Category Archives: Narcos

Noticias 5/22/2013

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Rich

La Migra - The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the so-called Gang-of-Eight’s immigration reform bill 13-5, which includes a path to citizenship. After surviving a flurry of amendments intended to water the bill down, the bill now goes to the Senate floor where Republican Senators face the choice of angering their base or further alienating Hispanic voters. An immigration bill is also expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives in June.

Negocios – Nestle has opened a 130 million dollar expansion of its instant coffee factory in Toluca, boosting its capacity by 30 percent.  The new factory includes a biomass boiler that will allow the plant to produce 60 percent of its electricity needs by burning used coffee grounds. Buried at the end of that link is some disturbing news about falling productivity and a fungus from Central America threatening Mexico’s coffee production.Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Beverages, Environment, Michoacan, Misc, Narcos, Safety | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Trip in Full

Posted on April 21, 2013 by churpa

So we made it. 6,500 miles in an ’87 Dodge van. We camped off-road in Chihuahua. We got lost at night on the back roads of Oaxaca. We drove through states, such as Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, that are known as hot spots in the narco wars. According to one study, we drove through three of the top twenty most violent cities in the world (by murder rate):  Acapulco, Torreon, and Culiacan.

                                                                                                                           photo by Gina Dilello

We rode the subways in Mexico City and walked the streets at night. The downside: getting groped once on the subway. The upside: getting plate after plate of free snacks at a cool bar that was hidden behind a tattoo shop and featured an amazing selection of Mexican microbrews.����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¢����¯�¿�½������¯����¯�¿�½������¿����¯�¿�½������½����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¦ Read the rest

Posted in Adventures, Best Of Mexico, Camping, Driving, Home, Narcos, Road Trip, Safety, Viva Mexico! | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Atlantic Claims Mexico is Rooting for U.S. Pot Legalization

Posted on November 6, 2012 by churpa

An article in The Atlantic reports that “a respected Mexican think tank” (IMCO) has determined that if Oregon, Washington and Colorado vote to legalize marijuana, it could significantly damage cartel revenue. The author writes:

“The updated research suggests that cartels earn $6 billion each year from marijuana sales in the United States. If Washington, the state most likely to pass its ballot measure, does so, IMCO reports it will cut the cartels’ income by $1.37 billion, or about 23% of their revenue (though some cartels will be hit harder than others). Legalization in Oregon and Colorado would result in similar declines.”

An interesting thought, though the title of The Atlantic article is a bit misleading: “Why Mexico is Rooting for U.S.Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Narcos, Violence | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dissecting the Media Hysteria

Posted on July 30, 2012 by churpa

Jeff O’Brien directed my attention to the excellent article, Mexico Maligned. The author, Terry Denton, launches a convincing and comprehensive response to the U.S. media’s hysterical coverage of the the cartel violence. I particularly like this paragraph:

“Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that the media “has it in for Mexico”.  Not at all.  This is not another rant against media bias.  What I do maintain, however, is that in their insatiable thirst for the salacious, Mexico and its 112 million proud people are in the minds of the media – assuming they bother to think about such things at all – unfortunate collateral damage.  Just like the definition above, the media’s image of Mexico is blurred precisely because their focus is on one relatively small, admittedly ugly reality and thus falls woefully short of the retina of responsible reportage.”Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Blogs, Narcos, Safety, Violence | 6 Comments

Mexico City Safer than Minneapolis?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by churpa

Jeff O’Brien called my attention to this SF Gate article, Five Safest Places in Mexico for Travelers, which is pleasantly free of hysteria. I agree that the states of Tlaxcala, Yucatan, Queretaro, and Baja California Sur are good bets for travelers. That said, I feel the need to point out that this list could easily be a top ten list or even top thirty. The data on death rates can sound more alarming than need be. As the author  acknowledges,

