Recent News

polyone · Post by **polyone** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:05 am

Recent reports of violence along the drug routes and the violent killing of police and civilians gives me some concerns. On my Aug-Sep trip to PV, we loved it, but I noted the state of alert of the Army, which included manned machine gun implacements, armed patrols and many uniformed and plain clothes police officers filtering thru the square. Tension was high there and one speaker was stirring the pot. With another trip planned for June, right before the Presidential Elections, I wonder about the political climate and how far the drug cartels will go to control Mexico/drug routes. El Presidente' was shown meeting 10 days ago with then President Elect Obama and he certainly was concerned. I will check State Department info, but my concern is the stability of the country and the ability of the local and federal police to keep order.
Also, I read someone that this was simply sensationalism, but that doesn't get the heads of police officers chopped off.

Any thoughts?

tandr2 · Post by **tandr2** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:06 pm

I've never felt unsafe in PV - the day that I do, I'll stop going there.

smitty · Post by **smitty** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:26 pm

Use some common sense polyone - do you really think this forum would exist if so many didn't think PV was safe ? Many of our forum members are PV business owners , home owners and long time return vacationers giving info to newbies . Of course we think PV is safe .

BUFFETT 06 · Post by **BUFFETT 06** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:37 pm

Now I know why I wanted to become a journalist....people really do believe everything they read and see on the TV and newspapers. PV is no different than any other american city, actually in some areas it's so american like, it's pretty sad. if you were to vacation in Tijuana (sp?) then you might have reason to be concerned. i'm kind of glad that the military is making their presence, it keeps the dumb-asses in check.

polyone · Post by **polyone** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:27 pm

Obviously this wan't the correct forum to broach the subject of terrorism, and this will be my last posting. In the future, I will restrict any questions to happier issues. But for informational purpose, I have 40 plus years in the military and law enforcement and have found that that people generally assign their own values to what is common sense and what isn't. And no, I don['t believe most of the spin that comes from the media - any form of it. But, I do have friends who work law enforcement in El Paso and in Texas, and these are valid concerns. Yes, the people that I have met, throughout Mexico, have been gracioius, helpful and law abiding. They aren't the ones I worry about. The American Revolution was, looslely figuring, 90/10 - 90% either supporting the British or not wanting the war, with the other 10% rebelling - and we know how that ended.

As a business owner, I certainly don't want to fan the flames of a non-existing issue, but this is something that should be looked at. Violence and lawlessness are contagous The Ostrich approach will lose more tourism and good will in the long run

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:55 pm

polyone,
With all due respect, Texas, Arizona, California all have crime issues that deal with border towns. "All" of the border towns have "always" been problem spots for years and years. The crime rate in border towns does not in any way compare to the crime rate in other areas of Mexico. No one is saying that they are blind or oblivious to problems in Mexico but no one on this forum is encouraging people to visit border towns for vacation.

I grew up in So. Calif. with my entire family being in law enforcement....TJ has been a problem area my entire life, that is not a new thing, the violence has certainly increased but IMHO it is a dirty border town and nothing there calls to me to come and visit. Certain states/areas of Mexico are and have always been higher crime rate areas, PV is not one of them. Does PV has crime, of course they do, no one is playing ostrich in the sand here and denying that there is crime in PV, but there is crime in every city.

I live in a upper middle class area in Cali, our Sheriff's dept. averages 236 calls per week, 1.4 indicents an hour in a week long period and therefore there is crime in my area. Not a big problem at all, but things still do happen. Before you can state facts about crime in an area you need the statistics to back it up, not just a generalization that if it happens in ............ (name the area) it has to be just as bad somewhere else.

