MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — The lack of security in this border state is taking a toll on local tourism–beaches in particular–as visitors are required to cross through cartel-controlled territories.
The fear has directly affected the economy of the region. In prior years, high turnout from locals and tourists was evident. Fears persist even after a detachment of Mexican Marines was assigned to the beach.
During the summer season, Bagdad Beach, across the border from Brownsville’s Boca Chica Beach, would turn into a highly visited destination.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the road to Bagdad Beach presents a risk to tourists since those same route crosses through cartel-controlled areas. The highway between Matamoros and Bagdad Beach crosses the rural community known as La Bartolina; where cartel members would incinerate their victims. After discovering the killing field early last year, the Mexican government tried to cover-up the matter by claiming forensic technicians could not tell if the remains found were animal or human.
Cartel gun battles and constant highway robberies have scared off prospective tourists traveling the highway to the beach.
“Sadly this situation that prevails in a permanent fashion in this region is now having a negative impact in this city, considering that the presence of tourists has gone from more to less,” said Bagdad Beach Administrator Jose Luis Martinez Anaya.
Concerns are shared among foreign and domestic tourists.
“We continue to see visitors from the interior of the country but sadly that is seen in smaller quantities, this is due to them considering Matamoros to be an unsafe area just like other municipalities in the region,” Martinez Anaya said.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
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