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AND PEOPLE SAY COLOMBIA IS DANGEROUS.........

MEXICO CITY - A police officer and four other people with suspected ties to a powerful drug cartel have been arrested in the assassination of Mexico’s acting federal police chief, authorities said Monday.

The three men and two women belonged to a criminal cell believed to be acting on the orders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, said Gerardo Garay, the anti-drug coordinator for the federal police. The drug trafficking organization had been a key target of operations led by Edgar Millan Gomez, who was gunned down inside his Mexico City home last week.

The alleged leader of the cell, Jose Antonio Montes Garfias, had been assigned to a federal police unit in the northern state of Sinaloa since February but never reported to work during that period because he was on medical leave, Garay said. He is suspected in the killing of another federal officer days before Millan’s death.

There is much more to this story; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24594471/

Mexico has been a very dangerous hotspot for over one year but for some reason Colombia is always painted as being so much worse. You will also note that the story refures to 2,500 people killed in the last year, in connection with the cartel. I sure am PBH in Colombia and not Mexico.

By docwilliam on May 13, 2008, 07:10 in Friendly Talkzone.

goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 07:45:

yeah, well... let me tell you a story about danger in 'Merica

'what does it mean, when one of you (colombians) tell another: YOU WERE NOT/ARE NOT. 'COLOMBIAN ENOUGH'?? jejeje..a mixture, I think, of stupidity mixed with a false sense of arrogance.. How 'colombian' do you have to be? to be 'colombian enough

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goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 07:45:

...tonight.

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CatGirl says on May 13, 2008, 09:30:

jejeje..GS

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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Mononoke28 says on May 13, 2008, 09:56:

That's what's funny to me. There is so much violence in Mexico right now because of all the cartel action going on there and yet all these gringos still go there for vacation. Nothing wrong with that of course since most of the violence is not seen every day. But yet, you try to suggest to them to go to Colombia for vacation and they go on and on about how dangeroud it is. Seriously. It's crazy.

Diana

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Simon says on May 13, 2008, 10:54:

"Mexico has been a very dangerous hotspot for over one year but for some reason Colombia is always painted as being so much worse."'

The answer is simple and I've said it before.....it's nothing more than pure prejudice and discrimination towards Colombia.....malparidos!!

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

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RAAAY says on May 13, 2008, 11:11:

Com'n Simon......." .....it's nothing more than pure prejudice and discrimination towards Colombia.."

Your desire to speak well and highlight the positive things about your homeland is admirable. But you cannot ignore the reputation that Colombia has for danger. Stories of the kidnappings, " civil war", terrorists, murders, drug cartels etc etc are not going to be forgotten in a hurry.

Most of us, who either live here, or who have travelled here, know that things are not as bad as they used to be. The dangers are not as prevelant. Apply a bit of common sense and Colombia is as safe as most places. But the bad reputation will take years to shake.

There has'nt been a shot fired in Ireland in years. The " war " is long over and peace and prosperity have replaced it. But still, the tourist agencies face an uphill battle, trying to shift the opinion of millions of people around the world, who still think it is too dangerous to visit there.

Good news takes a long time to travel. Bad news is on our TV sets in minutes and the memory of it lingers for a long long time.

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

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docwilliam says on May 13, 2008, 11:59:

Mononoke28--- thats what I am talking about, 2,500 killed in one year! How is Mexico safer than Colombia? The narcos here dont even bump each other off that much, do they? I watch the Colombian news and it seems even less often than what I would see in the states (it just would not be reported as drug rivalry)

"There's no time to panic"

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docwilliam says on May 13, 2008, 12:04:

Hey RAAAAY, I guess we will just have to pick up the slack for all those people who are missing out on Colombia. Less for them, more for us. :-)

"There's no time to panic"

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ColombianoGringo says on May 13, 2008, 12:18:

Yep. I used to travel to Mexico City a lot as a kid. I pretty much had free reign to go wherever I wanted by myself at twelve years old and never had any problems. These days, I would be a lot more concerned for my safety. It's really sad, because it used to be a great town. Northern Mexico, particularly near the border is particularly bad.

