Gunned down in Mexico ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Gunned down in Mexico

Replies: 25 - Last Post: 24-Apr-2007 22:49 Last Post By: longford

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Posted
18-Apr-2007 10:16
by: otoole

Posts: 57
Registered: 19/02/03

Gunned down in Mexico

Gerry Hagen is a lucky guy ... as in lucky to be alive!

Quote
Hagen would stare down death and survive a harrowing surgery in third-world conditions before he hypothesized a motive for the two strangers at his door. About two weeks before their visit, Hagen had fired a water truck company “because their drivers were drunk all of the time and they were missing shifts.” … Hagen now believes his decision to find a new water supplier is directly related to the two strangers who arrived at his door.

Since when is changing a supplier punishable by death? Have things gotten so
far out of hand in Mexico that something as mundane and unremarkable as this
precipitates a murder attempt? I was already aware that Guerrero state sees
more than it's fair share of drug and gang violence, but surely this kind of routine
business practice doesn't provoke such an over-the -top reaction. This has to be
an isolated incident, otherwise how does any business get done in Mexico?

Quote
He attempted to slam the door when one man pulled the pistol. However, the metal door bounced off its latch and swung wide open, leaving Hagen exposed to the 9-mm pistol. Two bullets ripped through his left abdomen and another pierced his right leg. "I remember crawling in a pool of my own blood and I'll always remember the warmth of that blood. I knew I was in bad trouble."

Fortunate to survive the shooting, Hagen worried he wouldn't survive the surgery ...

Quote
Hagen pulled through surgery at a hospital in Iguala. Two days after the shooting, his company arranged for him to be airlifted out of Mexico. A five-hour odyssey by helicopter and private jet delivered him to Saskatoon. "There was no way, in my head, that I was gonna live if I had stayed (in Mexico)," says Hagen. "When I went into surgery, I remember lying on this table. I looked up and there was a cobweb on the light above the table. Conditions are filthy."

And then there's the problem of impunity ...

Quote
Hagen faces more surgery this summer, but doctors expect him to make a full recovery. As far as he knows, Mexican authorities have not laid charges against anyone in connection with the December shooting.

For those of you who want to read the whole story, here's the link ...

Gunned down in Mexico

Best regards,
Mike OToole.

'Acepto que soy un descarado,
tambien un sinvergüenza,
pero ... ¿qué puedo hacer?'
-Los Tucanes de Tijuana.

Posted
18-Apr-2007 10:47
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

1

More melodrama involving a Canadian. And the beat goes on. Though, once again, we don't know all of the facts in the matter . . . it seems to me that some of the people in these frequent stories you've been bringing to our attention ought to prompt David Letterman to add "Stupid Canadians" (or “Unfortunate Canadians”) to the "Stupid Pet Tricks" feature on his show.

Firstly, I don't know of a sane person in Mexico who'd have that much money delivered to their home, let alone an office . . . without armed security protecting them/it. Secondly, we don't know from reading the story if the men who shot the guy took the money (if I've missed that, let me know) – or if, possibly, robbery was a motive . . . in addition to any other “grudge.” Thirdly, the guy considers Mexico a third-world nation which shows where his mind is; he probably wouldn't have survived the attack in a third-world country, if the medical attention was so bad. Lastly, many foreigners - foreign businessmen - do things in a way that are offensive in Mexico and hostility/resentment/anger results - and violence is sometimes to settle these disputes.

Given the apparent appetite of Canadians for such dramas - I'm certain we've yet to hear, as Paul Harvey would describe it - "the rest of the story."

Posted
18-Apr-2007 13:47
by: vagabondpixie

Posts: 36
Registered: 16/03/06

2

I'm curious Longford, why such hostility toward Canadians?

Posted
18-Apr-2007 14:56
by: CaptainSinister

Posts: 16
Registered: 11/06/02

3

Captain Sinister

Posted
18-Apr-2007 15:19
by: Edwricepatty

Posts: 309
Registered: 14/11/03

4

Longford is a little short on facts. In mining & prospecting companies pay in hard cash and it is a serious problem they constantly deal with - but it has to be done despite the greater wisdom of people like know-it-all-Longford. I know a v. experienced surveyor whose company had an armored car bring the cash as far as they could, make the transfer to a jeep with 3 armed guys in a pretty secret place in a nearby village. But, the bandidos knew that eventually, that Jeep would head up the only highway to the camp - and it did, and they boxed them in with many guns in two vehicles. The bad boys took the money, the jeep, the weapons and the clothes of the company men except for their shoes and underwear and left. Remarkably, an oil co. vehicle happened along and they used their cell phones to call the police and the distance was so huge and roads so barren that they were able to catch the bad guys and get everything back. Now let's see - why don't they just phone up smart people like Longford and have him straighten it out for them? Do you ever see the armed guards around banks? If banks need protection like that, how do you think field ops can be absolutely protected?

Posted
18-Apr-2007 19:00
by: ls650

Posts: 237
Registered: 11/05/03

5

One gets shot in Mexico and you condemn the country.

Seems to me that plenty of people get shot north of the border.

Posted
18-Apr-2007 19:51
by: RichTX1

Posts: 1,474
Registered: 28/03/01

6

Quote
In mining & prospecting companies pay in hard cash and it is a serious problem they constantly deal with - but it has to be done despite the greater wisdom of people like know-it-all-Longford. I know a v. experienced surveyor whose company had an armored car bring the cash as far as they could, make the transfer to a jeep with 3 armed guys in a pretty secret place in a nearby village.

