities don't report the statistics to the federal government. What the rest of the world terms a "kidnapping" some Mexican communnities call "theft." "Murder" isn't murder in many communities, they call it something else. There's a huge inconsistency. Most crimes in Mexico go unreported and in some of the port cities the crimes aren't disclosed unless a tourist goes out of his or her way to do that - because the tourism authorities are afraid of bad news. The federal government speculates that no more than 2 or 3 out of 10 crimes are reported, and maybe 1 in 10 of the crimes is solved.

 

Travelers are ill-served by misinformation. A good, all-encompasing discussion of the seriousness of the situation in Mexico will help cruise passengers, not harm them.

[kellygarrett]

The problems in Mexico are real but very distorted by the press and radicals.I lived in Rosarito Beach for 7 years and went to the states by way of TJ every time I went to the states ( usually once a week ).Never once had a problem and used the buses and collective taxies all the time.It is the drug trade that causes the the violence and it almost always directed at each other , not the tourists. I wouldnt walk around TJ at night but did in RB and took the free road when traveling. It makes me very angry when I see what all this distortion does to the local people and their lives and the economy .

[gomexico]

It makes me very angry when I see what all this distortion does to the local people and their lives and the economy .

 

What are you referring to when you speak/write of "all this distortion"? The President of Mexico? The Mexican newspapers and television stations? The international media? People commenting?

[NYcruiserNY]

Gomexico

Your right on the money with this and while the 22 have yet to turn up all indications were they were indeed tourist from the same manufacturing plant and had also previously vacationed as a group once before. The Cartels are fighting for territory now and this has heavily broken through to the tourist zone with no regard for others.

 

I am an avid supporter of the city but now is not the right time to visit unfortunately. The news is not to blame for this one.