Originally Posted by
miike
I would add that I truly believe that the US media really blows the safety thing out of proportion. Is it as safe as Montana? No, but it probably a lot safer than Detroit and perhaps NYC. I think it is really important to avoid trouble, because you don't have the same rights and police are corrupt, but at the same time, I think it is easy to avoid trouble also. We take our three under age 9 boys all over Mexico.
I would agree with this. The escalation of violence has for the most part not involved tourists.
That said it is very serious. In San Miguel de Allende, where we have a house, the murder rate this year is
107 Nationals, compared to 3 last year. For years SMA was pretty much void of violence as it was rumored the cartel families had homes there and there was an implied "no turf war zone" for SMA. But with the upheaval of the cartel hierarchy, all moratoriums are off, and we are seeing the typical cartel and gang violence that is so prevalent in other States. Besides the murders, we are now seeing extortion in our shops and places are closing down to avoid these costly pay-outs. While violence may not directly affect us as tourists...it is VERY much on the minds of the Nationals and their families.