All Blog Posts (670)

Reports that David Bird's credit card was used days later in Mexico not yet confirmed.

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To Sec. of State John Kerry: "Please answer the following question: How does the State Department define a 'functioning legal system' when characterizing a country as having one?"

Please copy this question, paste it into this form (http://contact-us.state.gov/app/ask) and send it. Our families need a public and not-at-all-ambiguous answer to this question. 

Here is the link.

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In a nutshell: Cruise industry safety stats are meaningless.

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Dead link

It will be in interesting to see what it says when they quietly put it back.

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A dramatic shootout between authorities and suspected cartel gunmen at a Mexican seaside resort this month has ties to a botched U.S. gun operation. A U.S. official said Tuesday that investigators have traced at least one firearm recovered at a December 18 gunfight in Puerto Peñasco, across from the Arizona border, to Operation Fast and Furious.

That's the disastrous operation run by agents in the Phoenix…

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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Nedenia Dye, a U.S. businesswoman and owner of a luxury spa on the Honduran island of Roatan, was murdered and her husband is in custody as a suspect, police said Monday. The 46-year-old great granddaughter of business executive, philanthropist and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post was found Sunday in her room with “several stab wounds in her body” by…

 Thirteen human-trafficking victims in Costa Rica this year were taken for their organs, according to a report on crime in the country that gives new life to an ongoing organ trafficking scandal unfolding in the country.

The report, co-authored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), found 28 people had…

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families of the missing -- and, in particular, to those who are experiencing their first holiday season without a loved one who should home and without answers about their disappearance. I'm thinking, in particular, of the families of August Reiger (missing in Ecuador) and Bob Ehlert (missing in Panama). Please keep them in your thoughts. Here's hoping for a better year.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — U.S. health authorities have issued a travel advisory for the French Caribbean dependency of St. Martin because of a mosquito-borne viral disease that is apparently being spread locally at the start of the winter tourist season.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it is closely following reports of the chikungunya virus among residents of the French side of a tiny island in the northeast Caribbean marketed as the "The Friendly…

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This follows last week's armed robbery of 30-40 tourists traveling by boat. No arrests yet in either case.

International Cruise Victims is an organization created by families that have been victims of crime or negligence on board cruise ships. Like MAP, they advocate for families and strive to build awareness and drive regulatory change to help people travel intelligently and safely. Please take a moment to check out their website (…

Apologies for any messages MAP members may have received from a spammer named "Nancy". Every once in a while, one of these "people" manage to sneak through my approval process. MAP respects members' privacy, and we try hard to keep out spammers and spam-bots. Please don't hesitate to flag any odd messages you might receive to my attention at missingamerican@optonline.net.

Best,

Jeff