Close call for Calgarian in Mexican Shooting

(CALGARY, Alberta) - Calgarian Yves Guay, 52, who has traveled to Mexico by RV with his wife Sharon for the last six years was shot during a scuffle at their RV in the evening of March 4th, when two men tried to force their way in. They were staying at the Las Jaibas Trailer Park in Mazatlan.

Mr. Guay was shot in the upper right leg and the bullet just missed the main artery. He is expected to be released from the hospital over the weekend. He and his wife will fly back to Calgary, and a relative will drive the RV.

His wife said she heard a knock at the door and thought it was a neighbor. She looked out and saw two men in what appeared to be dark coveralls with a crest on the chest. She thought they were police. When her husband went to the door, the first one screamed and tried to force his way in. He wrestled with the intruder, when the second man pointed a gun at him. Guay lunged at him and instead of being shot in the head was shot in the leg.

The Calgary Herald reported him saying, “I've been coming down for six years. It's just a shame that of all the 54 or 55 RVs, they happened to come at mine. It's just something that happened. I'm not angry. I was a little puzzled why we got picked out, but that's the way it is. We'll see what we do next year whether we come back down.” Mexican officials suspect the incident was connected somehow to the drug war and are very concerned because the tourist dollar is so important.

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jim r May 15, 2010 10:46 am (Pacific time)

RE This claim that "32%" of all US travelers that die will die in Mexico. This assertion is used to promote the listed website in their "blog" (really an advertisement of their website). The promoters of the web site listed in the blog post this most anytime they find a story about Mexico. This, of course, is useless information unless placed in context. Mexico is by far and away the country more Americans travel to than any other country---more by noon each day than the UK gets for a year. In fact, 32% of all American traveling out of the US, go to Mexico (source US Office of Travel and Tourism Industries) So it is not "shocking" that 32% of all non-natural deaths of U.S. citizens outside this country occur in Mexico. That is the exact number that travel there! For the statistically challenged, this is a baseline of zero. The promoter of the site claim they just want to spread the truth, but are fully aware of the misleading nature of their 32% promotional tag. This should clue you in as to the nature of the website as well. The promoters are several women whose children have died in Mexico, which indeed is a tragedy. What is also tragic is what they have since chosen to do with their time---–race baiting. The site they want you to read is self-written and scripted antidotal evidence of how evil Mexico and Mexicans are. The main promoter tells a story of the loss of the 20+ year-old son in a pool accident. The details as she tells them are quite unclear. There is a vague reference to her son being drunk, which is not disclaimed. Her primary complaint seems to be that a nurse from Canada should have been able to intervene and make the hotel doctor do a better job. Where in the world would it be acceptable for a stranger in a crowd to come forward to stop a doctor? There seems to be an assumption that a nurse from Canada must be better than a doctor from Mexico. By the way, at least by implication the hotel had a doctor on call and sent the doctor to treat her son. She complains this all happened in a large resort in Cancun. The resort, in fact, is part of a large chain, with locations in multiple countries. What of the other countries this chain is in, or is it just Mexico? What of the chain itself? Given the level of analysis on the 32% claim, it has either been lost upon her, or ignored, that these chain resorts are not usually owned nor controlled by Mexicans, nor are the often separate management companies usually run by Mexicans, nor are the local on-site managers usually Mexicans. What is the answer in her case? The resort at issue is actually owned by a company located in Europe! Note that I did not say "hotels" as most of the resorts in the world (including in the US) today work under a different and complicated business model of managing locations of timeshares and fractionals through management companies--something she does not seem to understand either or has chosen to ignore. The site also follows a practice of posting negative news articles about Mexico, without verification or later correction--like the report of a kidnaped teen in Cancun that turned out to be a runaway. Mam, your loss is tragic. There are many positive things you can do in your son's name. However, this is not one of them. Your misguided race baiting efforts do not honor your son. Yes, the US does have better safety standards than most other countries. The last few decades have led to major safety improvements in the US unseen in the rest of the world. We have, for instance, had seat belt laws for almost two decades now. You will not see bicycle helmets outside of the US. etc. On the flip side, you will not see cities setting up common bicycle stations where residents can pick up a bike at one station and drop off at the next, like in some European cities. That would require everyone to carry a helmet with them or break the law. I suppose we could not travel anywhere if that were considered, or even go out the front door. We could, after all, continue our drive in the US towards "shocking" public ignorance of world affairs and culture, poor education, while simultaneously sucking all joy out of life, locked in our homes. Oh yes, we could continue to use “antidotal evidence" to support prejudice and racism. It is unlikely that the "32%" people even know that some European cities have the type of bicycle service I just mentioned, because it would require going there and seeing it. Antidotal evidence of death and injury can be submitted for any location in the world. On the other hand and sadly, we in the US balance our general increase in safety by gun violence not seen anywhere else on earth. Tijuana, the busiest border city in the world is generally considered a dangerous city, yet has a lower per capita murder rate than many US cities, including for instance, Houston. No Mexican has ever walked into a school or mall with a gun and shot scores of people. Ever. Killings by drug dealers are of other drug dealers, not tourists and limited to localized areas of a big country. Cabo, for instance, is three times further from Tijuana than is Los Angeles, a city that has some parts that no one in their right mind would just stroll through. At present, we shoot more people here in the US than in any other country in the world. Nor are you a target of Al Qaeda in Mexico. Mexicans actually like Americans, a rare treat nowadays. Our own country went through the type of battle Mexico now faces in the 20s through the 50s. Then, as now, it is generally localized and targeted at each other. Then, it was along the Canadian border where the booze came from, which is why Chicago was such a problem. We could do out part to help, but the politics of drugs here in the US limits that to a great degree. The real story is always the same: You should not leave your common sense at home when traveling. The most common tourist risks are not what you might think, but instead drowning and auto accidents. Auto accidents are a world wide problem. Drowning is an increased risk for vacationers because most vacationers are near water. The risk as to both can be reduced by being careful. Just because a country does not require you to wear a seatbelt, does not mean you should not wear one. Just because you are on vacation, does not mean you should drink and drive. Just because you are on vacation does not mean you should get in the ocean or a pool while drunk. The most dangerous shots involving tourists in Mexico include use of alcohol.

