Foreign citizens who visit or reside in Mexico should not harbor fears about travelling anywhere in the country provided they observe common sense safety precautions. That was the bottom line message heard over and over by an audience of about 100 expats who attended an open meeting with high level federal police officers held on February 12 at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS).
Guest speakers were Commissar Roberto Alarcón Estrada, coordinator of Policia Federal (PF) operations in Jalisco, and Jorge Arizpe García, chief of PF headquarters in Guadalajara. They were accompanied by Regional Immigration chief Ricardo Vera Lira and Chapala office head Patricia García Quezada as a reassurance that the two agencies collaborate on security matters of common concern.
The PF officials stressed that road travel is quite safe along major routes to the U.S. border and destinations in Michoacán, Guerrero and other states mentioned in news headlines as hot spots of criminal violence and public protests. Their main recommendations are to restrict travel to daylight hours, give preference to toll roads and principal highways, and when feasible, arrange to drive in caravan with others on long trips.
As an extra measure, persons who are planning road trips may request special look out by the PF by advising local liaisons of their itineraries. Contacts are LCS President Ben White, via his email link on the organization’s website, or Chamber of Commerce representative Yolanda Martínez, telephone 766-2260.
On a side note, Alarcón told the Reporter than the PF’s Gendarmaría division was assigned to patrol the Chapala area during the Mardi Gras festivities and maintain local presence indefinitely.