By Tania Navarro, SDNN
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Because of the security situation, the U.S. Department of State and Canada’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry had recently warned their citizens to avoid traveling to Mexico, particularly the northern area and all cities bordering the United States.
On March 14, the abduction and murder of two resident U.S. citizens in Chihuahua spurred the update of the State Department warning. The document highlights some parts of the states of Durango, Coahulia and Chihuahua.
The Canadian report, posted on March 15, recommends an “exercise of high degree of caution” when traveling to Tijuana, and to “avoid non-essential travel” to Ciudad Juarez, where three resident U.S. citizens, including one U.S. Consulate employee, were killed.
In Baja, while Spring Break begins, tourism promoters are hoping to have a good season, at least better than 2009 when hotel occupation fell 80 percent.
“We need to be clear: At this time, the security conditions in Baja are better than in the past years,” said Oscar Escobedo, Baja´s tourism secretary.
Escobedo said that Baja has had big results in the war against violence and drug traffic, and that it is a safe territory for tourism.
But at Rosarito beaches and other Baja vacation destinations, such as Ensenada and San Felipe, there are only empty streets.
“Rosarito is not Ciudad Juarez,” said Hugo Torres, Rosarito´s mayor and owner of Rosarito Beach hotel, who also encouraged So-Cal residents to visit Baja.
Citlalitl Pereda, president of Rosarito Touristic Committee, said that because of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which requires all U.S. citizens to show a valid passport when traveling back from a Mexican border, it is improbable that American students want to pass their spring break on Baja beaches.
“We have arranged many promotions at restaurants, hotels and bars for the people with an American passport; but we cannot force them to have a passport. We know that the economic situation is not very good for many of them, and if they don’t want to, they will not spend their money buying that document,” she said.
Pereda said that Rosarito is hosting many events during the next two weeks, including the “Taco-Fest” and “Playa-Fest,” with promotions packages in hotels, activities at the beach, music, food and sports.
“We would love to receive visitors from all over the world, but the truth is that we are not expecting only Americans,” Pereda said. “Instead, we know that we will have many local tourism, people from our neighbor cities, like Tijuana, Tecate or Mexicali.”
William Shimmer, 44, a Riverside resident, is a frequent visitor to Rosarito. He believes that compared to other years, this is a very calm and safe time at this Mexican beach.
“I love this place. The food, the drinks and the places are very good and cheap,” he said.
For many, even with the passport law and the travel alerts, Rosarito will be an option to spend a sunny weekend.
Tania Navarro is SDNN’s Mexico reporter.
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-03-25/mexico/spring-break-travel-alert-doesn%E2%80%99t-worry-baja-tourism-destinations#ixzz0jEzFhbD7
viernes, 26 de marzo de 2010
Major Binational Mayor’s Summit In Rosarito Seeks to Unite The Californias
SAN DIEGO---A major binational summit for mayors and other leaders from Southern and Baja California on issues ranging from the border crossing to desalination to public safety was announced today at the Mexican Consulate here.
The Fifth Binational Mayors’ Summit will be May 6 and 7 in Rosarito Beach. Universities and business groups from both sides of the border also will be represented to discuss mutual interests and actions.
The summit’s theme is “Uniting the Californias.”
“We live in a region that is closely linked by economy, environment, geography, friends and family,” said Mayor Hugo Torres of host city Rosarito Beach. “It is important that we all work together to achieve maximum benefit from those relationships.”
For the first time, the summit is being expanded to include six Southern California counties as well as the five cities of northern Baja. Southern California Mayors or their representatives from 70 cities are being invited.
May’s expanded summit is co-hosted by the cities of Rosarito Beach and Redondo Beach. The Mexico Business Center/San Diego Chamber of Commerce, Project Smart Border 2010 and Rancho Santiago Community College are among groups assisting.
Joining Torres for the announcement was Redondo Beach Mayor Pro Tem Steve Diels and James Clark, director general of the Mexico Business Center of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, an event sponsor.
Mexico Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau gave welcoming remarks.
“This summit serves as a forum to talk about all issues --- from trade and the economy to border issues and public safety --- that concern our independent nations,” Diels said.
“I am honored to be part of this unique group of men and women working for the best of both worlds. On behalf of Redondo Beach, we look forward to welcoming you to Rosarito and also hosting the next summit.”
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was unable to attend today’s conference, sent a statement of support.
"We have hosted two of the binational summits in Santa Ana and have seen first-hand the benefits in bringing together officials from both sides of the border to work on key policy issues,” said Pulido.
