Borderland Beat Highway of Death
Mexico has fallen victim to the never-ending drug war. For many years now, the cartels have been in control of everything. There areas in the country where civilians don't go anymore and many roads have transformed into Highways of Deaths. Perhaps the most dangerous areas are the borderland beat highways of death; these are extremely close to the United Sates, and the drug lords enjoy snatching people from these roads. In some cases, they have chosen to murder American tourists, who are taking the main roads towards Tamaulipas. Most of the time, the victims don't survive to the attack.
Mexican Drug Lords
Reports and investigations state that the major drug lords and cartels have divided Mexico into sections. Each cartel “owns” a certain region of the country, and any type of activity that goes on there, has to be approved by the drug lord. This covers the Highways of Death, as well. The majority of the cartels kill for the following reasons:
- By stoppingvehicles at the Highway of Death they rape women and kidnap men and later ask for ransom money
- Kidnap migrants coming from Central and South America – rob them and murder them
- Kidnap migrants and contact their families back home asking for money
- Passerby people killed by mistake
In addition, the majority of the murders are related to drug debts. However, these are uncommon at the Highways of Death. Those that owe the drug lords money are usually killed at their own homes.
Not Driving on the Highway of Death
The Borderland Beat Highway of Death is just as scary as the horror movies. The majority of the people simply try to avoid it by taking alternate routes. This has made it impossible for those who live in the U.S. to head back to Mexico to visit relatives and friends. Those who can afford to buy a plane ticket choose to do so, but there are others who state that they are only four hours away from their relatives, and they would much rather take the Highway of Death. In case that they do, they make sure to travel in groups (more than two vehicles) and they drive at 90 miles per hour. One of the most famous Borderland Beat Highways of Death in Mexico is Highway 101. Today, it resembles a ghost town because there are no vehicles passing by. Truck drivers prefer to take alternate routes, even if they have to drive more hours.
Victims of the Highway of Death
Some might think that the victims that lose their lives on the Highways of Death are related to the drug world. The truth is that this isn’t the case. Yes, a lot of the people that are murdered by the drug lords are people that owed them money. But those that are usually killed on the Highway of Death are migrants, people passing by, or tourists. In one instance, the son of a well-known Mexican journalist and poet was shot and killed along with a few of his friends when they were driving down a highway.