Another murder in Mexico ?! At A RIU !! Should I be worried ?

[Elisa]

Ok , so first let me preface this post by saying I have travelled extensivley , and have been to the remote jungles of Guatemala to being lost on the Humming Bird Highway in Belize .

I never travel with fear and consider myself to be pretty confident when travelling , but now with yet another killing of a Canadian down in Mexico, I have to admit , I am somewhat concerned

 

Many of my FI family members were really quite skeptical about attending our wedding because of safety issues and concerns . It took me endless conversations and a whole lot pf patience to 'convince ' them otherwise and calm their fears

 

I explained to them that the Media tends to lend allot of coverage to this type of event but that over 1 million Canadians travel to Mexico every year and so given the stats , the crimes against us are really not high at all. Another thing to point out is that rarely these muders , as brutal as they are , are they ever random, there is usally much more to the ' story ' .

 

Anyway , this last murder ( Thursday , May 15th ) , the couple was actually IN their luxury suite ...it was at the Riu in Los Cabos . He was shot 3 times in the head and she was shot in the foot . More details are said to follow after the investigation is completed but in the mean time . I am starting to get a little worried .

As you all may or may not be aware of , there was a high profile muder last year when a Brides Parents ( BOTH ) were found with their throat slit in their rooms ...it has yet to be solved ...THEY were from here , Toronto .

 

Now my FI mother and aunt and cousin are all saying that they don't feel safe going and are cancelling . I don't know what to do or what more I can say ! I am very upset over this .

To make matters worse , they are going around calling other guests/family members and scaring them too .

Saying things like : There is no security , they are all corrupt down there and especially for Brides and Grooms , the hotels KNOW who the wedding party is and who the guests are and dilberately will pin point the Bride and Groom , thinking that they will have an abundance of money on them or in the suite ....

 

Please anyone , any tips or advice on what I can say or how best to handle the situation would be greatly appreciated .

I explained to everyone that I would never dream of ever putting any of my friends , family or loved ones in harms way and if I ever thought that anyone would be in any kind of danger I never would have chosen the resort I did .

 

BTW its the RIU Palace Mexico and RIU Palace Riviera Maya that I am getting married at .....IN JUST over 4 months ....I can't have people cancelling now .

 

Thoughts ? Anyone . and thanks in advance for your replies . This Forum has been an absolute life line !!!

[BEACHBRIDEMA]

I honestly would not be worried. You have to be careful and smart anywhere you go and aslong as you do this I am sure you will be fine. I am sure there is alot more to these murders in Mexico then we know.

[Copita]

Omgosh, Elisa. I am so sorry!!! That is crazy!

Just try to calm your family and friends down. Murders, statistically, are very rare. I can see exactly how they are really concerned now but just advise them that this is a very rare case.

 

I found this link to do with that case:

Canadian Tourist Bouabal Bounthavorn Shot to Death in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Scared Monkeys

[chibi411]

do they not have murders in canada? i'm sure there is more to the story, you just have to be safe anywhere. granted thoart slicing is scary.....

[ACDCDCAC]

gosh that is scary and i can certainly understand why people would be worried, however, when you look at the statistics, it seems irrational to be afraid given that the events were completely random and spaced out so far apart.

i tend to think of it like this, one day you see a volkswagon jetta, and think to yourself how much you like it, maybe you'll buy one someday. then all of a sudden, you start seeing them EVERYWHERE you look, and wonder why you never noticed before. kind of an obscure comparison, BUT my point is, that people get murdered in mexico, it happens, its random, and it just so happens some of the people are canadian. the only reason you are noticing it is because the media is drawing attention to it. if they wouldnt have reported it, your friends and family wouldnt be worried about it.

make any sense?

[Maura]

its really inappropriate for them to be calling other family members & guests to scare them. you should remind them that of course the media is making a big deal about it where you live. the reality is that this happens so infrequently. be firm with them and let them know if they cancel that you arent doing it all over again at home, you are sticking with your plans whether or not they join you.

[jajajaja]

Scary shit like that happens in even the smallest of towns. The best thing is to be smart and not put yourself in bad situations. However, if your guests are going to be fearful and not go, I'm sorry to say you can't really force them. I personally wouldn't want to live like that. No city would ever be safe, including the one they are living in. I would point that out to them. It really is a ridiculous fear and maybe by using some logic, they will realize its irrational.

 

It's not like there is a Mexican gang roaming about looking for Canadians. If that were the case, I'd urge them not to go too!

[Celina]

We just went through the same thing here where a student from a local college went to PV with his parents. while his mom was taking out a large sum of money from an ATM, some guys robbed her. Her son intervened and he ended up getting killed. The cops came, took the guy to jail and while he was in jail, exchanged clothes with another inmate and got out scott free.

 

Eveyone here was scared about going to PV thinking there were gangs and thugs. We told them that in general you can't go around flashing large sums of money. Especially in a foreign country - (sorry for sounding so blunt), but you are asking to get robbed!

 

People should be consciencous anyway. It is unfortunate that people get murdered and hurt, but it happens everywhere, not just where we live, but all over the world.

 

They'll be fine. Good luck!

[Maura]

i was just thinking about how ridiculous this is -- so let me pose this question to you: should i not live in chicago because of the murder rate? it just seems ridiculous to me that someone wouldnt go on vacation to cabo because of 2 murders, that werent related and the only reason they are scared is because the media is blowing it out of proportion.

 

here's a bit pulled from the newspaper about the murder rate for this year thus far in chicago:

 

In April, there were 47 murders, compared with 34 the year before. A total of 134 homicides were tallied over the first four months of the year, compared with 123 in that same period in 2007.

 

Does that mean you wouldnt come visit chicago for a weekend if someone you knew was getting married here, or even just for a fun weekend? i mean really, put some perspective into it...

[Elisa]

Thanks everyone . I know that everything that each and every one of your wrote is true ...and of course its too late for me to turn back now . My sister ( who lives in Germany ) gave me some savy advice , she said " keep your eye on the prize babe, you are marrying the man of your dreams , thats all that matters and those who are lucky enough to witness it will be glad they came and those who decide to cancel ...well its not going to STOP you from getting married right , so go to it "

 

Of course I know she is right , its just so shitty that my FI's Mom is going around trying to persuade people not to go . Its highly inappropriate like Maura said , and I think its really unfair of her . I tried reasoning with her and she said she was just trying to be " protective' of her family members . Arrrrgggghhh !!

 

Anyway thanks for the luv you guys . I will let what will be , be and leave everything in Gods hands , whatever happens , happens and whomever goes , goes . All I can do I guess is ask them to make an informed decision and not buy into all the hype .

 

Thanks again everyone : )