“I'm especially pleased to see this summit expanded to include more Southern California mayors,” he added. “This will benefit the entire Southern California region.”
The future of the border crossings at San Ysidro, the busiest in the world, will be a focus of attention.
“For purposes of commerce, shopping, tourism and keeping friends and family connected, it is extremely important that the border crossing operate efficiently, both north and southbound,” Clark said.
The Binational Mayors’ Forum is in keeping with the spirit of a memorandum of understanding between California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan for the two Californias to work together.
The Binational Mayors’ Forum will start with an early evening reception on Thursday May 6.
Friday will include a keynote presentation on the present and future of the border crossings, with speakers from both the U.S. and Mexico.
Friday also will feature six working groups --- border crossing, environment, desalination, public safety, economic development/investment and a binational mayors’
The Fifth Binational Mayors’ Summit will be May 6 and 7 in Rosarito Beach. Universities and business groups from both sides of the border also will be represented to discuss mutual interests and actions.
The summit’s theme is “Uniting the Californias.”
“We live in a region that is closely linked by economy, environment, geography, friends and family,” said Mayor Hugo Torres of host city Rosarito Beach. “It is important that we all work together to achieve maximum benefit from those relationships.”
For the first time, the summit is being expanded to include six Southern California counties as well as the five cities of northern Baja. Southern California Mayors or their representatives from 70 cities are being invited.
May’s expanded summit is co-hosted by the cities of Rosarito Beach and Redondo Beach. The Mexico Business Center/San Diego Chamber of Commerce, Project Smart Border 2010 and Rancho Santiago Community College are among groups assisting.
Joining Torres for the announcement was Redondo Beach Mayor Pro Tem Steve Diels and James Clark, director general of the Mexico Business Center of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, an event sponsor.
Mexico Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau gave welcoming remarks.
“This summit serves as a forum to talk about all issues --- from trade and the economy to border issues and public safety --- that concern our independent nations,” Diels said.
“I am honored to be part of this unique group of men and women working for the best of both worlds. On behalf of Redondo Beach, we look forward to welcoming you to Rosarito and also hosting the next summit.”
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was unable to attend today’s conference, sent a statement of support.
"We have hosted two of the binational summits in Santa Ana and have seen first-hand the benefits in bringing together officials from both sides of the border to work on key policy issues,” said Pulido.
“I'm especially pleased to see this summit expanded to include more Southern California mayors,” he added. “This will benefit the entire Southern California region.”
The future of the border crossings at San Ysidro, the busiest in the world, will be a focus of attention.
“For purposes of commerce, shopping, tourism and keeping friends and family connected, it is extremely important that the border crossing operate efficiently, both north and southbound,” Clark said.
The Binational Mayors’ Forum is in keeping with the spirit of a memorandum of understanding between California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan for the two Californias to work together.
The Binational Mayors’ Forum will start with an early evening reception on Thursday May 6.
Friday will include a keynote presentation on the present and future of the border crossings, with speakers from both the U.S. and Mexico.
Friday also will feature six working groups --- border crossing, environment, desalination, public safety, economic development/investment and a binational mayors’
jueves, 25 de marzo de 2010
Yes, violence in Mexico rising -- but it's less than in Washington
BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
AOPPENHEIMER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
After the murder of two U.S. consulate workers in Mexico's border city of Ciudad Juárez, many of you have written to me wondering whether it is safe to travel to Mexico. The answer is: If you are courageous enough to travel to Washington, D.C., you can safely visit most parts of Mexico.
Despite the escalation of drug-related violence in several Mexican cities, and the pictures of mutilated bodies dumped on the streets of Ciudad Juárez and other cities along the U.S. border, a dispassionate look at Mexico's murder rates shows that some parts of the country are indeed dangerous, but the country as a whole is safer than what the latest headlines suggest.
NEW STUDY
A new study by Brookings Institute Latin American expert Kevin Casas-Zamora, a former vice president of Costa Rica, helps put Mexico's violence in perspective.
According to Casas-Zamora's figures, based on United Nations 2008 data, Mexico's murder rate is nearly five times less than that of sunny Jamaica and about half that of Brazil, a country that was recently awarded the much-coveted 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
Consider his data of Latin America's most violent countries: Honduras has a murder rate of 61 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Jamaica with 60, Venezuela and El Salvador with 52 each, Guatemala with 47, Trinidad and Tobago with 40, Colombia with 39, Brazil with 22, Dominican Republic with 21, Panama with 19, Ecuador with 18, Nicaragua with 13, Paraguay with 12, Mexico and Costa Rica with about 11.5 each, Bolivia with 10.5 and Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, and Chile with less than 10.
