Word of caution (first hand) about hunting Mexico now

[WAB]

Agreed. Want to defang the cartels? Take away their market, but don’t think they will go quietly!

 

[CEO]

The timing of this thread is spooky for my family and me.
I have vacationed in the Playa del Carmen three times with my ex-wife, 2007, 2008 and 2011. Always felt safe and often left the resorts. Since then I have heard that it’s not as safe anymore.
Now my current wife has been wanting to go and we nearly pulled the trigger on a January trip to the same area. However she procrastinated getting her daughter’s passport application sent in and Canada Post went on strike for the month of December. I told her that I wasn’t going to book a trip if she didn’t have a passport so she wants to go next year.
Now if read this post and I am very reluctant to go. Don’t know what other Caribbean country to suggest but I’m going to show her this.

We're going to Cancun later this year. Been there a few times. Cozumel. Never felt unsafe, but aside from riding all around Cozumel on mopeds we tend to take a private car from the airport to the resort and only leave for scuba or fishing.

My first instinct was to recommend Belize to you. Wife and I went to Ambergris Caye a few years back and felt completely safe. Everyone speaks English and it's common to rent golf carts and explore around on your own. That said, not long after we were there some guys were shot (one killed) in the exact area where we were after Bonefish. I don't think you can really go anywhere cool without some risk.

 

[codofish]

Lake Baccarac lodge might be the only exception for me as far as going back to Mexico. In addition to arguably being the best big bass lake in the world it is in the Sinalo mountains in a very isolated rural area and has it's own private landing strip. We take a private charter flight from Houston directly to the lake so you don't spend any time on the highways. It seems like highways is where the bad things happen.

 

[DonPablo]

It's a shame for sure, but their government is to blame.

And I believe that the road that lead there was the repeal of their gun rights. Something to keep in mind.

 

[SETH RINGER]

The timing of this thread is spooky for my family and me.
I have vacationed in the Playa del Carmen three times with my ex-wife, 2007, 2008 and 2011. Always felt safe and often left the resorts. Since then I have heard that it’s not as safe anymore.
Now my current wife has been wanting to go and we nearly pulled the trigger on a January trip to the same area. However she procrastinated getting her daughter’s passport application sent in and Canada Post went on strike for the month of December. I told her that I wasn’t going to book a trip if she didn’t have a passport so she wants to go next year.
Now if read this post and I am very reluctant to go. Don’t know what other Caribbean country to suggest but I’m going to show her this.

COSTA RICA

 

[BGGMKLR]

Your safety is not 100% guarenteed anywhere. The best one can do to mitigate risk is do the research, perform the due diligence, and plan/act accordingly.
There are many Countries with "areas" that are controlled by gangs, thugs, revolutionaries, cartels, drug dealers etc...(Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras, Russia, Japan, Jamaica,and several in Africa come immediately to mind) but, to my knowledge, not a single one of them is completely controlled/ran/ "governed" from soup to nuts by the criminals...
Mexico is the exception.
Spike

 

[dchum]

This will begin again on a large scale once the border is secured. Their income from being coyotes will dry up and they will look to new sources of income. Some years back this was going on quite a bit. Look for it to return.

Coyotes income has actually gone down because the border is loose. Now migrants just need to walk up the border (the big crowds on we see on TV)

Tighter border means more sneaking through ranch land with a guide (coyote). I live in the busiest county’s in the state. Looks up brooks county and migrant deaths.

It’s been slow here. It will get busier as the border gets tighter. (Per border patrol officials in the area)

 

[dchum]

This will begin again on a large scale once the border is secured. Their income from being coyotes will dry up and they will look to new sources of income. Some years back this was going on quite a bit. Look for it to return.

This is so incorrect I don’t know where to begin.

I know you live out in west Texas but you are miss informed

 

[wesheltonj]

Coyotes income has actually gone down because the border is loose. Now migrants just need to walk up the border (the big crowds on we see on TV)

Tighter border means more sneaking through ranch land with a guide (coyote). I live in the busiest county’s in the state. Looks up brooks county and migrant deaths.

It’s been slow here. It will get busier as the border gets tighter. (Per border patrol officials in the area)

The cartels are not using coyotes, (what we would call a coyote)that much. They get them to border and into a car. They run ads on TikTok looking for drivers. That’s how the majority make it inland. If the driver gets stopped and caught the minimum sentence is now 10 years. The drivers all plea for probation they don’t want to get minimum. The Aliens are charged with Criminal Trespass in a Disaster Zone and plea down to criminal trespass and are turned over to ICE or voluntary depart the USA.

 

[dchum]

The cartels are not using coyotes, (what we would call a coyote)that much. They get them to border and into a car. They run ads on TikTok looking for drivers. That’s how the majority make it inland. If the driver gets stopped and caught the minimum sentence is now 10 years. The drivers all plea for probation they don’t want to get minimum. The Aliens are charged with Criminal Trespass in a Disaster Zone and plea down to criminal trespass and are turned over to ICE or voluntary depart the USA.

They get dropped off with a guide.

Getting across the border is easy. Getting through the checkpoint is their problem. So yes the drive north from the border until they get close to a checkpoint. Then they are guided through private property around the Highway check point and get picked up on the other side.

Many times by local people (citizens) like you said

My family ranches and I live right here 5 miles north of the largest internal checkpoint in the state.

Texas' Brooks County Is 'Death Valley' for Migrants

A deputy in one of the counties that has seen a surge in undocumented children says they have found 37 migrants' bodies this year alone.

www.nbcnews.com

I don’t get my info second hand. We live it here

 

[pilar]

They get dropped off with a guide.

