Spring Break Warning

High school and college students are being advised to take extra care while traveling in Mexico during spring break, due to increased violence between rival drug traffickers and their confrontations with law enforcement. And while popular spring break destinations have been mostly spared from the excitement, things took a turn in February when Cancun's police chief was arrested in connection with the murder of an army general.

Officials in Mexico are scrambling to ease potential visitors' fears by downplaying events and criticizing the media for "sensationalizing" the situation, even though more than 6,000 people were killed in drug related violence last year. They insist that the violence is mostly limited to three states. However, with the bodies stacking up around them, the Mexican government realizes precisely what's at stake.a huge amount of income based on foreign leisure travel dollars.

Our government is watching the situation carefully, especially in (but not limited to) the border areas of northern Mexico. The State Department has posted the following on their website:

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Violence by criminal elements affects many parts of the country, urban and rural. Visitors to the U.S.-Mexico border region, including cities such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales, Matamoros, and Monterrey should remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times. In its efforts to combat violence, the Government of Mexico has deployed military troops in various parts of the country. Military checkpoints increased in border areas in early 2008. U.S. citizens are advised to cooperate with official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways. Sporadic outbursts of politically motivated violence occur from time to time in certain areas of the country, particularly in the southern states of Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca.

For more information and advisories, please visit: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html