quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
BBC reporting 2 of 4 are dead.

I'm guessing they shot the dudes and will traffic the women.

STUPID

STUPID

STUPID thing to do. Get murdered/trafficked for trying to save money.

My wife is from south Texas, and I spent 7 yrs in the USAF in Arizona and New Mexico. Needless to say, I heard my share of warnings and horror stories. I will never go to ANY border area in Mexico, and likely won't ever go anywhere else in the country, either.

They keep finding dead bodies sealed in 55 gal fuel drums. Blond white women are a favorite for traffickers.

More on why over a million Americans go to Mexico for medical/dental procedures.

Link

Americans often travel to Mexico for low-cost medical services. But bargain shopping for health care can be risky.

Over the weekend, four Americans were kidnapped in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, after travelling by car to the Mexican border town for cosmetic surgery, according to relatives. Two have been confirmed dead.

Border towns, like Matamoros, are among the most dangerous in Mexico. Drug cartels control large regions of the state of Tamaulipas, and often hold more power than local law enforcement.

But these towns are some of the top medical tourism destinations for tens of thousands of Americans, some who can't afford health care in the US.

Medical shoppers, especially those familiar with the region, have learned to take precautions, like changing a vehicle's licence plate to a Mexican one after entering the country by car so they will be less of a target, and avoiding wandering around these towns on foot.

Almost a million trips a year
Price and proximity make Mexico a top medical tourism destination for Americans. "It's economics," said Néstor Rodriguez, an immigration studies expert and professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. "Medicines and services are cheaper in Mexico, especially dental procedures. You can get your teeth cleaned or an implant for a fraction of the cost of what you get in the US."

The quality of care usually matches what a patient can find in the US, he added, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned against some infections from surgical procedures in Mexico.

According to the Mexican Council for the Medical Tourism Industry, nearly one million Americans travel to Mexico for medical care each year. For many border cities, it's among the fastest-growing industries.

In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, a few hours northwest of Matamoros, two main corridors running south from the region's main international land crossing are lined with dozens of dentistry offices. Surrounding them are hotels, common near ports of entry but especially convenient for travellers seeking medical care.

In Tijuana, Baja California, just a three-minute drive south of the border from San Diego, a 33-storey medical facility opened in November 2022. Launched as "the best medical tourism facility in the world," the NewCity Medical Plaza offers care in more than 30 medical specialties, including cosmetic surgery, as well as a hotel and shopping centre.






The New City Medical Plaza complex in Tijuana, Baja CaliforniaImage source, AFP via Getty Images


The New City Medical Plaza complex stands near the Mexico-US border fence in Tijuana, Baja California

'This is a reminder the border is not safe'
Border regions are among the most prone to criminal activity and violence in Mexico. The latest advisory from the US Department of State warns against travel to Tamaulipas due to crime and kidnapping, citing that passenger buses and private vehicles can often be a target. Other Mexico border states also have travel warnings.

While some border towns have become especially hostile for immigrants and asylum seekers trying to enter the US, violence against Americans in these regions is rare. The especially striking kidnapping of four Americans and subsequent killing of two is "out of the norm," Mr Rodriguez said.

"This is a reminder and an indication that the border is not really safe."

Safety risks usually do not discourage Mexican-Americans and other patients familiar with these areas from crossing the border, where medical services are usually easy to find near ports of entry.

"If you cross the border, you know to go directly to your destination," Mr Rodriguez said. "I stopped going."

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
I'm guessing they shot the dudes and will traffic the women. Blond white women are a favorite for traffickers.

They've already recovered all four of them. Two of the men were killed, and the other two (1 man and 1 woman) were alive, but one was injured.

No blonde women or human trafficking involved. All four were African-American, and the report is that they were attacked by Mexican drug cartel members after being mistaken for rival Haitian drug smugglers.

India is a MUCH Better place for medical tourism. They speak English, the hospitals are clean and the doctors well trained. They do a lot of hip replacements. Food is good and you go to a luxury hotel for recuperation. Crime is not an issue. You need to keep your eyes closed from the airport to to the hospital to avoid the abject poverty and filth.

As far as dental is concerned pay out of pocket. You can buy a car you can afford a dentist. BTW almost all have payment plans.

FWIW I was talking to my Dentist recently about that.

I told him I was getting a winter home in Arizona and what did he think of people going across the border into Mexico and getting their dental work done.

He was very diplomatic in his answer. We are in Oklahoma City. He said I really can't tell you if it's good and safe or not, but I can tell you I am often fixing peoples dental issues who have had it done in Mexico. It was done wrong, had continual issues and I have to go in and fix it. He also said you wouldn't believe how many Mexican folks I've had to work on, not to fix a new issue but to go back and correct bad dental work done in Mexico.

