20 replies to this topic

[nowwhat]

I read on someone's blog that Baja Gringo and his wife were attacked in San Quintin and that he is in pretty bad shape due to head injuries.  Does anyone have information on this?

[George Costanza]

He was attacked when investigating a possible break in at his neighbors house. He was lucky to survive and they also tried to slash his wives throat. His wife is fine but Ron has a broken jaw and some other injuries. He is in an Ensenada hospital right now.
I hope he is ok and they did find 3 of the 7 suspects as of yesterday.

I hope they get all of them.

[HK70]

Wow that is terrible news. I hope he is able to recover fully.

[Buen Amigo]

Damn really? Man i hope everything turns out okay. That sucks....

[Tony Nor Cal]

Very sorry to hear.


Good luck to Baja Gringo and his wife.



Tony

[jonerich]

He was attacked when investigating a possible break in at his neighbors house. He was lucky to survive and they also tried to slash his wives throat.  His wife is fine but Ron has a broken jaw and some other injuries. He is in an Ensenada hospital right now.
I hope he is ok and they did find 3 of the 7 suspects as of yesterday.

I hope they get all of them.

Man this is horrible news!!! I hope he recovers from this. looks like its getting dangerous.keep us posted George.

[Tjc-tahc]

I must confess I was wrong about Ron..

I all-ways saw his posts as he must have had a stake in the real estate here or some business investments or at best denial about what goes on here.
I used to think what Baja is he talking about?

I now believe Ron and his wife are a "fact or reality" nice and no doubt about it wonderful people.

I know that when you never see the crime you tend to believe it doesn't exist.

Well like a lot of people here they where lucky,
combine that with a great attitude(which they have) and you will tend to not see whats going on here in northern Mexico or anywhere for that matter.

Well the great news is it sounds like they are going to survive, and even rarer they caught the accused.

TJC

P.S. I still don't believe saying that its safe here help's Mexico's people.
Telling people that Baja is safe so you can sell them something is wrong, telling them the truth, is fine now you may not get what you paid for you home with the truth but its the correct thing in the long run!

According to the CNDH, only one out of every ten crimes is reported in Mexico; this is due to lack of trust from citizens to the authorities.
Furthermore, only one out of 100 reported crimes actually goes to sentencing. This means that one out of every 1000 crimes is punished
The reason they where ready to kill his wife is as thugs they know the odds of them getting caught go down when they kill.

As long as the elite or government are getting what they want, it will not change for the people.
when the profits drop,stop.. when the politicians don't get the money then there will be a change.

I will follow up with more in another post.
Viva Mexico!

[bombero]

There in denial.

[Tjc-tahc]

Follow up some interesting things to ponder.
Two killed for posting
worth a listen a conversation from out side the USA or Mexico.. (input from Mexican retired officials)

are we at risk on this site
http://www.bbc.co.uk...onsole/p00k17l7

May be a reason to bring your kids up in Mexico if your not rich?
"Last year, I happened to go from Mexico to California directly. Mexico is a pretty poor country, but they are maintaining a free, high quality public education system, not for everyone of course but pretty substantial. California is maybe the richest place in the world. They're destroying the best public education system in the world. Tuitions are so high it's prohibitive. The main universities in the public system, Berkeley and UCLA, will probably be privatized and the rest reduced to vocational schools. In the richest part of the world, they are destroying the best public education system there was. In a poor part of the world, they are maintaining a free public education system. "

The drug war is a form of slavery a gift from the USA

http://www.chomsky.i...ws/20110815.htm

[Mary Ellen]

It's unfortunate this happened esp. when the victim is known by many viewers. But crime happens everywhere in the world regardless of how affluent a country might be. Right now in the San Diego area, there have been consistent murder-suicides (many involving children) yet I don't see much publicity about frequent murders on any of these forums and they usually involve more innocent people than much of the crime in Mexico which is drug-related and not always related to cartels. So everyone needs to keep this in perspective. If you worry about crime here in Mexico or in the area where you live, just search the web and you will quickly find enough news about U.S. murders. You don't see a lot of crime reported here involving as you do in the U.S. such as the murder-suicide last month involving a man shooting his infant in the head and then setting his house on fire with relatives inside.

