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Soldiers stand on guard at a check point in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010. The Mexican government stepped up its fight against drug cartels, sending 860 more soldiers to the border city where violence has been rising in recent months.(AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago has an exhibition running through July 4 called Rastros y Crónicas: Mujeres de Juárez (Signs and Chronicles: Women of Juarez). It examines the startling rise in horrendous violence against women in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. More than 500 women have been killed in the city since 1993. Many were sexually assaulted prior to being murdered.
Ciudad Juarez is one of the cities specifically mentioned in a U.S. State Department travel alert for Mexico, along with Monterrey, Chihuahua, and the once-popular tourist destination of Tijuana.
In these cities, the State Department notes, “some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades… During some of these incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area.”
The vast majority of the victims of violence in Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere in Mexico are Mexicans. Some Americans have been caught in the cross-fire of drug-related violence and some also have been actively involved in the illegal activities the Mexican government is trying to crack down on.
The alert expires on Feb. 20, but there’s little evidence to suggest the situation has improved. The Mexican government announced last week that it was sending an additional 2,000 police officers to Ciudad Juarez, where more than 2,500 people were killed last year.
Ciudad Juarez is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and according to the State Department, seven Americans were homicide victims in the state in the first six months of 2009, the most recent time period for which statistics are available. That compares with three homicide victims during the first six months of 2008.
Overall, 36 Americans were murder victims in Mexico from January through June of last year, nearly double the 19 killed in the same time period of 2008. One-third of the murders of Americans in the first six months of 2009 were in the state of Baja California, where Tijuana is located.
A beach in Manzanillo, Mexico. Manzanillo is in the state of Colima, which promotes itself as Mexico's safest state. PHOTO: Dennis D. Jacobs
Tourist areas largely untouched by violence
These sort of grim statistics cause nightmares for Mexican tourism officials trying to convince Americans the country is safe to visit. They point out, with justification, that the overwhelming majority of the 18 million Americans that annually visit Mexico encounter no major difficulties, especially if they stay in tourist areas.
“If you do so, you are completely safe in Mexico,” said Eduardo Chaillo, director of the Mexico Tourism Board in North America during our three-part series on Mexico travel safety last July.
Statistics largely support this claim. In the first six months of 2008 and 2009, no Americans were murdered in the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Cozumel, and the Riviera Maya. There also were no homicides in the same time periods in Baja California Sur (the southern half of the Baja peninsula), which includes Cabo San Lucas, and the state of Colima, which includes Manzanillo. Colima, in fact, actively promotes itself as the safest state in Mexico.
A few Americans have been killed in the state of Jalisco, including the resort city of Puerto Vallarta. And there was a much-publicized deadly gun battle in Acapulco last year.
There are, of course, other safety issues besides murders to consider when planning a trip to Mexico, and we’ll take a look at those in our next report.
A note to regular readers: We're taking a break today from coverage of the earthquake devastation in the Haitian port city of Jacmel, but we plan to continue to follow developments as they occur there and follow up with future reports.
Comments
I'm saddened by the report.
I'm afraid that Mexico will not be seen as a safe destination until the US and Mexico get the drug lords to stop using the country as their own personal fiefdom. There's a lot of police in Mexico risking their lives to do this. My hopes and thoughts are with them.
Ciudad Juarez is the point of entry if we drive to Mexico. I would not advise it at this point. It is on our local news a lot. I have an intrepid woman friend who used to make the drive all the time on her own. Wonder if she is doing it now. The coastal areas that are hot-beds of tourism are safe, just fly.
Good report on the current situation in Mexico. Well balanced too as it reports the security issues, but also highlights the fact that tourist destinations are relatively safe. Look forward to the next report.
I am also saddened about the drug-related crime in Mexico's non-tourist districts because Mexico is such a vibrant, beautiful country and it's a shame that people have to stay in the resort areas in order to be safe. I felt relatively safe in Mexico City when I studied there as a college student 20 years ago, but unfortunately a lot has changed for the worse over the past two decades.
Robyn Kurth, Orlando Parenting Examiner
Driving into or in Mexico has never been recommended, and some areas do sound as though they are getting worse. We traveled between cities by deluxe bus a few years ago when we were sailing in Mexico and it seemed the best way to go. BTW, love Manzanillo, anchored here for some time. The hotel there was very nice, where they filmed, "10".
A shocking 32% of all non-natural deaths of U.S. citizens that occur outside this country happen in Mexico. It is NOT a safe travel destination period! To read tragic Mexico vacation DEATH stories visit: WWW.MEXICOVACATIONAWARENESS.COM
What about Merida and the Yucatan area. My daughter's university has a summer study abroad program there. How safe safe is that area?
Mimic - I have no information that would suggest Merida or the Yucatan state are dangerous. Your daughter should have a wonderful time there. As she should traveling anywhere, she should take common sense precautions. For more information on Mexico travel safety, visit the State Department's current travel advisory for Mexico. I can't include the link in the comments section, but just do a Google search for State Department Mexico and it'll pop up as about the third option.
Is it safe at this time to buy a home around lake chapala Mx. Most likely ajijic. We love the area but don't feel it is safe to drive because we would have to cross the US/Mx border. But we are hearing that flying is safe, and the area is safe from drug cartel.
Jerry -- I've not been to that specific area. The state of Jalisco is not without its problems, but the situation there certainly is nowhere near as serious as along the Mexico-US border. If you aren't committed to that area, you might want to consider looking just a little to the southwest to Colima, a beautiful area and considered the safest state in Mexico.
You shouldn't have any problems flying to Mexico or in Mexico. There are a few areas I would be hesitant to drive through, but my experience is that it's safe to drive most highways, particularly during the day. Some highways do not seem to be particularly well patroled. Talk to some of the people who live in the area (other than the ones trying to sell you real estate) and ask them about safety issues and also local regulations pertaining to real estate, which can often be confusing to non-Mexicans.
I wouldn't give two squrts for anything is that s@$# hole. It too bad the US has such a filthy neighbor!
Great, informative report
I will be traveling to the Riviera Maya next month and I am a bit worried. I used Priceline so I cannot get a refund. Does anyone know how much that area has been effected?
Well if the US would enforce that the americans would stop using drugs there wouldn't be any need of cartels selling drugs, or fighting for territory. don't blame it on Mexico, blame it on the people buying drugs
well i think mexico is not that safe as california but i dont think you have to be talking about it because if nothing bad has happen to you well is not that danger write back what you think about my comment please im like 100 percent mexican well not really im mexican american
well you are like so bad because like is not that bad ok so please dont say nothing like thing that you dont really know
i hated pleope who dont know tthat much about mexico and there talking about it so you have a problem dont say nothing about it iof you dont know mexico so know you now
use common sense. avoid hysterical thinking.
I think they have to have the DEATH penalty, for this monsters, that they are nothing but crap, .
They legalized abortion an Gay marriages come onnnnnn. KILL the kidnapers, rapist and drug dealers and lets be happy.
I want to go back to acapulo me and my friend( Mexcian) have been going for a few years but getting very conflicting stories about safety, anybody have any insight.
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