U.S.'s Mexico Travel Warning 'Ridiculous', Official Says

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's top domestic security official says a U.S. State Department travel warning on almost half of Mexico's states is "ridiculous" and "out of proportion."

Interior Department Alejandro Poire says million of tourists visit Mexico without incident.

Poire told a news conference Tuesday that he believes "these alerts overstate or misstate the standards and security situation that exists in our country."

The State Department issued an updated travel warning Feb. 8 urging travelers to "defer nonessential travel" to 14 of Mexico's 31 states due to drug-related violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since 2006.

The warning notes "millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year" and resort areas are generally safer.

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Comments

[Jerry Bourbon]

11:42 PM on 02/20/2012

He has a point, this is like claiming the US is "dangerous" because the crack heads in Chicago are killing each other.

[Kilantra]

11:11 PM on 02/18/2012

The U.S. is warning its citizens because of the outrageous amount of GUNS they've sold to Mexicans
to help fight to keep the U.S. drug habit well supplied.

[Jerry Bourbon]

11:43 PM on 02/20/2012

Do you have any statistics to back up that claim?

(Assuming, of course, that you are not talking about Eric Holder and his ATF sending 1,400 assault weapons directly to the cartels...)

[saframer]

10:46 AM on 02/17/2012

The U.S,. needs to declare Mexico as a terrorist country and break all relations untill mexico can control its own problems. The coruption in Mexico leads all the way to the top..The borders need to be closed and the drugs need to stop. We live in south Texas and the problems are migrating in to the U.S. If you want any thing to happen on the planet you have to attack the enemy not wait untill its to late .This problem is at our door step and we need to act .

[Jerry Bourbon]

11:44 PM on 02/20/2012

We could, of course, stop buying their drugs, and thus de-fund the cartels.

But, I agree. It is SO much easier to blame Mexico because American drug money enriches their criminals.

[Fred303]

02:54 AM on 02/17/2012

It's like saying New York is dangerous so you shouldn't visit Los Angeles.

[nypapajoe]

02:11 PM on 02/16/2012

Hey idiot! That's why the murder rate in your country has surpassed war casualties in Afghanistan! To deny the fact does not make it go away! You clowns are so inept its pathetic! In case you haven't heard there is open warfare right in the middle of your city streets Hello! It's a pity because the world loves your nation and culture but your very citizens are living in absolute fear for their lives! if you can't protect your own including the lives of your officials and police than how can you defend visitors?

[ragingpacifist]

05:43 PM on 02/17/2012

idiot? have any figures on how many american tourists have been killed? (not including the one killed by her husband in cancun) It helps to put things into context. Perhaps those involved in the drug trade should avoid mexico, it might not be safe for them.

[trailerguy]

02:16 PM on 02/18/2012

i hear kidnapping a big problem in Mexico city.

[nadiadc]

06:53 PM on 03/06/2012

As well as Arizona but I bet you haven't heard about that one...the US is quickly to put warnings in so many countries and should put some in LA,or New York or any other places that are just as dangerous as Juarez not all Mexico is dangerous the problem areas are mostly located close to both borders but there's some places in Mexico like Yucatan, Queretaro, Aguascalientes etc that are far more secure than DC, LA, Chicago or places in the US where dry by shootings are a common thing the people gets used to I just think what the US gov wants it's money to be spent in the US

[blu366]

01:31 PM on 02/16/2012

40 years ago when My wife and I moved to Southern Cal we went to Mexico frequently. It was a fun place to take visitors and so on. We would go four or five times every year. Today, I wouldn't go if you paid me. And I sure wouldn"t take any relatives or friends down there. It's a war zone.

[lynx781]

02:16 PM on 02/16/2012

That's good enough for me.

[ragingpacifist]

05:46 PM on 02/17/2012

I've lived in Mexico for 15 years. Then again I didn't chose Juarez. I chose a city of about a million people that is much safer than any comparable sized city in the US. Mexico is a large country and blanket statements referring to large entities most often are full of holes.

