Jester wrote:FWIW, there are no home invasions or kidnappings here in Baja California, at least south of Tijuana.chibolo wrote:
Unfortunately this is pretty much the same in most of Latin America, except maybe Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. I lived in Peru and it is similar to what you describe as well. I love Latin America, but crime is a big problem there.
Are you sure about that? I hear Mexico is pretty bad right now, at least in some cities. Some of the most violent cities in Latin America are located in Mexico (Acapulco is number 2 on the list of the most violent cities in LA).
Here is a link (in Spanish)
http://www.rpp.com.pe/2013-11-29-las-di ... .html#foto
As I said before, I lived in Peru for 6 years and robberies (often armed) are extremely common there. My Peruvian ex-girlfriend was express-kidnapped in a taxi there once and robbed at gunpoint twice. From what I hear other countries in South America are similar (Ecuador, Colombia). Venezuela is even worse of course. Chile and Uruguay are supposed to be a lot safer, maybe Argentina as well.
I love Latin Amerca and its culture, music, food, women, etc. but crime in many of the countries there is a huge problem. And of course this doesn't mean that you can't visit or even live in any of these countries. It just means that you have to be careful there and take precautions.