Baja Safari Salsa Food Reports

As well as surf, sand and sun, another thing you can count on when you spend much of winter at the southern reaches of the Baja peninsula is an endless supply of fish tacos. And dreams of good Salsa.

Casting for yellowtail, dorado, sierra and other varieties that provide the meat of a fish taco, after all, long has been the principal lure of Los Cabos, the sunny fishing settlements of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California Sur, where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean mesh.

I couldn't wait. On the drive from San Diego, webegan to eat fish tacos south of the border and continued through Ensenada, San Quintin, Guerrero Negro and other coastal cities recognized for their seafood.

No question, fish tacos constitute a quick and convenient meal, customarily consisting of a few pieces of battered and fried fish tucked inside a corn tortilla. The dressings generally include shredded cabbage and a mayonnaise-based sauce. Assorted optional additions are wedges of lime, slices of cucumber, pico de gallo and a wide range of hot sauces.

"There may be no experience on Earth that quite matches the pleasure of an afternoon spent wandering around the Ensenada fish market, sluicing fish tacos down with oceans of slush-cold Tecate beer and watching locals haggle over yellowtail tuna and horse mackerel".

I now suspect, however, that many a tourist in Baja, Mexico was smitten more with the scene, the sunshine and the cerveza than the fish tacos.

By the time I got to Los Cabos, I not only had my fill of fish tacos, I was convinced they're the most boring item of the Mexican diet.

Just when, where and by whom the fish taco was hatched is a matter of debate in culinary circles, but I wouldn't be surprised if the inventor was an enterprising street vendor responding to touring gringos who prefer their food readily identifiable, convenient, pale, bland, fried and cheap, requisites met quite neatly by the standard fish taco.

Sure, over the ensuing months, we again ate fish tacos, especially at two landmark Baja taquerias celebrated for their fish, shrimp and scallop tacos: Taqueria Rossy and Cabo Mama Surf Tacos. Both were within walking distance of our casa in San Jose del Cabo.

But our diet branched out as we explored other aspects of Mexican cuisine, both ancient and modern.

"Don't eat the street food," warned an ex-pat American schoolteacher I ran into on a morning walk soon after we arrived. It was advice not difficult to heed when it came to neon-colored clouds of cotton candy  but easy to forget when the choice was succulent and spicy tacos al pastor – slices of marinated pork stacked on a spit, fired by a gas-fueled flame and quickly cut into thin strips that fly deftly into a palmed tortilla, often topped with a chunk of pineapple flicked from atop the cone of meat.

Mexican cuisine as frequently interpreted in California is pedestrian and heavy – tacos of oily ground beef, tamales with more masa than filling, burritos big enough to double as pontoons on a fishing boat. Granted, some California chefs appreciate that cooking in Mexico is largely regional, and frequently fresher, lighter and more varied than versions we see routinely in the United States.

But after three months in San Jose del Cabo, I wouldn't try to codify a "Baja cuisine." As Mexican regions go, Baja California Sur is too young, modern, diverse and dynamic for any one cluster of dishes to represent the state, or for even a defined style of cooking to have evolved.

Yet I sensed four currents of Mexican cooking coursing through Baja California Sur:

• Simply prepared seafood inspired by proximity to the Sea of Cortez, with its varied bounty of fish and its expansive white beaches, where local families have camped on weekends and holidays for generations. On the beach, the catch may be grilled quickly, then tossed onto a tortilla with a homemade salsa and a dash or two of hot sauce. In one of the region's artfully ambitious restaurants, the seafood is apt to be prepared and presented with more precision, such as parrotfish steamed in banana leaves, topped with a pesto of cilantro and cashews, and accompanied with a ratatouille of prickly pear.

• Despite the area's emphasis on seafood, more beef is prepared in gutsy and rustic hacienda ways than you might expect along a warm coastline. Baja, however, continues to celebrate its ranching culture, which remains alive despite the sparse forage of the desert and the encroachment of condominiums.

(Much of the state, incidentally, still is open range, something to keep in mind as you drive along the coast, your eyes diverted by multimillion-dollar "villas" rising above the beaches.)

• No matter how casual or how grand, few restaurants of Los Cabos are without at least a dish or two from other regions of Mexico, recognition that much of the area's population, whether permanent or seasonal, consists of people who have arrived in cars with license plates saying Nuevo León, Michoacán, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Sonora or some other mainland state.

• By the same token, the 18-mile stretch of Highway 1 between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas  is dotted with tony seaside resorts whose clientele is in large part international, thereby helping account for the Italian, Japanese, Chinese, French and Thai restaurants in and about the two cities.

If Mexican food frequently is knocked as "unhealthy" it isn't for its content so much as its vivid flavors, which invite overindulgence. Many of the staples of the Mexican diet are marvelously wholesome – avocados, tomatillos, tomatoes, beans, corn – and their preparation often retains their nutrients without adding too much distracting impact from butter, sugar, salt and the like.

The two supermarkets we frequented had terrific produce sections, their bins sagging with pineapples, papayas, cantaloupes and other vitamin-dense fruits. A subsection of one produce department included more than 20 fresh herbs, some familiar (minty yerba buena, earthy epazote) and some new to me (ruda, said to be favored by the Aztecs as a cure for intestinal ailments).

For every downtown cart selling ice cream, another would be dispensing fresh-sliced watermelon and mango. The most popular breakfast destination along the blue-collar street Valerio González Canseco was a café specializing in take-away jugos and licuados, its entrance crowded with sacks of oranges.

And just try to find some traditional "manteca de cerdo," or lard rendered from pork. When I asked its whereabouts at one of the supermarkets I was shown to an aisle lined with jars of "manteca vegetal comestible," or vegetable shortening. There wasn't a tablespoon of lard to be found in the place.

But as I began to prepare beans that called specifically for lard, I remembered a nearby open-air café where the specialty is carnitas, chunks of pork fried in large caldrons of oil alongside the sidewalk out front. The place does a huge business, and I got to speculating that it must have some lard it would be willing to give up.

Sure enough, the cooks at El Michoacano saw me coming, and had a kilo of old- fashioned pork fat in my hands before I completely got out my request in my halting Spanish. The plastic container was dented, its top torn, and it had to be kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator because there was almost as much lard on the outside as inside. Like oak with wine, a little lard goes a long way, and that kilo was far more than I needed during our three-month sojourn.

