Drug Violence In Mexico?--Yes. Dangerous For Tourists?--No.

This is out of the way of what I normally talk about here, but I was just reading this article by Reuters and I want to tell you what I see down here, as someone who has been traveling through Mexico for the past three years, seeing the sights and exploring the vast, delicious authentic Mexican foodscape, and who's tired of hearing about all the fear mongering that goes on in American news media:  the only violence I have witnessed down here in Mexico, in all of the different places I have lived and visited in the past three years of traveling around has been between drunk, angry, poorly behaving tourists on vacation.  That's it.

I have yet to witness or come into contact with anybody who has witnessed any drug related violence.  We hear there's a lot of it, but we don't get to see any of it because it's happening between those involved in the drug trade.  These drug cartels aren't going to roll up on you, Ms. Jane Innocent Bystander, and gun you down while you're enjoying your tacos at the corner stand on the street.  It just isn't happening.  

The above article states:

the drug violence is occurring far from the most popular resorts such as Cancun, Huatulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, the Mexican official said, urging U.S. authorities to be more specific in their alerts.
In March, the Texas Department of Public Safety warned college revellers not to travel to Mexico for spring break with the message: "Stay alive."

Having personally lived in Los Cabos, Cancun, and currently to Puerto Vallarta area, I can tell you this is consistent with my experience.  There is no drug violence in the tourist places, outside a few very, very rare exceptions.  It's happening mostly along the border between the cartels. 

So if you're thinking of flying down to Mexico for a vacation and enjoying the sun and the beautiful beaches down here, you can be 99.999% certain that you're not going to have a single problem with violence down here.  Of course I can't guarantee it, but I'd be willing to bet a great deal with you!  The bad press this country gets in the US almost astounds me when I forget about how entertainment-centric the media is up there.  Don't listen to the stupid, fear-injecting news reports you hear when you tune into CNN or MSNBC.

The violence exists, but it's irrelevant.  This from the mouth of someone who actually lives here.  

-Carlos Lima