Chertoff-the-Barbarian: “Bring these fine criminals into America, now.
Watch as we will give each of them: full Amnesty and the vote."
Posted on 11/23/2007 9:37:57 AM PST by AuntB
The violent robbery of an American family in Baja California early Monday morning is adding to concerns about safety south of the border.
The latest attack began about 1 a.m. when Chris Hall, his wife, Debra, and their 16-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter where driving home to El Cajon from the SCORE Baja 1000 off-road auto race, which ended Friday in Cabo San Lucas.
Hall said their 2007 Ford F-250 was pulled over by a black car with flashing red and blue lights and a siren as they traveled on the coastal road just south of the Playas de Tijuana toll booth. A second car blocked the path in front of them.
Hall, 42, is a truck driver and crewman who supports off-road racers. He was pulling an empty car trailer after assisting the race team of Andy McMillin, whose family is one of San Diego County's biggest home developers. The trailer was identified with McMillin's race insignia.
“I think they knew what they were doing,” Hall said of the assailants. “If I had been a McMillin, I think they would have kidnapped me.”
The assailants took the wheel of the Halls' truck, held the family at gunpoint for two hours, and then released them at a secluded spot on a mountain, Hall said.
The men stole the truck and all of the family's belongings, Hall said. It took the Halls more than an hour to walk down the mountain and find help. Mexican police took them immediately to the border.
The Halls filed a report yesterday with Mexican authorities. Chris Hall estimated the family's personal loss at $70,000. “But we're alive and I didn't think we were going to be . . . I'm counting my blessings.”
The attack was the latest in a series that has put frequent Baja travelers on edge.
Stories of at least six armed assaults have been shared by travelers through the Internet and by word of mouth. Some, but not all, of the cases have been determined by authorities as credible.
One widely publicized attack Aug. 31 involved a group of North County surfers who were stopped by a convoy of armed men who used flashing lights to pull them over on the road between the San Ysidro border crossing and Playas de Tijuana.
The surfers were forced out of their vehicles at gunpoint, and one was ordered to kneel and crawl as if he were going to be executed. The gunmen took the surfers' two trucks and other equipment.
In another publicized case, Pat Weber of Encinitas and his girlfriend were robbed Oct. 23 by two men wearing military clothing and ski masks at Cuatro Casas, a surfing spot about 200 miles south of the border. The assailants shot at his motor home and sexually assaulted his girlfriend before stealing $10,000 worth of computers, video cameras and other gear.
Baja California tourism officials didn't return phone calls yesterday asking about Monday's attack. But last month officials with the state attorney general's office in Baja California said they were working with other agencies to beef up patrols along the roads tourists often use to get to and from the border.
They urged victims to report such crimes immediately, but some victims have been afraid of file reports because they don't trust Mexican law enforcement officers.
Three people recently contacted The San Diego Union-Tribune to report being robbed by Tijuana police officers near the San Ysidro border crossing over the past six weeks.
Their complaints come amid speculation in the Mexican media that extortion and other misdeeds by police have increased recently because of an anticipated crackdown once Tijuana's new mayor, Jorge Ramos, takes office Dec. 1.
Authorities are unsure whether the latest accounts about attacks against tourists reflect an increase in attacks or that more people are sharing their stories with reporters or on Internet sites.
Robert Fishman, director of administration for the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, said he was robbed of more than $500 in cash by a group of Mexican police officers Oct. 13 after leaving a Caliente sports gaming site. He said the officers stopped him on a dark section of the pedestrian bridge that leads to the San Ysidro border crossing around 10 p.m. and searched his wallet and pockets. After they let him go, he realized the money was missing.
Fishman filed a report with the San Diego Police Department, which forwards the information to the U.S. Consulate in Mexico. However, he said the case appeared stymied because he couldn't see the officers' faces.
Fishman said he does not plan to go back to Baja California.
Hall is more adamant.
“I'm the person who has always dispelled the rumors about being hassled in Baja California,” he said. “I have always loved the country and the people. . . . Before this year, we had never had a problem, only great memories. But I'm never going back.”
Time to start vacationing in Baghdad. It seems to be safer than most parts of Mexico.
Chertoff-the-Barbarian: “Bring these fine criminals into America, now.
Watch as we will give each of them: full Amnesty and the vote."
This is going to continue - and become much much worse. Americans have no business in Mexico.....except perhaps for the Marines ;’}
I quit going to Mexico years ago. Too much risk and the odds aren’t worth risking yourself or loved ones.
These are smart people. They realize that the assailants probably were the police. No sense being victimized twice. Cut your losses, don't go back there.
We were robbed at gunpoint on the beach at San Blas nearly 35 years ago - by the cops - with soldiers backing up the robbers from a few yards away, holding Thompson submachine guns. Haven’t been back.
I have an engineer friend who has a heart of gold. He refurbished about 15 computers and made arrangements with a church in Baja California to donate the computers for a computer lab for the underprivileged. He and a friend loaded the computers in his friend's van and headed south.
They got as far as the border. At the custom's check, they told the Mex. govt. agents what they were going to do. The Mexican authorities confiscated the computers and the friend's van, kept them a couple of hours then let them go, without computers or van.
I would not be too surprised if the Mexican police and criminals in these robery cases are one and the same.
he was lucky!
Right you are. Mexico is only second to Iraq for beheadings. And I believe it passed Iraq last year in killings of journalists. About 50 Americans were kidnapped last year in Mexico, that we know of.
Last year 2 young USA women were kidnapped in Nuevo Loredo. The Mexican authorities kept saying they were 'working on it'. Later one of the fathers went to the police station and found his daughter's car in the impound yard.
I traveled through Mexico in 1976 on our way to El Salvador. All I heard from locals in the towns was to be careful of banditos. They warned NOT to stop for anyone in the country side. Many road side robberies and murders .
It sounds like nothing has changed.
These attacks seem to be the equivalent of a Mexican hissy fit...we’re not going to put up with illegal immigrants...well then this is what we’ll have to deal with South of the Border.
When liberals want to use "anecdotal incidents" they make them into Hollywood movies.("Redacted")
I went south of TJ ... once.
1. BUILD THE FREAKIN’ WALL!
2. Stop ALL tourist travel to Mexico.
3. Withhold payment of foreign aid dollars or oil purchase payments to compensate victims.
Liberals use broad definitions to condemn conservatives, we should not stoop to that level.
We were treated much better entering Mexico through Guadalajara than we were treated coming back through Atlanta. The most dangerous part of our trip was driving in the mountains trying to keep up with others. Speed limits there were actually low limits (I think).
We are going back permanently next year. Great climate, low prices and some of the friendliest people we have met. The Mexicans in Mexico are not the Wal-Mart variety we see up here.
Point taken, but the only way to stop it is with ACTION, preferably that which stings the Mexican elites who look the other way from the atrocities.
While I agree generally with what you say, you shouldn’t be surprised if kidnapping and such also come to Chapala soon. Mexico was once as you describe everywhere. Fairly safe. The war on drugs has changed all that, It has made organized crime the most powerful force in the country, and it is just a matter of time before the gangsters discover how profitable it can be to kidnap expats. I have been to Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende, Curenavaca and a few other favorites of expats. Sad to say, but the good old days may be over for these areas.
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