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Canadian Warning


Mary

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What area?

This incident happened 09/15/2010 near Cuidad Mier which is on Highway 2 between Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa. There was another incident in this area further inland on the Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon border a couple of weeks earlier when the army raided a Zeta training camp on an isolated ranch and killed about the same number. There haven't been any encounters between the military and cartels since then.

No one in their right mind would cross in this area (Falcon Dam/Roma/Rio Grande City) on their way to the interior. I would bet the warning was generated by the incident I have linked.

22 Zetas killed by Military

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This incident happened 09/15/2010 near Cuidad Mier which is on Highway 2 between Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa. There was another incident in this area further inland on the Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon border a couple of weeks earlier when the army raided a Zeta training camp on an isolated ranch and killed about the same number. There haven't been any encounters between the military and cartels since then.

No one in their right mind would cross in this area (Falcon Dam/Roma/Rio Grande City) on their way to the interior. I would bet the warning was generated by the incident I have linked.

22 Zetas killed by Military

The number of sicarios killed in the first of the two encounters was 28, according to the army, and the second was followed by the incident described in this link. Sicarios fleeing from the scene took two people hostage when stealing their vehicle on the Sabinas Hidalgo-Monterrey highway and after separating from the others one of them executed one of the hostages, an elderly man. He then robbed a couple and their teenage daughter who were broken down on the highway and shot and wounded the girl and was shortly afterward captured by the army.

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/09/19/index.php?section=politica&article=006n1pol

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The number of sicarios killed in the first of the two encounters was 28, according to the army, and the second was followed by the incident described in this link. Sicarios fleeing from the scene took two people hostage when stealing their vehicle on the Sabinas Hidalgo-Monterrey highway and after separating from the others one of them executed one of the hostages, an elderly man. He then robbed a couple and their teenage daughter who were broken down on the highway and shot and wounded the girl and was shortly afterward captured by the army.

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/09/19/index.php?section=politica&article=006n1pol

The jornada article illustrates the problems with coverage. We get absolutely no news in the Nuevo Laredo papers because the Zetas control what is printed. The only information I read was from the Monterrey press which had nothing about the murder of the hostage and the wounding of the girl. I know it is probably not of much concern to ex-pat residents of the interior but the situation is pretty serious along the Tamaulipas border. We have avoided much of the public violence in Nuevo Laredo, but the area along Highway 2 between N. Laredo and Reynosa and the secondary highways leading from the border to Monterrey are a virtual war zone right now.

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The jornada article illustrates the problems with coverage. We get absolutely no news in the Nuevo Laredo papers because the Zetas control what is printed. The only information I read was from the Monterrey press which had nothing about the murder of the hostage and the wounding of the girl. I know it is probably not of much concern to ex-pat residents of the interior but the situation is pretty serious along the Tamaulipas border. We have avoided much of the public violence in Nuevo Laredo, but the area along Highway 2 between N. Laredo and Reynosa and the secondary highways leading from the border to Monterrey are a virtual war zone right now.

Can you tell me where Hwy 2 is? Is it the toll road? Can you also give your experience and update on travelling on the toll roads from NL to Guad?

Thanks in advance,

Lorka

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Can you tell me where Hwy 2 is? Is it the toll road? Can you also give your experience and update on travelling on the toll roads from NL to Guad?

Thanks in advance,

Lorka

Highway 2,locally known as "La Ribereña", is the free highway that runs between Piedras Negras and Matamoros parallel to the Rio Grande. The area between Ciudad Nuevo Guerrero (Falcon Dam/Lake) and Camargo (Rio Grande City) more resembles Kandahar province in Afghanistan than someplace in Mexico. It is particularly bad around Ciudad Mier and Ciudad Miguel Aleman. There is no reason for an ex-pat in transit to be in this area, which was my point if the Canadian warning was generated by the two incidents the other poster and I described.

I travel from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey every two weeks or so on Carratera 85, the cuota/toll road. There have not been any balaceras (gunbattles)on it and no reténes (narco road blocks)either. I don't think there is much risk in using it and I certainly don't hesitate to do it.

Carratera 40, the cuota/toll road between Reynosa and Monterrey, has had several balaceras between the Zetas and the military with multiple fatalities since the government offensive against the cartels began in February-March this year. It is safe enough to use in my opinion but people need to be aware that heavily armed civilians travel regularly between Reynosa and Monterrey and the military does run sweeps along the highway actively looking for them. Most of the problems though are on the secondary roads leading from the border to Monterrey. The first incident we described happened on Highway 54 about 10 miles south of Ciudad Mier near the Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon border.

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Highway 2,locally known as "La Ribereña", is the free highway that runs between Piedras Negras and Matamoros parallel to the Rio Grande. The area between Ciudad Nuevo Guerrero (Falcon Dam/Lake) and Camargo (Rio Grande City) more resembles Kandahar province in Afghanistan than someplace in Mexico. It is particularly bad around Ciudad Mier and Ciudad Miguel Aleman. There is no reason for an ex-pat in transit to be in this area, which was my point if the Canadian warning was generated by the two incidents the other poster and I described.

I travel from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey every two weeks or so on Carratera 85, the cuota/toll road. There have not been any balaceras (gunbattles)on it and no reténes (narco road blocks)either. I don't think there is much risk in using it and I certainly don't hesitate to do it.