Comparatively, while the United States homicide rate is lower than Mexico's, Washington, D.C., has a murder rate of 31 people per 100,000 inhabitants and New Orleans has 74.
``Violence in Mexico is concentrated in a few cities, mainly in Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Baja California,'' Casas Zamora told me in an interview. ``In Ciudad Juárez, it's out of control. But in the country as a whole, it doesn't come even close to Washington, D.C.'s.''
He conceded that Mexico's murder rates may have risen in recent months as a result of the cross fire between Mexican security forces and the drug cartels, and between the drug cartels themselves. But he added that they are still significantly below what they were 10 years ago.
Largely for demographic reasons -- Mexico's birth rates are dropping and large numbers of Mexicans have been migrating to the United States in recent decades -- murder rates in Mexico have been falling steadily for decades. They may have picked up only marginally over the past year, he said.
The U.S. State Department's latest travel alert to Mexico, issued following the killings of the two U.S. consular workers in Ciudad Juárez, says it has temporarily authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. consular workers in the Northern Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros, and advises U.S. citizens ``to delay unnecessary travel to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states.''
As for Mexico as a whole, it says that ``U.S. citizen visitors are encouraged to stay in the well-known tourist areas.''
USE CAUTION
My opinion: Mexico is facing a dangerous rise in violence, and I would not advise you to spend your next vacation in Ciudad Juárez or any other place where the drug-related killings are taking place.
But Mexico is a huge country. To say that it's unsafe to travel to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta or Cancún -- or that you wouldn't allow your children to spend spring break in that country, as Fox News' right-wing airhead Bill O'Reilly said last year -- is as irresponsible as saying that it's unsafe to travel to some of the biggest U.S. cities.
The State Department's travel alert, while correctly pointing out that the violence is concentrated in some Mexican states, should have put Mexico's national figures in perspective. It wouldn't be a bad idea if, from now on, it compared them with other countries' murder rates, and with that of its own home city -- Washington, D.C.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/24/1546034/yes-violence-in-mexico-rising.html#ixzz0jDsA0bva
AOPPENHEIMER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
After the murder of two U.S. consulate workers in Mexico's border city of Ciudad Juárez, many of you have written to me wondering whether it is safe to travel to Mexico. The answer is: If you are courageous enough to travel to Washington, D.C., you can safely visit most parts of Mexico.
Despite the escalation of drug-related violence in several Mexican cities, and the pictures of mutilated bodies dumped on the streets of Ciudad Juárez and other cities along the U.S. border, a dispassionate look at Mexico's murder rates shows that some parts of the country are indeed dangerous, but the country as a whole is safer than what the latest headlines suggest.
NEW STUDY
A new study by Brookings Institute Latin American expert Kevin Casas-Zamora, a former vice president of Costa Rica, helps put Mexico's violence in perspective.
According to Casas-Zamora's figures, based on United Nations 2008 data, Mexico's murder rate is nearly five times less than that of sunny Jamaica and about half that of Brazil, a country that was recently awarded the much-coveted 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
Consider his data of Latin America's most violent countries: Honduras has a murder rate of 61 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Jamaica with 60, Venezuela and El Salvador with 52 each, Guatemala with 47, Trinidad and Tobago with 40, Colombia with 39, Brazil with 22, Dominican Republic with 21, Panama with 19, Ecuador with 18, Nicaragua with 13, Paraguay with 12, Mexico and Costa Rica with about 11.5 each, Bolivia with 10.5 and Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, and Chile with less than 10.
Comparatively, while the United States homicide rate is lower than Mexico's, Washington, D.C., has a murder rate of 31 people per 100,000 inhabitants and New Orleans has 74.
``Violence in Mexico is concentrated in a few cities, mainly in Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Baja California,'' Casas Zamora told me in an interview. ``In Ciudad Juárez, it's out of control. But in the country as a whole, it doesn't come even close to Washington, D.C.'s.''
He conceded that Mexico's murder rates may have risen in recent months as a result of the cross fire between Mexican security forces and the drug cartels, and between the drug cartels themselves. But he added that they are still significantly below what they were 10 years ago.
