Since Mexico is not as safe as it used to be, we always stay
in El Paso, Texas which is right across the border from Juarez. To give you an
idea about the safety concerns… how’s this. The price for the Hampton Inn in El
Paso is approximately $130 per night. The Price for the Hampton Inn in Juarez
is $60 per night. Both hotels were built near the same time and both offer
similar amenities.
I have made many different trips to Juarez over the years of
my employment. I remember my very first visit in 2002. I head across the
border, cross the bridge, and the first thing I see is Mexican Federal Police,
armed with automatic rifles. There were 5 or so officers at the border
crossing. Once we left the border crossing there were no other machine guns in
sight. There were also people walking, children playing in the local parks, and
dozens of street vendors selling anything from cell phone chargers, to candy,
to knock off oil paintings.
Fast forward to August 2011, my previous visit to Juarez.
The drug cartels and the Federal Police are in the midst of an epic battle… I
cross the border and still see the automatic rifles, about the same number. We
move past the border and immediately notice there is nobody outside. No
children playing, no people walking, and I could count the street vendors on
one hand. The street vendors were also very concentrated near the border. There
were some people out in the town, they were federal officers and they were all
carrying automatic rifles. There was one officer approximately every 500 yards
along the main streets. Each one was wearing his full uniform with an addition
of a face covering mask. There were also mobile gun trucks with a large 50
caliber machine mounted to the top that patrolled the main roads of the city
constantly. During the 4 mile drive in Mexico, we saw 3 machine gun caravans.
During this last trip, there was a line to get into Mexico.
This is a first. There has never been a line for getting into Mexico; there is
almost always a backup to get back into the United States. The issue is that the
US Border Patrol cut the traffic down to two auto lanes and added a series of
speed bumps before crossing the bridge into Mexico. This causes everyone to
slow down greatly. They also stop autos and inspect them. I witnessed one or
two different vehicles being searched on the way into Mexico.
Once we cross the bridge into Mexico, there are the
customary federal officers with their rifles waiting at the border. They also
installed some barricades to drive around in an ‘S’ shaped pattern with their
own compliment of speed bumps. The next thing that I notice is that there are
many more street vendors than last time. There are also people outside after
dark; including me… we worked in the plant until after dark. When we were
driving back to the border, I noticed people eating at restaurants and sitting
outside, not as many as in 2002 but still an improvement over the zero people
out after dark the previous year.
We go back to the hotel for the night and then repeat on day
2. The hotel we are staying at is the Embassy Suites (the Hampton was full…).
The room layout is a living room with sofa, chair, coffee table, desk,
refrigerator and sink in the first room. The bedroom contains two double beds
and the bathroom is attached.
The first thing I do is set the air conditioning. Then I
pick a bed. I chose the bed furthest away from the window and closest to the
A/C vent. I use the other bed to hold my suitcase. The first night I slept well
until about 4:00am, then I woke up, went to the bathroom and then went back to
bed until my alarm sounded.
The second night, I woke up and looked around the room in
the semi-darkness and something didn’t look right. The alarm clock is on the
wrong side and the window is in the wrong place. Also, the bed sheet seems
awfully scratchy. I finally realize that at some point in the night, I got out
of my preferred bed and climbed into the other bed. I then kicked my suitcase
off onto the floor along with the clothes I was planning to wear the next day.
I also noticed that I was lying on top of the blanket but under the bead cover.
That explains why what I took to be the sheet was so scratchy…
I get up, go to the bathroom. Then get back into the correct
bed and go back to sleep until my alarm sounds. I have no recollection of
getting into the second bed or of kicking my suitcase off onto the floor.
When I am at home, the Chief must have me on a shorter leash
or I might wake up on top of the washing machine trying to cover up with some dryer
sheets and using a ball of lint as a pillow…
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