The Guadalajara Reporter

U.S. State Department issues fresh travel warning for Mexico

In what is fast becoming a New Year tradition, the U.S. State Department has reissued a state-by-state travel advisory for Mexico, elaborating on its advice on visiting certain parts of Jalisco, Nayarit and Colima.

Updating the July 12, 2013 warning, the missive recognizes that “millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism and business” and notes that “the Mexican government dedicates substantial resources to protect visitors to major tourist destinations.”

Pointing out that crime and narcotics related violence are “serious problems” and “can occur anywhere,” the State Department says 81 U.S. citizens died as a result of criminal activity in 2013, while providing no further details on this number.

Although the bulletin acknowledges there is no evidence to suggest criminals target U.S. visitors or residents based on their nationality, it encourages them “to lower their personal profiles and to avoid wearing conspicuous jewelry or clothing bearing logos of U.S. sports teams or military themed apparel which that may identify them as U.S. citizens.”

U.S. citizens have been the victims of carjacking and highway robbery both in the daylight and at night.  “Carjackers have used a variety of techniques, including roadblocks, bumping/moving vehicles to force them to stop, and running vehicles off the road at high speeds.”

To prevent becoming a victim, the State Department advises avoiding isolated roads and using toll roads (cuotas) whenever possible.

Following repeated incidents of drug-related violence in Michoacan, the State Department advises against non-essential travel to the state except to the cities of Morelia and Lazaro Cardenas where travelers should exercise caution.

Here is the advice given on the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Colima.

Jalisco

"Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Lake Chapala are major cities/travel destinations in Jalisco - Defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that borders the state of Michoacán and Zacatecas. The security situation along the Michoacán and Zacatecas borders continues to be unstable and gun battles between criminal groups and authorities occur. Concerns include roadblocks placed by individuals posing as police or military personnel and recent gun battles between rival TCOs involving automatic weapons. You should exercise caution in rural areas and when using secondary highways, particularly along the northern border of the state. Except for the areas of the state that border Michoacán, there is no advisory in effect for daytime travel within major population centers or major highways in the state of Jalisco. Intercity travel at night is not recommended. There is no recommendation against travel to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. There is also no recommendation against travel on principal highways in Jalisco between Guadalajara including the portions that cross into the southern portions of the state of Nayarit."

Nayarit

"Defer non-essential travel to areas of the state of Nayarit that border the states of Sinaloa or Durango, as well as all rural areas and secondary highways. Exercise caution when traveling to the cities of Tepic, Xalisco, or San Blas. There is no recommendation against travel to the Vallarta-Nayarit area in the southern portion of the state also known as the Riviera Nayarit or to principal highways in the southern portion of the state used to travel from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta."

Colima

"Manzanillo is a major city/travel destination in Colima - Defer non-essential travel to the areas of the state of Colima that border the state of Michoacán, including the city of Tecoman. Exercise caution when traveling to other parts of the state, including Colima City and Manzanillo. The security situation along the Michoacán border continues to be the most unstable in the state with gun battles occurring between rival criminal groups and with Mexican authorities. Homicides throughout the state totaled 179 in 2012 and 147 for the first ten months of 2013, according to figures from the Colima state government."