Up Dated Mexico Travel Warnings 112112

No Problems Noted in Los Algodones B.C., Mexico
2:58PM EST November 21. 2012 - The U.S. State Department has updated its February 2012 travel warning to Mexico, making few essential changes but in an extremely detailed rundown getting even more specific about what to worry about where.
The good news for tourists is that, as in the past warning, most popular areas (including Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Mexico City, Los Cabos, Riviera Nayarit, Puerto Vallerta, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Merida, Chichen Itza, Huatulco and Oaxaca) are exempted. Caution is urged at certain places or times outside the tourist zones of Acapulco and Mazatlan, as well as in Cuernavaca. You can read the text of the travel warning on the State Department website. It says it is designed to "consolidate and update information about the security situation." And it places additional restrictions on where government employees can go.
Peter Velasco, a State Department press officer, tells USA TODAY that the warning was updated because of the department's "no double standard policy," meaning that citizens should get the same updated travel info given government employees. "Obviously, Mexico is a big country," he adds, and "we're trying to make the information as accurate and balanced" and updated as possible.
The state-by-state summary opens with a calming statement that "millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors and residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes."
However, it says the criminal groups are battling with each other and the government and "crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country and can occur anywhere. U.S. citizens have fallen victim to TCO activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery." It adds that "the number of U.S. citizens reported to the Department of State as murdered under all circumstances in Mexico was 113 in 2011 and 32 in the first six months of 2012."
It recommends driving only if necessary, during daylight hours and to use toll roads when possible.
Some cautionary highlights:
    Be careful in border cities such as Tijuana and Mexicali, especially at night.
    Defer non-essential travel to the state of Chihuahua, including Ciudad Juarez and the Copper Canyon area.
    Don't travel unnecessarily to Monterrey and its state of Nuevo Leon, where violence and gun battles occur and U.S. citizens have been murdered.
    Mazatlan is exempt from the travel warning for its state, Sinaloa, but the State Department advises Americans to "exercise caution particularly late at night and in the early morning. One of Mexico's most powerful TCOs is based in the state of Sinaloa. ... We recommend that any other travel in Mazatlan be limited to Zona Dorada and the historic town center, as well as direct routes to/from these locations and the airport."
    The Nuevo Laredo area has seen armed robberies and carjackings, and a U.S. family was forced off the road after crossing the border from Texas in August, resulting in injuries and a death.
    Guerrero, which includes Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, is a trouble spot. In those cities, "you should exercise caution and stay within tourist areas. You should also exercise caution and travel only during daylight hours on highway 95D (cuota/toll road) between Mexico City and Acapulco and highway 200 between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. In Acapulco, defer non-essential travel to areas further than 2 blocks inland of the Costera Miguel Aleman Boulevard, which parallels the popular beach areas. In general, the popular tourist area of Diamante, just south of the city, has been less affected by violence."
    In Cuernavaca, "numerous incidents of narcotics-related violence have also occurred in the city ... a popular destination for U.S. students," the warning says
    Caution is advised in the state of Veracruz

Mexico Mexicali Valley

Mexicali, Mexico -

If you plan to drive into Mexico this weekend, be careful!

Mexican police say car thefts are way up in several border cities.

Mexicali has especially seen a spike in car thefts, with a 79% rise in reported cases when compared to this time last year.

Since January of this year, Mexicali police say they've received almost 4,000 reports of stolen cars, and the majority of stolen vehicles had American plates.

Among the most targeted models are Honda Accords and Civics as well as Nissan Sentras and Altimas.

Police say travelers should be extra careful not to leave any valuables visible in their cars, and make sure to park only in public, well-lit areas.

Mexico Easter 2011 Travel Warnings

The U.S. State Department on Friday broadened its travel warning on Mexico to include parts of five additional states, including a highway where suspected drug gangs shot two U.S. customs officials in February.

The warning advises U.S. government personnel and American citizens to defer nonessential travel in certain parts of Jalisco, Nayarit, San Luis Potosi, Sonora and Zacatecas.

It outright bans U.S. employees from traveling to Colotlan and Yahualica, two cities in the central-west state of Jalisco near the Zacatecas border due to increasing drug gang violence.

"Concerns include roadblocks placed by individuals posing as police or military personnel and recent gun battles between rival transnational criminal organizations involving automatic weapons," the State Department warning said.

The restrictions were added to a previous warning against travel throughout the states of Tamaulipas and Michoacan and to parts of the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Sinaloa.

Gunmen shot dead an unarmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and wounded another on February 15 on a highway in San Luis Potosi in a daylight attack that outraged U.S. officials and put a strain on join U.S.-Mexican efforts to battle drug cartels.

The State Department advised against travel on that road, Highway 57D, a major north south route toward Monterrey, Mexico's commercial capital.

The latest warning also provides more specific information on travel in northern Mexico where drug gang wars have been most violent, naming cities and towns that require particular caution. For example, it says U.S. government officials are required to travel only in armored vehicles and in daylight hours in Sinaloa parts of the city of Nogales.

The warning can be seen at: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5440.html

More than 36,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led crackdown on drug gangs in 2006. Mexico last month revealed that it is allowing unmanned U.S. drone aircraft into its airspace to hunt for drug traffickers.