The Truth About Mexico

“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Anyone who’s ever taken a Journalism 101 course in school is likely familiar with this famous phrase. And the saying certainly holds true in the case of the current situation in parts of Mexico, where mainstream media reports of safety concerns have become rampant (while at the same time ignoring the peace and tranquility in the rest of this beautiful country).

That’s why – as Rancho Caracol’s owner – I’d like to take a few minutes to separate fact from fiction when it comes to safety and security in Mexico, and – more specifically – the Tamaulipas region, where our ranch is located:

• Fact: My family – including my wife and three young children – have been traveling to and from Tamaulipas for four generations, and have never once encountered any sort of a threat to our personal safety.
• Fact: Since January, the Rancho Caracol staff (and their families) have made no less than 500 trips across the border (via Matamoros, Los Indios and Progresso). During that time – with all those trips – no one has experienced or witnessed a violent criminal act of any kind.
• Fact: In more than ten years of operating Rancho Caracol, we have hosted literally thousands of guests, not one of whom has ever experienced or witnessed a violent criminal act of any kind.
• Fact: While – as in any country – there is an inherent risk of encountering violent crime, statistics confirm that visitors to New York City or Washington DC are far more likely to become victims of violent crime than in all of Mexico. Yet the mainstream media –more interested in generating TV ratings than providing their viewers with accurate information – seldom (if ever) reports this important fact.
• Fact: The incidents of crime being reported by the media are taking place primarily between the drug cartels and Mexican law enforcement and/or the competing drug cartels themselves. To be crystal clear: American tourists are not the targets of the cartels. As “businessmen,” the cartels know full well that any threat to tourists’ safety will incur the full attention – and wrath – of the U.S. government (and military).
• Fact: Of the more than 80 million Americans who visited Mexico last year, there have been no reports of tourists injured, kidnapped or killed due to the drug cartels’ activity. In fact, the number one cause of death of tourists traveling abroad, including Mexico, is alcohol-related vehicle accidents. Fact is, the only Americans that should be concerned about crossing into Mexico are those involved in the drug trade.
• Fact: The incidents of crime in Mexico being reported by the media are taking place primarily in border towns such as Tijuana (across from San Diego) and Juárez (across from El Paso), where drug trafficking is a prevalent problem. The vast majority of these denselypopulated, urban areas are literally hundreds of miles from our peaceful, rural location. Simply put, avoiding Tamaulipas because of what's going on in places like Juárez is akin to avoiding Aspen, Colorado because of something happening in New York City.
• Fact: Alonzo Peña, attaché to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Mexico has clarified media reports that have presented Mexico as a country “dangerous” for tourists, stating that Americans planning to visit Mexico shouldn't cancel those plans because the drug cartel’s activities are limited to the aforementioned, isolated areas.
• Fact: The “Mexico is a failed state” claim being made by the media is patently false. In 2008, the Brookings Institution produced The Index of State Weakness in the Developing World , which ranks and assesses 141 developing nations according to their relative performance in four critical spheres (economic, political, security and social welfare.) The index was derived through aggregating information in a number of reports produced by academic and governmental organizations. So, where does Mexico rank (with number 1, Somalia, being most at risk, and 141, the Slovak Republic, being most stable)? Mexico comes in at 120th, well ahead of popular fishing and hunting destinations such as Brazil (99th) and Argentina (115th), to name just a few.

In closing, let me assure you that our guests’ safety and security is Rancho Caracol’s number one priority. If I honestly felt that any facet of that security was compromised in any way due to the situation hundreds of miles away, I would immediately and without hesitation cease operations and close the ranch to visitors, as well as to my own family and our staff.

Listed below are some additional resources that should help you separate fact from fiction when it comes to visiting Mexico. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at (888) 246-3164.

Sincerely yours,


Dean Putegnat
Owner