ANALYSIS โ In the wake of Republican calls to take stronger U.S. action (including possibly using military force) against the violent drug cartels in Mexico, the country's messianic socialist presidentย Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obradorย (AMLO)ย is pushing back against U.S. critics of his abysmal security record. (RELATED: Will America Use Military Force Against Violent Drug Cartels in Mexico as Trump Has Warned?)
Despite the recent kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros near the Texas border (and the murder of two of them), the increasingly autocratic AMLO recently asserted that his country is safer than the United States,ย which is a huge stretch.
โMexico is safer than the United States,โ he told reporters at a news conference. โThere's no problem with traveling safely aroundย Mexico.โ
He blamed an โanti-Mexicoโ campaign by conservative U.S. politicians for negative reports about the country's security.
However, as a security and risk advisor who has worked and traveled extensively in Mexico, I can attest that depending on where in the country you are, Mexico can be a very dangerous place.
Tamaulipas, the state where Matamoros is located, is considered one of the most violent places in Mexico. (RELATED: Illegal Migrant Mob Attempts To Storm US Border Checkpoint At El Paso, Texas)
Only two of Mexico's 32 regions do not have some level of U.S. State Department travel risk warning. Six Mexican states are designated โDo Not Travelโย due to high threat for crime and kidnapping.
Much of the rest of the country is labeled โReconsider Travelโ or โReconsider Travel โ Contains Areas with Higher Security Risk.โ
At 28 persons killed for every 100,000 people, Mexico's murder rate was around four times higher than in the U.S. in 2020, according to data published by the World Bank.
In addition to the earlier kidnappings and murders, U.S. police say two women from Texas, and their Mexican friend, have been missing in Mexico since late February when they drove across the border to sell clothes at a flea market.
These missing women only highlight the high risk of death or disappearance women, in particular, face in Mexico.
As The Guardianย reports:
Meanwhile, authorities in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, which has been racked by severe gang violence, said seven women โ including a group of six โ had been reported missing in the state during the last week.
Separately, an attack by gunmen in a bar in the town of Apaseo El Grande, Guanajuato, on Saturday night has claimed the lives of 10 people, a spokesperson for state prosecutors said. Prosecutors first reported eight dead, but two more people injured in the shooting have since died, the official said.
While there is a large and growing American expatriate community in Mexico, (1.5 million Americans call Mexico home), most are very safe.
Tourist destinations like Cancรบn, Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City also have a much lower advisory of โLevel 2: Exercise Increased Caution,โ the same as much of Europe.ย
Still, more than 500 Americans โ and tens of thousands of Mexicans โย remain missing in Mexico. (RELATED: Outbreak Of Mexico Cartel Violence Targeting Innocents Raises Worries Of What's To Come)
And now, as a precaution, due to what it sees as the current increased risk, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has urged residents to avoid spring break travel to Mexico, warning that drug cartel violence and other crime pose a significant safety threat,ย reports NPR.
โWe have a duty to inform the public about safety, travel risks and threats,โ said the DPS director Friday. โBased on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there; we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time.โ
Travel to Mexico now at your own peril.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions ofย American Liberty News.
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6 Comments
I don’t bother listening to a clown run by drug cartels….and his comment is just more lies like all trash.
Brainless people ( mostly young socialists) go to Mexico mostly for two reasons:
Sex: They LOVE prostitutes and feel great about having to pay for sex.
Alcohol and drugs: They think that both are cheaper and more available in Mexico, or they can drink under the age limits.
Also, they love the beaches and are willing to spend US $dollars to aid a corrupt, evil country full of criminals, gangs, scammers, and prostitutes.
But US beaches are much safer, cheaper, and more convenient, many times not requiring air trvel or a passport. Keep out money here in the US!
Many also think that Mexicans are SO nice, kind, and friendly, and so willing to do things for them, but they fail to realize that these nice, kind, friendly Mexicans only do things for MONEY or for a potential PAYDAY.
Try not to get cheated, robbed, scammed, kinapped, or drugged by these nice, freindly criminals.
Orbrador is going to say what ever it takes to keep receiving his cartel bribery money ๐ฐ And he doesnโt give two craps about the fentanyl poisonings of US citizens. Mexico is a failed narco stateโฆ period!
Why on earth would anyone with a functioning brain want to go to Mexico when it is blatantly obvious that the ‘rulers’ down there hate us, they sure do like our money though. Oh wait, I said a functioning brain, that lets democRATs off, my bad.
What leads you to believe they have a functioning brain?
higher murder rate than US but his Country with the guidance of the US democrats is suing American gun industry