Be careful South of the Border, down Mexico way

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) warned students to avoid visiting Mexico during the annual Spring Break in the wake of fresh killings and drug-related violence in the country. The drug war pitting the Mexican military and police forces in open combat against heavily armed narcotraffickers has dampened the spirits of resorts all along Mexico's beautiful coastline where imbibing a surfeit of margaritas was once the more common danger.

"Avoid traveling in Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive," DPS said in a statement, adding that about 65 Americans were killed in Mexico last year, during drug war violence. There have been reports of cancelled trips to Acapulco, Mexico's top spring break destination, where tour operators say that such warnings for an entire country is affecting the tourism business of famous destinations in Mexico. Besides its famed beaches, Mexico has plenty more to see such as its Aztec, Toltec and Mayan ruins as well as beautiful colonial churches and residences.

Foreign tourism during spring break is a major source of revenues in Mexico. However, the incidence of beheadings and shootings have taken their toll on the Mexican holiday industry.

According to the American embassy in Mexico City, a couple from Texas were attacked on January 23 at an illegal roadblock by gunmen; on January 29, a man was shot in the head by suspected cartel gunmen in downtown Nuevo Laredo. More recently on February 15, an officer of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was  murdered and another seriously wounded in an attack while traveling in a U.S. government vehicle on Mexican Highway 57 near Santa Maria del Rio, San Luis Potosi.

The US Department of State's figures however show that millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year. According to the Department of State, the Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations. For decades, the Mexican military quietly provided security at major highway intersections. While the Department of State maintains that resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes, it warns citizens to be aware of the security situation. 

President Barack Obama and President Felipe Calderon are expected to discuss on March 3 the recent chill in bilateral relations. At issue are reports that some US officials are concerned that Mexican and Central American drug traffickers are ferrying Islamic terrorists to US soil. Ever sensitive to slights from the US, Mexican officials are demanding redress.