The day I feel it is no longer safe to travel to PV you will no longer find me traveling to or owning a business there.

oneistwo · Post by **oneistwo** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:26 pm

I just lambasted an msnbc story a friend sent about the 200 Americans killed in Mexico since 2004. Of course you have to read such a story all the way to the bottom. Maybe 70 of the 200 weren't somehow involved in drug stuff in the border zones. Then divided that by four years and let's say 20 innocents a year. That is awful and a shame, but I guess not a great headline. I thought for sure he was dangling it out there for me to whack at. But now I feel bad because he meant well.

I'm a journalist too. Old school, meaning you read and listen carefully, and critically. Which to me means the 11 o'clock news is mostly crap, and I respond to every scare headline with some variation of "38,000 Americans killed in car accidents every year, but who cares!?"

Polyone, we were robbed in PV last year, and as I was reacting to it I got the "common sense" lecture too. You were more eloquent than I was on this. "...people generally assign their own values to what is common sense and what isn't..." I agree.

We still firmly believe we're at least as safe in PV as anywhere else.

ronald · Post by **ronald** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 7:06 am

I too live in a 'high crime' community, and just love to go to Puerto Vallarta in order to relax and get the stress out of my daily life... and boy does it ever work. We just came back from a week in Paradise and feel like new humans. I know there are some incidents there that are not to appealing, and you can't be stupid and go to places that invite trouble, but our vacation choices will always have PV as the # 1 spot. Cuba is definitely second. The U.S.

is most definitely a scary place as well, so we stopped visiting there quite a few decades ago.

Of course there are places in Canada (Hastings Street in Vancouver for example because of the crime and Regina because of the water) that we don't wish to visit either.

ellen · Post by **ellen** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:43 pm

Last night there was a break-in on the 2nd floor of La Palapa. An intruder entered, was confronted by the couple staying there, and stabbed the husband to death while the wife sustained knife injuries.

Plus4 · Post by **Plus4** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:11 pm

ellen a very sad story...

http://banderasnews.com/0902/nb-tragicnight.htm

123 · Post by **123** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:24 am

Are there any additional related articles to the one mentioned above?

PV cheesehead42 · Post by **PV cheesehead42** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:34 pm

Well said oneistwo

Ronald ... sorry to hear that you have avoided the U.S. for three decades because you are too scared to visit. That is sad because I think there are many things to see/experience here. I hope to, one day, visit your country because I have heard a lot of good things.

Regarding the recent murders, it is a tragic situation. When I visit PV I stay in Zona Romantica because I just love that part of the city. Will this deter me from visiting again...hell no! If I am not mistaken, this is the second murder within a year there and it is normal for people to ask questions. People's positive responses explaining their PV experience is helpful in minimizing peoples fears. Tandr2's post was an excellent example.
Smitty's post, with his condesending tone, on the other hand does nothing to alleviate someone's concerns about visiting PV. To tell someone that they aren't using common sense because they are just expressing a concern just leaves someone feeling defensive and put down. Where is the common sense in that?

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:11 am

As sad and tragic as this incident was and I am sure I will get blasted for this one....I mean no disrespect to the people involved in this tragic event, BUT...... They were sleeping with their balcony door open. Even being on the second floor does not protect you from someone getting in. Several people in different PV forums have stated "I guess we better start locking our doors". Everyone that asks if PV is safe gets told the same thing....do what you would do at home, be aware of your surroundings and don't make yourself a target. La Palapa condos are nice condos, goes to reason that tourists staying there would probably have something worth stealing. Local Mexicans living in PV lock their doors, I am sure this couple from San Francisco locked their doors at home. It is just tragic that we get caught up in the moment in PV and do things we normally would not do at home, like leave our balcony doors unlocked and open at night. I leave my sliding door open at home at night during the summer but I have an 80 lb pit bull that is sleeping outside of my door, she would probably lick them to death; but when they first came through the gate or over the fence she would scare the hell out of them.

ronald · Post by **ronald** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:11 am

Please understand that what I wrote about the U.S. and travel there was tongue in cheek. Like I said, you have to be careful and not visit the worst part of every city. Other than that nothing stops me from going anywhere... well actually that's not true, I want to go and visit Vietnam/Thailand etc, but my wife says No, so I guess I can't go either.

