--- On Sun, 5/11/08, Chris Shepard wrote:
From: Chris Shepard
Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR: Baja info needed
To: "roncriswell@..." , "martin glazer"
Cc:
dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, May 11, 2008, 7:37 AM
A very good friend of mine is in law enforcement and his teams' focus is track the drug cartels of an area of Mexico. There is a war going on down there with rival cartels, police and the Mexican Army. People are getting killed on a regular basis and it is no longer limited to just Mexicans.
Look at what just happened with the helicopter crashing during the last Baja 1000. 50 armed men with machine guns went to battle with the morgue and police in Ensenada to take the bodies. A long time driver of one of the race teams had his family robbed by people in Mexican police vehicles and were left in a remote area with out a vehicle or their rig.
I love baja but will not go back. Chris
-----Original Message-----
>From: "roncriswell@ sbcglobal. net"
>Sent: May 11, 2008 5:46 AM
>To: martin glazer
>Cc: dsn_klr650@yahoogro ups.com
>Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR: Baja info needed
>
>Exactly why I am getting increasingly nervous about travel to Mexico
>(especially the border areas but even places like Acapulco and
>Mazatlan make me nervous). It is becoming the new Columbia which is
>not good news for the US. But ....... if the United States did not
>use / buy all these drugs, the drug business would dry up.
>Sigh. ....... I know that some here are for legalization ......
>but my neighbors daughter is in jail for Meth ..... and it is not
>pretty. Glad me and the KLR went to Copper Canyon about 4 years ago.
>Me and my wife love Los Cabos but have been afraid of going lately.
>
>Criswell
>On May 10, 2008, at 9:34 PM, martin glazer wrote:
>
>> Top policeman killed in northern Mexico By MARINA
>> MONTEMAYOR, Associated Press Writer
>> 1 hour, 5 minutes ago
>>
>>
>> The No. 2 police officer in a Mexican border city
>> across from Texas was shot dead Saturday, the latest
>> high-ranking official killed in an onslaught of
>> attacks blamed on gangs resisting a crackdown.
>>
>> Gunman sprayed Juan Antonio Roman Garcia's car with
>> bullets outside his home in Ciudad Juarez, officials
>> said. The attack came months after his name appeared
>> at the top of a hit list left at a monument for fallen
>> police officers.
>>
>> Mexico has been shaken by a wave of drug-related
>> violence as gangs battle security forces and each
>> other for control of trafficking routes north.
>>
>> The son of suspected Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin
>> Guzman was killed in a shootout Thursday in another
>> northern city. The same day, Mexico's acting federal
>> police chief, Edgar Millan Gomez, was gunned down in
>> front of his Mexico City home.
>>
>> President Felipe Calderon said Friday that the attacks
>> against police showed weakened gangs were trying to
>> counter his fight against drug trafficking. Since
>> taking office in 2006, Calderon has sent more than
>> 25,000 soldiers into states throughout Mexico to
>> combat drug gangs.
>>
>> More than 200 people have been killed this year in
>> Ciudad Juarez, a Chihuahua state city of 1.3 million
>> across from El Paso, Texas, that is home base for the
>> Juarez cartel. The government deployed more than 2,500
>> soldiers and federal police to Chihuahua in March.
>>
>> Several people on the hit list have been killed, and
>> none of the perpetrators have been caught. Government
>> officials displayed video footage of the list at a
>> news conference Saturday, with Roman Garcia's name at
>> the top.
>>
>> "His death has plunged the city into mourning because
>> he was an exemplary officer with an impeccable 20-year
>> record who fulfilled his duties until his last breath,
>> despite the dangers," said Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose
>> Reyes Ferriz.
>>
>> Although he vowed his government would not be
>> intimidated, Ferriz said all police officers had been
>> ordered to take added precautions. "We know that
>> organized crime will keep up the violence," he said.
>>
>> More than 2,500 people have died across Mexico this
>> year in crime and drug-related violence.
>>
>> Joaquin Guzman's son, Edgar, was shot dead in the
>> Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan on Thursday,
>> according an official with the federal Attorney
>> General's office who was not authorized to be quoted
>> by name.
>>
>> Mexican media reports said gunmen opened fire on Edgar
>> Guzman in the parking lot of a shopping center. About
>> 500 bullet casings from AK-47 rifles were found at the
>> site, El Universal and Reforma newspapers reported.
>>
>> Also killed in the attack was Arturo Meza Cazares.
>> Meza is the son of Blanca Margarita Cazares, whom the
>> U.S. has identified as a key money launderer for the
>> cartel.
>>
>> Joaquin Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 and
>> allegedly started a turf war that has killed hundreds
>> of people. He is one of Mexico's most-wanted
>> fugitives, and U.S. authorities have offered a US$5
>> million (euro3.2 million) reward for his capture.
>>
>> ___
>>
>> Associated Press writer Alexandra Olson contributed to
>> his report from Mexico City.
>>
>> --- villarrealjuan wrote:
>>
>> > Hello everyone, esp Southern Cal riders...
>> >
>> > Within the next year or two I'm planning to make a
>> > ride through
>> > Baja. My overall plan is to enter at Nogales, ride
>> > down to Los
>> > Mochis, catch the ferry to La Paz, meet the wife
>> > there for a few
>> > days, then work my way up to Mexicali. I've already
>> > contacted a
>> > couple adventure tour companies in the area asking
>> > for some
>> > information, but - understandably - they're quite
>> > guarded with their
>> > knowledge.
>> >
>> > The questions I have:
>> >
>> > - What is/are the best time(s) of year to ride Baja?
>> > In addition to
>> > the weather, please factor in tourist season,
>> > crowds, etc.
>> >
>> > - Can anyone provide me with a good route (roads,
>> > GPS coordinates,
>> > whatever...) for my northbound leg? I prefer the
>> > more rustic, out-of-
>> > the-way villages to the big hotels and resorts. I
>> > have lots of
>> > experience with off-road riding, so dirt/sand roads
>> > present no issues
>> > for me (I'll be on a DR650).
>> >
>> > - The only real no-go for me is camping. Though it
>> > need not be
>> > anything fancy, I prefer to stay inside four walls.
>> > Given that,
>> > recommendations for some towns or places to stay
>> > would be nice.
>> >
>> > - Finally, I plan to allow 7-10 days for the Baja
>> > portion. Is that
>> > enough time to enjoy it without having to kill
>> > myself? Or should I
>> > allot more time?
>> >
>> > Any info you can be provide would be greatly
>> > appreciated. Request
>> > that you contact me offline to minimize bandwidth
>> > for other listers.
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance.
>> >
>> > Juan Villarreal
>> > Omaha, NE
>> > 2006 Yamaha FJR1300
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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