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

More travel advisories issued against Mexico

In the past few days several advisories have been issued on traveling to Mexico. Each of these warnings comes in addition to a State Department warning issued last month.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) urged college students to avoid parts of Northern Mexico during spring break. A spokesman with the agency’s Los Angeles office said that he “would discourage traveling to places like Tijuana and Rosarito due to drug cartel violence affecting these areas.”

Though the ATF does not usually issue such warnings, the agency also warned that tourists should avoid smuggling weapons into Mexico which may fall into the hands of criminal groups.

Meanwhile, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs warned its countrymen on traveling to Mexico. Canadians travelling to Mexico "should exercise a high degree of caution," said the advisory issued last Friday and, much like the ATF warning, placed special attention to northern Mexico.

Despite the warnings travel agents in both the U.S. and Canada observed that Mexico continues to be a very popular tourist destination:

Patrick Evans, spokesman for Student Travel Agency, said more students are booking domestic vacations this year, but destinations in Mexico are still very popular.

“Cancun and Cabo are still some of our most-purchased packages overall,” Evans said.

More than 30,000 people will travel to Mexico through STA for spring break this March and April, a number comparable to past years, he said.

Image- Minneapolis Star Tribune (“Students during Spring Break 2008 at the Cocobongo nightclub in Cancun, Mexico.”)
Online Sources- CTV, CBC, ASU Web Devil, Sherwood Park News, The Latin Americanist, AP, Contra Costa Times