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State Department issues Mexican travel warning
The US State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans about crime in Northern Mexico, but Mexican officials termed the alert “exaggerated.”
Warning that violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, has increased, the State Department said:
“US citizens should be aware of the risk posed by the deteriorating security situation.”
The announcement attributed increased crime to a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the narcotics trade.
The announcement came days after Mexico sent federal police officers to patrol the streets of border cities from Matamoros to Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, all of which share a border with Texas. Local Mexican authorities asked for the move after saying crime had spun out of control.
Mexico’s top Cabinet officer, Interior Secretary Santiago Creel, said in a nationwide television interview that the U.S. warning issued “went too far.” He said the United States shares responsibility for problems of violence and drug traffic.
Mexico’s foreign secretary, Luis Ernesto Derbez, said the nation has proved it is successfully combating violence and drug trafficking in the region.
Mexico’s police forces suffer from lack of funds and training and the judicial system is weak, overworked and inefficient,” the State Department said. It noted that “some elements of the police might be involved” in the violence.
The US advisory noted that the great majority of crime victims were Mexican victims.
But it added:
“The elevated level of violence generally has resulted in greater risks to the thousands of American citizens visiting and passing through the border region every day. Increased numbers of murdered and kidnapped Americans in recent months bear this out.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
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