If you or your children are looking for places to go this spring break, it might be wise to take Mexico off your list. The State Department issued a recent warning: “violent crime – such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery – is widespread and common in Mexico. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico, as travel by U.S. government employees to certain areas is prohibited or restricted. In many states, local emergency services are limited outside the state capital or major cities.
U.S. citizens are advised to adhere to restrictions on U.S. government employee travel.
Fox News has more details about the official warning. “The safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas is one of the Department’s highest priorities, and we provide U.S. citizens with relevant information so they can make well-informed decisions before they travel,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, noting that the last advisory was issued on Oct. 5, 2022.
But the department, which reviews travel advisories on a “regular basis,” said that it had “no changes to the Mexico Travel Advisory to announce or preview.”
Mexico ranks as the top international destination for Americans traveling for spring break, with three different locations in Mexico ranking in the top 10, according to an Allianz Partners survey of some 1.8 million flight itineraries.
The State Department currently assesses six Mexican states as having Level 4 travel advisory concerns – meaning those areas with “greater likelihood of life-threatening risks”: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas, all due to risk of high crime and almost all with a high risk of kidnapping.
The U.S. Treasury Department also issued a notice about Mexico recently, asking Americans traveling to watch out for a suspect who is currently being sought for extortion and could be spotted hiding out in popular tourist destinations.
Fox 11 out of LA noted, “Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez, also known as “Chocho,” is an alleged member of the Jalisca New Generation Cartel. Officials claim Chocho extorts local businesses for protection funds in his hometown of Puerto Vallarta, a popular spring break destination.
According to the U.S. Treasury, Chocho and his affiliates have close ties to nightclubs and restaurants in the city’s main strip, enabling them to launder drug proceeds.
The cartel is responsible for trafficking a “significant proportion of the fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States,” according to the Treasury.
Last month, 33-year-old Orange County public defender Elliot Blair was found dead in Rosarito during a one-year wedding celebration with his wife. A Mexican prosecutor described Blair’s death as an unfortunate accident, saying he fell off the hotel’s balcony after ingesting a significant amount of alcohol. Blair’s family, however, does not believe he was intoxicated and fell. They believe he was the victim of a brutal crime.”
The Kansas City Star wrote, “Earlier this year, DETOUR reported that medallion taxi drivers in Mexico had begun harassing and assaulting Uber drivers and their customers, prompting the U.S. State Department to issue a travel warning for the Caribbean coast, which is dotted with resorts. A struggle has broken out because of rivalry over lucrative tourist rides.
Just a few months earlier, in October, Fox reported that a tourist had been abducted in Mexico by a cab driver. He was beaten, robbed, and left for dead in a ditch but miraculously survived to return to his family.
As if this wasn’t terrifying enough, ABC reported that on October, 3 Americans were discovered dead from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Mexico City Airbnb.”
Mexico is joined by other lustrous nations like Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, Ukraine, North Korea, and Syria as being labeled with the maximum level travel warning from the State Department.
[Read More: Disney Cutting Thousands Of Jobs Amidst Scandal]