Largely for demographic reasons -- Mexico's birth rates are dropping and large numbers of Mexicans have been migrating to the United States in recent decades -- murder rates in Mexico have been falling steadily for decades. They may have picked up only marginally over the past year, he said.
The U.S. State Department's latest travel alert to Mexico, issued following the killings of the two U.S. consular workers in Ciudad Juárez, says it has temporarily authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. consular workers in the Northern Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros, and advises U.S. citizens ``to delay unnecessary travel to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states.''
As for Mexico as a whole, it says that ``U.S. citizen visitors are encouraged to stay in the well-known tourist areas.''
USE CAUTION
My opinion: Mexico is facing a dangerous rise in violence, and I would not advise you to spend your next vacation in Ciudad Juárez or any other place where the drug-related killings are taking place.
But Mexico is a huge country. To say that it's unsafe to travel to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta or Cancún -- or that you wouldn't allow your children to spend spring break in that country, as Fox News' right-wing airhead Bill O'Reilly said last year -- is as irresponsible as saying that it's unsafe to travel to some of the biggest U.S. cities.
The State Department's travel alert, while correctly pointing out that the violence is concentrated in some Mexican states, should have put Mexico's national figures in perspective. It wouldn't be a bad idea if, from now on, it compared them with other countries' murder rates, and with that of its own home city -- Washington, D.C.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/24/1546034/yes-violence-in-mexico-rising.html#ixzz0jDsA0bva
jueves, 18 de marzo de 2010
Baja California Responds to U.S. Travel Warning
Recent news stories have shocked and alarmed U.S. citizens who were contemplating a trip to Mexico. While we in public office share your concerns and outrage at any murder, it is important to separate fact from sensationalism. Many of the recently reported incidents happened far from Baja California. Attack on foreign tourists are extremely rare and we feel the message that trips to Baja are safe are being overshadowed by the other incidents.
In the last two years, we have taken a number of actions to insure that tourists and visitors in our State enjoy a safe and pleasant visit. This remains an ongoing effort as statistics now prove it. We have offices in each of our six cities that are ready to attend any incident related to our foreign and national visitors, also a dedicated 7/24 hour tourism assistance telephone hot line (078) is provided to report any incidents and for assistance.
On behalf of the State Government of Baja California, we want to ensure that you are adequately informed and feel comfortable knowing that many of your students will be visiting our region during their spring break. My office is in charge of coordinating and implementing actions relating to the visitors to our State, and as such I take this opportunity to inform and make you aware that due to unfortunate violence that has taken place in locations over five hundred miles away from us, our community is being labeled and negatively affected by media reports that many times and frequently are blown out of proportion.
Finally I want to assure you that our State Government will continue with its best effort to insure the safety of all who visit our beautiful State. I remain at your service as necessary.
Most sincerely yours:
OSCAR J. ESCOBEDO
BAJA CALIFORNIA STATE SECRETARY OF TOURISM
In the last two years, we have taken a number of actions to insure that tourists and visitors in our State enjoy a safe and pleasant visit. This remains an ongoing effort as statistics now prove it. We have offices in each of our six cities that are ready to attend any incident related to our foreign and national visitors, also a dedicated 7/24 hour tourism assistance telephone hot line (078) is provided to report any incidents and for assistance.
On behalf of the State Government of Baja California, we want to ensure that you are adequately informed and feel comfortable knowing that many of your students will be visiting our region during their spring break. My office is in charge of coordinating and implementing actions relating to the visitors to our State, and as such I take this opportunity to inform and make you aware that due to unfortunate violence that has taken place in locations over five hundred miles away from us, our community is being labeled and negatively affected by media reports that many times and frequently are blown out of proportion.
Finally I want to assure you that our State Government will continue with its best effort to insure the safety of all who visit our beautiful State. I remain at your service as necessary.
Most sincerely yours:
OSCAR J. ESCOBEDO
BAJA CALIFORNIA STATE SECRETARY OF TOURISM
miércoles, 10 de marzo de 2010
Anuncian Programa de apoyo a la Industria Cinematografica y Audiovisual
Como es de su conocimiento el Presidente de la República, Lic. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, acompañado del Gobernador del Estado, Lic. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, el Director General de PRO MÉXICO, Bruno Ferrari de Alba, la Directora General de Conaculta, Consuelo Sáizar, el Alcalde de Rosarito, C.P. Hugo Torres Chabert y otros destacados cineastas y miembros de la comunidad fílmica anunció el Programa de Apoyo a la Industria Cinematográfica y Audiovisual de Alto Impacto a las altas productoras que se realicen en el país y otros elementos legales para incrementar la seguridad y facilitar la tramitología con el propósito de hacer de México un destino fílmico internacional altamente competitivo.