No, there's much more to Baja cookery than fish tacos. As we neared the end of our stay, I returned to the most historic and alluring place to shop for food in San Jose del Cabo, the Alberto A. Alvarado Aramburo Mercado Municipal, the old-time communal market in the middle of the city.

In addition to produce stands and Tortilleria Erika, it includes Marlene Cremeria y Polleria for chicharron, chorizo, chicken and cheese, Carniceria Dos Arbolitos for carne de puerco, New York rib-eye, machaca and other cuts, Sinaloa Fish Market for cabrilla, chica, huachinango, camaron, atun and other seafood, and a food court with 10 small stalls, most of which are named for and overseen by women – Marbella, Sonia, Ely.

Fish tacos weren't among the options, but chilaquiles was, and at a table in front of the stall Luncheria ZuLema that's what I ordered, with a verde sauce, two fried eggs and a tall tumbler of freshly made orange juice.

It was the perfect send-off. The accompanying salsas were blistering hot, the chopped cilantro fresh, the white onion sweet, the eggs precise, and the chilaquiles – basically triangles of leftover tortillas simmered in a zesty tomatillo sauce – had the elusively correct texture, slightly chewy and hauntingly toasty.

Pescado a la Veracruzana

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

While most closely identified with the Mexican coastal city of Veracruz, this classic seafood entree can be prepared wherever meaty fish fillets can be found. We generally used cabrilla, sometimes called flag cabrilla, a member of the grouper family caught in the Sea of Cortez off San José del Cabo. Serve with a fruity albarino, pinot grigio, chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc.

Note: Prep time does not include the 1-hour marinate time for the fish.

INGREDIENTS

For the fish:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless meaty fish fillets like red snapper or halibut, preferably in 4 pieces, each 1/2-inch thick

Freshly squeezed lime juice and a little salt

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably part olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 pounds (4 medium-large) ripe tomatoes, roasted or boiled, peeled and cored, or three 15-ounce cans good-quality tomatoes, lightly drained

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

20 meaty green olives (preferably manzanillo), pitted and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons large Spanish capers

2 medium pickled chilies (jalapeños), stemmed, seeded and sliced into strips

1 tablespoon pickling juices from the chilies

1 1/2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs, such as marjoram and thyme

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus a few springs for garnish

3 bay leaves

1-inch cinnamon stick

2 cloves

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, very coarsely ground

1 cup light-flavored fish broth, bottled clam juice or water

Salt, if necessary

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse the fillets, lay them in a noncorrosive dish and sprinkle them with lime juice and salt. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 7 or 8 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, cut the peeled fresh tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds into a strainer set over a small bowl. Cut the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Collect all the juices on the cutting board and add to the tomatoes, along with those strained from the seeds. Canned tomatoes need only be lightly drained, then cut into 1-inch pieces, collecting the juices as you go.

Add the garlic to the lightly browned onion and stir for a minute or so, then add the tomatoes and their juice. Simmer for 5 minutes to reduce some of the liquid.

Divide the olives and capers between two small bowls, and set one aside to use as garnish. To the other bowl, add the jalapeño strips, pickling juice, mixed herbs and chopped parsley. If you don't wish to have the whole bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves or cracked pepper in the finished sauce, wrap them in cheesecloth and tie with a string; otherwise, add them directly to the bowl containing the herbs.

After the tomato mixture has simmered and reduced, add the olive/caper mixture which contains the jalapeño strips, pickling juice, herbs and spices (either loose or in cheesecloth). Add the fish broth (or clam juice or water). Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary and remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick (if added loose) or cheesecloth-wrapped spices.

Fifteen minutes before serving, remove the fillets from the refrigerator and rinse them again. Either poach them in the sauce on top of the stove or bake in the sauce, as follows:

Stove-top method: Nestle the fish fillets in the sauce so they are well covered. Set the lid on the pan and place over a medium heat. After 4 minutes, turn the fillets over, re-cover and cook 2 or 3 minutes longer, until a fillet will flake under firm pressure.

Baking method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place fillets in a single layer in a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon the sauce over them, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fish just flakes when pressed firmly with a fork at the thickest part.

Serve the poached or baked fillets on warm dinner plates with lots of the sauce, garnished with a sprinkling of the reserved capers and olives and a sprig of parsley.

Per serving: 412 cal.; 40 g pro.; 20 g carb.; 18 g fat (2 sat., 6 monounsat., 10 polyunsat.); 54 mg chol.; 1,218 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 41 percent calories from fat.

Fish tacos

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 to 45 minutes

Serves 6 to 8 (about 24 tacos)

Fine fish tacos are found at stands all about Baja California, customarily selling for less than $2 in U.S. currency. When you fish the Sea of Cortez, however, you have to do something with the seafood you don't release.

While we were in San Jose del Cabo, a brightly polka- dotted, sleek, meaty and rich member of the mackerel family, the sierra, were running strong. We released nearly all of them, but kept a couple for tacos, their oily flavor more than compensated by the spiciness and sweetness of this batter, adapted from Deborah M. Schneider's "Baja: Cooking on the Edge" (Rodale, 274 pages, $27.95). She says double-frying the fish is essential, but we found a single frying to be satisfactory.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried whole Mexican oregano, rubbed to a powder

Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 ounces (1 bottle) cold beer, plus more to thin the batter if necessary

2 pounds firm, meaty fish

Freshly squeezed lime juice

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

24 tortillas, preferably corn

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the batter, whisk together the flour, baking powder, garlic, cayenne, mustard, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper until well blended. Stir in the beer until there are no lumps. (Batter may be made several hours ahead and refrigerated.)

Trim the fish of all blood lines and skin. Cut into pieces the size and shape of your index finger. Sprinkle with a few drops of lime juice and a little salt. (If not using immediately, wrap and refrigerate.)

Pour oil into a deep, wide pan to a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Use a deep-fry thermometer or test the heat by dropping a little of the batter into the oil. It should bounce to the surface almost immediately and be surrounded by little bubbles.

Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Check the thickness of the batter by dipping in one piece of the fish. The batter should be the consistency of medium-thick pancake batter, coating the fish easily but dripping very little. Add a little beer if the batter seems too thick.

Add the fish to the batter. Using tongs or chopsticks, swish each piece to make sure it is thoroughly coated, then lift it out of the batter, let it drip once, and lay the fish gently into the hot oil. Cook a few pieces at a time until they float and the batter is set but still very light in color. Pieces that stick to the bottom may need to be nudged with a spatula to release them.

