Patrols to be added on Baja toll road

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20071204-9999-1b4tourism.html

By Diane Lindquist

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 4, 2007

TIJUANA – In response to attacks on American tourists, Baja California's coastal toll road will have round-the-clock patrols from all levels of government, said the state's new public security secretary, Daniel De La Rosa Anaya.

Speaking yesterday after a closed meeting with tourism and real estate development representatives from the area, De La Rosa said security units from the federal government and coastal municipalities will supplement patrols currently handled by state police and the federal assistance force called Angeles Verdes, or Green Angels.

“This should clearly help the security situation,” he said.

De La Rosa said communications systems also will be improved.

The meeting was held at the urging of tourism businesses, which have seen tourism dip in the wake of several attacks on U.S. citizens driving along the Baja California toll road that stretches 65 miles from Tijuana to Ensenada.

Paramilitary-style criminals driving vehicles with flashing lights and sirens carried out some of the armed assaults.

No attacks have been reported since they received widespread publicity in the media, said Nico Saad, director of the Ensenada Tourism Board.

“I feel good about the meeting,” he said later. “Actions are going to be taken by the governor and the mayors. They are going to do whatever they need to, to cool this off.”

Although he didn't attend the meeting, Saad said tourism representatives from Ensenada, Rosarito Beach and Tijuana requested that additional steps be taken to safeguard visitors from the United States.

Among the suggestions were that:

Mexican President Felipe Calderon take an active role in the effort to capture the perpetrators.

The color of police cars be changed so they can easily be identified.

Better lighting be installed on the toll road and its exits.

Roadside emergency phones be staffed around the clock instead of merely during the day.

“We need that highway to have all the modern security available,” Saad said.