Driving Mexico's Highway of Death

Mexico has been on the limelight for the last few years. While they're not at war with any other country, they have a bigger battle to win – and that's the one against the drug cartels. The cartels are pretty much in control of the country; they are known to pay off judges, police officers and even politicians, in order to get their way. A large number of their murders are carried out on Mexico's Highway of Death. It all started when people, who were simply driving by, began to disappear and would resurface days later,dead in a ditch. Certainly, it takes a lot of courage to go driving down Mexico's highway of Death, but to some, there simply isn't an alternate way.

Cruising on Highway 101

Not so long ago – before the drug epidemic broke out – families would travel long distances to meet with relatives. Those who were in the northern region would simply drive on today's Mexico's Highway of Death. This main road is officially known as Highway 101, but since hundreds of people have been brutally murdered on it, now it's considered to be one of the deadliest Highways of Death. In a few occasions, American and European tourists have been shot and left to rot on the side of the highway. Moreover, migrants seem to be the easiest prey for the drug cartels, since authorities have found ditches with up to 70 bodies of Central and South American migrants. Also, there used to be a lot of traffic coming and going between the States and Mexico. A lot of those were Mexican-Americans who were looking to visit their relatives in Mexico for a few days.

Getting to Mexico—Avoid Death

Texas has a large population of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. A lot of them still keep in contact with their relatives back in Mexico, and therefore, they visit the country a lot. For example, a man interviewed after a shoot-out, stated that he was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, but traveled quite a lot to Tamaulipas, Mexico to see his relatives because it was only a 4-hour drive. Of course, he used to take Highway 101 because it was the fastest way to get to his destination. Today, he still drives to Tamaulipas but he makes sure to stay armed and to travel along with other three drivers. They stay together and speed down the highway. The advantage is that there aren't too many cars, which gives them room to speed up.

Drug Wars and Highway of Death

It's truly a shame how difficult it has become to go driving down Mexico's Highway of Death. Certainly, people are trying to avoid getting killed, and they are pushing the government to stop the drug lords. However, this is a problematic that will take some time to resolve.  Today, even American truck drivers are trying to avoid having to go through the Highway of Death. Some of them have to drive all through Mexico in order to deliver the items they are carrying, with the fear of getting shot.

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