Remove the fish to a rack to drain; reserve the frying oil. (The fish can be prepared ahead to this point, cooled on a rack, and refrigerated uncovered. Cool the oil and reserve.)

When you are ready to serve, reheat the oil to 350 to 360 degrees and refry the fish a few pieces at a time until crisp and golden brown.

To serve, hold a tortilla in your hand and add a few pieces of fish and the traditional accompaniments: shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, chopped white onion, cilantro, lime juice, mayonnaise-based sauce (mix together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 to 2 teaspoons white vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons milk or water). Corn tortillas customarily are preferred for fish tacos.

Per serving based on 8 servings without accompaniments: 480 cal.; 31 g pro.; 60 g carb.; 11 g fat (2 sat., 3 monounsat., 6 polyunsat.); 36 mg chol.; 343 mg sod.; 5 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 22 percent calories from fat.

Chilaquiles verdes

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish

Chilaquiles verdes, a popular breakfast dish inMexico City, can be dressed up for dinner by adding a couple of cups of shredded roasted chicken.

For this dish, the tortilla chips, sauce and crema can be prepared in advance, but simmer the final assembly just before serving to retain the dish's proper texture.

Note: The prep and cook times include the time to make the salsa verde and the crèma espresa. The prep time also does not include the 16- to 28-hour set and chill time for the crèma espesa

INGREDIENTS:

6 medium-thick corn tortillas, preferably stale and store-bought

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups tomatillo sauce (salsa verde) (recipe follows)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup boneless, cooked chicken, cut in chunks (optional)

1 large sprig epazote (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup thick crèma espesa (recipe follows), or commercial sour cream thinned with a little milk or cream

2 tablespoons crumbled Mexican queso fresco or queso anejo, or a cheese like feta or mild Parmigiano

1 thinly sliced onion, broken into rings

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut tortillas into fourths. If they are moist, dry them out for a few minutes in a 350-degree oven until quite leathery.

Pour the oil into a medium-sized skillet set over medium-high heat. When hot enough to make the edge of a tortilla sizzle, add half the tortilla pieces. Turn them frequently until they are lightly browned and nearly crisp, then remove and drain on paper towels. Fry and drain the remaining tortilla pieces in the same fashion. Reduce the heat to medium-low and discard any oil that remains.

Return the tortilla pieces to the skillet and add the tomatillo sauce (salsa verde), broth, optional chicken and optional epazote. Stir well to coat the tortillas. Cover the skillet and simmer until the tortillas are soft but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Scoop the mixture onto a warm serving platter. Drizzle with the crèma espesa, sprinkle with cheese and decorate with onion rings. Serve immediately.

Per serving based on 4 side dish servings without optional ingredients: 319 cal.; 5 g pro.; 26 g carb.; 23 g fat (5 sat., 6 monounsat., 12 polyunsat.); 9 mg chol.; 241 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 63 percent calories from fat.

Salsa verde (tomatillo sauce)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound (11 medium) fresh tomatillos, husked and washed

3 fresh chilies serranos or 2 fresh chilies jalapeños, stemmed

5 or 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil

1 or 2 cups poultry broth, less for a thicker salsa, more for a thinner

Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon, depending on the saltiness of the broth

INSTRUCTIONS

Boil tomatillos and chilies in salted water to cover until tender, 10 to 15 minutes; drain.

Place the tomatillos and chilies in a blender or food processor, with the cilantro, onion and garlic. If using a blender, stir well. Process until smooth, but still retaining a little texture.

Heat lard or vegetable oil in a medium-large skillet set over medium-high. When hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply, pour tomatillo mixture in all at once and stir constantly for 4 or 5 minutes, until darker and thicker. Add the broth, let return to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, 10 to 20 minutes. Season with salt.

Crèma espesa

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour the cream into a small saucepan, set over low heat and stir just until the chill is off; do not heat above 100 degrees (lukewarm). Stir in the buttermilk and pour into a glass jar.

Set the lid on the jar (but don't tighten it) and place in a warm (80 degrees to 90 degrees) spot. Let the cream culture and set for 12 to 24 hours, until noticeably thicker (perhaps almost set like yogurt or sour cream). Stir gently, screw on the lid and refrigerate at least 4 hours to chill and complete the thickening.

Chayote with tomato and green chili

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Can't wait for that summer zucchini to arrive? Look around the supermarket for the Mexican vegetable chayote, which isn't zucchini but is similarly flavored and textured, though it also suggests cucumber and melon, or a hybrid of all three. After seeing mounds of chayote in the markets of San Jose del Cabo, we went looking for a recipe, and found this side dish in the Baja Safari Salsa kitchen files.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound chayotes

6 ounces roasted tomatoes (you can use canned fire roasted tomatoes, or roast whole tomatoes on stovetop or under broiler until skin begins to blacken; do not remove skin but process whole)

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 large green Anaheim chili pepper (stem and seeds removed and discarded), chopped (wear gloves).

Pinch red chili pepper flakes

1/4 cup water

Salt to taste

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely grated Monterey Jack cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

The peel of chayotes is tough and inedible even when cooked, so peel them completely. This may take a little doing, as the folds in the chayotes can make it difficult. Cut the chayotes into 1/4-inch-wide, 2-inch-long julienned strips, with or without the core.

Purée the roasted tomatoes and the garlic in a blender, set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and green chilies. Cook on medium heat until just soft, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the tomato mixture and red chili flakes, and continue to cook 3 minutes more. Add the chayote, water and salt to taste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and cook for 5 minutes more. The chayote should be just tender, moist but not watery.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

Per serving: 126 cal.; 3 g pro.; 9 g carb.; 9 g fat (2 sat., 6 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 6 mg chol.; 191 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 64 percent calories from fat.

Baja Safari NOW!

Zachary Zavislak for The New York Times. Food stylist: Liza Jernow. Prop stylist: Kim Ficaro.Plate and White Bowl: Global Table.

"The restaurateur Lou Amdur was leaning over his bar the other day at Lou, in Hollywood, uncorking some biodynamic deliciousness made in a French garage and talking about a few of the experiments he had going in his home up in the hills. Some weirdly flavored vinegars. Absinthe. House-cured bacon in the kitchen of the wine bar, a few pots of pork rillettes. It all sounded complicated and fantastic — a portrait of a food artist at work. Amdur shook his head. “None of this is art,” he said. “It’s craft. And craft isn’t all that hard. You can learn to do it.”

  Baja Safari Fish Tacos

Zachary Zavislak for The New York Times. Plate and white bowl: Global Table.