123 · Post by **123** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:57 pm

Just curious, how do you know they left their balcony door open?

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:01 pm

Just curious, how do you know they left their balcony door open?

Cuz, I know people who know people.

Alot of people who stay in a beachfront area do that very thing. That was the first question I had when I heard what happened.

SundanceJack · Post by **SundanceJack** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:45 pm

polyone wrote:Recent reports of violence along the drug routes and the violent killing of police and civilians gives me some concerns. On my Aug-Sep trip to PV, we loved it, but I noted the state of alert of the Army, which included manned machine gun implacements, armed patrols and many uniformed and plain clothes police officers filtering thru the square. Tension was high there and one speaker was stirring the pot. With another trip planned for June, right before the Presidential Elections, I wonder about the political climate and how far the drug cartels will go to control Mexico/drug routes. El Presidente' was shown meeting 10 days ago with then President Elect Obama and he certainly was concerned. I will check State Department info, but my concern is the stability of the country and the ability of the local and federal police to keep order.
Also, I read someone that this was simply sensationalism, but that doesn't get the heads of police officers chopped off.

Any thoughts?

I think its pretty standard for the Mexican government to have a high police and military presence in tourist areas. When I was in Cancun several years ago it was the same way. Military check points all over the place with Machine guns and all.

Also, I saw a study, (I can't find it now) the US was in the top sixteen of most violent countries to live in and Mexico was not even listed.

As for the reports on Fox news, MSNBC, Limbaugh and such.....oh well. If they reported the same in regards to the drug violence (turf wars) in US cities the networks would be breaking into their scheduled programs every 15 minutes or so with special news reports.

My advice is to stop watching and listening to conservative leaning programs like Fox news and do your own independent research because Fox and Limbaugh's claim to "Fair and Balanced News" actually stands for "right wing nut jobs in action".

Concerned American · Post by **Concerned American** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:36 am

katnsocal - you are wrong. Their door was not left open; it was closed and locked. The wife of the victim said that the locking mechanism was quite flimsy though, and no backup locks were in place such as a bar to place in the sliding door or peg locks as many sliders have.

I am a friend of the family; please don't post inaccurate information about this horrendous crime to sweep it under the rug. This was a heinous unprovoked murder. The assailant didn't demand money or even give the victim a chance to speak. As soon as he entered the room and encountered the assailant he was brutally stabbed to death.

katnsocal · Post by **katnsocal** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:39 am

I am a friend of the family; please don't post inaccurate information about this horrendous crime to sweep it under the rug.

Whoa, back off Jack. That information came from a friend of the family who lives in PV and it was posted on several other websites long before I posted it here. Don't come on here at attack people in your first post just because you want to get your point across that no one should ever go to PV because it is not safe. I know you are upset and rightfully so, I will never ever say you should not be. BUT you and your friends are doing a smear campaign on Puerto Vallarta on several vallarta websites. Have you ever been to Puerto Vallarta? I am truly sorry for what happened but there are bad people everywhere in this world that do bad things and you can't paint an entire community with the same brush.

Please show me anywhere I said this whole incident should be swept under the rug?

ronald · Post by **ronald** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 3:41 am

Kat's right. This stuff was on several bulletin boards long before she posted the comments on what she had been told. On another site you could actually link to pictures of the scene.

But accusing people of attempting to cover something up or make less of it than what occurred is just as wrong, especially if you are truly as concerned as you have implied.

If you really are a 'friend of the family' then please convey my condolences on the sadness that has now entered their lives. From what I understand many regular visitors to PV knew this couple, because of their many shared memories in PV. It was a regular place for them and undoubtedly they felt quite safe there. It is unfortunate that her fondest memories of vacations together there will forever have this dark spot etched in her heart.

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