Cartel Troubles

About a month ago we were hearing a lot of police sirens.  It turns out a drug cartel burned two public buses (no one was inside).  There was trouble in Los Cabos (an hour from us) and Cabo San Lucas (two hours from us). 

This is a mural on the wall of one of our favorite restaurants here. It's of Frida Khalo, of course, the famous painter and a national treasure of Mexico.


Then yesterday a man was outside of a bar at night and a car went speeding past him.  He yelled for them to slow down.  It was a cartel member.  He rolled down the window and shot the guy in the foot.

When I hear that I thought:  this guy lost his foot.  But I'm thinking of 'American Guns' not the tiny pistol this guy had.  The bullet hole looked slightly bigger than a bibi gun.  (Lucky for him).

Something else has happened today, but we don't know what.  We're hearing a lot of police sirens.  

This is the other mural on the restaurant wall of Rosalinda.  I don't know who this is, so apologies if she's another famous Mexican.  We believe she's the owner of the restaurant since it's called Rosalinda's.

This is very worrying, obviously.  According to the USA Travel Guidance two cartels are fighting to claim La Paz as their territory.  The long-term expats and locals are saying that's not what's going on and this is about the election for new judges after a crackdown on corrupt judges who worked with/for the cartels.  Some say the cartels are trying to intimidate people to vote in corrupt judges.  There is also intimidation at the polls and at political events.  

My neighbor said the cartel used to rule La Paz, but they were cleared out.  It's scary to think they're back.

But this is why we agreed not to buy a house right away in La Paz.  First, it's hard to buy property as a temporary resident anyway, so better to wait until we get permanent residency.  Second, we need to make sure we're staying where we buy long-term.  Obviously, if the cartel is taking over La Paz we will need to get out.

This is not easy.  We have our USA car here because you're allowed to drive with US plates in the Baja peninsula (and also the 'border zone' 20 miles from the US border).  We like having a car.  It makes life a lot easier.  We are also able to lock it inside our gate every night so we don't have the stress of leaving it parked on the street.

Chevy Exquinoxes are very reliable cars, and this could very well be the last car I buy.  It only has 70k miles and they give you 200k miles at a minimum, usually up to 250k and more.  Considering we've had the car since 2017 (bought it used) that means many more years of enjoying this car.  

Nationalizing it so it's legal in all of Mexico is a cumbersome and difficult process, that requires driving all the way back to the border and importing it.  Then registering it.  But we don't have Mexican tax IDs and that's needed to do this.  If you get a Mexican tax ID, you end up in the system and other expats warned this can cause problems.  (I don't remember exactly what.)

So staying in La Paz means I don't have to blow upwards of $36k on a new car (because we'd want a nice one) with all the headache of registering it, getting the tax ID, etc.  Also we're in month 2 of a one year lease of our very nice rental.  We like it here.  We like the area.  I don't want to leave.

But safety is paramount, so yeah, if we have to leave we'll get a reliable moving company to move us to the mainland in one of the expat strongholds.  We'll fly there, and probably give our car to our neighbor since she drives without a plate anyway.  (A lot of cars don't have plates here.  She says she knows someone on the police force).  I don't know if I'd actually do that.  I have to consider it carefully first, but that's an option.  An expensive, difficult, and heartbreaking option.

What isn't an option is going back to the USA.  The truth is, if everywhere in Mexico became too dangerous we'd go to Belize or Costa Rica or some other safe Central American country.  I don't want to endure all the BS and disadvantages we faced in the USA again.  Mexico has spoiled us.  

What do I mean?  Here's the list:

• Cheaper housing, food, utilities, and goods in general, so you can retire on just social security here.
  
  
• No prescriptions needed for most drugs, and when needed there's a doctor right in the pharmacy ready to see you for $3-$4.
• This is especially important to me because I need Tramadol to be able to walk due to nerve damage from a bone cancer surgery.  In the USA I had to go through 'Pain Management' which was horribly expensive, humiliating (urine tests/pill counts), and inconvenient.  I had to drive 3 hours to Phoenix to get to my appointments, and then every pharmacy except two very obscure/inconvenient ones stopped offering it.  It seemed every month there was one less place I could get this medication.  Here?  No prescription needed.
  
  
• Get lab tests for a few bucks whenever you need.  Walk right in.  No lines/waiting.  Today we got anemia tests and I got my thyroid numbers to manage my Graves disease.
  
  
• Friendly people.  You know your neighbors.  You make new friends everywhere you go.  People are genuinely kind here.
  
  
• Great workers.  Recently I ordered something from Temu, but still had the Air Bnb address.  I figures that package was lost.  No.  The delivery man called me, got my new address, and brought it to me.  And that's typical of the service you get in Mexico.  Everyone goes the extra mile.  And they do it with a smile on their face.  On the world 'Happiness Index' Mexico is the 10th most happiest country in the world.  You know it.  You feel it.  You see it here.  The vibe is joyful.  The USA is in 24th place.
  
  
• Healthier food.  They have to put warnings on all the junk food, and have greater restrictions on ingredients here.  I recently bought a variety pack of little cereal boxes because I had a craving for Corn Pops.  One of the other flavors was Fruit Loops.  I avoid Fruit Loops in the USA because something about it is off.  I can tell when I eat it that it's not right. It makes me a little sick. It colors my poop green.  In Mexico I ate the Fruit Loops and I couldn't believe how delicious it was.  It didn't make me sick.  It was sugary junk food, yes, but it had fewer chemicals than the USA version.  
  
  
• Things are easier.  I don't really know how to describe this, but getting an apartment was simple.  You need new eye glasses?  No appointment needed.  Get your exam then and there.  Need car insurance?  Not only is it only $300/year but it's a simple process.  Getting our residency cards did have a hiccup, but it wasn't as stressful and difficult as I'd worried it would be.  Every time I need something there's someone who has it or knows someone who does.  Yes, money is usually needed, but in Mexico I have all the money I need.

Obviously I can't speak for all of Mexico or on behalf of all Mexicans, but I like it here much better than the USA, and I don't plan on ever going back.  If the cartels make it unsafe I'll have to go to another country and hope for the best--but right now I feel like we have the best.  Mexico is a large country with lots of resources, infrastructure, and organization.  I don't think we'd have as good a quality of life in a different Central or South American country.

Hopefully we'll never have to leave.