“In 2010, Mexico City’s drug-related homicide rate was 2.2 per 100,000. While it is not an exact comparison, since the Mexico database tracks specifically drug-related deaths, Washington, D.C.’s homicide rate for 2009, the latest year for which the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reportis available, of 24 per 100,000 adds some perspective.Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Home, Mexico City, Narcos, Safety, Violence | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Letter from a Reader: Am I going crazy, or has Mexico?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by churpa

We love hearing from our readers, and sometimes the conversations that develop seem worthy of a larger audience. If you feel up to adding a comment, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Hi Carl and Lorena
I’ve traveled with you folks for the last twenty years, and have had
only wonderful fun on my trips there. Through all that time there
have been people most willing to tell us scary stories about bandits
and thugs and all those unfun things. By staying sober, checking
things out with locals, everything has gone well in my travels, that
include all sorts of backwoods and strange destinations.
Lately the stories seem to be reaching a fever pitch, with news of
30,000 dead in the drug wars, and I find myself starting to get
nervous.����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¢����¯�¿�½������¯����¯�¿�½������¿����¯�¿�½������½����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¦ Read the rest

Posted in Driving, Letters and Stories, Narcos, Safety, Violence | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Quick Draw El Kabong

Posted on April 27, 2012 by churpa

Longtime PG friend Jeff O’Brien posted this video on our Facebook page, and we thought it was worth sharing with our constituents.

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Posted in Narcos, Odd, Weird, Just Plain Wacky, Video | Tagged | 1 Comment

Putting Faces on Statistics

Posted on March 22, 2012 by churpa

Recommended read:

The New York Times reports on a community art project in Ecatepec, Mexico. The project consists of giant photo murals of victims of cartel crime:

“The Murrieta Foundation gave photography classes to young people from rough neighborhoods and recruited crime victims as their subjects. “Victim” was defined broadly. Along with those who had witnessed murders firsthand, lost relatives or been the victims of violent crime, the category included drug addicts, the girlfriends of criminals and an old man who feared that he would never see his imprisoned son before he died. The subjects’ stories were put together in a compilation of testimonials, their names withheld for security reasons.”

I’m not always a huge fan of murals, but I like the aesthetic of this project, and it’s an arresting idea.Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Art, Narcos, Photography, Violence | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Carjackers, Stewed Iguana, and Pollo Guisado

Posted on March 14, 2012 by churpa

Just had a great visit with our friends Mark and Jazmin, who live on the coast of Guerrero, about an hour outside of Zijuatanejo. They report that things seem to be cooling off in their area. Last year they made do with a decrepit, rusty truck because they were worried about car jackings. This year, crime seems low enough that they feel comfortable bringing a better vehicle down. I’ll keep you posted.

In addition to filling us in on the goings on in their neck of the woods, Jazmin shared some great recipes with me. As soon as Mark sends me the photo of the giant black iguana Jazmin caught, I’ll post her recipe for stewed iguana. But for now, how about some classic Pollo Guisado?Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¢Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¯Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¿Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¯Ã��Ã�¿Ã��Ã�½Ã���Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã���Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest

Posted in Narcos, Pacific Coast, Violence, What You'll Eat | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Portrait of America

Posted on March 8, 2012 by churpa

NPR reports that last year 56 people were murdered in Stockton, CA. Sure, it’s no Ciudad Juarez, but this murder rate implies that Stockton is more dangerous for gringos than Mexican  border towns such as Nuevo Laredo (drug war death rate 50) and Nogales (drug war death rate 28). Meanwhile, San Miguel de Allende gets a clean bill of health with zero drug war deaths during the first nine months of 2011. Oaxaca City, Puerto Escondido, Playa del Carmen, and La Paz are similarly safe. The moral? If you’re driving to Mexico…avoid Stockton.

����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¢����¯�¿�½������¯����¯�¿�½������¿����¯�¿�½������½����¯�¿�½���¯���¿���½����¯�¿�½������¦ Read the rest

Posted in Narcos, Northern Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, Violence | Tagged , , | 4 Comments