Last week saw a wave of violence across parts of Mexico, including Tijuana. Officials are blaming the violence on drug cartels, which effectively shut down parts of Tijuana over the course of several days, throwing up road blocks and hijacking and burning passenger vehicles.
But according to Araceli MartÃnez Ortega with La Opinión, some Angelinos north of the border remain undeterred from visiting the city, either for business or pleasure.
“I don’t want it to affect my life,” said MarÃa López of the violence. López and her husband live in Los Angeles and operate a chain of rental units along the popular resort destination of Rosarito south of Tijuana.
The area is currently the venue for a major music festival, the Baja Beach Fest, which organizers decided to continue with despite the threat of continued violence. According to MartÃnez Ortega, hotels and rental homes are at full capacity.
Officials, meanwhile, have dispatched soldiers and national guard troops to try to reestablish security in the region.
Marta Samano, who operates an Airbnb in Rosarito, says the cause of last week’s violence was tied to a prison riot in Juárez — where 11 people were left dead, including the host of a popular radio program — and to the government’s arrests of several cartel leaders.
“It’s been 5 years since we invested in the purchase of that house in Rosarito and we have never experienced any problems,” she told La Opinión, adding, however, that just like in Los Angeles one has to be aware of one’s surroundings.
Read the full story in Spanish at La Opinión.
