seabeyond had a post a couple weeks ago asking about how safe Monterrey was--Please Read this

Don't let her go.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/042107dnintmexico.29e5517.html

MONTERREY, Mexico – The U.S. State Department warned Americans this week of drug violence in several parts of Mexico, including states along the Texas border. The travel advisory comes as emboldened traffickers have posted written death threats against government officials and their families – attaching them with ice picks to the bodies of murder victims, U.S. and Mexican officials said.

In the past month, at least three bodies have been found in the Monterrey area with messages accusing Nuevo León state authorities of favoring rival cartel groups and warning of reprisals against them and their families, authorities said.

"This won't end until you understand," one note said.

"The environment has never been this tense," said a U.S. State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We've never seen our counterparts as worried about their personal safety as they are today."

I've traveled the length and width of Mexico and believe that Mexico is as safe as most of the US. If you are a drug smuggler, it may not be so safe, but then, the drug trade in this country is not safe either. I think that if you look for trouble you will find it. I am respectful in Mexico, and speak fair Spanish and have never had any trouble. My handle, Panader0, was given to me by my Mexican co-workers (masonry). I am Anglo.

Any questions?

But her brother was talking about leaving her niece alone in a hotel for hours on end everyday.

I give it three days before she starts sneaking out.

I suggested a hired governess/guide/companion, whatever, somebody who knows the city and what parts to avoid.

I'm sure there are plenty of university students who really need the money and would be glad to do it part time.

Showing one's city off to a foreign visitor is a gas. I've done it.

but thank you horse, i guess, seeing how they left today. lol

it was not only implied here that i had problems with people over the border and no different from any large town here, regardless of the fact that people who work there were concerned, but this was picked up on another board to label me the big bad racist.

how easy it would have been, if there was a problem going on in monterrey to simply speak out about it and keep niece here for a couple months instead of failing to acknowledge a problem, make a person a racist.

it is not the average mexican that is the problem. it is not a nationality that is a problem. it is a sect of their society that is bleeding thru out their environment right here and right now that is causing a problem. i am clever enough to distinguish the difference of the average person, the good people of mexico from the corrupt, criminal and dishonest.

but it was concern for niece that led me to the post. not take rights away from brother. not deny niece expanded education of various culture. not cause i would miss niece. or because i am a racist.

simply her safety

update: he has said he is going to look for a nanny type person, and looking for an apartment instead of the hotel. he has people living there checking stuff out for him. i hope it is a wonderful experience for both of them.

Nuevo León, said in an interview that foreign investment in the state continues unabated, but acknowledged: "Foreign companies, particularly American firms, are increasingly raising concerns about the security situation in our state. That is a big concern for all of us."

The killings continued across Mexico this week, including 22 deaths reported Monday. In the northern city of Hermosillo, Sonora, an unknown assailant tossed a grenade into the offices of Cambio newspaper, breaking windows but not causing any injuries.

The attack came a day after gunmen kidnapped a reporter, Saul Noe Martínez Ortega, who had been investigating drug violence for the Diario de Agua Prieta newspaper, also in Sonora.

snip

Nuevo León's police forces, which have boasted as being among the most professional and cleanest in the country, got a black eye this week when Mexican troops swept into several cities in the Monterrey area and detained more than 133 police officers for investigation of possible ties with drug gangs.

At a police station in suburban San Nicolás, just as roll call ended Thursday, a police officer took out his gun and shot two of his colleagues and then himself. One of the officers died and the other was in critical condition. The shooter, Gabriel Rangel Calderón, died at the scene. He left behind a suicide note, but authorities did not disclose what it said.