Narco Violence and Americans

I try to keep these blog strictly about what's going on in the business world in Mexico, but today I wanted to point out something that is not often talked about. 

Today, while reading the news, I saw a few headlines that said "Americans killed in Mexico" or "Canadian man found dead in Acapulco".  These headlines are instilling fear into foreigners and making people think twice about traveling to or doing business in Mexico.

Here's what you don't hear...most of the "American" citizens are Mexican-Americans who were born in the US, but still live in Mexico or have strong ties to Mexico.  If you do some deeper digging into the stories most of the time (not all) you will find out that the person killed either had some ties to someone involved in organized crime or had a family member who got involved with the wrong crowd. 

I saw tons of stories about the Canadian man who was killed in Acapulco, and today it comes out that he had a criminal record in Canada.  He also had a business where he employed ex-cons to make eco-friendly purses. 

Don't get me wrong - I don't wish harm on any of these people and I think that any murder is tragic, however, I think the US media is creating an unnecessary fear in travelers by making them think that the drug cartels are now targeting Americans or Canadians.

There is a popular phrase in Mexico - el que nada debe, nada teme - which roughly translated means he who owes nothing has nothing to fear...

Take everything you read with a grain of salt, because more times than not there is more to the story. 

Myths about Mexico's Drug War

As a foreigner living in Mexico, I am constantly asked about the violence associated with the drug war. While the drug war and narcoviolencia are real, I feel that the foreign media has lumped all of Mexico into the same category, instilling a fear in Americans that Mexico as a whole is an unsafe place to go. This is simply not true. A recent article in the Washington Post dispells some of the biggest myths about the drug war.

To read the article click here: Five Myth's About Mexico's Drug War

But the violence is not as widespread or as random as it may appear. Though civilians with no evident ties to the drug trade have been killed in the crossfire and occasionally targeted, drug-related deaths are concentrated among the traffickers.