Some Canadian tourists undeterred by crime wave in Mexico
Mexico still holds holiday appeal for many Canadians despite warnings from Foreign Affairs after a rash of shootings and robberies.
The federal Department of Foreign Affairs has warned thatCanadians have been victims of random shootings in regions known for drug trafficking. Foreign Affairs also noted that Canadians are susceptible to armed robbery, purse snatching and pickpocketing.
But Torontonian Rachel Kuiper, who was on vacation in Acapulco, was among the Canadians who didn't cancel their vacation plans because of the warnings.
Kuiper said she was not bothered by the threats of violence and saw her resort as a kind of safe haven.
"After we booked a flight, people from my work told me that there were people getting killed, but I'm like, you know what, if it happens it happens, I guess. But as long as I stayed on the resort I think I'm OK. So far, so good," she told CBC News from her Acapulco hotel.
Drug violence not aimed at tourists: Acapulco's mayor
Acapulco's mayor said the tourism industry in his city as busier than ever in the past year, even thoughdrug-related violence was at a high— including a severed head dropped off on the steps of themunicipal office.
Mayor Felix Salgado encouraged Canadian tourists to continue booking trips, saying the city was safe despite 134 murders in the city last year.
"All the violence we've lived through, none of it's touched the tourists … it's all related to the drug trade," Salgado, who spoke in Spanish, said through a translator.
Salgado, who travels with a group of body guards, said drug-related crimes have rattled the city.
"It's been the worst, the most difficult year. Very traumatic — a lot of executions. There was a severed head dropped here on the stairs of our municipal office. We've had a lot of threats," he said.
"And yet, strangely enough, there's been more tourism. New Year's, we were completely full."
To deter drug cartels in Acapulco, military trucks packed with soldiers cruise up and down the main tourist strip, said CBC News reporter Connie Watson.
Javier Trujillo, a local investigative reporter, said the authorities have had little success stopping drug-related crime.
"The results have been very poor," Trujillo, who spoke in Spanish, said through a translator.
"They haven't even caught one person in the upper echelons of narco-trafficking or organized crime. They've only detained a few kids dealing street drugs."
Recent high-profile Canadian deaths
In early January, 19-year-old Adam DePrisco of Woodbridge, Ont., died in an Acapulco hospital.
Mexican police say he was a victim of a hit-and-run, but his relatives believe he was beaten to death after dancing with a local woman in a nightclub.
On Feb. 20, 2006, Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, also of Woodbridge, were found dead in their hotel room near Cancun.
Mexican authorities initially named two Ontario women, Cheryl Everall and Kimberly Kim, as suspects. Everall and Kim, who have set up a website to clear their names, are calling on Ottawa to declare a travel ban to Mexico.The ThunderBay womensay Mexico is not a safe tourist destination.