Thread: Baja's Governor Addresses Border Violence

Baja's Governor Addresses Border Violence

POSTED: 6:11 pm PDT April 17, 2008
UPDATED: 7:56 pm PDT April 17, 2008


SAN DIEGO -- The governor of Baja spoke out in San Diego, one day after the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert in Northern Mexico.

During a visit to UCSD's Institute of the Americas, Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan, focused on several projects the state has lined up. But the underlying theme was the travel alert.

There he spoke about business opportunities in the state, trade and also education -- but more noteworthy, he talked for the first time about the rising violence along the border.

Speaking in Spanish, Millan said, "I'm sure that many Baja residents who now live in San Diego, will come back to live in their native cities in Mexico once the violence is under control."

Although the violent attacks are aimed primarily at drug traffickers, the recent alert states that tourists are also at risk. The percentage of tourists that visit Baja has dropped significantly in the last few years.

Travel agent Mike Overcast has been working in the field for 25 years. He said the violence has never been as prevalent as it is now and it's lead to a 90 percent drop in tourism south of the border.

"We want to make sure that everybody that is considering going to Mexico knows about the alert and then acts accordingly," he said. " Unfortunately the crime situation, especially in Tijuana, from Tecate to Ensenada is actually getting worse as time goes by. It's not getting any better."

Baja's governor tried to focus on other aspects of his trip but he couldn't escape the underlying issue of violence and crime. He said part of his agenda is meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to increase communication between both states. More than 200 homicides in Ciudad Juarez have been documented this year and even neighboring El Paso, Texas, north of the border has reported a spike in shootouts, kidnappings and car thefts. U.S. officials said there has been also reports an increase in drug-related violence in the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Chihuahua, as well.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/15916655/detail.html

Basically isn't Mexico engaged in a civil war?

Police, judges and elected officials are corrupt and their loyality is questionable.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) does not recognize the presidency of Calderon and the party has taken over both chambers of congress for two weeks.

President Calderon has sent the Mexican military after the drug cartels, having Mexican border agents (unarmed and without radios) handing out booklets, water, food and illegal immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. and has disarmed entire police departments.

Police and military rob (and worse) tourists and central American illegal immigrants.

Drug cartels have infiltrated police and government agencies and execute people while engaged in wars against other drug cartels, Mexican police and the Mexican military.

Our border agents are attacked.

Armed Mexican dressed police and/or military have crossed the border and entered U.S. land.

I'm about an hour and a half away from the SD/Tijuana border. The escalating violence is very scary ! Lou Dobbs is the only news comentator I've seen address this issue. It should be all over the news !

"Travel agent Mike Overcast has been working in the field for 25 years. He said the violence has never been as prevalent as it is now and it's lead to a 90 percent drop in tourism south of the border."

With a 90% drop in greenbacks and Americans going over, the 10% that do will be like fat lambs surrounded by hungry Jackals. there are a lot of
Mexicans that will lose jobs, what will they do to support themselves?


Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan may be going to tell Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger it will continue to flow your way without help.$$$$

40,000 Taco trucks in LA, thousands of gang members that are IAs,
maybe the real border has already been moved.

Originally Posted by jimpasz

"Travel agent Mike Overcast has been working in the field for 25 years. He said the violence has never been as prevalent as it is now and it's lead to a 90 percent drop in tourism south of the border."

With a 90% drop in greenbacks and Americans going over, the 10% that do will be like fat lambs surrounded by hungry Jackals. there are a lot of
Mexicans that will lose jobs, what will they do to support themselves?


Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan may be going to tell Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger it will continue to flow your way without help.$$$$

40,000 Taco trucks in LA, thousands of gang members that are IAs,
maybe the real border has already been moved.

I've lived along the border on and off since the early 70's and to be honest there never has been much of a actual border, sure the had some barbed wire strung up in some places but that didn't even slow things down, some of the rural areas with small towns on both sides never bothered with the POE, they would simply walk back and fourth. The Tecate POE would lock up the gate at night leaving a hole in the chain link fence unguarded and people could walk through it all they wanted to in fact many school kids used to walk through in the AM to catch the school bus to they could go to school up here.
The idea of a closed southern border is really a new one.