Mexican Border Cities Becoming More Dangerous

by Josh Lew on

The US State Department has added the border town of Nogales to its growing list of Mexican cities that are becoming more dangerous because of violence. Drug cartels have been clashing in an attempt to gain control of lucrative smuggling routes. Daylight firefights have taken place in major border cities like Juarez and Tijuana.

More than 1,000 people have been killed as a result of the fighting this year in Juarez alone.

Cartels have also clashed with the Mexican police and army. These shootouts resemble war combat more than they do gang shootings. Both sides are armed with automatic weapons, and cartels are deploying grenades and rocket launchers. Some of these battles have taken place near popular shopping areas, putting the general public in the line of fire. Thus far, the State Department warning has not stemmed the flow at the Nogales border crossing. According to customs officials, there are more than 40,000 per day crossing into Nogales from Arizona. That’s about average for this time of year. Perhaps people just don’t take the warnings seriously. Meanwhile, Mexican officials are trying to get the cartel problem under control by deploying army units to the area.

Mexico and borders: No longer a speedy crossing

by Jamie Rhein on

When I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, heading to Juarez, Mexico for the day was a fun day outing. I didn’t do it often, but at least twice a year we’d walk across the border at El Paso, Texas, have lunch, shop for presents at the market, buy a bottle of Kahlúa and Jose Cuervo and head home. Going across the border was a snap–quick. There was nothing to it. I found the same thing when I went to Tijuana for the day from Los Angeles.

According to this New York Times article, those days are over. It’s taking up to three hours to get back into the United States, even for American citizens. The borders are stopping people more to ask for identification papers in an aim to be ready for January when traveling by car across the borders requires a passport.

As you can imagine this is causing a tourist dollar damper. If you can’t hop over the border and back in an easy trip, there’s no such thing as an easy day outing. Eventually, the system should smooth out, but it’s going to take awhileas in a couple years. The people who are probably going to come out ahead with the slow down are the vendors who sell items from car to car. Thanks to All the Colors who took this picture at the Juarez border crossing and posted it on Flickr.