State Dept. issues extra Mexico travel warnings

The weekend murders of three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez have alarmed officials north of the border. Part of the U.S. response has been to send FBI agents to collaborate with Mexican investigators as well as issuing several State Department travel warnings.

Yesterday the State Department gave the approval for family members of employees in six northern Mexican cities to be sent elsewhere. A spokesman for the agency said that that decision was made before the weekend shootings yet coincided with a renewed travel warning cautioning prospective visitors to areas like Juarez and Tijuana.

These advisories come as Spring Break revelers have been warned of violence and crime in popular destinations such as Cancun. “Drug-related violence has been increasing in Acapulco,” reads part of the State Department travel warning for Spring Breakers. A particularly ugly example of such violence occurred over the weekend:

To the south, along the Pacific in the popular tourist resort of Acapulco, an even more gruesome weekend. Early on Saturday, 13 people were killed, including five police officers. Four of the victims were beheaded. All, undoubtedly, the dirty work of Mexico's ruthless drug cartels.

According to the Mexican press 7600 Mexicans died in 2009 as a result of drug-related violence, a figure expected to be topped this year.

Image- CBC (“Soldiers stand guard at a crime scene where the crashed car of a U.S. Consulate employee sits in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Sunday.”)
Online Sources- National Post, U.S. State Department, AP, CBS News, Seattle Times, CNN