In other words, a payroll robbery. What's new with that? Since the days of Butch and Sundance, that's been a equal-opportunity, non-bias crime.

If there is a "larger story" involving nationality, it's exploitation of poor people by Canadian-headquartered mining companies.

Pero yo ya no soy yo.
Ni mi casa es ya mi casa.
(Garcia Lorca)

The Mex Files

Posted
19-Apr-2007 11:13
by: dougdo

Posts: 94
Registered: 29/10/04

7

Longford is, I think, is just responding to the recent hysteria in Canada whenever anything bad happens in Mexico.

It does seem like the Canadian media seems to think they've gotten onto a good thing by vilifying the Mexican justice system (which of course is an easy target at time).

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Posted
19-Apr-2007 16:14
by: kwl

Posts: 22
Registered: 16/03/05

8

Quote
If there is a "larger story" involving nationality, it's exploitation of poor people by Canadian-headquartered mining companies.

Yes RichTX1 it is a disgrace that Canadian companies are in Mexico exploiting workers but let's not single out Canada. Plenty of other nations are in Mexico exploiting workers. Not to mention the exploitation of Mexicans within the United States itself.

Posted
19-Apr-2007 16:25
by: RichTX1

Posts: 1,474
Registered: 28/03/01

9

Quote
Yes RichTX1 it is a disgrace that Canadian companies are in Mexico exploiting workers but let's not single out Canada.

Of course, but the point I'm making is that anything beyond what this probably was (a run of the mill payroll robbery) might have less to do with nationality than with the industry in which the guy was involved.

The article I referenced had little to say about the workers (who are generally unionized in Mexico) and was more about the exploitation of indigenous communities and the environment in which the people live. Mining is a "dirty business" and it just happens Canadian firms are the major minor operators. If it had been an oil drilling operation that was robbed somewhere in the world, the local manager would likely have been from the U.S.

Pero yo ya no soy yo.
Ni mi casa es ya mi casa.
(Garcia Lorca)

The Mex Files

Posted
20-Apr-2007 13:16
by: otoole

Posts: 57
Registered: 19/02/03

10

I managed to contact the author of the article (see the link in the original post) and he
confirmed to me that no robbery actually took place. Gerry Hagen, the shooting victim,
told him that the two strangers at the door never actually entered the house. Mr. Hagen
believes that they may have been scared off by people outside, and he's not convinced
that they were even aware that there was a large amount of cash on the premises.
Personally, I think that robbery is a much more likely motive than some sort of bizarre
revenge scenario. Aside from the glaring lack of security, what I don't understand is why,
if the would-be-robbers were so willing to kill Mr. Hagen, they didn't take the time to look
for the cash? They must have 'cased the joint' before they knocked on the door and,
being armed, they can't have been unduly intimidated by noises from outside (if there
were any). On the other hand, maybe they were just amateurs, totally unnerved by what
they'd done and desperate to get away. Unfortunately there's just not enough information
in the article for readers to draw any definite conclusions.
I did ask Mr. Wolfe, the author of the article, to pass my e-mail address on to Mr. Hagen,
on the off chance that he might want to talk further about his ordeal in Mezcala/Mexcala,
Guerrero (the article referred to 'Mascala', but I can't find a 'Mascala' in any kind of close
proximity to Iguala). If any further information becomes available, I'll be sure to pass it
along.

Best regards,
Mike OToole.

'Acepto que soy un descarado,
tambien un sinvergüenza,
pero ... ¿qué puedo hacer?'
-Los Tucanes de Tijuana.

Posted
20-Apr-2007 14:38
by: vagabondpixie

Posts: 36
Registered: 16/03/06

11

The thing is, there IS no hysteria in the Canadian media about Mexico. There was much to-do about the couple that had their throats slit in Playa, and there was mention of the kid that that got beat-up/rundown in Acapulco, and this was mostly due to media orchestrated events by the families' lawyers. That has been the only NATIONAL coverage of events (not counting the internet).

I work in television media. I think I can KNOWLEDGEABLY let everyone know, there is NO panic. If you want to talk about hype in the media, look to Fox and CNN. Does anyone remember Natalee Holloway.

Posted
21-Apr-2007 13:04
by: CaptainSinister

Posts: 16
Registered: 11/06/02

12

It's fairly stupid for anyone to imply that the Mexican Legal system is anything but corrupt, especially if you are not a Mexican.

I have been traveling in Mexico for over fifty years , yep that's right over fifty years and this corrupt legal system has remained the same and it's abuses are applied equally, no matter what your nationality is.

The Canadians have just decided to say enough is enough by bring these abuses to the forefront.

Maybe the Americans don't expect their institutions to provide some education and support when things go wrong, but Canada has a different outlook on what rights a citizen has in their society “ Thank God”and that includes not losing all your rights as a member of that society just because you are in a foreign country.

Captain Sinister

Posted
21-Apr-2007 15:42
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

13

Quote
Maybe the Americans don't expect their institutions to provide some education and support when things go wrong, but Canada has a different outlook on what rights a citizen has in their society “ Thank God”and that includes not losing all your rights as a member of that society just because you are in a foreign country.

Really. You don't seem to know much about Canada - either.

Posted
21-Apr-2007 22:00
by: RichTX1

Posts: 1,474
Registered: 28/03/01

14

There's gotta be a NAFTA joke in here somewhere. Longford's stupidity now stretches to all three nations.

Pero yo ya no soy yo.
Ni mi casa es ya mi casa.
(Garcia Lorca)

The Mex Files

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