Michoacán is "adjacent" to America? It's one of the most dangerous places. Acapulco was recently Mexico's murder capital -- also nowhere near the US. Violence i

Michoacán is "adjacent" to America? It's one of the most dangerous places. Acapulco was recently Mexico's murder capital -- also nowhere near the US. Violence in Tamaulipas has declined quite a bit; certain interior states are far more dangerous these days. Mexico is a nice place, but the murder rate is 25 per 100,000 people, compared to 4.9 in the US and 6.2 globally. As far as the war zone aspect -- I lived near Guadalajara in a small town called Chapala and, when you're in Guadalajara, it often does seem like a war zone. In our "peaceful" enclave, there were frequent (several times per year) shootouts with police and gang-on-gang violence along with innocent people being victimized, robbed or killed. Just a few days ago, a 78 year old Canadian expat was walking through San Antonio Tlayacapan (a nice community next to lake Chapala) and was shot in the head twice in broad daylight on the street.[0] Chapala is pretty much a peaceful retirement community, yet even there, there is brutal violence. With the Jalisco NG Cartel, there is a substantial military and paramilitary presence across various areas of Guadalajara. Large police pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the bed isn't something I've ever seen -- outside of an actual war zone. I've been in US Army units that have been less heavily armed than some of the standard police in Guadalajara. Heavily armed patrols in full military "battle-rattle" are a mainstay of the city. Anyone that's suggesting that Mexico is a peaceful place must be asleep. The Mexican people are generally very peaceful and I typically feel safe enough there, but that's not much different than how friendly Afghanis are -- despite Taliban activity in the neighborhood. You're definitely taking much different precautions traveling through Mexico than you would traveling through Los Angeles. I love Mexico, my wife is from there, I go there all the time -- but suggesting it's a war zone? That's not too far from the truth -- the Mexican marines recently took over security in Acapulco.[4] If that isn't the definition of "war zone," I'm not sure that word has any meaning. You'd have to be oblivious not to see the war zone aspects in many parts of the country. [1] https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/canadian-expat-78-shot-and-killed-in-chapala/ https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/canadian-expat-78-shot-and-... [2] https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6024568/cancun-murders-mexico-drug-gang/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6024568/cancun-murders-mexico-... [3] https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/michoacan-turf-war-fuels-crisis-of-violence/ https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/michoacan-turf-war-fuels-cr... [4] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/26/marines-swoop-acapulco-entire-citys-police-force-placed-investigation/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/26/marines-swoop-ac...