I agree with the above poster regarding the "wrong place at the wrong time" but disagree with their advice to follow the local staffs suggestions. Local staff in Monterrey (and other hotspots in Mexico) will generally downplay the violence and kidnap threat. They quite often will not have effective strategies for their own security other than some local information regarding what areas are considered "bad".

Monterrey is a beautiful city, but it is a city in denial of a threat that is not just restricted to bad-guys and locals. Get consultation from a US security consulting firm to at least get and idea of the actual real threat you will not be hearing from US news sources or the local associates. Most consulting firms will give you a good idea of what is going on for free.

Sean Jarvis
Secfor International
www.secforinternational.com