Vic March 14, 2010 8:52 am (Pacific time)

I hear ya Douglas...and I am sorry for insinuating that you are racist. I do believe that robbers prey on tourists..just recently a group of about 20 people were robbed at gunpoint during a eco-tour by robbers who seemed to have it all planned out in advance. The tour company is being investigated for possible complicity. I think we are lucky because we are in a town somewhat apart from others where everyone knows everyone else. Because we associate with the locals and welcome our Mexican friends into our house..(had another great dinner party yesterday) we have beenccepted, I believe. And it isnt because, as some have asserted, that they see us as rich Gringos...we are just as hand-to-mouth as they are and they know it. I think that if I were a Mexican, Id have a real attitude towards Gringos...Thankfully most of the people here are above that.

douglas benson March 10, 2010 7:13 am (Pacific time)

Sorry if I sound racist to you Vic ,but white people arent the only racists .If you havent lived in the projects you wouldnt understand that there are some places white people arent allowed .Ever been anywhere like that I doubt it . Where you walk down the street and everyone stares ,the brothers on the corner say cracker you best get the f- out of this nieghborhood ? Even after I was accepted in the nieghborhood brothers that didnt know me would ask what the f- is this cracker doing here [and my new friends would set them straight ] As for sticking to the tourist area in mexico ,yes the tourists get robbed all the time but the fedral police try to keep it down as much as possible [its bad for tourism ]

Diane from Calgary March 8, 2010 12:28 pm (Pacific time)

I think their feeling of safety comes by being in a place surrounded by others like them, and of course they also have security guards around. I feel just as safe in Mexico as I do when I'm at places near home too...dark alleys and strange places make me fearful...so can understand how these retired people feel the same way. We have shootings, stabbings and muggings (more frequent now, with a young guy being beat to death just for a cigarette, and another 80+ man attacked in his own home given a black eye and broken nose)so I guess when we're on holidays we try to forget about those things....too bad crime is everywhere. But believe in the goodness of people as it still exists! http://www.nowpublic.com/world/canadian-tourist-unsung-hero-los-cabos

Vic March 8, 2010 8:42 am (Pacific time)

Yep...very dangerous here. Besafe fails to mention that the leading (by far) cause of death of foreigners in Mexico is AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS. It must be nice to live in Canada and the US where there is NO armed robberies, NO crime and NO unnatural deaths. Stay scared and stay in the US..we dont need you ! When I was 15, I and my friend were robbed at gunpoint..in Portland. The same year, my first wife to be was raped..by a white guy in Canby Oregon. A $1200 generator was stolen from my house in Silverton two years ago, where five years earlier, my chain saw was stolen. When I was 19, my car was stolen...from the Lloyd Center..Portland Oregon. I had a knife pulled on me at a truckstop in Chattanooga, Tenn when I was 20...another white American....So keep being scared, and no matter how desperate things get, DO NOT come to Mexico...And Douglas Benson...you are so full of it...Im glad the people here are not as racist as you seem to be. And Benson..if you were a robber, wouldnt you go to the tourist areas? It wouldnt make much sense to rob other poor people, would it? So your stay in the resort theory does not make much sense. You can have the "resort" areas, where fat rich whites enjoy having the natives serving them like royalty for $10 per day...whatever helps you with your fragile egos and your superiority complexes. Fools !

douglas benson March 8, 2010 5:28 am (Pacific time)

And just think Dan ,this country has very strict gun control laws . These predators know the tourists cant be armed unless they got a weapon in mexico . Go outside the tourist area you best be armed . Life in these countries means nothing ,we live in a very shelterd world ,They live in a world where your life aint worth a food stamp .Most of the time they dont have a gun it costs too much but a knife in the back while thier kid distracts you works just as well . Its hard to understand why when we live in places where you dont have to be a predator to survive . The core problem even here is poverty and desperation .When you have nothing you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I have lived in places like that here in the states .I was one of the only white boys allowed to walk the street because I had heart ,to be more precise I was just as violent when tested .I got my "respect" willing to fight and die rather than be a victim .Hood rules are present everywhere poverty rules whether its america ,mexico ect.

BeSafe March 8, 2010 1:03 am (Pacific time)

Mexico is a dangerous country to travel to period! A shocking 32% of all non natural deaths of U.S. citizens outside this country happen in Mexico. Many of these deaths take place in resort areas and are a direct result of poor or non existent safety standards. To read tragic Mexico vacation DEATH stories as well as stories written by victims that “survived” their Mexico vacation go to: www.MexicoVacationAwareness.com

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