All Blog Posts Tagged 'murder' (60)

Costa Rica recorded its highest-ever annual murder rate in 2017, authorities said this week, blaming score-settling between gangs and drug trafficking for the rise. 

The nation of about five million people, still considered one of the safest relative to others in Central America, saw 603 homicides last year, according to preliminary data from the police service responsible for investigating them. That works out to a rate of 12.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

The…

The bodies of a Houston man, his wife and son who went missing in January during a trip to Mexico are back in Houston.

The family of Juan and Maria Vargas told Eyewitness News that Mexican officials notified them that their bodies were found in September alongside that of 18-year-old Daniel Vargas.

Annel Ochoa, who said her parents and brother went to Mexico for a funeral, said, "From what I was told, it was one suspect's birthday, and when…

He and his wife, Krissy, had vacationed there the Christmas…

A Florida tennis pro missing for months. An Oregon couple set up, jailed, and kept in the Third World country for 6 months.  Read full article.

Despite these and similar stories throughout the vacation "paradises" in the developing world,  The U.S. State Department of State still doesn't track or report on such incidents, despite the…

More than a year ago, a Brownsville, Texas, mother’s sons went missing in Matamoros, Mexico.

Ernesto and Jesus Garcia crossed the Gateway International Bridge to visit their grandmother. Maria Garcia said that was the last time she saw her boys.

Garcia can recall the desperate call from one of her sons. “He called me on Sunday in the morning. He told me to pray for him, but I don’t know in what situation he was in over there,” she said.

Garcia said her sons are veterans.…

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The State Department report says 81 Americans were assassinated in Mexico last year, 10 more than in 2012, and an increase in kidnappings was noted in the states of Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Mexico and Morelos. During the first six months of this year the American embassy and consulates in Mexico received 70 reports of kidnappings of American citizens. Kidnappings were of the traditional kind, in which victims are physically removed from their surroundings, as well as “virtual,” in…

Ludwig Vico Pereira, a 56-year-old Swiss national was arrested in the murder of Ed Moyan on Friday, Aug. 8.  Ludwig was in the Interpol list of wanted persons, as "Wanted by the Judicial Authorities of Panama’.

Ed Moyan was reported missing from his home in Coronado, Panama, since Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012.  In March 2013, a body found in a suitcase in Campana National Park was confirmed to be Ed’s remains. The authorities believe that Ludwig did not act alone. There might have…

Cruise Law News reports that the president of Honduras -- accompanied by Congressman Jerry Hynds, who represents the Bay Islands of Honduras, which includes the popular tourist destinations of Roatan and Utila -- traveled to Miami to meet with cruise line officials.…

One of my biggest gripes for years now has been the lack of a truly critical travel media that examines the industry it purports to cover with an eye toward more than the prettiest locales and the best deals. For an industry that rivals energy and agriculture in terms of economic clout, travel/tourism receives surprisingly little media scrutiny. In this article, maritime attorney Jim Walker articulates some of the same frustrations.…

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CruiseLaw News reports that a Norweigian Cruise Lines Pearl crew member named "Jacob" from the Philippines was killed by a gunshot  while the Norwegian Pearl was in Roatan, Honduras today. Read full article.

As the body count rises in Honduras, and crimes against locals, ex-pats, and tourists increase -- including on the "safer than the mainland" island of Roatan -- a new cruise line has opened in Trujillo,…

Thank you, La Gringa's Blogocito, for flagging this change. The State Department doesn't exactly go out of its way to publicize new threats to U.S. citizens' safety and security when traveling abroad. Thanks also for providing the link to the previous warning --…

The body of Nedenia Post Dye, great granddaughter of Majorie Merriweather Post, was found in her room on Dec. 22 at her luxury spa resort on the Caribbean island of Roatan, Honduras, police said Friday. A local musician whom Dye was helping quit drugs has been arrested.



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Honduras authorities have arrested and charged a suspect in the shooting death of a Canadian tourist murdered a year ago on the island of Roatan in Honduras. Tim Alexandre Vallee-Apostolakis, 34, who worked as a conservation officer, reportedly was killed for his smartphone.

The suspect, Roger Natividad Ruiz Avila, has been transported back to the country’s mainland, where he has reportedly been charged with aggravated robbery and homicide. …

From ValleyCentral.com:

American officials have updated a travel warning to Mexico stating that neighboring Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon are among the least secure states in Mexico. The U.S. State Department issued the updated travel warning on Friday afternoon.

Officials offered general advice…

Per ABC News: While Mexico's murder rate of 19 killings per 100,000 residents is about four times higher than the murder rate in the U.S. and 20 times higher than Canada's, Mexico's murder rate is significantly smaller than the murder rate of nearby Latin American destinations like Honduras, Venezuela or Guatemala, which had 39 murders per 100,000 people in 2012. Brazil, the country that will host millions of tourists for the next year's World Cup, has…

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