[Newsbot]

Title: Canadian woman beaten at Mexican resort
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: Regina
Date: 2012-01-22 22:38:43
Canadian

[saturn_656]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... le2313439/

She is out of her medically induced coma.

Been following this story on a few sites (G&M, CBC, CTV, NP) and I'm pretty disgusted at the comments made about this woman (and her husband). Some suggest that she was "asking for it" by either looking too flashy or wearing too much jewlery (not so different from suggesting a rape victim asked for it by not dressing conservatively), or that it was some nefarious plot by the husband to kill his wife and blame the Mexicans.

[2Cdo]

Just so people understand I am not condoning the assault or blaming the victim but there are some fishy details with this story. Reports of her drinking with another man and leaving her hotel room after hubby falls asleep makes me think there might be something more to this story.

[Bruce_E_T]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Just so people understand I am not condoning the assault or blaming the victim but there are some fishy details with this story. Reports of her drinking with another man and leaving her hotel room after hubby falls asleep makes me think there might be something more to this story.

Plus the fact that it happened in a 5 star hotel as well, unlikely a hangout for local thugs.

[2Cdo]

Bruce_E_T Bruce_E_T:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Just so people understand I am not condoning the assault or blaming the victim but there are some fishy details with this story. Reports of her drinking with another man and leaving her hotel room after hubby falls asleep makes me think there might be something more to this story.

Plus the fact that it happened in a 5 star hotel as well, unlikely a hangout for local thugs.

Certain areas of Mexico are known to have persons employed at resorts who have connections with the gangs/cartels.

There have been reports of these employees alerting gangs whenever groups of tourists leave the resorts on any outside excursions, thus allowing the gangs a nice easy target for cash and valuables.

[Brenda]

I've never been to Mexico, I would love to go, but stories like this make me pretty hesitant. Also, 2Cdo's knowledge tells me "no go, girl"

[saturn_656]

We've been looking into warm weather vacation destinations. Mexico is often the cheapest destination. Apparently there is a reason for that.

I think I'd pay the price premium for Hawaii or Turks and Caicos and greatly reduce my families risk of getting beaten, stabbed, or shot on vacation.

[Unsound]

I've had Mexico on the mind lately as well, mainly because we enjoyed it soo much when we went last year. This kind of news does make me think twice, but I'm not sure if I can afford Mexico this year never mind one of the "safer" places. It sure seems like a good rule of thumb when choosing destinations is "the better the weather the worse the politics/crime."

[Dragon-Dancer]

I never had any trouble when I went to an all inclusive on the Mayan Riviera a few years back but it wasn't as nasty is it's been getting down there in the last few years so who knows. I think generally if you stick to big resorts and organized excursions without straying off the beaten path too much you should still be fine but I'm not likely to be risking it any time soon.

[BartSimpson]

Hey, she's still alive. Thank God for that much.

[martin14]

Bruce_E_T Bruce_E_T:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Just so people understand I am not condoning the assault or blaming the victim but there are some fishy details with this story. Reports of her drinking with another man and leaving her hotel room after hubby falls asleep makes me think there might be something more to this story.

Plus the fact that it happened in a 5 star hotel as well, unlikely a hangout for local thugs.

looong time ago.. my dad's boss got stabbed and robbed in the elevator
of one of the best hotels in Rio.

After that, people were moved over to the Club Med.. 6 meter walls,
guards with machine guns, the lot.


Don't assume even the 5 star hotels are safe, there are locals who work there,
and people see stuff.


Can't imagine why anyone would think of Mexico these days.

[Caelon]

I would not be concerned about travelling to Mexico. Just use some common sense.
1. I have never felt unsafe wandering the streets and markets in the DAYLIGHT hours in Mexico or a number of other developing countries.
2. Darkness is not necessarily your friend in out of the way places. Just like it is not your friend in the rougher sections of any large Canadian city.
3. If you want to go out and party late at night do so with a group you know. A lone individual that looks vunerable for any reason is always a target for those looking for one.
4. You are more likely to die in a car accident in Canada than to be a victim of assault in the tourist areas of Mexico.

The stories as reported in the press have some inconsistencies with what would be considered typical behaviour for the average tourist couple. As the press is not always 100% correct I would not want to draw any conclusions on what has been reported to date.

In my travels to Mexico I have always found the locals to be very friendly and helpful. They were tolerant of my limited knowledge of Spanish, gave me great advice on using the local bus service to get to other areas of town, helped me find my way when lost, etc. I am not just talking about hotel staff, but people I encountered on the streets away from the typical tourist attractions.

[Bruce_E_T]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Certain areas of Mexico are known to have persons employed at resorts who have connections with the gangs/cartels.

There have been reports of these employees alerting gangs whenever groups of tourists leave the resorts on any outside excursions, thus allowing the gangs a nice easy target for cash and valuables.

martin14 martin14:

looong time ago.. my dad's boss got stabbed and robbed in the elevator
of one of the best hotels in Rio.

After that, people were moved over to the Club Med.. 6 meter walls,
guards with machine guns, the lot.

Don't assume even the 5 star hotels are safe, there are locals who work there,
and people see stuff.

Can't imagine why anyone would think of Mexico these days.

Hmmm. OK it looks like education time. I have never been down there myself but I would have thought an extensive and expensive operation would have translated into the safest. Possibly it just offers more lucrative targets to crime. Makes you wonder when you have to research your destination to ensure you return alive.

At least we get to suspect the husband here as well.

[ShepherdsDog]

Mexico's loss is Cuba's gain. there's something to be said for police states, as long as you're a tourist in one and not a citizen of one.

[Unsound]

Read a little more today. Turns out this happened in the same resort my wife and I stayed at last year. Kinda scary, but I would still reccomend the place. Maybe not this week, but once more details come out and we have a better idea of what actually happened.
It's certainly not unheard of for people to be assaulted and killed in Canada or anywhere else for that matter. According to some of the numbers I saw in various other articles about Mexico and other touristy places Mexico is't even the most dangerous place for Canadians. More Canadians have been killed in the US in the last 5 years than anwhere else in the world. That's likely due to the sheer number of Canadians who go there though.

This artice from the Globe and Mail seems to provide a bit of balance to the current attitudes towards Mexico.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... le2313883/