Here is another story on the Mexico situation.
I am in Laredo Texas right now in the big rig. I am 2 miles from the Rio Grande.
My company sends 30 loads a day to Laredo. But we Gringos don't cross into Mexico. We drop the trailers here and Mexican drivers take them into Mexico. Then the Mexican drivers bring loads back across the river, and we take those loads up into America. Mostly I drive back and forth to South Carolina.
So our exec in charge of our Mexico fleet, Steve, has to go to Mexico all the time. He has to negotiate deals, he has to inspect the factories in Mexico etc.
Used to be, six years ago, Steve would drive down here to Laredo from S. Carolina, then drive down to Monterrey Mexico, and to Mexico City.
About 3 years ago, Steve told me that he could no longer drive down there.
The narco gangs would see the nice car with the Gringos. They might kidnap the Gringos and hold for ransom. Or, they might just force the Gringos out of the car, at the point of an AK47, then machine-gun the Americans and just steal the car. So now Steve has to fly to Mexico City.
It has gotten that much worse just in the past six years.
Also, I was in El Paso a few months ago, I was talking to a warehouse worker there, Mexican, of course. He told me that, just across the river in Juarez, he has relatives that live there.
He said that, on a Monday, four guys from the cartel, packing AKs, come by and knock on your door. They tell you that they need $100 a week for your "protection." IE, if you don 't pay, they will burn down your house.
Then, on a Thursday, four Mexican soldiers, packing M16s, will knock on your door, and want $100 a week for "protection."
The narco gangs are as bad as the cops. This guy told me that there are 11,000 abandoned houses in Juarez, the people just packed up and moved away.
Juarez is the most violent city in the Western Hemisphere. I mean, Juarez was a rough town 30 years ago, but has really deteriorated in the past 10 years.
No, I am not going back to Mexico, that is one seriously screwed up country.
Company I work for has 3 plants in Mexico. If a rep has to visit a plant for whatever reason they get an armed guard(s) and get driven down to Monterey or Oxomilcho. No exceptions . They do not leave their Hotel at night.