Estimo que en breve el Congreso del Estado de Baja California aprobará la iniciativa de Ley para la Promoción, Fomento y Desarrollo de la Industria Cinematográfica y Audiovisual para el Estado de Baja California presentada por las bancadas conjuntas de los partidos políticos PAN, PRI y Verde Ecologista y que igualmente pronto habrá de suscribirse el Convenio General de Colaboración UABC y el Cluster Cinematográfico de Baja California (CCDBC) fungiendo como testigo de honor el Gobernador del Estado, Lic. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán. Todo lo anterior augura que en breve se dará un gran impulso a la industria fílmica de Baja California con la participación de las empresas involucradas directa o indirectamente con esa industria, el sector gubernamental y el sector académico en beneficio de la economía regional.
Cordialmente.
Lic. Conrado Acevedo Cárdenas. Presidente fundador del
Cluster Cinematografico de Baja California
Centro Histórico y Cultural Calafia. Km. 35.5 carretera libre Tijuana-Ensenada. Correo: clustercinematograficodebc@gmail.com Tel. Fax: (661) 612-0706. Playas de Rosarito, B.C. México.
Estimo que en breve el Congreso del Estado de Baja California aprobará la iniciativa de Ley para la Promoción, Fomento y Desarrollo de la Industria Cinematográfica y Audiovisual para el Estado de Baja California presentada por las bancadas conjuntas de los partidos políticos PAN, PRI y Verde Ecologista y que igualmente pronto habrá de suscribirse el Convenio General de Colaboración UABC y el Cluster Cinematográfico de Baja California (CCDBC) fungiendo como testigo de honor el Gobernador del Estado, Lic. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán. Todo lo anterior augura que en breve se dará un gran impulso a la industria fílmica de Baja California con la participación de las empresas involucradas directa o indirectamente con esa industria, el sector gubernamental y el sector académico en beneficio de la economía regional.
Cordialmente.
Lic. Conrado Acevedo Cárdenas. Presidente fundador del
Cluster Cinematografico de Baja California
Centro Histórico y Cultural Calafia. Km. 35.5 carretera libre Tijuana-Ensenada. Correo: clustercinematograficodebc@gmail.com Tel. Fax: (661) 612-0706. Playas de Rosarito, B.C. México.
President Calderon Pledges Incentives For Film Making In Rosarito and Mexico
ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday pledged incentives to attract more international film makers and productions to Rosarito and the rest of Mexico.
Speaking to an audience of about 400 people, Calderon pledged an initial $20 million to strengthen the country’s film industry plus incentives to attract productions here from around the world.
Calderon made his remarks at Baja Studios in Rosarito, which was built for the production of the James Cameron’s Titanic and where portions of other blockbusters including Master & Commander and Pearl Harbor have been filmed.
The president was received for his visit by Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres. Other dignitaries attending included Baja Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan as well as many other government officials. Noted actor Edward James Olmos also was a featured guest.
“Rosarito has become a place of great importance for the film industry, and it is precisely why here we announce this program for the promotion of film production," Calderon said.
He stressed that the film industry has great importance in the global culture, as well being as being an excellent source for jobs, income and regional promotion.
“Rosarito has shown that it is possible to offer world-class services to the film industry,” Calderon said. “Productions here have brought international fame to the city.”
For his part, Mayor Torres reiterated the importance of promoting the film industry.
"We welcome the support of the President of the Republic, and we are convinced that this decree will make Rosarito even more attractive to other countries that are interested in filming here, “ Torres said.
Torres noted that film production can be a key to the area’s economic recovery as well as a boost for tourism.
Dignitaries also toured the Baja Studios production facility in the Popotla area of Rosarito.. It was built in the late ‘90s during Torres first term as mayor, specifically for the filming of Titanic.
It has huge salt-water tanks as well as an ocean front setting. Baja Studios also contains a Titanic Museum and has been used as a theme park as well as for its production facilities.
Speaking to an audience of about 400 people, Calderon pledged an initial $20 million to strengthen the country’s film industry plus incentives to attract productions here from around the world.
Calderon made his remarks at Baja Studios in Rosarito, which was built for the production of the James Cameron’s Titanic and where portions of other blockbusters including Master & Commander and Pearl Harbor have been filmed.