"He was being modest. Amdur is a talented cook, in addition to being a wine guy of the first order (and the husband of Manohla Dargis, a chief film critic of The Times). But he was not wrong. As he went on to say, art is to craft as brain surgery is to a butcher’s work. Art is genius, or magic. Craft is observation and research multiplied by practice. It’s learnable by anyone.

Put another way, in the context of this space: you can learn to cook fish at home, if you ask the right people how to do it.

Dave Pasternack is the right people. He is the chef and an owner of Esca, in the theater district of Manhattan. He has an affinity for cooking fish that approaches the surreal. You might give him a barnacle, a grouper liver and three grains of sea salt, only to have him return to your side with a plate of food good enough to make you laugh out loud. His skill is that of an alchemist, or a magician. But unlike such characters, Pasternack also knows how to teach technique. The success of his restaurant is dependent on that ability. If a piece of monkfish is ethereal when he makes it for the lunchtime rush, it better be when the young cook he hired makes it at dinner, too. That’s how restaurants work. Consistency matters. It’s the most important thing. And it can be taught.

Today’s sermon is a recipe for fish tacos, that great meal of the Baja Peninsula, a taste of summer in spring. It benefits from time spent at Pasternack’s elbow, from the tacos served at, among other places, El Siete Mares taco stand on the eastern end of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and from practice runs in a Brooklyn home kitchen. They are simple to make, no more complicated in fact than a hamburger or a mess of pancakes, and they are considerably more flavorful.

Really. Here is the Sunday exhortation: You’re going to make fish at home, it’s going to be easy and it’s not going to take up your day or destroy your kitchen. The recipe is going to work. Trust the process. That’s Pasternack Rule No. 1. You’ve got to get over the fear.

“The first thing you want to do,” he said in the kitchen after lunch, “is you want to find a thick fillet of fish. You want a nice, thick fillet so you can develop the color and the crust.” Pasternack speaks in a soft Long Island bark that turns any conversation into an intimacy, a prelude to something possibly criminal and certainly fun. “Ask for the large,” he continued. “They have large in the back. They always do.”

What kind of fish in particular? For tacos, something fresh and white and firm. Emphasis on the fresh. Out in the cold waters off Montauk, the cod bite is on and the flatties are coming soon: big doormat flounder caught on hooks and line. Montauk snowshoes, they call these monsters, and if you see them in the market, it’s time to make tacos. That’s Pasternack Rule No. 2: Buying the fish is half the battle.

Rule No 3: Crust is crucial. You want, at home, a fish taco that has the crunch and texture of the deep-fried version available at the Fish Market in Ensenada, Baja Mexico, though with better flavor and less mess and no need for security services.

Let us return, then, to our thick fillet, now dredged in seasoned flour. Pasternack, as if talking to a dishwasher out of Puebla he has just promoted to a job in front of a stove: “You want to make sure the bottom of your pan is completely covered in fat. It’s on a medium flame. You add a pat of butter for flavor, and you put the fillet in the pan. You turn it to medium high, and you watch it cook until it turns a deep golden brown on the bottom. That’s like three, four minutes. Then you turn it. A minute later, you take it out, put it on paper towels, season it with a little salt.”

This works, and how. You could do it with cod or char, and kings would cross mountains to honor you. But with flounder the goals are more modest. Fried in strips and served onboard warm corn tortillas with a simple salsa, a pinch of fresh cabbage, plenty of lime and a cream sauce you might want to punch up with some chopped chipotle, these fish tacos can turn a cold March night into bluebird summer, transporting you from spring chill into deep humidity and bliss."

From The Baja Safari NOW! Kitchen

"2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1 jalapeño, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut crosswise into half moons (optional)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 limes, 1 halved and 1 cut into wedges

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canned chipotle pepper, finely chopped (optional)

1/2 cup flour, preferably Wondra or other fine-milled flour

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup peanut oil, plus a splash more for greasing pan

Pat of butter

1 pound flounder or any firm white-fleshed fish, cut across the grain of the flesh into strips about 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long

12 6-inch fresh corn tortillas

2 cups shredded green cabbage

A saucy hot sauce, like Tapatio or Frank’s.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro and jalapeño (if using).

2. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and sour cream until combined. Season to taste with the halved lime, salt, pepper and chipotle (if using).

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, chili powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of kosher salt and black pepper. Pour the milk into another medium bowl, and place the fish into it.

4. Pour 1/4 cup of the peanut oil into a 12-inch frying pan and place over medium-high heat until it shimmers and is about to smoke. Remove the fish pieces from the milk bath and dredge them lightly through the flour mixture, shaking to remove excess. Add the butter to the pan. Place some fish pieces in the oil, without crowding them, and cook until deep golden brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn carefully and cook for 1 minute more. Remove to a warmed, paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining fish.

5. Meanwhile, lightly grease a skillet with a drizzle of oil and set over medium heat. Heat the tortillas, one or two at a time, until they are soft and hot. Keep them warm, wrapped in a dish towel.

New York Times

Baja Safari NOW!

FINAL PUBLIC CRIME UPDATE

After three years of taking the reigns of informing the international travel community of the real risks of Baja Mexico travel, this will be our Final Public Update.

Members can continue to get Security Reports by contacting the office.

Since April 14, 2006, when the Baja Safari Mexico Club, went public in a press conference in San Diego, the Club's leadership, all volunteers from around the world, wanted the group to take the lead.

Here were some of the work results:

 http://www.vnnforum.com/archive/index.php/index.php/t-32391.html

 http://www.10news.com/news/8708954/detail.html

 http://www.mexicofile.com/autoinsurance.htm

 http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/cnty/recreation/travel/

 http://www.ocregister.com/news/police-attack-rosarito-1947503-city-chief

After the press conference and for the entire three years of this selfless work, there were detractors from the beginning who said the work was "overreacting" to "overblown". All of them are today, an incredible group of selfish, ignorant and blood-soaked people. SHAME

Today, we can proudly say, we were right! We salute all the agents of the United States Government, dedicated to the safety of international travel and the rights of American citizens, worldwide. The membership of the Baja Safari Mexico Club, sincerely say, Thank You!

On April 2, 2009, the DHS and the Justice Department took the needed steps to take "the lead", that we called for, three years ago, on April 14, 2006:

.....................................................................

April 14, 2009

Washington, DC - The United States depends on a secure Southwest border in order to ensure the safety of its citizens and those of Mexico, facilitate legal trade and transit, support lawful immigration and prevent illegal smuggling of guns, drugs, money, and people. 

