Your Safety in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

I cannot guarantee your safety in Juarez, Mexico, any more than I could guarantee your safety in Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, or Tokyo, Japan. They are all big cities that undisputedly possess a criminal element. They are also all great cities full of good people and wonderful things to see and do. Use the same precautions you would use in any large metropolitan area.

All we seem to read regarding Ciudad Juárez in the American press, however, centers around crime. While these realities are tragic, especially that of young girls stricken down before their lives have even really begun, it should also be pointed out that this picture of Juárez lacks balance, which should be the first priority of any journalist. There is no shortage of serial killers and criminal behavior in any country, but coverage of other cities is more balanced. We get human interest stories, restauant and nightclub reviews, stories about civic events, and interviews with the city's leadership.

Plaza in front of the Catedral in El Centro. Click to Click for larger image.

The Time and Newsweek reporters who come here, however, visit Juarez once or twice a year and publish stories which focus exclusively on crime. They stay in 5-star hotels, aparently talk only to the police and newspaper editors about the crime here, and never seem to notice honest Mexican families enjoying lunch or dinner together. Yet the honest families these reporters choose to ignore are the true reality in this city. They are people such as those who live in my neighborhood. It's a very tranquil neighborhood where people actually know each other and bother to say hello. We don't know any drugs lords, and we don't dodge bullets when we walk to the store for a loaf of bread.

Yet the American press has stigmatized Ciudad Juárez as "The City of Death". Its sensational, unbalanced reporting has crippled tourism in the city, costing the local businesses millions of dollars each year. To smear an entire city in this manner, in my humble opinion, borders on being a crime against humanity. If Time or Newsweek were to publish nothing but stories about crime and murder in a U.S. city, they would surely face lawsuits to the tune of millions of dollars, simply because, once again, although factually true, such coverage lacks balance. So why is it okay, at the highest levels of journalism in the United States, to trash a great Mexican city like Ciudad Juárez? We should all be asking ourselves this question.

Unless you have come to corner a piece of the cocaine traffic, you have very little to worry about when visiting Juárez. Having been here on the ground for three years, ridden the buses, walked the streets, fallen in love, and even buried my dead here, I believe I know much, much more about Ciudad Juarez than the reporters from Time and Newsweek ever will, and I would not be urging you to visit if I thought you would be in danger.

The people in Ciudad Juarez are friendly, honest, and helpful to visitors. 99.9% of the people here are far too busy working 50-60 hours a week to feed their families to worry about who you are, where you are going, or what you are doing. You might find it a little off putting to have someone offering to sell you candy or roses on every corner, or a parquero wanting a quarter to help you back your car out of a deserted parking spot, but you have to remember that these people are out on the street 14 hours a day trying to make an honest living. You should probably salute them. Life is hard here for many people, and perhaps the real miracle is that, even in such difficult economic circumstances, more people do not turn to crime. The more you know about the people here, the more you realize that almost everything you have ever been told about the city, and Mexico in general, is simply not true. This web site was developed to bring you the truth.

There are a few things you should consider, however, when visiting Ciudad Juárez or any place in Mexico.

• Don't enter the country with so much as a spent shotgun shell or empty bullet casing rattling around in the trunk of your car or on your person. It is against the law to have anything relating to firearms in your possession, and this law is strictly enforced.
• Don't drive here without Mexican auto insurance. See the page about driving in Juárez, where I lay out the facts about bringing your car across the border as relates to insurance. If your insurance agent has told you that you are "covered", you'd best understand that being "covered" and being legal are two different things.
• Don't park anywhere questionable without asking if it's okay to park there. If you park in a restricted area, you may come back and find your license plates have been confiscated until you come into the station and pay a fine. You may very well be stopped on the way to the station because you do not have any license plates.
• You can get a ticket for no seat belts.
• If you get a ticket, the officer will take your license and take it to the station. It will stay there until you come to pay the fine.
• These policies are not as unreasonable as it may seem at first. Without them, most visitors would skip the country and never come back to own up to their responsibilities. The minute you cross the border you agree to abide by Mexican law, just as people agree to abide by U.S. law when they enter the United States. Respect the law, and you will have no problems. Generally, what is against the law in the United States is also illegal in Mexico.
• Do not have anything to do with drugs. Avoid anyone who uses drugs, offers to get drugs for you, or even mentions them. Mexican law is absolutely draconian regarding drugs, and it will be your burden to prove your innocence in the Mexican criminal justice system, not the state's burden to prove your guilt. If the offense is related to drugs, you will be lucky if the American Consulate brings you a little toothbrush and a Sunday paper before wishing you the best of luck. It cannot do much to help you. You are in a foreign country.
• Avoid the area in el centro west of Avenida Juarez towards the south end of Avenida Juarez as you approach Ave. 16 de Septiembre. You will be accosted by drug addicts, street walkers, and cross-dressers. Don't confuse these people with the great people of Juarez, Mexico. Peg them as denizens of an impoverished, drug infested area similar to those found in L.A. or New York, and you've got the picture perfectly. I would not be surprised to see a vampire walking sideways up a wall in any of these places. Avoid this area of Juarez at all costs, especially at night.
• Stay on the beaten path until you get to know the city. All of the places in the Juarez Travel Guide are safe to visit.
• Don't get drunk in public. If you want to tie one on, get a hotel room and do it there. Modern Juárez is not a place to get in the mood to ride in hooting and hollering and shooting up the town. The days of Billy the Kid are long gone, and Juarez Police Department is around 24 hours a day to issue reminders of that fact.

The things you should really be worried about in Ciudad Juárez have very little do with being a victim of crime. That can happen anywhere. The things which worry you should have a lot more to do with your own behavior and reasons for coming to Mexico in the first place. If you are coming to spend an afternoon shopping, to have dinner, or spend your vacation enjoying the attractions here I cannot imagine you having any problems.

Come in a good way, and you will leave in a good way. That much I believe I can guarantee you.