Citizens Watch

More than 300 Rosarito Residents Volunteer For
New Tourist-Assistance Citizens’ Watch Program

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---More than 300 residents here have volunteered to provide citizens’ watch services for the more than one million people a year who visit this popular tourist city.
Members of the newly formed Citizen Council for Assistance to Tourists were sworn in at a March 4 ceremony at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. They included both Mexican-born and expatriate residents of the city, tourism officials and business people.
The city of 140,000 which is 30 miles south of San Diego includes about 14,000 expatriate residents.
The group was formed by the new city administration of Mayor Hugo Torres. Members will watch for and report any problems that might affect visitors in Rosarito’s tourist areas. The new mayor has made security for both residents and visitors the top priority of his administration.
About 325 people have joined the group so far. Torres said at the ceremony that the huge response is indicative of the how highly people in the city value visitors. “This shows how much people care,” Torres said.
Identification cards also were issued to members of the group. Anyone wanting to join should contact Marco Nuno at marco@rosarito.org. He works from the city’s Tourist Assistance Office.
Formation of the group comes in the same month that Rosarito will start a special tourist police force to patrol areas frequented by city visitors. The force is both to provide additional security and prevent any police extortion of visitors.
“As the Mexican government cracks down on drug cartels, there have been a few highly publicized incidents of violence between authorities and organized crime in Baja,” Torres “Some people in U.S. have asked if it safe to visit.”
“In reality, we have had very few crimes targeting our visitors, but we believe that any is too many,” Torres said. “There also is the perception of crime being greater than the reality, and we must deal with that as well. Our visitors must feel comfortable.”
“Federal, state and local police patrols have been increased throughout northern Baja. We want people to know that we are doing everything possible to make our visitors feel secure and comfortable when they come here.”
Rosarito also has created a 24-hour-a-day ombudsman office to assist any visitor involved in an accident or crime. Ricardo Moreno, an attorney, heads that office. He can be reached at 661-612- 5071 (office), 664-261-5984, 152*159230*1 (Nextel) or ccspm_rosarito@yahoo.com.mx.

*This press release from Ron Rapose, Public Relations for Rosarito Beach