Americans Stake Claims in a Baja Land Rush

The New York Times ^ | October 26, 2003 | TIM WEINER

[Jeff Chandler]

I wasted a wonderful portion of my youth on the Baja penninsula, mostly around Ensenada. My best friend lived there. Fishing, surfing, diving, camping, movies, motorcyles, etc,. we had a ball!

The Mexicans in Baja were great, and we knew to stay away from the Americans if we wanted to stay out of trouble.

[Neanderthal]

I guess we're getting even with them, immigration-wise.

[Heatseeker]

They say they have no idea how many Americans are living in Baja today, because a certain number are illegal immigrants who never register their presence.

Gotta love that part.

[Heatseeker]

Beat me to it. :)

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Gotta love that part.

LOL

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It's a nice piece of property and it's already associated with the U.S.

"People on the mainland don't know we exist," said Doris Johnson, the daughter of a Mexican mother and an American father, who runs a hotel in Mulegé. "They ask, `Do they speak Spanish in Baja? Do you need a passport to go there?' "

[blaze]

There's more than one way to skin a GATO!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

(Welcome to the Hotel Mexifornia)

No kidding.

[sgtbono2002]

Nothing like owning a home in a foreign country, especially one with Mexico's record of dealing with Americans, anyone who gets screwed here deserves it.

[Simmy2.5]

So, Mexicans come to the US illegally, Americans are coming to Mexico illegally. Interesting trade off.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"The amount of money coming in here through overzealous developers and buyers is staggering."

Maybe this trend will spread throughout Mexico. Hmmmmmmmmm. What then?

[neb52]

So I can move there and not be bothered by the US government since it is Mexico and I won't be bothered by the Mexican Government because the region is to remote. SWEET!!!! I'm moving. But what is the Drug Gangs like there? Any corrupt Mexican Military?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I don't know. Send for a brochure.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

***In cities throughout Baja California, federal authorities routinely burn confiscated drugs at events such as this one last month. The burnings are intended to show the public that the drugs are being destroyed, but they also provide a rare glimpse into the results of Mexico's drug-fighting effort.

While marijuana remains the most common drug burned at these events, statistics from 2001 and 2002 provided by the Mexican Attorney General's Office show some interesting trends in Baja California: A 1,485 percent increase in the confiscation of ephedrine, a chemical used to make methamphetamine.

A 29 percent increase in cocaine confiscations.

A 59 percent drop in marijuana seizures.

A 58 percent decrease in the total number of pounds of drugs confiscated, from about 282,240 pounds in 2001 to 117,873 pounds in 2002, mostly because of the drop in marijuana confiscations.

Some say tighter security along key sections of the U.S. border since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks may be frightening some marijuana smugglers away. Marijuana seizures by U.S. authorities at the California ports of entry also have dipped, by 35 percent, over the past two years.

..........In January, during a military operation in Tijuana, six federal narcotics agents in a special unit in the Attorney General's Office were arrested and charged with trying to extort a drug trafficking group for the return of almost 5 tons of marijuana.

That group since has been disbanded in Baja California.

But corruption manages to infiltrate other drug-fighting groups as well.

While no one will say so officially, it is widely believed that the drug burnings were started again last year because an unknown quantity of drugs apparently "disappeared" from the military base. The military is the designated guardian of drugs confiscated by other agencies.

During the March event, federal agents stayed for about 45 minutes to make sure all the drugs had caught fire before piling back into their cars. But military official Fidelcio Reyes Baeza said he would stay until the last embers had faded – just to be sure. *** *** Source

[Jimmy Valentine]

"I guess we're getting even with them, immigration-wise"

Hee hee!

Por la raza Americana todo. Por los pendejos Mexicanos,....NADA!!Viva America!!

Saludos!

[Elsie]

You cannot build great things in America today. Regulations and litigation prevent change."

Now now........ your local controllers know what is best for you, and your neighbor, and if it does not fit into the master plan (emphasis on MASTER, you know) then it will not be 'allowed'.

---

You do NOT 'own' your land. Just keep failing to pay your rent (property taxes) and the benevolant government will sieze it from you and 'sell' it to someone else who WILL pay the rent........

[x1stcav]

pendejo

A most useful and versatile word. It's hard for me to speak Spanglish without it.

[metesky]

...Herb Kinsey, a Rosarito resident with roots in the United States, Canada and Germany.

The guy has roots everywhere. What is he, a tuber?

[Jimmy Valentine]

I always seem to find that it comes in handy in describing Mechistas.