Go dude!
I made the "El diablo run" in 07, and the only thing that will kill you is the thousand miles of purgatory. Pot holes, dust devils, darkness, thats going to be your problem, Not desperados! You weren't going alone, right?
We basically went from Tucson, AZ.- El Centro, CA.- San Felipe, Mex.- Ensenada, Tecate, back to El Centro, and finally back to Tucson. Not to mention the four thousand back & forth from Orlando.
I lost my dog, my as-s has NEVER been the same since, and NO, I'll never do that one again! (but not from fear of violence)