I was talking with a surfer who had been living in SoCal recently. He told me that the Marines at Camp Pendelton has made northern Baja off limits to recruits on leave. You have to wonder about traveling to an area that the U.S. Marines deem unsafe. Then there’s this:
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7 (UPI) — Federal agents said kidnappings of U.S. citizens by Mexican gangs in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada are becoming more common.
Local FBI agents told the San Diego Union-Tribune that at least 26 San Diego
County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in the three popular
Mexican communities last year, compared to 11 in 2006.
“Some of the 26 were recovered, some were hurt and some were killed,” Alex
Horan of the FBI’s violent-crime squad in San Diego told the newspaper.
The FBI said most of the victims have business interests or family members in Mexico but anyone visiting Mexico should be cautious. The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana issued a travel advisory last week.
Horan described the kidnapping groups are sophisticated operations. “They know who they’re going after,” he said. “I think they have a list.”
Update, April 2011
Surfline reports the situation has eased a bit in Baja, but the Tijauna-El Rosario zone is still problematic. See their Baja Update for more.
