On a sweltering morning in Mexico City yesterday, I looked with sleepy eyes at my screen to find a newsletter had taken a map of cartel turf that I published here on CrashOut with a paywall, slapped their label on it and put it out for free.
Thanks there brother and indeed it's a lot of investigation into a complicated changing situation. Things move and there is discussion about different municipalities but I think it gives a good overall picture of where things are at.
You know what man. Colombia used to be wracked with violence just like Mexico is today and Colombia has maybe not turned it completely around but the change has been dramatic. I hope that Mexico can do the same. If Colombia was able to do it I believe that Mex will be able to turn it around someday as well.
Hey Ioan, man that sucks about people stealing your work! The Internet is truly like the Wild West. Anyway, what state, in your opinion, is the most dangerous to travel through right now? Fresnillo and Zacatecas? The burbs of Guadalajara? TJ and the Baja desert? Anywhere you recommend not to drive through? I love taking road trips to Mexico and have never had problems outside of a stolen car stereo and phone, but I'd like to avoid the rough spots!
It's tricky to evaluate the risks. But if you check out the murder map I have you can see the most murderous states. If you would go to the second half - the lower 16 - I think that would substantially reduce risks. There is still plenty of cool places to road trip there. Best.
Thanks! Yes I love the whole Pacific Coast but especially from PV and South, Oaxaca being my absolute favorite! I remember camping out on the beach South of Puerto Escondido one time and seeing about a million shooting stars. Me encanta Mexico mucho! Stay safe!
Oaxaca is amazing. They have built a new road from Oaxaca City to Puerto which makes it just two and a half hours so it is booming. Local drug selling is also booming. Huatulco is lovely if more pricey and commercial.
We used to go surfing at this place Barra de la Cruz a couple hours south of Puerto and just tent out on the beach in front of this perfect wave for weeks and saw maybe a couple other gringos and a few locals but now the spot is blown up just like everywhere else from TJ all the way down to Chile 🤨. I knew this other tiny spot in the middle of nowhere in Ecuador in the 2000s but even that is blown! Times change amigo!
Yeah, it's hard to find those sweet spots now. Playa del Carmen was once a hippy seaside village. I am still of fan of San Pedro Guatemala on the lake to chill.
San Pedro is fantastic.. Guatemala probably has some spots left and maybe Colombia. Northern Brazil will be blown out and then we'll have to start going to West Africa to find the good spots!
Ref. your stolen map issue. I'm not tech expert, but you may want to put non-removable small, multi-labels like your name over your original work, but make it accessible to subscribers without the labels upon request. That way you can have some control over it and keep a log who requested it. You probably won't get many requests so the the task should be small. I have to admit that I used that same map in a briefing I recently gave since it was the most recent one I could find, but in a classified setting, so the chances of it getting out are next to none. No one asked for a copy of the brief either digits or hard copy also. I did give you full credit (your name) for it, but in a text box below the map. Stay safe.
Hey there Jeff. Thanks for the note. I am very glad you used the map in a briefing and totally fine. It's different that it was put out on a competing Subtack as a freebie. However, to be honest it was bound to break out at some point and the ding dong has given me publicity.
Watermarks work for photo and video. However, in this case they took all the info from their map and redrew a new map so it wouldn't have stopped it. Interesting case. All best friend.
The map is incredible by the way. It looks like you got it down to the individual municipalities. Unreal work man.
Thanks there brother and indeed it's a lot of investigation into a complicated changing situation. Things move and there is discussion about different municipalities but I think it gives a good overall picture of where things are at.
You know what man. Colombia used to be wracked with violence just like Mexico is today and Colombia has maybe not turned it completely around but the change has been dramatic. I hope that Mexico can do the same. If Colombia was able to do it I believe that Mex will be able to turn it around someday as well.
Yeah, in the long time I am optimistic for Mexico. I think there will at least another decade of bloodshed though, but let's see...
Hey Ioan, man that sucks about people stealing your work! The Internet is truly like the Wild West. Anyway, what state, in your opinion, is the most dangerous to travel through right now? Fresnillo and Zacatecas? The burbs of Guadalajara? TJ and the Baja desert? Anywhere you recommend not to drive through? I love taking road trips to Mexico and have never had problems outside of a stolen car stereo and phone, but I'd like to avoid the rough spots!
It's tricky to evaluate the risks. But if you check out the murder map I have you can see the most murderous states. If you would go to the second half - the lower 16 - I think that would substantially reduce risks. There is still plenty of cool places to road trip there. Best.
Thanks! Yes I love the whole Pacific Coast but especially from PV and South, Oaxaca being my absolute favorite! I remember camping out on the beach South of Puerto Escondido one time and seeing about a million shooting stars. Me encanta Mexico mucho! Stay safe!
Oaxaca is amazing. They have built a new road from Oaxaca City to Puerto which makes it just two and a half hours so it is booming. Local drug selling is also booming. Huatulco is lovely if more pricey and commercial.
We used to go surfing at this place Barra de la Cruz a couple hours south of Puerto and just tent out on the beach in front of this perfect wave for weeks and saw maybe a couple other gringos and a few locals but now the spot is blown up just like everywhere else from TJ all the way down to Chile 🤨. I knew this other tiny spot in the middle of nowhere in Ecuador in the 2000s but even that is blown! Times change amigo!
Yeah, it's hard to find those sweet spots now. Playa del Carmen was once a hippy seaside village. I am still of fan of San Pedro Guatemala on the lake to chill.
San Pedro is fantastic.. Guatemala probably has some spots left and maybe Colombia. Northern Brazil will be blown out and then we'll have to start going to West Africa to find the good spots!
Ref. your stolen map issue. I'm not tech expert, but you may want to put non-removable small, multi-labels like your name over your original work, but make it accessible to subscribers without the labels upon request. That way you can have some control over it and keep a log who requested it. You probably won't get many requests so the the task should be small. I have to admit that I used that same map in a briefing I recently gave since it was the most recent one I could find, but in a classified setting, so the chances of it getting out are next to none. No one asked for a copy of the brief either digits or hard copy also. I did give you full credit (your name) for it, but in a text box below the map. Stay safe.
Best,
-Jeff
Hey there Jeff. Thanks for the note. I am very glad you used the map in a briefing and totally fine. It's different that it was put out on a competing Subtack as a freebie. However, to be honest it was bound to break out at some point and the ding dong has given me publicity.
Watermarks work for photo and video. However, in this case they took all the info from their map and redrew a new map so it wouldn't have stopped it. Interesting case. All best friend.