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced at the White House last month a major set of Southwest border initiatives designed to support Mexico’s campaign against violent drug cartels by limiting the flow of firearms and cash from the United States to Mexico. These initiatives bring more personnel to the Southwest border and place additional technology at strategic locations in order to crack down on the illegal activities that fuel the drug war in Mexico.

DHS has formalized the following operational enhancement plan, building from last month’s announcement, which lays out specific information about how each initiative will be implemented. The initiatives will be budget-neutral to the Department, funded by realigning from less urgent activities, tapping available fund balances, and, in some cases, reprogramming to deploy resources where they are currently needed the most.

DHS and the Southwest Border

1. Guard against violent crime spillover into the United States
2. Support Mexico's crackdown campaign against drug cartels in Mexico
3. Reduce movement of contraband in both directions across the border

The exact placement of these increased resources will be determined by shared intelligence and coordinated with all relevant stakeholders: federal, state, local, tribal and international. Specific deployment location information is law enforcement sensitive and is not detailed below to protect operational planning. Furthermore, resources will be supplemented or moved based on continual changes in intelligence information and operational needs. Finally, these deployments parallel the Mexican government’s efforts to combat drug trafficking and associated criminal activity. As an example, Mexican officers are embedded in the DHS Border Enforcement Task Forces that are being augmented by this initiative.

Doubling Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) Staffing

• DHS will double the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents assigned to BESTs - teams that bring together federal, state, local and Mexican authorities in an effort to increase cross-border crime investigations, arrests and prosecutions at strategic locations along the Southwest border.
• Doubling assignments of  ICE special agents to BESTs from 95 to 190 will help to facilitate seamless cross-border enforcement actions. The 95 additional ICE investigators will augment BEST task forces at the following locations: San Ysidro and Imperial Valley, Calif.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Deming and Las Cruces, N.M.; and El Paso, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley, Texas. In addition, to further BEST efforts in Mexico, the Department will assign an additional four agents to the Mexico City Attaché to help coordinate BEST investigations.
• BEST details have already begun and the additional personnel are currently in place.
• Cost: $5.7 million

Tripling DHS Intel Analysts on the SWB

• DHS will triple the number of intelligence analysts working at the Southwest border, providing a greater capability to develop pre-operational intelligence reports, strategic intelligence products and post-operational impact assessments - to ensure DHS resources have the maximum impact possible to protect public safety.
• Thirteen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement analysts are currently assigned to Southwest-border operations. Eight are assigned to BESTs and five are assigned to the Border Violence Intelligence Center (BVIC) in El Paso, Texas.
• ICE will detail 26 additional analysts to the Southwest border—16 will be assigned to BESTs in Imperial Valley, Calif.; Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, Ariz.; and El Paso, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley, Texas; five will go to the BVIC and five more to ICE Attaché offices in Hermosillo, Juarez, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Tijuana, Mexico.
• Intelligence analyst details have already begun and the additional personnel are currently in place.
• Cost: $3.3 million

Increasing ICE Attaché Personnel in Mexico by 50 percent

• DHS will increase ICE Attaché personnel in Mexico by 50 percent. This program supports the Mexican government, as well as domestic ICE offices, by pursuing investigations inside Mexico involving money laundering, narcotics or human trafficking, and weapons smuggling.
• Twenty-four ICE Attaché personnel are currently assigned in Mexico. ICE will detail an additional twelve Office of International Affairs personnel to Attaché offices in Hermosillo, Juarez, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Tijuana, Mexico.
• Cost: $650,000

Doubling Violent Criminal Alien Sections Assignments

• DHS will double the number of ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) personnel assigned to Violent Criminal Alien Sections along the Southwest border.  These sections work to expedite identification, processing for removal and prosecution of recidivist criminal aliens.
• Due to the large volume of cases of repeat offenders, namely criminal aliens, doubling Violent Criminal Alien Sections manpower will allow DHS to expand its ability to identify perpetrators, develop casework and prosecute these violators.
• Fifty DRO officers are currently assigned along the Southwest border; ICE will detail an additional 50 officers to support ICE and CBP operations in San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and El Paso, San Antonio, and Houston, Texas.
• Cost: $2.3 million

Quadrupling the Number of Border Liaison Officers (BLOs)

• DHS will quadruple the number of ICE Border Liaison Officers (BLOs) assigned along the Southwest border. These men and women work to identify and combat cross-border criminal organizations with a focus on coordination between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities.
• Ten BLOs are currently deployed along the SWB: five are assigned in San Diego, Calif., and five in San Antonio, Texas. ICE will increase the number of BLOs by designating 30 additional special agents already deployed to the Southwest border to serve in this capacity—resulting in a total of 40 BLOs operating at the border.  The additional assignments will be in San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and El Paso and Laredo, Texas.
• No cost - existing positions are already in place.

Bolstering Secure Communities Biometric Identification Deployment

• The Secure Communities program uses biometric identification technology to share information between law enforcement agencies in order to focus resources on assisting communities in removal of high-risk criminal aliens.
• Currently, 23 counties in the Southwest Border States of Arizona and Texas use the Secure Communities biometric identification technology. Secure Communities plans to make this capability available to an additional 26 SWB counties in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas within 90 days.
• ICE will also activate Secure Communities biometric identification technology in Los Angeles County, Calif., Ventura County, Calif., and San Diego County, Calif..  San Diego County is expected to be activated in early May.
• Cost: $95 million

Implementing 100% Southbound Rail Screening

• Using non-intrusive inspections systems, CBP can screen 100 percent of southbound rail traffic to identify the presence of any contraband, such as weapons or currency. In early March, CBP launched 100 percent southbound rail screening at all Southwest border rail crossings.

Increased Maritime Interdiction Operations

• In response to numerous U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and CPB reports of go-fast boats loitering or moving north along the California Baja, DHS began focused interdiction operations. Additional operations over the past year have successfully stopped drugs and undocumented migrants from entering the U.S.
• Operation Baja Oleada:  This maritime operation, which began in December 2005, cracks down on illegal migrant and drug smuggling along the California Baja to the arrival zone in northern Baja and San Diego area. The Coast Guard maintains a twenty‑four hours a day, seven days per week patrol boat presence and frequently surges additional patrol boats, with air support as available. In FY 2009, the operation has resulted in seizures of four vessels and more than 50,000 pounds of marijuana.
• Operation Red Zone:  This highly successful interagency operation to detect, deter and disrupt transnational smuggling threats in the maritime approaches to southern California and off Baja California ran from Feb. 1 through March 31, 2009. It involved USCG, CBP, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Navy, local police and Mexican Navy (SEMAR).

