Mexico's drug wars curtail holiday travel

Anna Gorman reports:

Every December for as long as Brenda Cardoso can remember, her family has spent Christmas together at her grandmother's house in Tijuana.

The celebration begins with nine days of posada parties and ends with an all-night gathering on Christmas Eve, with presents, piñatas, songs and homemade tamales.

But this year, her family is putting the tradition on hold.

Cardoso, 25, said she and her family are scared of the escalating drug wars and have decided to stay home in Downey for the holidays.

"It's not safe for us to gather over there," said Cardoso, who was born in Mexico but is now a U.S. citizen. "It's sad because it was a tradition that we grew up with. . . . Now, unfortunately, we can't do it because of how the situation is in Mexico."

Read more of "Mexico's drug wars curtail holiday travel" here.

Click here for more on Mexico, here for more about Tijuana, and go here for our special report on the drug wars in Mexico, "Mexico Under Siege."

— Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Image:  Brenda Cardoso says her family will not spend Christmas with her grandmother in Tijuana because they do not believe they will be safe. “It’s sad because it was a tradition that we grew up with.” Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times