Travel Warning for MX

[Lorenzoid]

. . . However, the things that Cozumel are saying is pretty much the same thing that the Cancun (and Mexico as a whole) folks are saying. Why would the state department choose to believe one and not the other?

Because the State Dept. is a vast bureaucracy that is continuously churning out reports, some of which bubble up from the underlings far enough to finally get someone to approve turning them into Travel Warnings, while others are still in the process of being written, approved, sent on up to the next level for further approval, etc.?

 

[Dogbowl]

When friends and family warn me against going to Mexico, I always reply that they've got it all wrong, that the drug violence was occurring in places other than Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel. I tell them that the Mexican government would make sure that their tourist hot spots are not affected by violence. I assure them (and myself) that it is safe.

However, I'm going to find it more and more difficult to persuade them (and myself) that that is still the case as more and more of such news comes to light. I'm still confident about the safety in Coz, although much less so with respect to Cancun and Playa now.

I just wish the Mexican government would get it together and do something about it.

The Canadian government has not released such advisory yet...I'm headed down to Playa in 2 weeks.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I went to San Bernardino yesterday. If I can go there, I can go just about anywhere.

 

[Steve_C]

Until US citizens quit dumping billions into the coffers of the drug gangs the Mexican government does not stand a chance of clearing it up.

 

[Dogbowl]

Until US citizens quit dumping billions into the coffers of the drug gangs the Mexican government does not stand a chance of clearing it up.

That implies it won't get better, only worse. I don't see the demand for drugs decreasing any time soon. That's just sad.

 

[JamesBon92007]

That implies it won't get better, only worse. I don't see the demand for drugs decreasing any time soon. That's just sad.

My drug of choice is Nitrogen Breathed under pressure, of course.

 

[scubadada]

My drug of choice is Nitrogen Breathed under pressure, of course.

Unfortunately, many of our fellow Americans, would choose heroin, more and more all the time. This, obviously, promotes the drug trade through Mexico. The financial incentives explain much of what is happening in Mexico, including in Quintana Roo. I was just on Roatan, Honduras. The influence on the mainland is obviously greater, but the influence on Roatan is also present.

 

[StefinSB]

I think prescription opioids are the drug of choice these days. Keeps at least the prescribing physicians and Pharma companies in business.

 

[ggunn]

Until US citizens quit dumping billions into the coffers of the drug gangs the Mexican government does not stand a chance of clearing it up.

I think that Colorado, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, D.C., and other places like them are helping with that.

 

[BRT]

Public Service Announcement!!! Guessing that many posters, as I, have enrolled in the STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) program in which, once you add your travel destination with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, you receive security messages and it makes it easier to locate you in an emergency.

I have received 2 messages in the last 2 days for the Netherlands related to a terrorist threat and a hand grenade being discovered, although I'm only going to St. Maarten in the very near future.

Haven't received any messages for MX yet as I have a trip planned for Cabo San Lucas early next year (although the same warning info others posted was provided to me when I added the trip.) Expect something as that trip gets closer.

Along the same lines, when I was staying north of PDC in 2010 and traveled farther south, there were armed security at the checkpoint. Last year, when doing the same thing, I expected to see security, but the checkpoints were vacated. Was 2010 a bad year for some reason?

When we first went to the area years ago armed security behind sandbags was the norm. That seems to lighten every year.