Immediate Port of Entry (POE) resources enhancements

• Mobile X-Rays.  This technology enhances the ability of law enforcement authorities to identify currency and weapons in passenger vehicles that may contain weapons and/or currency. Previously, seven mobile x-ray units were deployed along the Southwest border—four in San Diego, two in El Paso, Texas, and one in Laredo, Texas. Two additional units have recently been moved to Tucson, Ariz., and Laredo, Texas. (Cost: $30,000)
• Border Patrol Agents.  One hundred Border Patrol Agents currently stationed in the area will be reassigned from non-critical tasks to augment southbound vehicle and pedestrian inspection operations. More than 16,400 CBP agents currently work between ports of entry along the Southwest border. No personnel will be transferred to implement this initiative. (No cost)
• Canine Detection Teams.  CBP dual-detection canine teams, which can recognize both currency and weapons, provide enhanced detection capabilities in cargo and vehicles and on passengers. CBP currently uses dual-detection teams along the Southwest border; 7 additional dual-detection canine teams have been deployed, for a total of 12 teams in California, Arizona, and Texas. Up to 15 additional teams will be deployed to locations yet to be determined. (Cost: $440,000)
• Mobile Response Teams (MRT).  Mobile Response Teams are deployed for short operations along the Southwest border, providing increased enforcement presence and personnel to conduct additional inspections of southbound individuals and vehicles. Four MRTs, consisting of 25 officers each, are currently available for special deployments along the Southwest border. Twelve additional MRT officers have already been deployed to Texas and Arizona field offices; 24 more are scheduled to be deployed to the California, Texas and Arizona field offices in early May. Combined with the four existing teams, these 36 officers will comprise eight additional teams for a total of 12. Additional deployments will be determined operationally.  (Cost: $3.2 million)
• Operation Stonegarden Grants.  DHS designed these grants to enhance cooperation and coordination among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in a joint mission to secure the border. On March 24, DHS distributed an informational bulletin to all eligible state and local entities outlining modified grant guidance for the remaining FY 2006-2008 balances (totaling up to $59 million).  The new guidance does not take funding away from any states. Rather, it expands the scope of how the remaining balances can be spent to enhance current state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and assets on the Southwest border.  Eligible expenses include activating reserve and part-time law enforcement personnel, deploying existing law enforcement personnel, and covering overtime expenses, travel or lodging for deployment to the Southwest border. Secretary Napolitano waived the 50 percent cap on personnel and operational activity costs for local eligible jurisdictions along the border to provide additional resources where they are needed most.
• License Plate Readers (LPR).  License plate readers are intended to automatically read vehicle license plates and automate law enforcement queries.  Southbound LPR information provides valuable intelligence, enhances domestic and international partnerships and assists with current weapon and currency southbound operations. CBP currently operates 52 outbound LPR lanes at 16 Southwest border crossings. CBP has initiated and expanded outbound operations and is moving quickly to replace the 52 LPRs currently equipped in southbound lanes to improve accuracy rates and enhance capability.

Periodic Evaluation and Review of the SWB Initiative

• DHS will employ an iterative and risk-based decision making process that will guide the nature and makeup of DHS operations on the border. Key considerations will be threats and priorities across of all the Department’s missions. Actions and deployments within this initiative will remain flexible in order to respond quickly and effectively to the most current information and intelligence.
• Secretary Napolitano will be regularly briefed regarding DHS operations on the Southwest Border and will conduct quarterly reviews of DHS enhancements.
  

April 4, 2009

Travel Update/Southbound Inspections Begin Today

Major Mexico travel officials and three recent Baja crime reports expose the reality of whats happening on the ground, NOW in Baja Mexico. The 61 year old, continuous, Newport to Ensenada yacht race almost canceled. Here's how it played out in the press:

"The Mexican leaders who came to visit with the press — Jorge Gamboa Patron, director of the Mexico Tourism Board in Los Angeles; Jorge A. Saenz Flores, international relations for the city of Ensenada; Agustin E. Pradillo, press consul for the Consulate of Mexico in Santa Ana, and Carlos Rodriguez y Quezada, the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana –  reassured us that they take the issue seriously and that steps are being taken to improve security.

The yacht race “is very good for both countries so of course we’re concerned about the situation in Mexico,” Quezada said.

They insisted that the media reports of violence are “overblown” and that most of Mexico is safe and secure. Also, most of the families will be shuttled through Tijuana on buses and shouldn’t be exposed to any danger in any event. Ensenada, they said, is not one of the cities plagued by violence like Tijuana. They also claimed that participation has increased for the 62nd running of the regatta as sailors from as far away as Japan plan to compete."

Three recent crimes expose the reality of whats happening to international travellers in Baja California, Mexico:

 1 April 2, 2009 "TIJUANA, Mexico —  A 4-year-old girl and her parents have been found dead inside a public bathroom in a northern Mexican beach town.

A statement from the Baja California state prosecutor's office says the parents had been beaten and possibly stabbed. The toddler's body showed no outward signs of violence.

Police have not yet determined the cause of death for the three, or a possible motive for their killings.

Wednesday's statement said the family was found Tuesday in the Pacific coast town of Ensenada. It said the parents were seasonal farm workers from the southern state of Oaxaca."

 2 April 3, 2009 "TIJUANA, Mexico — Shane Pennington's dreams led him west to California, where he found work in Anaheim and planned on joining the military or attending college. Those dreams ended last month, when he was stabbed to death on the beach in Playas de Tijuana.

Now his mother has flown in from Hendersonville, N.C., haunted by questions: What led the 19-year-old to cross into Mexico, and what happened in those final hours?

Baja California authorities said robbery may have been a motive for the attack, but they have reached no conclusions. Because the investigation is ongoing and Pennington's mother has yet to formally identify her son, they did not offer many details about the case yesterday.

On March 23, Pennington had sent his boss a text message that he was ill and at the doctor, said Gayle Boan, secretary at A Cut Above Beef and Seafood, where Pennington began working as a deliveryman last year.

Instead, he stayed with a family friend in Redlands, leaving at 1:15 p.m. “He never said anything about going to Tijuana,” said Theresa Sala, a longtime friend of Pennington's mother. Pennington drove away in the company's refrigerated delivery truck, Sala said. “I don't think he would have gone there alone.”

