Caution: Border Crossing
By William Humbird
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for the country of Mexico. The advisory, issued Feb. 20, will last until Aug. 20 and is an update to the advisory issued Oct. 15, 2008. An advisory is not a ban on travel to the listed country, but a warning issued to U.S. citizens to be more cautious while travelling in nations with an advisory.
The advisory has been issued over concerns for the increased violence between the Mexican drug cartels and Mexican officials. The fighting is mainly focused along the U.S. border, where the cartels are attempting to gain control over smuggling paths into the U.S.
The violence flows back and forth along the border, with new hotspots popping up as the cartels clash with Mexican military and law enforcement.
The State Department acknowledges that millions of U.S. citizens travel safely to Mexico each year, including several thousand that cross the borders on a daily basis to work and shop in Mexico, but they warn of the possibility of danger.
“There are problems,” said Hugo Oliva, the deputy consul at the Mexican Consulate in Austin, “but the problems are with the criminals and drug traffickers. The tourists don’t have any problems.”
The State Department points out that dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Mexico in recent years and that several of those cases have gone unsolved. If travelers feel they might be targeted for kidnapping, the State Department recommends they should notify a Mexican official, and consider ending their trip and returning to the U.S.
Reports of criminals following or harassing U.S. citizens have increased recently in towns like Tijuana, on the California border, and Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo, both on the Texas border.
The State Department recommends that tourists travelling to Mexico use common sense and avoid situations that could put them in danger, especially areas where prostitution or drug dealing is likely to be taking place.
The State Department advises anyone travelling to Mexico to keep the number to the U.S. Embassy with them in case of emergencies. The Embassy phone number, while in Mexico, is 01-55-5080-2000. Before going, tourists should check with their cellular providers to make sure they will be able to use their phones on the international 3G network or can at least roam on any local GSM network.
Seconding the advice of the State Department, Sheri Phillips, a travel agent for Four Seasons Travel in Lake Jackson, recommends people “use common sense and stay in groups. Stay in the heavy tourist areas and avoid going off the beaten path, especially at night.”
Groups should not be hard to locate as the main tourist areas of Mexico are already preparing for the spring break rush.
“All the hotels are full, mainly the ones in Cancun, Cozumel and Acapulco,” Oliva said.
Most resort towns, like Cozumel, have hotel zones with their own beaches, shops, bars and restaurants. These zones are usually patrolled more than outlying regions, with some hotels providing private security forces to patrol their grounds.
Phillips recommends travelers ensure that someone in the U.S. knows where they are going to be whenever possible. Phillips also recommends, in case of emergency, contacting the hotel you are staying in as well as the Embassy.
“The key point to remember,” notes Phillips, “any time you are out of the U.S.,remember you are not in the U.S. Use extreme, ‘EXTREME’ caution!”
More information on the State Department’s travel advisories can be found on their Web site, http://www.state.gov. The specific advisory for Mexico is at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html.
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