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ColombianoGringo says on May 13, 2008, 12:20:

Raay, Is this mainly a problem in Northern Ireland?

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RAAAY says on May 13, 2008, 12:57:

CG.......Yes and no. For many years Northern Ireland would get zero tourists, now it is beginning to trickle. But, the South was also greatly affected.

I could'nt tell you how many people I met over the years in New York, who said they would love to visit, but would'nt because of the troubles. I would cringe when I'd hear people saying this. It did'nt matter that their chances of experiencing any trouble were non existant. Their perception was, Ireland as a whole was a war zone.

That perception has not fully gone away, despite well over a decade of peace. It's mind boggling that people still think this.

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

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Mononoke28 says on May 13, 2008, 13:01:

That's interesting. When I think of Ireland I think of sheep... and beer.

Diana

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CatGirl says on May 13, 2008, 13:11:

When I think of Ireland I think of rolling green hills and can smell the old stench of pubs from decades of many o' ale spilled onto the wooden floors

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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ColombianoGringo says on May 13, 2008, 13:42:

Yep. If anything, Ireland would strike me as a very beautiful, but somewhat dull vacation spot. That's not a bad thing, just that I would never think to worry about violence.

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billyb says on May 13, 2008, 13:54:

"That's interesting. When I think of Ireland I think of sheep"

Now you're going to get RAYY nostalgic about his first love ;) JK, RAAYY.

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RAAAY says on May 13, 2008, 14:12:

Not only my first............I think I'll take a quick spin up to the hills........

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

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Mononoke28 says on May 13, 2008, 14:44:

Oh and I also think of redheads a la Conan O'Brien.

Diana

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Sam Salmon says on May 13, 2008, 17:50:

Sad to see Mexico in such a mess it's such a great place on so many levels it reminds me of Colombia and vice versa.

Colombians love Mexican food and music maybe they can help them out down the road with this narco mess somehow.

' a la orden!'

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lpdiver says on May 13, 2008, 18:20:

Legalize the chit.

t

"cook some rice!"

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docwilliam says on May 13, 2008, 19:04:

Supply and demand is what drives capitalism. It is easy to understand why going after the supply is never ending (and not working). That is, never ending until a better tactic is employed.

"There's no time to panic"

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feldz0084 says on May 13, 2008, 20:15:

man there is some serious chit going on down in DF now. my cousin has run a textile factory there for ages and says its getting dirty...he never leaves his house without packin his guete. i was there in january for 10 days..yikeees

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docwilliam says on May 13, 2008, 20:18:

where is DF?

"There's no time to panic"

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billyb says on May 13, 2008, 20:23:

Mexico City, Districto Federal?

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goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 20:35:

when I think of Ireland, I think of ............Irish Spring.

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goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 20:40:

and when I think of Federales, I think of this lady:

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Simon says on May 13, 2008, 20:49:

Hey! Better them than us!

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

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goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 20:50:

'us'? us?

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slguy says on May 13, 2008, 21:17:

i barely recognized her as a brunette, duck! ;)

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Simon says on May 13, 2008, 21:31:

'Us' meaning Colombia, genius.

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

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feldz0084 says on May 13, 2008, 21:33:

yup, mex city federal district

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goin_south says on May 13, 2008, 22:40:

I thought perhaps you meant "us, ....living in North America".

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Simon says on May 13, 2008, 22:43:

Nope.

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

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docwilliam says on May 14, 2008, 06:56:

Wow, thats a classic GS

"There's no time to panic"

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Mononoke28 says on May 14, 2008, 10:31:

You Tube video... yawn.

Diana

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sanandressi says on May 14, 2008, 11:30:

When George Bush Sr. was the drug czar, the DEA did a fine job of shutting down south Florida for drug smuggling from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, that the Colombian cartels decided to go to the Mexican border and later even the Canadian border to move their stuff. Hence all the bribery and violence in Mexico 20 years later. Easy to bribe officials when salaies are so low.

Who really is in control in Mexico?

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dwmte7 says on May 16, 2008, 18:41:

los capos....

dwmte

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