[HK70]

U.S. expat and wife beaten in San Quintin
Family praises quick action by Baja California authorities

Written by
Sandra Dibble /h5>

12:34 p.m., Sept. 13, 2011
Updated 2:25 p.m.

An American citizen living in the Baja California community of San Quintin was severely beaten, along with his wife, on Saturday after he tried to stop a crime in progress near his house, the Baja California Attorney General’s Office reported.

Ron Hoff and Cristina Montes Monjo were being treated on Tuesday at separate hospitals in Ensenada for injuries sustained near their residence in the outskirts of this farming and fishing community located about 180 miles south of the border.

News of the incident has resounded across the expatriate community. Since moving to Baja California in 2003, Hoff, a 54-year-old freelance web designer and Long Beach native, has become known through his discussion board, www.talkbaja.com and website, www.bajagringo.com. He has written lovingly about Baja California, praising the kindness and warmth of its residents.

“This is a guy who really walks the talk as far as helping people down there,” said Doug Means, owner and administrator of another discussion board, www.bajanomad.com, whose members have been intensely following the developments in the case. “That’s why there are so many people who are very involved.”

Three suspects were in custody in connection with the incident: Jesus Humberto Aguirre Montes, 24, Jose Luis Quintero Montes, 24, and Edgar Gerardo Quintero Montes, 21. They face charges of attempted murder and car theft, aggravated by gang activity.

The incident took place Saturday afternoon in a sparsely settled area on the outskirts of San Quintin near the Pacific Ocean known as La Chorera. According to the report, the incident began when Hoff approached the suspects as they were dismantling a vehicle.

Hoff has not been able to talk about the incident. But Cristina Montes told his daughter, Christine Hoff, that Hoff had heard some noise at a neighbor’s unoccupied house, and drove down to investigate. Watching from her window, Cristina Montes saw the beating and called for help, then went to help her husband after the assailants drove off.

But the suspects, who had driven away in Hoff’s SUV, returned and grabbed Montes as she tried to flee, hit her with a rock, and pulled her into the vehicle, the daughter said. Inside the vehicle, one of them tried to cut her throat, but only was able to inflict a surface wound. At one point, they threw her out of the vehicle and fled.

The suspects were captured a couple of hours after the incident following a chase in the neighborhood known as Colonia Benito Juarez, according to the Baja California Attorney General’s Office.

“It’s not something that only happens in Mexico, this could have happened anywhere,” Christine Hoff said. "The next time he’ll be more careful to see what happens across the street, he’ll probably check with a neighbor and maybe take his dog,” she said. She praised the quick actions of authorities in catching the suspects.

Hoff has been collaborating in an abalone farm being set up in La Chorera as an informal advisor to the project, said Reyes Guerrero Sandoval, the company’s owner. When the incident occurred, neighbors in the fishing community trailed and helped chase down the assailants, Guerrero said.

In a 2008 column, Hoff wrote about his love for Baja California. “The countless examples of generosity and hospitality to me are part of the very essence that makes Mexico the number one-travel destination for the USA,” he wrote. “The Baja California peninsula is my home and where I hope to spend the rest of my life, God willing.”

Means said Hoff has no insurance coverage for his treatment at the private hospital, and friends and family members are trying to raise funds.

Montes is being treated at a public hospital in Ensenada and was expected to be released today, Christine Hoff said. Hoff was undergoing surgery for a broken jaw, his daughter said. Both “are recuperating in a miraculous way,” she said.

http://www.signonsan...en-san-quintin/

[bombero]

It's unfortunate this happened esp. when the victim is known by many viewers. But crime happens everywhere in the world regardless of how affluent a country might be. Right now in the San Diego area, there have been consistent murder-suicides (many involving children) yet I don't see much publicity about frequent murders on any of these forums and they usually involve more innocent people than much of the crime in Mexico which is drug-related and not always related to cartels. So everyone needs to keep this in perspective. If you worry about crime here in Mexico or in the area where you live, just search the web and you will quickly find enough news about U.S. murders. You don't see a lot of crime reported here involving as you do in the U.S. such as the murder-suicide last month involving a man shooting his infant in the head and then setting his house on fire with relatives inside.

