An interesting article about what happened on the 27th in Nayarif. I got this from a Security Expert friend. The article ultimately gets around to telling how to protect but there is a lot of background of the story, before it starts talking business. Protective Intelligence Lessons from an Ambush in Mexico | STRATFOR Things are getting really crazy.
They did arrest the Zetas leader of Quintana Roo, Víctor Manuel Pérez, last Thursday in Playa Del Carmen, and 10 Zetas members were arrested in Cancun on the 21st of May.
You're right not to like it, Elle. It's misleading because it implies there is no part of the country is not under the control of drug gangs. A similar map could be made of the U.S., showing what parts of the country are dominated by which mafia families and groups, and would be equally misleading. I do not expect to have contact with, nor be influenced by drug gangs here, anymore than by mafia, there. Neither has been a part of my long life, thus far, nor do I expect them to be, though both have been in the environment, both here and there. Much can be said about what's wrong with Mexico, but those of us who choose to live here find far more to like than to dislike. Faced with a choice of how to spend our long Christmas holidays, we have chosen to travel in Mexico. We'll be flying, riding buses, using taxis and walking the streets of many towns new to us. If we feel threatened in any way, it will be a first for us in Mexico. __________________
The place where I get my pedicures just increased the price by 20%. I have to wonder why? Rents cannot be going up in a plaza with lots of vacancies. I suspect that perhaps "the protection" might be the cause. I asked what differences in the service I should expect? What more was I getting to justify my paying 20% more for the same thing. Of course, they looked at me like I had 3 heads. I thanked them for "letting me" be their customer for the last two years and told them I would not be coming back. And I won't. It was like talking to a wall. Only the gal who works on me and gets my tips (not the tips of my toenails) seemed concerned. Of course I had the attention of the entire salon as I was trying to find out what caused the big increase.
Always possible, T.J. But I´m paying more than 20% more than I was for taxi rides just four weeks ago, and my haircuts at Walmart just jumped in price by 15%, after being stable for two years. Expect more increases, as everyone adjusts to the underlying inflation in the prices of almost everything. I think we´re going to see it, even if the Zetas don´t want it, either.
Yes V, the map is definitely misleading!!! T.J - which salon is this?? I have a girl that has been coming to my house now for a year and a bit.... I've actually noticed a LOT of price increases lately, and I think we all know why.... A few friends of mine who own some restaurants here in Cancun say they have been asked to pay up big time. Very sad.
Extortion is a dead weight on business, here, as elsewhere, and those who are confronted with it are in an unenviable position; but, I´ve always felt that to resist and refuse to cooperate was the only way to have any real peace in life. This kind of criminal activity requires the cooperation of its victims, without which it cannot flourish: a decision to pay up starts a cycle which has no logical end point and represents a poor life choice, in my opinion. Businessmen have no choice but to work for the tax man, but they do have a choice whether to work for the criminals that would prey on them.
