Full Detailed State Department Mexico Travel Advisory and travel tips

By Chivis Martinez for Borderland Beat

After the U.S. State department’s 10.10.2018 Mexico travel warnings, many people were confused and wondered why a certain city or state was not on the list.  The fact is, main stream media chooses to highlight certain locals and only include a morsel of the overall listings.  For whatever reason seldom is the actual warning republished in full. I have uploaded the warning to my scribd page and embedded it in this post.  This gives you a total and accurate account of the advisory.

It lists states, cities, level of caution, with level 4 being the greatest warning, stating an entire state should be off limits regarding travel. It also gives specifics to each locale and what restrictions imposed on government employees.

As far as travel, some common sense actions should be followed, like the use of ATMs, or which taxis to use or avoid, but since narco violence is fluid, one really should check and know before you go.  

Advisory warning system

The travel advisory system the U.S. uses 4 warning levels and color codes marked on a map;

• 1 Exercise normal precautions–No Color
• 2 Exercise increased caution-Yellow  
• 3 Reconsider Travel-Orange
• 4 Do not travel-Red

Keep in mind that the warnings are based on all crimes and are not specific to crimes related to foreigners.  Also are not area specific, meaning the violence may be in a city but not in an area frequented by tourists.  Mexico places high value on tourism and it is typical for the federal government to send in the military to guard resort areas.

The State Department has reported “that major international tourist destinations in Mexico are safe" and have no travel restrictions.

Every country in the world is evaluated using this system.

As a country, Mexico was given a level 2, or "exercise increased caution," putting it in in the same category with France, Spain and the United Kingdom. A noted difference is that  Western European countries' advisories are based on terrorism, in Mexico it is based on criminality.

Click on any image to enlarge

Travel Advisory Map

Travelers can also use the color coded map state map.  The state of Quintana Roo [Cozumel, Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun] is outline in green meaning no advisory is in effect]

Last year there was a level 2 advisory for Quintana Roo stating "turf battles between criminal groups that have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens."

This year,  Baja California Sur, is outlined in yellow, color code for Level 2, with the State Department suggesting "exercising caution in of La Paz", and said that the state capital city registered its highest homicide rate since 1997.

However, elsewhere in Los Cabos in Baja Sur, there are no travel restrictions.

Other Tips

Check the State Department website.  

If information confuses, call the consulate ask for recent activity.

I advise that in most cases if you check the position of the U.S. government, regarding travel by government employees, that is a pretty good compass.

Check consulate/embassy websites for advisories and advice for specific travel.

Register with STEP. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling and living abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  https://step.state.gov/step/ 

• Receive important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country, helping you make informed decisions about your travel plans.
• Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.
• Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency. 

Also see ‘Travelling to high risk areas”; https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/high-risk-travelers.html

Don’t rely on news articles.  They are grossly wrong or incomplete.  Examples; a recent story headline  “11 killed in Acapulco”  when in fact it was a ejido dispute with the government over 2 hours travel time away from Aca. [See the distance in the map below.]

Or the reporting on “Los Cabos”.  Headlines touting an incident “in the tourist mecca Cabos” without clarifying it was in San Jose not San Lucas.  A world of difference.   Although there are no advisories on either. Be aware, informed, careful, but also be smart in knowing what the truth is.

Remember, 20 million trips to Mexico by Americans each year with extremely little violence occurring.  And the state department tacks all incidents and are made public each year.  Drowning is a threat in places like Cabo San Lucas,  not physical harm.

The travel advisory document below,  can be adjusted for specific viewing by using the icons at bottom or linking directly to my scribd page using the link at top of the document and using the tools there.

   Mexico Travel Advisory January 10, 2018 by Chivis Martinez on Scribd