I'm really not sure if the issue which the OP has presented here is way Latin America gets the shaft by the media in the United States or why Latin America gets the shaft by people in the United States in general. I will therefore attempt to address both of these issues. Interestingly, like Bacon, I have lived in both Baltimore and Latin America. I spent three years in a less than posh area of East Baltimore and never had one problem. That doesn't in and of itself make Baltimore a safe place.
When people in the United States try to scare people planning to travel to Latin America by telling them how dangerous Latin America is it is usually because of two factors, jealousy and lack of information. Other than for maybe a spring break trip to Cancun, how many of these people in the United States who claim that Latin America is dangerous have ever been there? Very few. Of those very few who have been to Latin America, how many have had any violent crimes committed onto them or someone who they knew? An extremely low percentage. Of that extremely low percentage, how many were the victims of crimes because of their own stupidity, because of actions which could possibly get them killed in the United States? Most of them.
Now, if people in the United States who give Latin America the shaft do not know that Latin America is dangerous from their personal experience, where are they getting their information? From their imagination and from the media, of course. Almost everything we hear about Mexico nowadays involves violence and often drug-related violence. Are tourists ever the the targets of this violence? Very rarely. Does a high percentage of this violence occur in areas where tourists are likely to frequent? No.
Acapulco is a Mexican tourist city and I have spent a fair amount of time there my entire life (See my Acapulco Data Sheet). It is presently considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America if not the world. Where does the violent crime occur there? Does it happen in popular areas like Las Brisas and Condesa? Not to my knowledge. I read a very misleading article not too long ago. It said something to the effect that eleven people were shot and killed in an Acapulco tourist area. The article went on to say that these shootings occurred in a strip club known as Tabares. This shocked me. I have been to Tabares many times and even wrote about it in my Acapulco Data Sheet. I investigated that situation a little bit and found out that the incident occurred in a place called Tabares II, which is located in an extremely dangerous part of town, a place where I wouldn't have gone even twenty years ago. It is owned by the same company as Tabares, but it is in no way the place where I go and which is located in the prime tourist area. Yes, there is a beach close to Tabares II, but it is not in an area where international tourists go or should go. The media sometimes twists things around somewhat.
The jealosy component is obvious. People get jealous when you travel and/or discuss travelling. I really don't get it. They have every right to take the same trips as we do, yet for whatever reason they choose not to. Maybe it's a financial issue. Maybe it's something else. In any event, screw them. Jealousy and jealous people should be avoided entirely. They can only bring you down.
In all fairness, there are many people who go to places like Poblado in Medellin or Ciudad Jardin in Cali, never leave those exclusive neighborhoods, then rave about how incredibly safe the entire country of Colombia is. I equate this to a person who never leaves the Georgetown neighborhood of D.C. then claims that D.C. is the safest city in the world. These people have pretty distorted images of the safety of various cities and countries.
The point I am trying to make is that there are plenty of dangerous places throughout Latin America. No entire country is dangerous. Fully research any city and country to which you plan to travel and make sure to avoid and places which really are dangerous. If you do this and use general common sense after you arrive, the chances that you will ever have any problem are minimal to say the least.
When people in the United States try to scare people planning to travel to Latin America by telling them how dangerous Latin America is it is usually because of two factors, jealousy and lack of information. Other than for maybe a spring break trip to Cancun, how many of these people in the United States who claim that Latin America is dangerous have ever been there? Very few. Of those very few who have been to Latin America, how many have had any violent crimes committed onto them or someone who they knew? An extremely low percentage. Of that extremely low percentage, how many were the victims of crimes because of their own stupidity, because of actions which could possibly get them killed in the United States? Most of them.
Now, if people in the United States who give Latin America the shaft do not know that Latin America is dangerous from their personal experience, where are they getting their information? From their imagination and from the media, of course. Almost everything we hear about Mexico nowadays involves violence and often drug-related violence. Are tourists ever the the targets of this violence? Very rarely. Does a high percentage of this violence occur in areas where tourists are likely to frequent? No.
Acapulco is a Mexican tourist city and I have spent a fair amount of time there my entire life (See my Acapulco Data Sheet). It is presently considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America if not the world. Where does the violent crime occur there? Does it happen in popular areas like Las Brisas and Condesa? Not to my knowledge. I read a very misleading article not too long ago. It said something to the effect that eleven people were shot and killed in an Acapulco tourist area. The article went on to say that these shootings occurred in a strip club known as Tabares. This shocked me. I have been to Tabares many times and even wrote about it in my Acapulco Data Sheet. I investigated that situation a little bit and found out that the incident occurred in a place called Tabares II, which is located in an extremely dangerous part of town, a place where I wouldn't have gone even twenty years ago. It is owned by the same company as Tabares, but it is in no way the place where I go and which is located in the prime tourist area. Yes, there is a beach close to Tabares II, but it is not in an area where international tourists go or should go. The media sometimes twists things around somewhat.
The jealosy component is obvious. People get jealous when you travel and/or discuss travelling. I really don't get it. They have every right to take the same trips as we do, yet for whatever reason they choose not to. Maybe it's a financial issue. Maybe it's something else. In any event, screw them. Jealousy and jealous people should be avoided entirely. They can only bring you down.
In all fairness, there are many people who go to places like Poblado in Medellin or Ciudad Jardin in Cali, never leave those exclusive neighborhoods, then rave about how incredibly safe the entire country of Colombia is. I equate this to a person who never leaves the Georgetown neighborhood of D.C. then claims that D.C. is the safest city in the world. These people have pretty distorted images of the safety of various cities and countries.
The point I am trying to make is that there are plenty of dangerous places throughout Latin America. No entire country is dangerous. Fully research any city and country to which you plan to travel and make sure to avoid and places which really are dangerous. If you do this and use general common sense after you arrive, the chances that you will ever have any problem are minimal to say the least.