Subject: Re: Mexico is lively
I've never been to Mexico, have seen enough films and documentaries to know that it is a beautiful country that I'd like to visit, but the risk-reward ratio is too high for me.

You have to know where to go. I've been many times, but, for instance, Acapulco is out. Too many drug gang shootouts.

I watched a lady from Netherlands on Youtube ( Itchy Boots ) travel thru from South America to Alaska. In parts of Mexico, she had to have helpful locals clear it with the local drug cartel leaders for her to travel basically the only road that she could use on her journey North. The vast, vast majority of locals she interacted with were good people, but areas are controlled by the drug cartels, and they settle disagreements with a bullet.

Latin America is that way now. I lived in Panama, Canal Zone for four years as a kid, and then the family traveled up to North America by station wagon. Hard to do that now. Nicaragua is Sandanista territory and, even back then, I was struck by two fully armed soldiers stationed on either side of the bank door on the central town square. I'd never seen that before and it is etched in my youthful memory. We (America) were the driving force to create Sandanistas.

Truly sad part, and I say this as an American, is that Americans are a major part of the root cause of these problems in Mexico. Americans are the biggest illegal drug market for the cartel.

We created all of the banana republics there and used gunboat diplomacy for a long time too. We overturned the legitimately elected government of Chile pursuing Monroe Doctrine policies - afraid of a socialist governments. Venezuela seems to have underscored what can happen that direction, hasn't been good for the people of Venezuela who show up on our doorstep. We're responsible for much of the Mayan diaspora - under Reagan we backed a Christian fellow who put them into Christian camps. Hasn't worked. I met the Mayans and thought they were very bright people who could understand you without language.

If we were not sending an avalanche of cash to the cartel via recreational ( and addictive ) drug purchases, then the cartels would lose power, as cash is how the cartels buy the control of the Mexican politicians, Military, and law enforcement.

Yes. Like opium to China. But the cartels branch out - it isn't just drugs, though drugs are very lucrative. They run the Ecuador to American Border route for immigrants, etc.

But you can catch a bullet almost anywhere in third world countries if you don't take care. In Latin America you have to have the right attorney who knows the landscape and can place your "gratuities" for you. There's a lot of bribery based on position. Locals will let you know who to talk to. I have a strict rule that I don't disobey any laws in a foreign country. It can take 10 years for you to come to trial in the Philippines (worst case I've seen) and then they convict you. If you do business - it's cheap to get someone killed in the Philippines and the murder solution rate is less than 20%. And even if they catch the trigger man, the person that ordered it rarely sees court. So you can kill with relative impunity.