It has been pointed out that the U.S. State Department travel advisory for Mexico highlighted Matamoros (see story left) as a place where drug cartel activity is widespread.
However, these advisories are precisely what they say they are: advice to travelers, not instructions. And the one applying to Mexico should be read carefully to extract specific details about the safety recommendations for different areas and cities in each state, and on the nation’s roads and highways.
U.S. citizens reading the Mexico advisory will notice that much of the advice given is actually a listing of the restrictions placed on U.S. government employees on visiting certain places and areas in the country, and using its roads. Although, by law, U.S. authorities must inform citizens of these restrictions, the idea seems to be that the same precautions should be considered or taken on board by American travelers.
The U.S. government’s warnings tend to emphasize less populated areas of Mexico, where local public security has often been compromised by powerful criminal organizations, and not large cities, despite their high crime rates, and tourist areas that are popular with U.S. visitors. Also, U.S. citizens should note that the “blanket” recommendations to “avoid” or “reconsider” travel to individual states do not apply to every part of that entity.
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