Forums > General > Traveling Mexico

gueroloco28

Feb 4, 2012, 1:25 PM

Post #1 of 11 (1947 views)

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Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Hello,
I plan on moving to Mérida this summer and will be driving. I see that recommended route is from Matamoros and down towards Veracruz.

Because of security issues in Tamaulipas and the Veracruz border I am extremely hesitant about this, but I insist on taking my dog with me.

Has anybody made this trip recently from the border and down the Gulf coast areas of Mexico??? Any concerns or issues? Any advise or knowledge on
this trek would be most appreciated!

gringolandia

Feb 5, 2012, 3:35 AM

Post #2 of 11 (1892 views)

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Re: [gueroloco28] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Matamoros crossing seems no worse for animal entry than others BUT there is an over abundance of police, in Matamoros, with phony "radar" traps. We were stopped for going 5km over the limit....that was when we had US plates...now, with Mexican plates, we are not even glanced at,

Altahabana

Feb 5, 2012, 5:42 AM

Post #3 of 11 (1877 views)

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Re: [gueroloco28] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Things had been relatively quiet the last few months along the Tamualipas-Texas border and the interior of the state until the last couple of weeks. There have been a series of incidents in Matamoros and Reynosa involving balaceras and street blockades. There have been two incidents within the last week near Anzalduas bridge. There was also a significant incident in Nuevo Laredo a week ago Friday.

Police functions in Tamaulipas were taken over by the military six months ago and troop deployment has been increased over the course of 2011 and that has provided more stability. Official reports say that the Zetas are trying to reestablish their presence in Reynosa and Matamoros. Whatever the reason the number of public incidents are increasing.

The situation in Tamaulipas can change quickly and your trip is not scheduled until the summer. If you want to follow the situation I suggest you read the McAllen Monitor and the Brownsville Herald online. They will report local incidents that aren't spectacular enough to reach a broader audience.

robt65

Feb 5, 2012, 1:45 PM

Post #4 of 11 (1815 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Hi Altahabana,

Read with some interest your quote to the above OP. . . . . . . . "There have been two incidents within the last week near Anzalduas bridge." . . . . can you please expand on this a little. I am headed NOB again and as you know I rather like using the "Anzalduas bridge" crossing.

I would appreciate any information you may have. Also were these "incidents" on the Cuota or on the free road? I am starting to tune in again after being back in Mexico for the past several (5 or 6) months. I have to head back up for a VA appointment around the middle of March and returning around the first of April.

I sure hope it keeps being pretty safe on the Cuota’s to Queretaro.

robt65

Altahabana

Feb 5, 2012, 4:42 PM

Post #5 of 11 (1793 views)

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Re: [robt65] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Robt--Both incidents were on the Riberena---Highway 2. The highway Crosses underneath the short road that runs from the Libremiente to the toll booths and Mexican Aduanas. The Libremiente is the road you exit left onto from the Cuota to get to the cut-off to the Bridge.

During the second incident the Mexican military were pursuing the bad guys who turned onto a farm road that runs alongside the river. They abandoned their vehicle and crossed over to the US on foot at a shallow point It sounds like the soldiers shot at them and killed one and wounded several on the US side. There will probably be some follow-up stories in the McAllen paper.

(This post was edited by Altahabana on Feb 5, 2012, 5:04 PM)

robt65

Feb 5, 2012, 9:12 PM

Post #6 of 11 (1765 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Hello Again Altahabana,

Thanks for the specifics. I really do appreciate that information. I will have to be keeping an eye out for the next few weeks to see what’s going on in those areas. Again, my thanks.

robt65

YucaLandia

Feb 6, 2012, 8:29 PM

Post #7 of 11 (1686 views)

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Re: [gueroloco28] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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Several insurance companies have recently refused to write insurance policies for tourists driving from Matamoros to Vera Cruz. They claim the levels of roadway violence, car jackings, etc have made the route too risky for them to offer coverage.

You might want to consider routes that cross the border in the Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras - Nuevo Leon area.
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Read-on MacDuff
E-visit at http://yucalandia.wordpress.com/

jreboll

Feb 7, 2012, 7:12 AM

Post #8 of 11 (1650 views)

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Re: [YucaLandia] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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For those wishing to read the local papers:

http://www.themonitor.com/
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/

(This post was edited by Rolly on Feb 7, 2012, 8:17 AM)

Reefhound

Feb 7, 2012, 7:35 AM

Post #9 of 11 (1643 views)

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Re: [YucaLandia] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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That tells me more about that route than any news article or personal account. Insurers are all about collecting data and measuring risk. So if they are not writing policies then either they have determined the risk is too high or the situation is too unstable to calculate the risk.

captdbg

Feb 7, 2012, 7:49 AM

Post #10 of 11 (1635 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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What happen in Nuevo Laredo last week ?

Altahabana

Feb 7, 2012, 8:34 AM

Post #11 of 11 (1622 views)

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Re: [captdbg] Updated security info for driving into Mexico at Matamoros border point

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What happen in Nuevo Laredo last week ?

There was an enfrentamiento (firefight) around 3:30 pm on 01/27/2012 between an Army patrol and a convoy of Zetas near Parque Vivieros, which is the large park on the hill just off Blvd. Luis D. Colosio (the loop road) about 2 miles from Bridge II. Four Zetas and one soldier were killed according to official reports. Colosio was shut down for a while. Events in Reynosa and Matamoros are more significant in my opinion because they are probably being precipitated by something other than a chance encounter. The military take down Zetas routinely in NL whenever they catch them out in the open.