[jneal11254]

01:26 PM on 02/16/2012

What the Mexican government needs to do is hammer the cartels, not whine about the fact that Americans have the good sense not to go there. It is painfully obvious that the travel warnings are understated, rather than overstated. I can find plenty of nice, hot, beachy places to go right here in the US.

[ChuckHns]

12:41 PM on 02/16/2012

I've been to Mexico numerous time and have not seen any armed military person on the beach........ what does that tell you? I'll heed the warning. I didn't lose anything down there that can't wait.

[Swisher]

06:36 AM on 02/16/2012

Obama should spend more time trying to help this situation with "boots" on the ground to help an ineffective Calderon instead of trying to appease the Arabs with money and support. North American neighbors and US citizens who are poor need it more...

[cldeleon73]

01:42 AM on 02/16/2012

Everyday grenade detonations, gunfire, and narco blockades are reported by citizens of Mexican border towns via twitter and other social media. How dare this clown say everything is ok. Who's side is he on?

[nasknit]

04:36 AM on 02/16/2012

He does not want to lose American tourist dollars. As far as he is concerned, the warnings will be "ridiculous", until a bunch of tourists have an "unhappy encounter" with narco-terrorists, & then it will be an "isolated tragedy".

[heerox001]

06:14 AM on 02/16/2012

He still gets American dollars whether they come from the rest of the North or from South America.

[tdunbarag]

11:32 PM on 02/15/2012

My family and I lived in Monterrey 1997-1999, and I've been back several times since. The safety situation definitely has deteriorated. In 2010 native Mexican friends warned me not to go back, Its pretty telling when people with family there and won't go back!

[inthedesert]

08:10 PM on 02/15/2012

LMAO.......................what did you think an official of the Mexican government would say about this? Hey, everything's cool down there....right?

[Edson Don Juan]

07:13 PM on 02/15/2012

cancun,los cabos,puerto vallarta,mexico city,yucatan and guanajuato arent dangerous

[mira chancleta]

09:30 AM on 02/19/2012

if you stay on the cruise ship or in the airport lounge...

[ollas]

06:58 PM on 02/15/2012

I have lived on the border virtually all my life traveled the wonderful country of Mexico for 60 years and enjoyed it all. Mexico is rich in culture, both ancient and modern and its people are wonderful. We have never had a serious problem.

That said, I am saddened to opine that now is not the time to visit Mexico. We have not crossed the border in 4 years and have no plans to do so. It is still too dangerou and violence can erupt at any time . Many of the fine tourist facilities are owned or controlled by drug money.

There may be 'safe places..' however, they are so because they are 'well guarded' by army or police. They may indeed be 'safe', but this represents negative environment to visit this beautiful country. You will be reminded by the presence of your 'protectors' as to why they're there. That in itself can take away the enjoyment.

While the violence that began with the drug cartel killings...( killing each other in turf wars)..has subsided, many unfortunate people who once worked for the cartels are unemployed and depend upon criminal activities. Therefore, the violence continues, if not necessarily under the direction of cartels. Kidnappings, killings, car-jackings remain unabated, carried out by those who once worked for the losing cartels. Mexico's own statistics say that 98% of the violent crimes in the last 5 years remain unsolved...with virtually no arrests made. So much for Mexico's infrastructure.

[nasknit]

04:39 AM on 02/16/2012

Other than Mexico City, & some "tourist areas", WHAT infrastructure? BTW, have you seen the stories when some of the police dept's in Mexico started doing background checks on their current police forces? Something like 15% PASSED!

[jrp1947]

06:31 PM on 02/15/2012

i have never visited Mexico but I know of churches that no longer send teams down to build houses or help open clinics anymore due to the danger from BOTH sides of the law. I know friends who also do not vacation down there anymore. It is one thing to be walking down the street in either country and see a police officer but a totally different story when one see soldiers stationed on streets with fully automatic arms searching people. I am afraid that with all the mass burial sites credited to the Mexican Army and drug cartels it is on the head of the each idividual who choses to visit mexico and do not expect help because the government is very slow in responding.