OAXACA, Mexico—Though the U.S. Department of State has issued multiple warnings about the high rates of violence in Mexico, and three tourists were recently murdered in Baja California, the number of Americans moving south of the border is surging.
Many American ex-pats say the lower cost of living is what prompted their move.
“The affordability [here] allowed me to retire at 62,” Helena Arvanites, who moved from the United States to Queretaro, Mexico, told The Epoch Times. “I enjoy the quality of life, incredible people, and beautiful weather.”
“It’s cheap and I can buy a casita [cottage] to rent as an Airbnb,” Eduardo Aguinaga of Guanajuato, Mexico, told The Epoch Times.
“More affordable, new culture, simple life, beautiful weather, kind people,” Ana Sbragia, who moved from Mississippi to Silao, Mexico, told The Epoch Times.
For others, there are political reasons.
“I needed to leave the USA as things are just too crazy and cruel there now and I don’t see it changing anytime soon,” Nancy Martin, who moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, from Seattle, told The Epoch Times. “Also for someone with a meager income (but decent savings), it is almost impossible to find accommodations in Seattle. Small apartments go for $2,500 a month.”
But the surge of Americans heading south of the border is not necessarily welcomed by Mexican locals, who say they are driving up prices and making rents more expensive.
State Department Travel Advisories to Mexico
The U.S. Department of State has recommended that American citizens do not travel to six of the 32 Mexican states because of the high risk of crime or kidnapping. Those states include Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.The State Department recommends that anyone traveling to those states keep traveling companions and family back home informed of their travel plans.
“If separating from your travel group, send a friend your GPS location. If taking a taxi alone, take a photo of the taxi number and/or license plate and text it to a friend,” the State Department said.
“People get killed at supermarkets and malls all the time in the United States; yes, things are bad, but put it into perspective,” Ana Tavarez of Zacatecas told The Epoch Times.
Baja California Murders
One of the Mexican states on the State Department’s travel advisory list is Baja California, which currently has a “reconsider travel to” warning because of crime and kidnapping. It is also where three tourists, one American and two Australians, were recently brutally murdered.Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson from Australia and American Jack Carter Rhoad had apparently stopped to surf the breaks between Punta San José, about 50 miles south of Ensenada, and La Bocana, further north on the coast. They were attacked there on April 28 or 29.
As soon as police arrived at their last known campsite, it was clear that something had gone violently wrong.
Officials Explain What May Have Happened
Chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez described what likely would have been moments of terror that ended the trip for the three men.She theorized that the killers drove by and saw the foreigners’ pickup truck and tents and wanted to steal the truck’s tires and other parts. But “when [the foreigners] came up and caught them, surely, they resisted.”
She said that’s when the killers would have shot the men. She said the attack likely would not have been motivated by the fact that the men were tourists. “The evidence suggests [the killers] did not know where they were from,” she said.
Then, at “a site that is extremely hard to get to,” the bodies were dumped into a well about four miles away. Investigators were surprised when, underneath the bodies of the three foreigners, a fourth body was found that had been there much longer.
“They had to have previous knowledge of it,” Ms. Andrade Ramírez said of the attackers, acknowledging the possibility they were behind the previous killing.
The well had been covered with boards. “It was literally almost impossible to find it,” Ms. Andrade Ramírez said. It took two hours to winch the bodies out.
Though the brutal murders have hit close to home, some American expats say it’s not going to make them change their lifestyle.
“Mexico is not Disneyland,” Ms. Arvanites said. “Will these tragic deaths alter my behavior while living here? No.”
Prosecutors have identified three people as potential suspects, two of whom were caught with methamphetamines. One of them, a woman, had one of the victims’ cellphones when she was caught. Prosecutors said the two were being held pending drug charges but continue to be suspects in the killings.
A third man was arrested on charges of a crime equivalent to kidnapping, but that was before the bodies were found. It was unclear when or if he might face more charges.