Pennington's body was found at 6:10 a.m. the next day by a Tijuana patrol officer responding to a call about a man asleep on the beach. According to the Baja California Attorney General's Office, the victim had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck, chest, back and head.

Authorities said they believe he was stabbed on the beach. He had an empty sheath for a knife. Investigators believe he was killed with his own knife, a Winchester that his mother had given him for Christmas.

The medical examiner's office's initial report noted marijuana and alcohol in Pennington's system at the time of his death, according to a source in the Attorney General's Office who asked not be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Friends and co-workers described Pennington as adventurous and extroverted. “He didn't deserve this,” Boan said. “He was a wonderful young man who made friends wherever he went.”

Boan said Pennington had spoken of visiting Tijuana. “'He did want to go there', at some point, just like all kids want to go down and party and have a good time.”

Pennington's mother, Elizabeth Taylor, expects to identify her son's body Monday. She said her son had minor trouble with the law when he was younger, “mischievous things, it was all dropped.”

Pennington, the oldest of four children, “always wanted to take care of everything,” his mother said. She said he set off across the country last year, hoping to join the military or enroll in college.

“It was the California dream thing of it,” the mother said, “coming out here and doing what he wanted to do.”"

 3 Public insecurity march 29, 2008 from La Paz Baja California Sur:

Let these three recent sad reports give you insight to the new world of travel in Baja. Make no mistake, it is a new world of travel in Baja Mexico.

Contact Baja Safari Mexico Club at 619-251-9486, 24/7, bajasafari.com

April 2, 2009 UPDATE

The Feds are to add two dozen (24) agents in the San Diego area to inspect Mexico-bound vehicles for weapons and currency (illegal drug profits), as part of the federal government's new anti-drug plan.

On her first visit to the Southwest border since announcing the anti-trafficking blueprint last week, DHS Chief, Napolitano said the agents would help staff checkpoints that had been used sporadically for the last two years. They would look to intercept high-powered weaponry that is believed to be fueling much of the drug violence in Mexico.

March 31, 2009 UPDATED

Reforma Newspaper reports Mex Gov figures

"Based on government figures, the newspaper reported that between 2002 and 2007, an average of 1.4 people were kidnapped for ransom per day nationwide. However, last year a total of 1,028 kidnappings were reported, a 90 percent increase over the past seven years.

The most dangerous places in the country for abductions are in the central state of Mexico, where 166 were reported, Mexico City, with 151, and Baja California, where 102 people were kidnapped."

Security Situation in Northern Baja and Mexico

(AP) "Mexican based business leader says 'a significant number' of businessmen working along the U.S.-Mexican border have transferred their offices to U.S. cities to escape a wave of crime and extortion threats in Northern Baja Mexico.

The head of the Mexican Employers' Federation says business owners in the border cities of TIJUANA and Ciudad Juarez have moved their operations to San Diego and to El Paso, Texas.

Federation President Ricardo Gonzalez said Tuesday that extortionists have demanded payments from businesses in the region ranging from small shops to much larger firms.

Gonzalez did not give an exact number. Some of the extortion threats are linked to Mexico's drug cartels, whose bloody turf battles have claimed nearly 9,000 lives in Mexico since 2006."

March 3, 2009 UPDATE

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- "The Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has taken the unusual step of urging college students to avoid parts of northern Mexico during spring break.

The bureau's Los Angeles field division said Monday that it discourages travel to Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, noting that both cities just south of San Diego have witnessed a lot of drug-fueled violence. Rosarito has long been a mecca for Southern California students on spring break. [Now, its home of hundreds of murders]

The warning goes a step further than one issued by the State Department last month advising travelers to Mexico to avoid areas of prostitution and drug-dealing and to take other commonsense precautions. [The State Department Sucks]

The ATF is responsible for preventing arms smuggling into Mexico."

UPDATE

State of Baja Mexico not happy with United States Honesty

March 3, 2009. KPBS San Diego: "Mexican Tourism officials says US federal agencys' alerts about travel south of the border are unfair. Baja California officials are again turning to a US public relations firm to help tell their story. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has details.

Officials with the U-S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recently discouraged people from traveling to places like Tijuana and Rosarito due to drug cartel violence.

The US State Department also issued an alert that says US citizens have been trapped in shootouts in some border cities. That some gun batlles in Tijuana have broken out during daytime in shopping center and other public places. And that criminals have followed and harassed US citizens driving in Tijuana.

Oscar Esobedo is Baja California's Toursim Secretary. He says the warnings are unjustified. "What's happening is between the people who are in drug trafficking, maybe 98% of it," says Escobedo. "And to the rest of the population, you could say it is safe to visit Baja California."

Drug cartels in Tijuana have not targeted nor killed tourists. Drug violence hasn't hit tourist areas.""

Escobedo obviously caught his own lie there. "Maybe 98% of it." And the Baja California Mexico AG wants the United States not to deport Mexican Criminals back to Mexico. Hey State of Baja California, FU.

Baja Safari NOW!

UPDATE

The US State Department is a year late. Again.

Surfer Writes of Violent Encounter at Baja Malibu in Letter to Baja Safari NOW!

UPDATE

Orange County Travel Writer gets the "Special" Tijuana treatment

""Driving home, I was debating whether to come back down soon and spend an entire day lounging at the deserted rooftop pool deck. I was thinking about writing a travel story about our crime-free weekend in Rosarito Beach. As we were about to pull up onto the ramp in Tijuana that leads into the customs area back to the U.S., Rose Marie was pulled over by a motorcycle cop. I was expecting him to tell us we were going the wrong way. Instead, he told Rose Marie that she was speeding – not true – and had failed to use her turn signal. He wanted her to pay him $140 in cash for the ticket. In other words, he wanted a bribe. He also gave us the possibility of "going to the courthouse" instead of paying him in cash, which he made sound quite unappetizing. I was a bit worried about our Mexican auto insurance expiring before we crossed the border, but after dithering for a bit, we decided that, yes, we would go see the judge. Miraculously, once we announced we would prefer to go to the courthouse, the motorcycle cop snapped his ticket book shut and said he was giving us a warning instead. "But, next time, you ladies watch out," he told us. Oh, you betcha. We'll certainly watch out. Thanks for the warning.""

Baja Safari NOW! Note: Obviously, you are a failed pro-traveler. You live in Orange County and you went through Tijuana for pleasure travel? FAIL

UPDATE:

TEXAS PLANS FOR MEXICO COLLAPSE

AUSTIN -- Texas officials are working on a plan to respond to a potential collapse of the Mexican government and the specter of thousands fleeing north in fear for their lives after recent reports indicated the country could be on the verge of chaos.

