(Arizona) Sheriff: "Significant violence" occurring in 3 northern Mexican towns

[TomSea]

Sheriff: "Significant violence" occurring in 3 northern Mexican towns
By FOX 10 Staff
Posted Jun 10 2019 10:02PM MST

COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- Officials with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office are warning the public of what they described as "significant violence" occurring in three towns in Mexico's Sonora state.

In a post made to the department's unverified Facebook page Monday night, officials said they have been advised of significant violence occurring in the cities of Agua Prieta, Naco, and Nogales.

The town of Agua Prieta sits just south of Douglas, Arizona, across the U.S.-Mexico border. The town of Nogales also sits just across the border from the Arizona town of Nogales, located in Santa Cruz County.

Read more at: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/sheriff-significant-violence-occurring-in-3-northern-mexican-towns

If the cartels get squeezed out of some areas by the law or maybe those areas just get too busy with all kinds of things, they will go to these lesser traveled areas. Lesser traveled at least, compared to San Diego and El Paso.

Naco, Mexico:

The smuggling problem

The Naco area has major problems with the smuggling of drugs and people north and weapons south. It is one of the main routes into the United States, ranking in the top 25 of Mexico’s 100 border municipalities as a haven for drug traffickers.[4] Shootings related to drug trafficking have occurred here such as the street murders of two near the Hotel Cowboy in 2009.[16] Federal troops have been stationed here due to the violence, which has the population divided. While the security they can provide is welcome, there is concern about the violation of human rights.[4]

More visible are the migrants looking to cross the border illegally into the United States. Because the California border is all but sealed since the Border Patrol’s Operation Guardian, many migrants have come to the Arizona border between Agua Prieta and Nogales, with Naco in between. This changed Naco starting from the 1990s as it became one of the preferred routes for “coyotes” (also called polleros or enganchadores) or smugglers who offer to take migrants across.[4][5] Providing lodging for migrants is a growing business in Naco, where the rate is between 200 and 300 pesos per night per person. Many of these lodgings are filled with people who cannot cross the border.[5] One example is the Hospedaje Santa María, which is a run-down, two-story building.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naco,_Sonora

Naco is about 6,500 people, Nogales per wikipedia 220,000, huge in comparison, a city by whatever measure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naco,_Sonora
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Sonora

[Cyber Liberty]

I used to go to Nogales a lot, to shop the tourist district and the Pharmacias.  I stopped going about 15-20 years ago.  I have a nice collection of Ironwood statues.

[thackney]

My thoughts:

What!  Only 3???

[Cyber Liberty]

My thoughts:

What!  Only 3???

They're Ports of Entry...places Americans are likely to go.   

[thackney]

They're Ports of Entry...places Americans are likely to go.   

There are 50 places where people can legally cross the Mexico–United States border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border_crossings

[Cyber Liberty]

There are 50 places where people can legally cross the Mexico–United States border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border_crossings

I know, but this article is sourced to "Fox 10," which is the AZ Fox affiliate.  As a local story with local reporting I'm not surprised they're only referring to AZ PoE.

(Even in my new city of residence, Fox 10 is my local station.)

[thackney]

I know, but this article is sourced to "Fox 10," which is the AZ Fox affiliate.  As a local story with local reporting I'm not surprised they're only referring to AZ PoE.

(Even in my new city of residence, Fox 10 is my local station.)

I still find lack of believing only 3 since there are 9 Arizona-Mexico official crossings.

[TomSea]

I still find lack of believing only 3 since there are 9 Arizona-Mexico official crossings.

This is what the Sheriff says, so if that is your rationale, fine. I do believe the article also refers to a number of murders (10) in those cities recently.

10 may not strike one as a large number but I'm sure there are some border towns that are more dangerous than others.

The violence, according to sheriff's officials, is reportedly being waged between two cartel factions, and the death toll, as of Monday night, is 10, citing unofficial reports.

Cartel wars move around, I even watched some expert say that 6 months from now, towns and cities with high tensions may have moved to a new city.

[Cyber Liberty]

I still find lack of believing only 3 since there are 9 Arizona-Mexico official crossings.

Write them and tell them their scope is bad.  There is a link to email "Fox 10 Staff" in the article. 

[thackney]

Write them and tell them their scope is bad.  There is a link to email "Fox 10 Staff" in the article.

I appreciate your input to me on the thread.  I'm only communicating my expectation that nearly every border crossing is likely going through similar problems.

[Cyber Liberty]

I appreciate your input to me on the thread.  I'm only communicating my expectation that nearly every border crossing is likely going through similar problems.

I totally agree with you, but since the article is about an AZ Sheriff I fully expected it was about that Sheriff's County.   

[TomSea]

Some parts of Mexico get explicit travel advisories or warnings (not sure of all of the terminology), it's not like all of Mexico gets such.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html

April 2019, level 4 cautions:

Do Not Travel to:

    Colima state due to crime.
    Guerrero state due to crime.
    Michoacán state due to crime.
    Sinaloa state due to crime.
    Tamaulipas state due to crime and kidnapping.

"Level 3", "reconsider travel", so a lot of the states get that grade, then, "Level 2",  "exercise caution" like Chiapas, apparently, not nearly as bad.

So, it's not like I'd group Mexico into one blanket statement, though for me, I wouldn't go at all, not to Coahuila, Chihuahua or Nuevo Leon, those states.

I've read travel offers to "Playa Del Carmen" but I know I've seen bulletins saying, don't go there, it's dangerous.

[TomSea]

I appreciate your input to me on the thread.  I'm only communicating my expectation that nearly every border crossing is likely going through similar problems.

Whatever your terminology means, "border crossings", apparently they are talking visiting the city. Not much to visit in Palomas Mexico across from Columbus, New Mexico.

I know, Juarez City has one crossing that goes into Zaragoza. It's well off the beaten path from the rest of Juarez, it may well be near Fabens TX. at that.  A lot of detail.



I certainly wouldn't expect some sort of constant as far as danger goes from border cities, at times, those cartels are indeed, fighting more in one town or city versus another.

They are, at times, fighting over shipping channels, shipping corredors such as in Juarez, the "Juarez plaza" <--- You can even look up that exact term", that's been a big hotspot in the drug wars. Thankfully, much less versus the full war there some years ago.

It's hardly as if all cities in the US represent the same danger, more so, when speaking about distinct areas of town.