Living next door to Tijuana and Tecate, and a long stretch of border, we have our own issues. Surfers who have been fond of going down the Baja peninsula for years have recently become victims of paramilitary banditti. In the most recent case, an experienced surfer was assaulted and robbed and his companion raped while he was forced to watch. This morning's paper has a story of the Deputy Police Chief of Tecate being assassinated in his bed while his wife and children were in the home. This happened one day after authorities discovered a drug smuggling tunnel under the border. Shakedowns by local police are commonplace. My son's band has played at several venues in Tijuana, with no ill effect. But they are escorted to and from the border under guard. It's hard to find much humor in this situation, either for our side of the border, or for the huge majority of Mexican citizens who have to endure this. Most of the crime is drug driven, the worst of it by narco "families" who want control. My recommendation? Stay away until Mexico can clean up its act.