This will really help the tourism..... :(

Same here, Steve, I'm wary on the streets of Cancun Centro, just as I was on the streets of Dallas, Texas, yet feel just as safe. The only places I felt safer in were China, and Vietnam, both communist countries: seems there's a price to be paid for individual freedom!

In Hanoi, all bars/clubs/restaurants had to be closed by 11 PM, after which the streets were deserted, and quiet- a sharp contrast with the noise, traffic, and activity during the day.

Aside from the narco related violence, which definitely affects those involved in it far more than the rest of us, Mexico strikes me as being in the middle ground, so far as personal safety goes, with the hotel zone the very safest place in Mexico.

 

The hotel zone is fairly safe- but I have lived in many countries all over the world and this is the only place where my house has been broken into.Its the only place where I have friends who have been personally affected by kidnappings and murders ( and no I do not mix with Narcos!) Its the only place where friends have bodyguards.I hear stuff everyday that makes me wary - that did not happen in the UK. There is an undercurrent here that I am always aware of. Would it make me leave? No definately not. Does it make me cautious- oh yes!
Tracey

 

TraceyUK, sorry to hear about your house being broken into.

Would you mind clarifying something in your post, did you mean to say that kidnappings and murders you spoke of had occurred in the hotel zone?

Since I don't know anyone in Cancun who has a bodyguard, can you explain why those friends you spoke of need one?

 

V maybe they dont want to be kidnapped or murdered.....just thinking outloud.

 

Hi, Gonzo. Anyone who is willing to pay for a bodyguard considers themselves to be a target. I want to know why, in the case of those TraceyUK speaks of.

The problem with her post is that it suggests serious crime, kidnappings and murder, in the hotel zone, and a need for bodyguards for people, generally. I don't believe this is what she meant. For this reason, I'm interested in some clarification, if she wants to give us some.

 

Your post seems a little incendiary V. One does not need to be affiliated with the criminal side to be a target. Simply being of means (or appearing to be well off), is enough to get some unwanted attention, and as I'm sure you know, many people "of means" live in the hotel zone. I know several business owners who have been extorted over the years, and in some cases, saying "NO" can put yourself and your family in potential danger, which could lead to the afore mentioned bodyguards, or other security measures as a precautionary step. There is also sometimes a social status element of presenting yourself as being someone important by having guards.

 

Exactly right, Life, some of Cancun's richest people live in the hotel zone, or own homes there, and they may rightly consider themselves targets. The risk they run is not the risk the visitor to Cancun runs, which I believe is very low. Tracey's post suggests she may think otherwise.

That's why I felt Tracey should be given a chance to clear up the false impression her post could create, if that's what it is. Others seem to want to do it for her. I just don't know what she'd have to say about it, herself, if given the chance.

 

V
no I do not think tourists are at risk here , but people who live here do believe they can be targeted.Being "of means" can make someone a target for kidnapping and extortion. I could give examples but believe in keeping peoples confidentiality.Also many , in fact most of our friends who may be considered affluent do not live in the Hotel Zone.
Tracey

 

Thanks, Tracey, for getting back to us. It almost pays not to be too rich, in many parts of the world.

Still, I might like to try it, once!

 

The only "really bad" incident I can recall from the HZ is the slaying of the Cuban(?) approx 2 years ago...

Cant remember(maybe don't really care..?) exactly where, but I remember the media after... Could have been "Coral Negro" - the market.

He was shot, execution style, right in front of tourists.

I saw the all but pleasant pictures in "De peso"(off course!!) when going to work in a taxi.

EDIT: I also remember a taxi driver who was executed around KM3 or 4 in the HZ last year...

Note: These are IN the HZ, so Im not counting the related ones that occurred outside our 23 KM long strip.



I know for a fact a lot of stuff is being moved through the HZ and back(when you work with different hotels for a year, you can NOT miss it, trust me), but have never been threatened, just get the odd look when you witness packages that aren't meant for the public eyes.

This also includes people(mostly Cubans..) who are on their way to USA.

I have stopped going out in the HZ, not because Im scared, but because its impossible to even take a breath of "fresh" air outside any club without hearing "What you want? Blow? Weed?" etc.

For me its not the violence in the HZ(considering I only know of the one incident), but the disgust with the amount of drugs etc.

What mostly bugs me in the HZ is the traffic, the sales people, the taxis and the cops, haha