Texans who normally travel into Mexico by vehicle have been limiting their trips to only essential touring or needs because of escalating crime against U.S. citizens.
At least three Americans were murdered and one was kidnapped while visiting Mexico last month (December 2011).
Two Americans were murdered in separate incidents in Sinaloa, located in northwestern New Mexico. El Paso is the closest Texas city to that region.
According to a security update from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, one woman was beaten to death and left on an isolated river bank near Tamazula.
SHOT IN THE HEAD
“The second victim was visiting Culiacan from Texas,” the updated stated. “He was found, along with a friend, in his Ford Mustang on a deserted road. Both had been shot in the head.”
According to the Mexican Attorney General’s office most Mexico homicides of 2011 were“clearly concentrated in some states of the country.”
His report stated that “70% of deaths, which by nature may have occurred in the context of rivalry between criminal organizations, occurred in eight states in the country.”
Those states include Chihuahua (2,276 homicides), Guerrero (1,533), Tamaulipas (1,153), Sinaloa (1,100), Veracruz (538), and Baja California (250).
JUAREZ STILL MOST DEADLIEST CITY
Across from El Paso, the Mexican government reported there were 1,206 deaths in Juarez alone in the first nine months of 2011.
Acapulco, a well-known tourist destination, had 795 deaths, followed by the northern Mexican cities of Torreón, 476; Chihuahua, 402; Monterrey, 399; Durango, 390; Culiacán, 365; and San Fernando, 292.
The U.S. Consulate General in Matamoros has reported that carjacking’s are on the rise with “at least five of the carjacking victims were either US citizens or Legal Permanent Residents of the US.”
“The carjackers appear to be targeting vehicles with valid U.S. license plates that are stopped in traffic or parked at commercial establishments.”
KIDNAPPED AMERICAN FATE UNKNOWN
“An American citizen was reported kidnapped from his sister’s home near Monterrey on Monday, December 12,” the U.S. Embassy said. “A ransom demand for $3 million MXP was received by family members the next day; the fate of the victim is unknown.”
The U.S. Embassy also reports that “an American businessman and a companion lost their rental car and all belongings in a carjacking on the highway between Torreon and Saltillo. Armed men drove up beside the travelers, forced them to pull over and get out of the vehicle, and drove away, leaving them stranded on the highway.”
Saltillo has been especially racked with violence recently. The local prison director was murdered on December 13, just a week after the city’s Chief of Police and his 11-year-old son were found shot to death.
As late as December 22, officials reported that cars, motorcycles and even three ordinary passenger buses were attacked with gunfire in northern Veracruz state, resulting in several deaths. The murderers tend to attack when the vehicles are in more isolated regions.
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