This is a view out back from our mirador. You can see how close the houses are in town. Our house is secure, unless you count the fact that you can climb onto our 2nd fl. deck from the roof next door...
Two weeks before we came, Guadalajara had its first gang violence incident with 26 people killed. Within a month they had the 4 responsible in custody. It was drug cartel rivals - no "civilians" involved. For perspective, Guad. has a population of over 7 million.
Days before we arrived in Ajijic there were two violent robberies - one incident where a person was murdered. Within a week they had 3 in custody for the murder. Since, gringos here have been working to set up a reward fund and dedicated phone line to report crime. Both are now in place.
Two stories in the main English language newspaper here show very different reporting styles when covering recent robberies. One regarding a "rash of daytime robberies..." outside of town gives just a couple of examples, using alarmist language (ala National Enquirer). For example, "The would-be burglar struck the homeowner... with a pepper spray canister before unleashing its fiery contents in his face..." and "Realizing the gig was up... the gang hauled off a load of loot". Actually it reads more like a cheap murder mystery. Another story regarding a violent crime in Mazatlan was better written, citing that there is no evidence that a recently murdered woman in a hotel there was killed by a Mexican. Yet that is the way the story is being portrayed. The local tourism economy is suffering, and the story reported that cruise lines Holland and Princess joined the Disney Cruise line by recently pulling Mazatlan from their coastal stops. This comes just before the huge Carnaval Festival that begins the 2nd week of Feb.
So, what do you think? We have the opportunity to go to Carnaval as we have friends that are in Mazatlan at their place now. I think that exercising ordinary caution and good common sense, and keeping an open mind will see us through.
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