Spring Break Collegians in Mexico Avoid Bullets!
03/23/2008
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Brave (or foolhardy) college students are venturing into Mexico for Spring Break, though perhaps in fewer numbers compared to previous years because of the worsening drug cartel violence.

As a result, many collegiate party animals didn't want to give their full names to the reporter in order not to alarm their parents. I'm guessing they got a very generous vacation package for choosing Narcapulco, er, Acapulco.

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Fearless students from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas State and colleges across the country are injecting badly needed cash into fading resorts like Acapulco this spring break season. But analysts warn that even they cannot save a stagnant tourism industry as long as Mexico is awash in drug violence, police corruption and drugs openly sold on the streets.

Unless President Felipe Calder??n's 15-month frontal attack on the cartels begins to reduce violence, his drug war may kill off parts of the very tourism industry he promoted as an engine of economic development and part of a strategy to keep would-be immigrants home, some analysts said. [...]

Acapulco became a drug battlefield three years ago, and now less than 10 percent of visitors here are Americans. [U.S. students brave Mexico despite drug-war threat Dallas Morning News, March 17, 2008]

As might be expected, official Mexican mouthpieces are tapdancing like mad, lying about the danger.
"Violence is not a problem exclusive to Mexico; it occurs in all nations," said Manuel Torroco, president of the National Tourism Federation, an industry group. "There have been no incidents involving foreign tourists besides isolated ones that happen everywhere in the world. We welcome this year's spring-breakers with open arms."
In fact, American tourists have been attacked, like the nurse from San Diego who was raped in front of her boyfriend, along with being robbed. (Listen to a Jan 7 radio interview with the victims on the John and Ken Show. The details of how they were set up by local people and the violence of the attack are chilling.)

The Houston Chronicle reported, "Assaults on American tourists have brought hard times to hotels and restaurants that dot Mexican beaches just south of the border from San Diego." For details, see Mexico Meltdown: First Update of 2008.

But no American students have been plunked during this year's mega-party, so they figure it's "Spring break, ol?©!"

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