[TXSUT]

Originally Posted by DRTYFN

I've been wanting to make a Baja Run.

Lots of bad $hit happening down that way (Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada) lately...kidnapping, carjacking, etc.

One account from a dirtbike rider:

I think everyone needs to be cautious when going to Mexico right now. We have been going for the last 10 years at least twice a year. I turned down a buddies request to go last weekend to go ride down in Erindea and Cabo Collente. Well on the way home he decided to stay away from the TJ border and come in through Otay Mesa crossing. He lost his truck, bike and money and was sent walking. When he got help they did the same thing as they did to the Mcmillin Clan. Walked him to the border and basically told him get lost. Our side did nothing at all but told him those are the risks of going down to Mexico and that there is really nothing they could do. Good thing he had everything insured. Needless to say that I will not be returning until I hear all is safe in Baja again. Which may be never.

Here's the McMillin story he refers to (Chris Hall is on the McMillin race crew):

Last night our family made the decision to drive home at San Quentin. We felt fine, not tired and saw lots of chase and race teams on the road- heck, it was only another 5 hours to get into our own beds. The drive went just fine until we were 7 miles from the border. We were almost to the last toll booth in TJ when we were pulled over by “the police”. As soon as we stopped another car stopped in front of the truck and trailer blocking our path. At the same time this was happening the truck (our 2007 super duty and McMillin’s Weekend Warrior) were surrounded by men with guns, their faces covered. They stuck a gun to Chris’ head and pulled him out of the truck. They then proceeded to pull the kids out and stuck a gun in my side and told me to shut up and not move but to put my head down. The kids and Chris were stuck into the back seat of the truck with a man sitting next to Tyler (age 16, this week) who stuck a gun in his side for the next very long 2 hours. We were driven with our heads down and guns on us up into the hills above the area near La Playa. The gunmen yanked Chris out of the truck and made him disconnect the trailer and then finally shoved him back into the truck. There were 10 men, during this time they were ransacking the truck and trailer and taking everything including the jewelry off of our bodies. They pulled the GPS for the stereo out of the dash. We still had the gun men with guns stuck to our bodies. We were driven further up into some new development that was just graded. They first took Tyler out of the truck and shoved him to the side of the road. They then removed me and pushed me to the ground, I laid over Tyler as best as they would let me. They then covered us both with a sleeping bag and threw a pillow on us. At this point they brought Divinia and Chris around and forced them to the ground. We all told each other that we love each. Our truck drove away. We stayed there for about 10 minutes not moving. We then did a 1 ½ hour hike thru cactus, barbed wire down a mountain in the fog wearing our shorts tanks and flip-flops. We ended up on the south side of La Playa where we knocked on doors and rang security bells for over an hour before a very nice lady let us into her home and called the police. The La Playa police came and decided to hurry us out of the country, giving us a ride to the border. The customs and immigration folks were less than helpful and even less sympathetic to our situation. While they did let us walk into the US they would not let us use their phone, bathroom nor have a drink of water. They directed us to the McDonald’s for assistance.

So this is what happened. The rumors are close but this is the boiled down version of what transpired. Please be safe. After 25 years of the Baja we are done. We can replace material things; our greatest pleasure comes from our great kids. We consider ourselves blessed and lucky to be home and safe.

Our family is very sad to hear that there was so much loss of life this race. Our prayers are with those families. We wish those of you that continue with the great Baja racing tradition safe travels.

Chris, Debra, Divinia and Tyler Hall"

Quite a few big-name Baja 250/500/1000 racers are threatening to boycott Baja/SCORE if something isn't done to improve the bandido situation.

Here's a report out of Rosarito Beach from December 20th:

Violence in Rosarito Beach keeps O.C. folks home

The Orange County Register

The mayor of Rosarito Beach has asked for additional state and federal troops to deal with escalating violence there that culminated most recently in a paramilitary attack Tuesday on the town's police station, apparently an attempt to assassinate the police chief, a spokesman said today.

Tuesday’s commando-style attack killed one of the police chief’s bodyguards and injured four other people. It was only the latest in a string of violent commando assaults on police in Baja California, apparently by drug cartels.

“I definitely have concerns about going down there” said P.J. Schramel, who lives in San Juan Capistrano and has been vacationing on the scenic peninsula since 1969. “I have instituted my own personal boycott of Baja while all this is going down.”

Rosarito Beach, about 20 miles from the U.S. border, and the surrounding areas have been vacation and retirement destinations for Southern Californians for many years. The escalating violence has left some officials concerned, though tourism officials said people should not be unduly alarmed.

“We believe the police chief was the main target of the attack,” said Ron Raposa, city spokesman.

“Basically, we would say this attack is targeted to law enforcement because of increasing enforcement on organized crime. It is not going to have an effect on the average person; for the most part they will not even be aware of the situation.”

According to published reports in Mexican newspapers and the San Diego Union-Tribune, military police surrounded the police station Thursday while repairs were under way on the exterior damaged in the attack.

A funeral was being planned for the slain bodyguard; another is recovering from his injuries.

The city’s police chief, Public Security Director Jorge Eduardo Montero Alvarez, took office on Dec. 1 as part of a new city administration. He intends to continue to vigorously pursue “cracking down on the problems,” Raposa said.

During the attack, the mayor of Rosarito Beach was attending a meeting in Mexico City about security problems on the peninsula.

After the attack, the City Council issued a press release blaming the attacks on forces opposed to a crime cleanup launched by the new city administration.

“To the people of Rosarito, we want to express that these violent acts are the result of the job that is being done in Public Security areas, in coordination with the State and Federal Government, and which will not stop until we all live in a secure city,” the release states. “These actions will not stop measures undertaken by the government in Playas de Rosarito.”

The owner of Baja Safari, a tour and travel agency based in San Diego, said he canceled several tours this week in the wake of the attack, only one in a series he said was under way by drug cartels trying to “tell the government who’s in charge.”

“Their way of doing this is to go into public buildings in the middle of the day, break out their large-caliber weapons and shoot them up,” owner Mike Overcast said.

“We are recommending to the general public and our membership to avoid all travel to the Tijuana and Ensenada region for the next 30 days,” Overcast said.

George Perez, who works for the Irvine-based Corazon de Vida charity that provides food and shelter for 700 children in 14 orphanages in Baja, said he hopes the violence won’t discourage Americans from visiting the children’s homes they support and helping the youngsters, who receive no government funding and would otherwise be homeless.

“We’re just concerned about the children,” Perez said.

The U.S. Department of State has a travel advisory for Mexico that includes border towns and warns about increasing violence including daytime shootouts related to drug trafficking in cities such as Tijuana.

“Criminals, armed with an impressive array of weapons, know there is little chance they will be caught and punished,” according to the advisory.

“In some cases, assailants have been wearing full or partial police uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles, indicating some elements of the police might be involved.”

I'll be riding (dirtbikes) in Baja in February, and to say I'll be at level orange is an undertsatement. Too bad I can't go armed.