At Least 12 Tourists Abducted from Mexican Resort City

Breitbart ^ | August 15, 2016 | Ildefonso Ortiz

[C19fan]

Mexican authorities are scrambling to rescue at between 12 and 16 victims who were taken at gunpoint from an upscale restaurant in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. On Monday afternoon, the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Breitbart Texas through a prepared statement the ongoing investigation into a large kidnapping.

[Ditter]

As my friend who lives in Mexico told me “it's very safe here, there are guards everywhere!”.

If it was really safe you wouldn't need guards everywhere............ and can you trust those guards?

[LibertarianLiz]

Been to Puerto Vallarta twice; last time was 10 years ago. Another place on the planet that I’ll never see again...

I remember when Richard Burton and Liz Taylor spent their time there.

[Aevery_Freeman]

Gringo Bingo!

[SkyDancer]

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that they were members of a rival gang.

[Nifster]

depends on whether they need money or not

[Organic Panic]

Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Breitbart Texas through a prepared statement the ongoing investigation into a large kidnapping......

.....Right after he gets back from vacation with a large suitcase of new found prosperity.

Mexico is a failed state. Not only that we are openly inviting and supporting the people that destroyed Mexico. We won’t seal our border. We invite and pay for Mexicans to come here, and yes, including drug cartel members. And rather than fix Mexico Mexicans will just keep coming here and create the madness they created back home AND fund the corrupt Mexican government with remittances.

[Blue Jays]

There was a time when one could essentially walk through the midst of mayhem with their American passport held aloft to remain unscathed.
No more. Gee, thanks, President 0bama.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The coastline is amazing, and accommodations were always top-notch, even in the ‘cheaper’ parts of town.

My In-Laws used to DRIVE all over Mexico in the 70’s and 80’s. Never gave it a second thought.

Everything is such a mess these days. I hate it.

[TexasRepublic]

Mexico used to be pretty safe decades ago. There was petty crime like pickpockets, but they were not targeting Americans. We used to ride the 2nd class buses with the peasants and live chickens and never felt out of place. No mas!

[publius911]

My In-Laws used to DRIVE all over Mexico in the 70’s and 80’s. Never gave it a second thought.

My experience with Mexico began with Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo in 1994.
We had two things going for us. On was that I am fluent in Spanish and also in the Mexican variant. I do not speak Mexican with an accent, but never spoke Spanish while there except for friends we made, both Americans who lived there year round, and professional families we were introduced to, and became close to for the next 6 years . We went at least once a year, sometimes twice.

The first two or three years we felt very comfortable, even though we were clearly "Americans." I even took hours-long trips into the interior all by myself. For Instance, being an engineer Surveyor, I HAD to visit the Tropic of Cancer on both sides of the peninsula along the perimeter two lane highway.

I wouldn't do that today on a bet. We went to a restaurant one evening off the main highway about 4 miles, deep in the interior and it was pitch black on the way home (there were three of us) we stopped for a half hour marveling at the dazzling display of stars I had not seen since I was a child. I would also not do that today.

Why? during the last two years we visited, 1998 and 1999, I overheard conversations (the locals not knowing I understood, in Spanish by the Mexican service people and street "merchants" that were downright hostile and threatening against Americans.

I also learned from the local year round American residents that small items like "disappeared" American tourists were never published in the local weekly English newspapers. Specially the young drug and alternative life counterculture vagrants.

The New Year of the millennium was celebrated on a dark Jaco Beach on the west coast of Costa Rica. In spite of some great memories in Mexico for those 6 years, I don't expect to want see Mexico again.
The country is beautiful. The urban and commercial environment away from the tourist centers, not so much.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“The country is beautiful. The urban and commercial environment away from the tourist centers, not so much.”

Oh, yes. I’ve been to Mexico six times in the past 20 years, and my experiences were similar to yours. There are places I probably shouldn’t have been, even back then, but I never felt unsafe. (Stupid American, LOL!)

Now, no desire whatsoever to go back, but I do have a migrating bird watching trip to Costa Rica on my Bucket List. ;)

[san pancho]

Usually the drug gangs would leave the tourists alone as it would be bad for business and get the authorities on them.

they've destroyed Acapulco without any regard to the tourism industry, which probably now does not have enough influence within the governments to push back on the cartels