Mexican authorities reacted swiftly to reduce the negative fallout from an updated U.S. State Department travel warning for this country released on Friday, August 15.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry (SRE) straight away hit back at the advisory’s claim that kidnappings “appear to be on the rise.”
Citing 2014 figures, the SRE said kidnappings have actaully decreased by 22 percent in relation to 2013, mainly thanks to anti-crime measures introduced by President Enrique Peña Nieto. The SRE also highlighted a reduction of 32 percent in the number of homicides reported in 2014.
The State Department’s advisory quotes figures from Mexico’s Interior Ministry (Secretaria de Gobernacion or Segob), showing “2013 kidnappings nationwide to have increased 20 percent over the previous year.” In addition, it notes that, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), Mexico “suffered an estimated 105,682 kidnappings in 2012 but only 1,317 were reported to the police.” The advisory also mentioned that “nearly 70 kidnappings of U.S. citizens were reported to the U.S. embassy and consulates in Mexico between January and June this year.
The travel advisory makes only minor changes to its previous warnings about travel to various regions of the country, and mainly updates 2013 crime statistics, as well as placing additional restrictions on the travel of U.S. government employees.
In 14 states the advisory calls on U.S. citizens to defer travel to certain areas unless absolutely essential and in five others it advises exercising caution.
The SRE’s statement pleaded with the State Department to avoid “generalizations” and noted that tourism to Mexico is increasing at a vigorous rate despite the regular advisories.
More than 20 million U.S. citizens visited Mexico in 2013, the SRE pointed out. In the first five months of 2014, U.S. tourism to Mexico has increased by 13.3 percent, the ministry confirmed.
There are no restrictions on travel to Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and Lake Chapala, although “non-essential travel should be deferred to areas of the state that border Michoacan and Zacatecas,” the advisory says. Regions of the country that are excluded from the warning are Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Yucatán and Mexico City.
Night-time driving should be avoided throughout most of Mexico, the advisory notes.
You can read the full advisory at www.travel.state.gov.
What the US State Department says about traveling in Jalisco
“Defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacan and Zacatecas. The security situation along the Michoacan 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 criminal organizations 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 Michoacan, 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.”