I have a friend who is currently in Yuma AZ who went across the border and got his teeth cleaned for $30 American and said he was very pleased with it. He said the actual Dentist cleaned his teeth and that the Dentist said he received his dental training at a USA Dental School. I know it costs a few hundred thousand bucks, at least, to graduate from a USA Dental School. How you pay that back at $30 earned for cleaning the teeth, well I think that's fishy, you can't pay back the student loans at $30 for 3-45 minutes of work time. If that's even the truth of being USA trained.

You roll the dice, you play the cards you are dealt, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Dental work is not something I would get done in Mexico, but a lot of people do and they are satisfied. A good number have had dental work done in Mexico and rue the day they did.

Dental work is not like getting your car fixed in the body shop after a wreck. Bad dental work may not be able to be reversed if gum issues develop, or infections, jaw bone integrity screwed up, etc, for a few examples. A body shop can always go back and fix a previous job properly.
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quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
No blonde women or human trafficking involved. All four were African-American, and the report is that they were attacked by Mexican drug cartel members after being mistaken for rival Haitian drug smugglers.

Not surprised, the poor quality video I saw, the 2 placed into a truck were both black, with dreadlocks...

I guess her security was inadequate for the job. Also guessing she did not meet the standard, so They let her go.
$ probably got him loose.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
I'm guessing they shot the dudes and will traffic the women. Blond white women are a favorite for traffickers.

They've already recovered all four of them. Two of the men were killed, and the other two (1 man and 1 woman) were alive, but one was injured.

No blonde women or human trafficking involved. All four were African-American, and the report is that they were attacked by Mexican drug cartel members after being mistaken for rival Haitian drug smugglers.

Yep. Im told the East coast plates along with their looks was the red flag for the cartel informants who dropped the dime on them coming into that area.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around her (their) story that she and three dudes from South Carolina drove to Matamoros for her 'discounted' tummy tuck in a rented South Carolina mini van vs something else. When I look at the video where she is sitting in the bed of the truck and another corpse is thrown in next to her, she just gives the corpse a cursory glance like, well Billy Bob didn't make it but I'm alive as they load (throw) others in next to her. Hope she didn't rent the Mini Van in her name. Hertz or Avis will be looking for payment for the Mini Van never returned or shot out.

video?

Yup, just google it and you'll see the video just after the shoot. Shows them putting her in the bed of the pick up and dragging 2-3 others over the the pick up.

^^^ Yeah, you really don't need to post it on here.

I find the "medical travel" story to be hinky, too.

Seems to be a sad story. Off all the border areas to cross, that’s not where I would cross. Unfortunately Mexico is a corrupt country with lots of issues. It’s both beautiful and terrifying.


I’m in Mexico City right now. It’s not risk free, but it’s not exactly the south side of Chicago either. Places like Iztapalapa are locations I would only visit during the day, and there are parts of the country I would avoid all together.


If the story is what it appears to be, then I only feel great sorrow for their families. Everyone has made bad choices at times in our lives, most of us got away with it.

perhaps a rip. Goes to MX to get drugs, brings lots of cash, goes sideways, they are smoked>?

quote:

I find the "medical travel" story to be hinky, too

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not me. What evidence do you have of drug smuggling? Even folks with a low IQ would seek other options. I guess they did not view Midnight Express.

quote:

Originally posted by 2PAK:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around her (their) story that she and three dudes from South Carolina drove to Matamoros for her 'discounted' tummy tuck in a rented South Carolina mini van vs something else. When I look at the video where she is sitting in the bed of the truck and another corpse is thrown in next to her, she just gives the corpse a cursory glance like, well Billy Bob didn't make it but I'm alive as they load (throw) others in next to her. Hope she didn't rent the Mini Van in her name. Hertz or Avis will be looking for payment for the Mini Van never returned or shot out.

Ever been to a ghetto, public housing, trailer park or, had friends who lived in & amongst poor areas....logic goes out the window in those parts.

Not sure the economic situation of this group of four but, renting a vehicle, to travel 1300+ miles, in order to get a tummy-tuck, in a border-town in Mexico. Just that sentence alone, has a whole bunch of ...what?

quote:

Ever been to a ghetto, public housing, trailer park or, had friends who lived in & amongst poor areas....logic goes out the window in those parts

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep. Never lived but spent time there. Nobody awake before noon. Drinking 40s on the corner, frequent gunshots etc. Logic does not apply.

I'm betting there is more to this story. I know lots of people go there for medical procedures but four people and only one is getting a procedure.

I understand a wife/husband going with you but three people. Did they all travel from NC?

I may be wrong, but I thought that most of the rental car companies, if not all of them, did not allow you to take the car across international borders. That would be in the rental contract you sign.
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