O'Reilly Interviews Bamrud, Fox News, March 2, 2011

O'REILLY: "Unresolved Problem" segment tonight, Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Washington tonight. Meet with President Obama tomorrow. Obviously, Calderon's country in terrible shape with 35,000 dead because of the drug cartels.

As you may know, Mexico is very reliant on American tourism, and spring break is almost here, so the question is should you go to Mexico? Recent report from Stratfor says that cities like Acapulco and Cancun are dangerous now.

Joining us from Miami, Joachim Bamrud, executive editor of the Latin Trade Group.

So Mr. Bamrud, you were on this program a few years ago, and you said that Cancun and Acapulco were relatively safe. Not anymore, according to Stratfor, so what say you?

JOACHIM BAMRUD, EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF THE LATIN TRADE GROUP: I disagree when it comes to Cancun. Acapulco is getting more dangerous. But in terms of Cancun, what you have to emphasize is how safe is Cancun for tourists and spring breakers? And according to my information, Cancun is still relatively safe for -- for those two groups.

O'REILLY: But this is what I don't get. The Mexican government doesn't keep crime stats on Cancun. Right away that raises a flag. Because every other city, they have.

But from Stratfor's data, there were 53 gun battle fatalities in Cancun in 2010. Fifty-three. So, there you are with little Suzie and little Willie on the beach and all of a sudden, you know, boom, boom, boom.

Now, the gun battles may not be aimed at you, but they're out in the street. And I mean, what kind of vacation is this?

BAMRUD: Of course, when you put it that way, that would be dramatic. But most of these drug incidents, violence is between drug traffickers. It's gang-related.

O'REILLY: I know. But you're in the -- Cancun is not -- Joaquin, you've been there. You've been to Cancun, right?

BAMRUD: Exactly. So...

O'REILLY: It's not a big town.

BAMRUD: No. But basically, we're talking about where do the spring breakers go? Where do they take...

O'REILLY: They go to the beach.

BAMRUD: They go to the hotels. They go to the beach. And it's a defined specific area.

O'REILLY: Joaquin, where do the dope dealers go at night? They go to the hotels, because that's where the discos are. And where are the tourists? They're in the hotels. I'm telling you, Joaquin, I've been to Mexico dozens of times. I've been to Cancun. I know the turf. Most of the night clubs are owned by the drug dealers. They own them.

So you're telling me there's no problem going there?

BAMRUD: Absolutely. In terms, let's be very specific here. We're talking about safety for spring breakers...

O'REILLY: Right.

BAMRUD: ... and tourists. And -- and so that's where I emphasize that it is still relatively safe.

O'REILLY: Relatively.

BAMRUD: But again -- yes. Relatively safe. Just like, and, again, I'm in Miami. And you're in New York. Those are two cities that continue to have crime. You have to be very cautious of going to certain areas.

O'REILLY: Very, very rarely is there is a shootout in New York City or anything like that, very rare.

All right, now, also, what I'm worried about is the corrupt police. So if you get in trouble down there, if you're intoxicated and you're an American and you're walking and they grab you and then they want money and this, that, and the other thing. You know that's an epidemic in Mexico. The corrupt local police. Again, you know...

BAMRUD: Absolutely.

O'REILLY: ... attacks on tourists.

BAMRUD: Absolutely. But that's nothing new, Bill. That's how it's been for years. That's an ongoing problem. Calderon, who you mentioned is trying to improve the situation. He's trying to root out the police, corrupt police. He's trying to improve law enforcement in Mexico.

nd in fact, a lot of the drug violence that we've seen the last few years is a direct result of his war against the drug cartel.

O'REILLY: Well, I think almost all of it is.

BAMRUD: And so the turf...

O'REILLY: Look...

BAMRUD: They're fighting for turf.

O'REILLY: And he's making the huge mistake by not declaring martial law, not letting the military fight the battle and not asking for American assistance, armed assistance.

Finally, we have the U.S. Virgin Islands, they're beautiful. You've been there, right? Great. We have the Bahamas right off the coast of Florida. You know, beautiful. Beautiful place. Puerto Rico, great place. All right? Why -- why should I come down to Mexico and put up with all of this when I have so many options that we can -- we can use?

BAMRUD: Sure. I mean, that's -- that's up to the tourists. But what I have to emphasize again is that Cancun is safe for spring breakers and tourists. Overall, it is safe.

You should not be deterred by the statistics about drug violence because, again, it's like comparing apples to oranges. You didn't mention Jamaica where, for example, a lot of tourists go to Orchidios (ph), Montego Bay. They're not going to Kingston where the drug...

O'REILLY: No, it would be crazy to go to Kingston. I was just there. Exactly. Right. And I was in Montego Bay. It was fine and no problem.

BAMRUD: There you are.

O'REILLY: Kingston is different. OK. I take your point, Joaquin. We appreciate you coming back. Thanks very much.

Bamrud a Stooge (Dennis Miller) and a Lobbyist (O’Reilly)

O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the "Miller Time" segment tonight, Dennis continues to monitor the union situation all over the USA. And he joins us now from Los Angeles.

So, what's the latest on this, Miller?

DENNIS MILLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Billy, by the way, it doesn't get safer in the history of the planet than current-day Mexico. What you want to do is go down there and do a garden tour in Juarez and dress up as Uncle Sam. Because it's the safest place in the world. When I was a kid in Kenya, we all wanted to go to Mexico.

O'REILLY: See, I do feel bad for the Mexican people. Most of them are very good people that depend on our dollars. For me, I'm going to the U.S. Virgin Islands, or I'm going to the Bahamas. Go ahead.

MILLER: Beautiful. We don't always have to apologize to the Mexican people. I don't have a beef with the Mexican people. But whoever that guy was, he was stooging. And I guarantee he was asking to be paid in dollars and not pesos.

O'REILLY: A lobbyist. All right.