The president was received for his visit by Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres. Other dignitaries attending included Baja Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan as well as many other government officials. Noted actor Edward James Olmos also was a featured guest.
“Rosarito has become a place of great importance for the film industry, and it is precisely why here we announce this program for the promotion of film production," Calderon said.
He stressed that the film industry has great importance in the global culture, as well being as being an excellent source for jobs, income and regional promotion.
“Rosarito has shown that it is possible to offer world-class services to the film industry,” Calderon said. “Productions here have brought international fame to the city.”
For his part, Mayor Torres reiterated the importance of promoting the film industry.
"We welcome the support of the President of the Republic, and we are convinced that this decree will make Rosarito even more attractive to other countries that are interested in filming here, “ Torres said.
Torres noted that film production can be a key to the area’s economic recovery as well as a boost for tourism.
Dignitaries also toured the Baja Studios production facility in the Popotla area of Rosarito.. It was built in the late ‘90s during Torres first term as mayor, specifically for the filming of Titanic.
It has huge salt-water tanks as well as an ocean front setting. Baja Studios also contains a Titanic Museum and has been used as a theme park as well as for its production facilities.
jueves, 4 de marzo de 2010
Rosarito's Travel Alert Response
Stephen Kashkett
U.S. Consul General
Tijuana Consulate,
Baja California, Mexico
Dear Consul General Kashkett,
I am writing this letter to express my concerns with the U.S. State Department’s updated Travel Alert for Mexico issued on Feb 22. While it is a travel alert and not a warning, I believe it presents an inaccurate portrait of conditions in Baja --- including Rosarito --- and will unfairly increase safety concerns.
I appreciate that the alert begins by stating that “millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year (including tens of thousand who cross the land border every day for study, tourism or business and nearly one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico.)”
But most of the remainder of the alert is a summary of violence throughout all of Mexico, caused primarily by the government’s crackdown on organized drug cartels and confined overwhelmingly to those involved in that international effort. If the same approach were taken in an alert for the U.S. --- primarily listing high risk areas and detailing crimes there --- people would be afraid to travel anywhere in the U.S. That would not be fair.
The alert states that a “number of areas along the border continue to experience rapid growth in crime” and cites Northern Baja California as being one of those areas. That is not accurate. Year-to-year crime in this region was down 10 percent in 2009. In Rosarito it was down 21 percent , to a five-year low. That included a 24 percent drop in robberies and burglaries, a 38 percent reduction in violent crimes and a 56 percent decrease in homicides.
I both understand and share the U.S. State Department’s concern for the well being of its citizens who choose to visit or live in our region --- we have an estimated 14,000 in Rosarito alone and we value them highly. But I also ask for your assistance in getting the wording of the alert changed so that it more accurately reflects the reality of this region.
Sincerely,
Hugo Torres, Mayor
Rosarito Beach
Baja California, Mexico
U.S. Consul General
Tijuana Consulate,
Baja California, Mexico
Dear Consul General Kashkett,
I am writing this letter to express my concerns with the U.S. State Department’s updated Travel Alert for Mexico issued on Feb 22. While it is a travel alert and not a warning, I believe it presents an inaccurate portrait of conditions in Baja --- including Rosarito --- and will unfairly increase safety concerns.
I appreciate that the alert begins by stating that “millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year (including tens of thousand who cross the land border every day for study, tourism or business and nearly one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico.)”
But most of the remainder of the alert is a summary of violence throughout all of Mexico, caused primarily by the government’s crackdown on organized drug cartels and confined overwhelmingly to those involved in that international effort. If the same approach were taken in an alert for the U.S. --- primarily listing high risk areas and detailing crimes there --- people would be afraid to travel anywhere in the U.S. That would not be fair.
The alert states that a “number of areas along the border continue to experience rapid growth in crime” and cites Northern Baja California as being one of those areas. That is not accurate. Year-to-year crime in this region was down 10 percent in 2009. In Rosarito it was down 21 percent , to a five-year low. That included a 24 percent drop in robberies and burglaries, a 38 percent reduction in violent crimes and a 56 percent decrease in homicides.
I both understand and share the U.S. State Department’s concern for the well being of its citizens who choose to visit or live in our region --- we have an estimated 14,000 in Rosarito alone and we value them highly. But I also ask for your assistance in getting the wording of the alert changed so that it more accurately reflects the reality of this region.
Sincerely,
Hugo Torres, Mayor
Rosarito Beach
Baja California, Mexico
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