The Mexican government is a little concerned by all the drug related violence that has been sweeping the country of late; not only because of the 23,000 people that have been killed since President Calderon initiated a crackdown on the drug cartels, but also because it has the potential to seriously damage income from tourism, which is one of the most important industries in the country...Therefore, in order to reassure both those at home and abroad, the government organised, and sponsored, a media tour of the Michoacan region of Mexico for a group of fifteen Mexican journalists, in order to show them just how wonderful and safe the region is.
This was a fantastic idea up until the point that said journalists were kidnapped by a group of machete wielding Nahua Indians, who had mistaken them for a group of filmmakers from Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona beer), who were due to shoot a commercial in the area (something the Nahua Indians were apparently less than pleased with, due to the fact they'd not been asked about it).
After some discussion, and the gradual realisation that the group was nothing to do with Grupo Modelo, the journalists were released after several hours (although their equipment was retained) and the Nahua Indians then headed off to, successfully, kidnap the real Grupo Modelo filmmakers who arrived in the area a littler later than expected.
I'm sure they can find a way to spin this and accentuate the positive. Mexico: Safe for tourists (apart from the kidnapping).
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