Baja Continues to be Dangerous, Even Deadly
In what is becoming all to common of an occurrence, the bodies of 4 Americans were found shot to death near their car in Rosarito Beach, Baja California last night. The bodies of three men and a woman were discovered at about 6 p.m Mexican police said, all shot execution-style. Officials have yet to identify the victims or the cause of the crime.
Obviously violent crime exists everywhere, not just in Tijuana and it’s surrounding areas. However, the continued rise in both the number and the level of violence used in crimes on U.S. citizens in the area is something that needs to be alarming to all of us. The Baja trip is one that many of us have made or still make with regularity. It holds unbelievable surf and scarce crowds for those who know where to look. For those who make the trek south their has always been the risk of needing to pay off the over ambitious local authorities and this was known to simply be part of the experience. Those days appear to be long gone and these days visitors are risking much more than a few bucks when deciding to venture on down there.
You would think the obvious dent in the economies of Tijuana and such would be enough for the Mexican authorities to want to take more action in curbing this type of violent crime. Then again, it’s hard to really know who is running things down there. This much is for sure - until things change significantly, anyone thinking about heading down needs to take a real hard look at what you are risking. The second you cross that border you become a target for those seeking out easy prey. Is a wave really worth that much?
Update: As a couple of our readers pointed out in the comments below, only one of the four people found dead was an American. The others were Mexican citizens.
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Posted by Shaun on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 in Surfing.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
There was only one American killed in this incident; the others were Mexicans with crime records. A hypodermic needle was found near the bodies. Don’t deal drugs, take drugs or drive down dark Mexican alleys at nights and you will be safe.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Hi guys… I caught your article via GoogleNews… Just would like to point out that the news on the “four Americans” isn’t really accurate — the press in Mexico (and even Reuters here, who started with the “four Americans” angle and had to change it) already identified the people as 3 Mexican citizens (at least one of whom was a previous drug-related criminal), and one US citizen (not much known yet about her). Given the visibility of your website, it’s important to have accurate info if we really want things to change.
Here’s a link to an updated article:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/mostpopular/16343954/detail.html
Thanks and good site.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Keep publishing the bad information.
Meanwhile this joker and I are surfing the waves of baja by ourselves.
My 85 year old retired neighbor from the U.S. is braver than you guys who “claim” to have the balls to surf Todos.
Media driven slaves stay home and have fun surfing swami’s with the other 300 dudes
Don’t believe what the news says, see for yourself.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
hola amigos,
they say the same about colombian, but the waves are kicking… and here i am surfing alone!
surfs up!
June 4th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I bet I have traveled the world considerably more than you
have Einstein and been to the Baja on six occasions but not
going anymore.
Either are a lot of race car drivers, fisherman and surfers.
So we will leave it all to your Einstein.
Everybody is a big man till they get a .45 pointed to their
head then they are not so big anymore.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I will walk at night, alone, in downtown Rosarito Beach, and/or, Ensenada. However, I would NEVER walk alone at night in Long Beach, CA., Fresno CA., Los Angeles, CA. or Bakersfield, CA.
Crime is everywhere, but I will take my chances down here.
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