You must have esp, there was another murder suicide in oceanside yesterday. I think the increase in these is because of the bad economy.

[Mary Ellen]

The San Diego area has always been on the A list of UNaffordabile places to live due to high housing costs and low paying jobs due to cheap labor due to the border. If you do a job search for regular jobs in San Diego (that don't require advanced degrees) most are paying average of $8-$10 hour.
I lived in the L.A. area in 2006 in a $1300/month 1 bedroom and frequently experienced robberies and gunshots so anyone who thinks crime is less in California or anywhere in the U.S. is living in a dream world/denial.
When you live in these sparsely populated areas of Mexico (such as San Quintin) you need to have extra precautions (such as a guard dog) as law enforcement response will be different than if you are in Tijuana or another larger city.

[bombero]

The San Diego area has always been on the A list of UNaffordabile places to live due to high housing costs and low paying jobs due to cheap labor due to the border. If you do a job search for regular jobs in San Diego (that don't require advanced degrees) most are paying average of $8-$10 hour.
I lived in the L.A. area in 2006 in a $1300/month 1 bedroom and frequently experienced robberies and gunshots so anyone who thinks crime is less in California or anywhere in the U.S. is living in a dream world/denial.
When you live in these sparsely populated areas of Mexico (such as San Quintin) you need to have extra precautions (such as a guard dog) as law enforcement response will be different than if you are in Tijuana or another larger city.

How long have you lived in mexico?

[BajaNomad]

I read on someone's blog that Baja Gringo and his wife were attacked in San Quintin and that he is in pretty bad shape due to head injuries. Does anyone have information on this?

I'm confident that BajaGringo and his family appreciate your concern and good thoughts and prayers being sent his way.

More info (but not all of it) here:
http://forums.bajano...d.php?tid=55094

[Mary Ellen]

How long have you lived in mexico?

Lived in Tijuana for 9 months. One of the few females willing to move across the border solo (without a partner). Now moving to Rosarito. I already had traveled extensively around Mexico by myself and with a Mexican boyfriend in the past.

[otayBill]

Such a sad event. And San Quintin is a rural community.

Baja Gringo said, as I recall, he had lived in Caracas, Venezuela and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Two of the most dangerous cities in the world.

[Mary Ellen]

Check the list of most dangerous cities in the top 10. Not surprisingly, a U.S. city is listed.

The Most Dangerous Cities 2011 in the World:
http://urbantitan.co...-world-in-2011/


1) Bogota,Columbia

2) Cuidad Juarez, Mexico

3) St. Louis, Missouri

4) Port-au-Prince, Haiti

5) Mogadishu, Somalia

6. Caracas, Venezuela

7. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

8. Grozny, Chechnya, Russia

10. Muzaffarabad, Kashmir, Pakistan

[libertythor]

Tijuana is probably actually safer than Detroit, Newark, Stockton, East Saint Louis, Miami, etc.

[sugarpaws]

Check the list of most dangerous cities in the top 10. Not surprisingly, a U.S. city is listed.

The Most Dangerous Cities 2011 in the World:
http://urbantitan.co...-world-in-2011/


1) Bogota,Columbia

2) Cuidad Juarez, Mexico

3) St. Louis, Missouri

4) Port-au-Prince, Haiti

5) Mogadishu, Somalia

6. Caracas, Venezuela

Wow! I would've never expected it to be St. Louis!..and to be 3rd!

7. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

8. Grozny, Chechnya, Russia

10. Muzaffarabad, Kashmir, Pakistan