Forums > Areas > Central Highlands

azheat

Oct 21, 2008, 4:54 PM

Post #1 of 5 (1976 views)

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Street robberies in San Miguel?

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On another forum (which shall remain nameless) there have been rather frequent posts about being robbed on the streets of San Miguel. The most recent was this week, " I was robbed at noon on Ancha de San Antionio".

It is my understanding this is a well traveled major street in San Miguel.

I find this troubling, so I posted asking for more information. What
exactly occurred? How does this play out in broad daylight on a
major street? Was there a weapon used?

But all is quiet and nobody's talking.

I don't in any way wish to imply that the victim was at fault. I just
want to understand what happens, and what do we as visitors to
Mexico do if confronted in this way?

Rolly states on his website that pepper spray is legal in Mexico.
Does one blast the perpetrator in the face with pepper spray
and run like hell? I don't want to end up in Mexican jail, thanks very
much. So what's legal and what isn't?

Is yelling NO and screaming your head off likely to thwart the
bad guy and bring help?

It seems like there are more and more posts of this nature, yet no
real answers about 1) how common is this occurrence or 2) what
do you do if it happens?

We still want to come to Mexico and stay for quite a while. But
we also want to be safe and smart about it too.

Thanks for any insights you can share.

Tina

travisdyer

Oct 21, 2008, 10:02 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1953 views)

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Re: [azheat] Street robberies in San Miguel?

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Tina,

Your chances of getting mugged in Mexico are just as equal, if not lower, than those of any major US city. My opinion is that your chances of survival are greatly increased by cooperating with the criminal. He is in control of the situation, and you are at his mercy. The faster that you give him what he wants, the faster he leaves. Please remember that I am only talking about robbery, not rape or kidnapping. A robber only wants the cash. Give it to him and live to see another day.

In Aguascalientes, about one year ago, the owner of a Casa de Cambio was murdered because he refused to hand over a briefcase full of cash. I would much rather be poor and breathing than be poor and dead.

Just my opinion.

Brian

Oct 22, 2008, 4:43 AM

Post #3 of 5 (1943 views)

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Re: [azheat] Street robberies in San Miguel?

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Tina

As a subscriber to that yahoo message list, you have access to the archive of previous postings. You will see several messages about that and similar events. In the case you mentioned, the victim had posted the story previously and it received considerable response. That and other crimes in Colonia San Antonio motivated a group to call a meeting with the chief of police. The results of that meeting are also available in the archive. Hope this helps.

Brian

azheat

Oct 22, 2008, 6:22 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1935 views)

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Re: [Brian] Street robberies in San Miguel?

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Thanks, I'll go search for all of that. I'm aware of the meeting too.
I'm trying to keep this in perspective, but it seems like there's a
lot more talk about it now than there used to be. Ah, the ways
of the world I guess. It's a reflection of the times.

Tina

robrt8

Oct 27, 2008, 6:19 PM

Post #5 of 5 (1855 views)

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Re: [azheat] Street robberies in San Miguel?

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I replied to a recent post very similar to yours on that list.
Search the archives of the following forum or ask this question there:

http://forumsfallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com/

Carol is tireless in responding to questions like yours. The rest of the folks on the "other list" you refer to are just tired.

I highly recommend not getting into pepper spray. A good thief will have his way before you can even know what happened.

Having said that, Ancha is not a street where I would feel in the least nervous at noon. You're much more likely to get clipped crossing the street.
Have you read Rolly's Safety page?