"You hope for the best, plan for the worst," Katherine Cesinger, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, said last week. "At this point, we've got a contingency plan that's in development." Late last year the U.S. Department of Defense issued a report that listed Pakistan and Mexico as countries that could rapidly collapse. The report came after similar alarms sounded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and former U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey. "I think their fears are well-grounded," Texas Home land Security Director Steve McCraw told lawmakers recently at a border security briefing. Lawmakers expressed concern that the state's southern neighbor, embroiled in drug violence and facing uncertain economic conditions, could send thousands north in search of safety.State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Sugarland, asked McCraw at the meeting whether Texas had a plan to cope with such a situation."We have a preliminary plan," McCraw said. "There needs to be one in place."McCraw, a Perry appointee, was unavailable to comment for this story, but Cesinger said the plan was in early stages. It now deals with only law enforcement concerns, she said, and not any potential crush of humanitarian needs the state might face if thousands of refugees flood across the border. "That might be something that comes into consideration as it's developed," Cesinger said. Destabilization in Mexico might be only a remote possibility, but lawmakers said preparing for any potential disaster is prudent. State Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, said Texas should plan to deal with not only security concerns but also basic needs refugees would have for housing, health care and food. "It seems very far-fetched that something like this could occur," he said. "At the same time, I think it would be na ve to believe it's impossible." El Paso Democratic state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh said El Paso is already seeing refugees from the violence in Juárez. More than 1,600 died in the drug violence there last year, and the bloodbath continues. More than 200 people have been slain so far this year. Nearly 50 victims of the violence in Juárez were shuttled to Thomason Hospital for treatment last year. And Shapleigh said many people from Juárez who can afford to are moving north to El Paso.

Developing a contingency plan to deal with a potential Mexican downfall makes sense, he said."Better to investigate, examine and plan now, rather than make ad hoc decisions later," Shapleigh said. Tony Payan, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said Mexico is nowhere near the brink of demise. Problems in Mexico are serious, he said, but the nodes of violence are concentrated in specific areas of the country and primarily involve the warring drug cartels. "I am standing on campus in Ciudad Juárez now," Payan said Thursday. "Students are working, students are going to class, people are shopping." Developing a plan to cope with a disaster south of the border was not a bad idea, Payan said.

But Texas could do more to help prevent a catastrophe in Mexico, he said, by working with state and local officials in that country to reinforce their governments. While federal officials in the U.S. and Mexico often work together, Payan said, state and local leaders with firsthand knowledge of the problems often mistrust one another and fail to collaborate to deal with their mutual concerns. "Often we want to solve the problems with the border as if they stopped at the international line," Payan said, "and they do not."

UPDATE! Authorities come clean with the partial numbers of International tourists killed in Mexico

February 8, 2009

Houston Chronicle/AP

"HOUSTON — More than 200 American citizens have been killed since 2004 in Mexico's escalating wave of violence, amounting to the highest number of unnatural deaths in any foreign country outside military combat zones, according to the U.S. State Department.

The deaths included a 22-year-old Houston man and his 16-year-old friend who were hauled out of a minivan and shot execution style. They also included a 65-year-old nurse from Brownsville found floating in the Rio Grande after visiting a Mexican beauty salon and a retiree stabbed to death while camping on a Baja beach, reported the Houston Chronicle in a story published Sunday, which examined hundreds of records related to the deaths.

The State Department tracks most American homicides abroad but releases few details about the deaths. Most, however, occurred in border cities, including Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo, where violence has spiked with drug cartel feuds in recent years.

The Chronicle analysis showed some American homicide victims were involved in organized crime. At least two dozen American victims were labeled as cartel hitmen, drug dealers, smugglers or gang members. Others were drug users or wanted for crimes in the United States.

But in at least 70 other cases, the Americans were killed in Mexico while there on seemingly innocent business: visiting family, vacationing or living and working there.

Mexican Congressman Juan Francisco Rivera Bedoya of Nuevo Leon said he believes most American victims get killed after crossing the border for illegal activities or venturing into unsafe areas.

"Tourists visiting cathedrals, museums and other cultural centers are not at risk," he said.

The State Department last year issued "travel alerts" for several border communities, warning that dozens of U.S. citizens had been kidnapped or killed in Tijuana, though it gave no details.

"We're not trying to scare anybody off, but we sure as heck want people to be aware of the dangerous conditions that they might encounter in certain parts of the country," said former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza in an interview before he left his post.

Across Mexico, more than 5,000 people were killed last year, authorities report. Some of the deaths of police and other public officials have been public and gruesome, with bodies posed in public places.

The Chronicle found that among the American deaths, at least 40 were killed and had their bodies dumped in the methods favored by drug cartels.

Few of the killers are caught.

Only about 20 percent of homicides in Mexico result in arrests, the Chronicle found in its analysis of data from the Citizens' Safety Institute. The Mexico City-based nonprofit surveys prosecutors across Mexico.

Records from the prosecutor in Baja California Norte, home to Tijuana, show none of the cases from 2004 to 2006 have been closed. More than 90 Americans have been killed in the state south of San Diego since 2003."

ALSO REPORTED:

"Just as government officials had feared, the drug violence raging in Mexico is spilling over into the United States.

U.S. authorities are reporting a spike in killings, kidnappings and home invasions connected to Mexico's murderous cartels. And to some policymakers' surprise, much of the violence is happening not in towns along the border, where it was assumed the bloodshed would spread, but a considerable distance away, in places such as Phoenix and Atlanta.

Investigators fear the violence could erupt elsewhere around the country because the Mexican cartels are believed to have set up drug-dealing operations all over the U.S., in such far-flung places as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston; and Sioux Falls, S.D.

"The violence follows the drugs," said David Cuthbertson, agent in charge of El Paso's FBI office.

The violence takes many forms: Drug customers who owe money are kidnapped until they pay up. Cartel employees who don't deliver the goods or turn over the profits are disciplined through beatings, kidnappings or worse. And drug smugglers kidnap illegal immigrants in clashes with human smugglers over the use of secret routes from Mexico.

So far, the violence is nowhere near as grisly as the mayhem in Mexico, which has witnessed beheadings, assassinations of police officers and soldiers, and mass killings in which the bodies were arranged to send a message. But law enforcement officials worry the violence on this side could escalate."