Carratera 40, the cuota/toll road between Reynosa and Monterrey, has had several balaceras between the Zetas and the military with multiple fatalities since the government offensive against the cartels began in February-March this year. It is safe enough to use in my opinion but people need to be aware that heavily armed civilians travel regularly between Reynosa and Monterrey and the military does run sweeps along the highway actively looking for them. Most of the problems though are on the secondary roads leading from the border to Monterrey. The first incident we described happened on Highway 54 about 10 miles south of Ciudad Mier near the Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon border.

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it.

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Surprised no one has mentioned the warning put out by the Canadian Gov't today regarding vehicles crossing the Mexico border from the States - 17 people killed yesterday in that area. They are suggesting Canadians do not drive across the border.

The Canadian Gov. has FORBIDDEN it's Embassy and Consulate Staff from driving INTO or OUT OF Mexico for several months as well as outside their normal jurisdictions - if in one of the affected areas that the US Gov. has been warning about.

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Can you tell me where Hwy 2 is? Is it the toll road? Can you also give your experience and update on travelling on the toll roads from NL to Guad?

Thanks in advance,

Lorka

This is the US Gov Warning- and Canada's as well-

Travelers should defer unnecessary travel on Mexican Highway 2 between Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo due to the ongoing violent competition between DTOs in that area. Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles

But Arroyo Grande says it better-"there is no reason for an Expat to be in this area"

This is a war zone and do you really think it's going to be better a month from now?? no matter how many OPINIONS you get from EXPats - it's not going to change the reality of the situation- Experts in both Gov's say it's going to get worse

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This is the US Gov Warning- and Canada's as well-

Travelers should defer unnecessary travel on Mexican Highway 2 between Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo due to the ongoing violent competition between DTOs in that area. Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles

But Arroyo Grande says it better-"there is no reason for an Expat to be in this area"

This is a war zone and do you really think it's going to be better a month from now?? no matter how many OPINIONS you get from EXPats - it's not going to change the reality of the situation- Experts in both Gov's say it's going to get worse

If government "experts" know what's going to happen,they must have people on the inside and can put a stop to it. "Government experts"=oxymoron

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The greatest potential dangers of driving in Mexico:

1. Dropping off the right side of the pavement where there is no shoulder and rolling over.

2. A speeding truck or bus coming at you from the inside, oncoming lane, encroaching on your lane.

3. Cattle in the road.

4. Bicycles & pedestrians.

5. Potholes and topes big enough to cause damage.

6. Vehicles without tail lights or brake lights.

7. Passing on the right.

8. Landslides & falling rocks.

9. Not finding a place to eat.

10 - 99. All the other things Murphy's Law can provide.

100. Being stopped by a crooked 'trafico'.

101. Other 'banditos'.

1000. Having a heart attack.

100,000. Running into a stray bullet.

:rolleyes:

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The greatest potential dangers of driving in Mexico:

1. Dropping off the right side of the pavement where there is no shoulder and rolling over.

2. A speeding truck or bus coming at you from the inside, oncoming lane, encroaching on your lane.

3. Cattle in the road.

4. Bicycles & pedestrians.

5. Potholes and topes big enough to cause damage.

6. Vehicles without tail lights or brake lights.

7. Passing on the right.

8. Landslides & falling rocks.

9. Not finding a place to eat.

10 - 99. All the other things Murphy's Law can provide.

100. Being stopped by a crooked 'trafico'.

101. Other 'banditos'.

1000. Having a heart attack.

100,000. Running into a stray bullet.

:rolleyes:

Priceless! Bravo!!!!

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RV: Your list should be posted on every travel site, everywhere. In particular, government sites.

The mention of government travel warnings on travel and ex-pat forums is like waving a red flag in front of an enraged bull. The government warnings are what they are. Residents of Tamaulipas don't need warnings from the US, Canadian or Mexican governments to know they should stay off Highway 2.

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Warden Message, October 1, 2010:

Developing Security Issues Around Falcon Lake

This warden message is being issued to inform American citizens of developing security issues in and around Falcon Lake, which lies on the U.S.-Mexico border near Zapata, Texas. The U.S. Consulates General in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros have received reports of attacks by armed men on American citizens boating in Falcon Lake and its adjoining waters, including a September 30, 2010, attack in which a U.S. citizen boating on the lake was shot and another fired upon while fleeing the area. The U.S.-Mexico international boundary runs approximately through the middle of the lake. However, it is not clearly marked. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution while on Falcon Lake, and recognize the risks of intentionally or accidentally crossing into Mexico.

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Warden Message, October 1, 2010:

Developing Security Issues Around Falcon Lake

This warden message is being issued to inform American citizens of developing security issues in and around Falcon Lake, which lies on the U.S.-Mexico border near Zapata, Texas. The U.S. Consulates General in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros have received reports of attacks by armed men on American citizens boating in Falcon Lake and its adjoining waters, including a September 30, 2010, attack in which a U.S. citizen boating on the lake was shot and another fired upon while fleeing the area. The U.S.-Mexico international boundary runs approximately through the middle of the lake. However, it is not clearly marked. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution while on Falcon Lake, and recognize the risks of intentionally or accidentally crossing into Mexico.

This should be in a separate thread as it has nothing to do with warnings from the Canadian Gov't.

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