Getting across the border is easy. Getting through the checkpoint is their problem. So yes the drive north from the border until they get close to a checkpoint. Then they are guided through private property around the Highway check point and get picked up on the other side.

Many times by local people (citizens) like you said

My family ranches and I live right here 5 miles north of the largest internal checkpoint in the state.

Texas' Brooks County Is 'Death Valley' for Migrants

A deputy in one of the counties that has seen a surge in undocumented children says they have found 37 migrants' bodies this year alone.

www.nbcnews.com

I don’t get my info second hand. We live it here

Yeah! This drives me crazy, we have a bypass road around the hwy 83 checkpoint called the old stagecoach rd , and it is a high traffic area and I have seen stolen city & school buses full of “ refugees “ hauling ass with BP or I.C.E in pursuit ( well at least till 2020) and had hundreds if not thousands of people asking for a ride to San Antonio or Houston in the summer time .
Biden put the coyotes out of business by providing a free trip to San Antonio then anywhere in the USA by bus

 

[DLSJR]

I hunted mule deer on Tiburon Island 2 years ago, no problems, we shot 3 bucks for 4 hunters and were going back with the same outfitter, Francisco Valenzuela, last year on the mainland. Short story,he ripped us off, stealing our deposits. I was one of 19 American hunters who he ripped off for a total of over $100,000.00.

I also had a friend who was involved in 2 separate cartel experiences where he actually texted his wife their exact location and said if he followed with an ‘SOS’ text, to call the state department asap. And finally, I had a friend hunting near Caborca last year who was confronted by some cartel members, had a gun put to his head and told he was gonna get his brains blown out. He got home in one piece but said Never Again.

There are too many great places to hunt around the world to risk it in Mexico.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I know there are lots of places where you can get robbed, shot, raped in the USA. Parts of Chicago, LA, NOLA, Houston, Miami, etc all come to mind. That said, I have visited, worked or lived in all of those and not had any of that happen. Did witness a guy getting beat to death and stabbed down the hallway of the 3rd floor of my very nice hotel in the French Quarter by a pissed off pimp when the elevator stopped and the door opened momentarily. That was an eye opener. My point is that evil exists and can be encountered anywhere and warrants that we be aware of our surroundings and prepared to defend ourselves or if possible quietly retreat to safety. But in some places here and in other countries the concentration of evil can be much higher. My Mexico example is below:

Travelling with my wife and a large group of about 10 couples on the West Coast of Mexico in 1982. The first resort that we stayed at in Acapulco was like a fortress. Stone walls, barbed wire and subgun toting guards all around the perimeter and on the beaches. We were quite safe and oblivious to the dangers outside the compound. After a few days we flew to Puerto Vallarta for 3-4 days. Stayed at a well known international chain hotel on the beach. No walls, no compound, no security. It was/is a lovely smaller city and we enjoyed walking the streets and markets and shopping for trinkets. At dark the plan was for us all to meet up at a nice restaurant only 2 blocks from our hotel for dinner. It was recommended by our tour guide who travelled there often and was with us. Most of us met in the hotel lobby and walked over to the hotel without incident but one couple was lagging behind. A Doctor and his girlfriend. The lady was a bit of a Prima Donna and was upstairs primping and told Doc to go on and she would join us when she was ready. So, he walked over and joined our party for cocktails and dinner. As we sat in the dark restaurant two American young ladies came to my table and said, "Can we pet the Lions?" We laughed and said sure. Knock yourselves out. They knelt down at my feet and began to pet the two hounds that had been sleeping at my feet. To my shock and surprise, those hounds turned out to be two fat Lion cubs which were now rolling around like a pair of tabby cats! OK, welcome to Mexico. So, Doc's lady friend arrived, crying, shaken, and with a black eye/bruise on her face.

She related that about half way to the restaurant she was accosted by three Mexican males who demanded her purse and jewelry. She resisted and got bitch slapped and robbed by force. Doc took her back to their room but plead to us to stay and enjoy dinner and dancing at the night club there. We dined without incident. At 10pm, the staff cleared the tables and chairs from one large room in the establishment which then became the dance floor. We filtered in to the brightly lit room to the thumping disco music.

To my great surprise, the West end of the room had a large metal bar cage containing two large mature African Lions. A Simba and a Lioness. Okaaay... This is different. The lions were stalking back and forth like any caged cat. We danced and Doc and his gal pal showed up and she was more or less OK. At midnight the staff opened the cage and tossed in a side of beef which the lions devoured. Dozens of strikingly beautiful women were bumping and grinding on the bars of the cage. It was a scene I will never forget. After the Lions had finished their meal, the old Simba decided that he needed some hot kitty love and mounted the lioness which only served to excite every female on the dance floor, lol. I am pretty sure everyone got laid that night.

My take aways from Mexico are these: 1.) The rules in Mexico are not the same as the USA. 2.) You really need to take care of yourself and walking the streets alone after dark is not a good idea for pretty ladies or anyone else no matter where you are but especially in Mexico. 3.) Evil lurks this earth and while it my be a small percentage of the population, they can create a disproportionate amount of mayhem when allowed to concentrate in one area. I liked and enjoyed Mexico but I never returned. Not from fear but for the same reason I do not go to Chicago or Detroit for any reason anymore. There are other places where I am less likely to need to defend myself that I can enjoy. I loved South Africa by the way. But, it has its own issues. I will return.

Maybe when we annex Canada, we can do Mexico next and make it the 52nd state? Their southern border is smaller and easier to manage. Have a good-un.

 

[Philip Glass]

This is so incorrect I don’t know where to begin.

I know you live out in west Texas but you are miss informed

This is just what was being reported a few years back. I didn't make it up.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Crazy world we live in when Africa seems to the safer alternative to hunting in
Mexico, Asia etc.