UPDATED: "The Myth that No Place in Mexico is Safe"

[I originally published this article on MexiData.info in December 2009. Earlier today, I received an email from an expat reader who lives near Cabo San Lucas, and he urgently asked me to update and repost this article. His wife works in tourism promotion for Baja California Sur, and he feels terrible that Mexico is losing so many potential tourists due to misconceptions about the security situation in Mexico. So in light of his request, I've decided to update my article and re-post it here on my blog.]

Thanks to the bloody drug battles being waged on a daily basis in so many Mexican cities and towns, the country has acquired a terrible reputation as a travel destination in the last few years. While some areas in Mexico definitely need to be avoided by tourists, there are several areas where this reputation is completely undeserved.

But before we get into the discussion of specific areas in Mexico and their relative safety, it’s important to understand why certain areas are so dangerous, and the factors that need to be taken into account when contemplating travel to Mexico.

As most people know, Mexico is in the middle of a drug war. The unprecedented bloodshed is a result of turf battles between drug cartels, as well as rivalries within cartels. The turf in question is usually one of two places: a highly valued drug trafficking corridor into the United States, also known as a plaza, and cities or towns where drugs are brought into Mexico from outside the country.

Control of these key locations is crucial for the success of a cartel’s business operation. In order to maintain control of these locations, cartels are willing to conduct assassinations of public officials, commit mass murders and dismemberment, and kidnap and torture those who wrong them.

Some of the most notorious plazas at the moment include Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua state, Acapulco in Guerrero state, Monterrey in Nuevo León state, and Reynosa and Matamoros in Tamaulipas state.

The U.S. State Department has made clear in recurring travel alerts that non-essential travel by American citizens to certain areas should be deferred. More specifically: “Recent violent attacks and persistent security concerns have prompted the U.S. Embassy to urge U.S. citizens to defer unnecessary travel to Michoacán and Tamaulipas, to parts of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, and Coahuila, and to advise U.S. citizens residing or traveling in those areas to exercise extreme caution.”

Unfortunately, when Americans and other foreigners hear about all these travel warnings — and are unfamiliar with the nuances of the security situation in Mexico — they sometimes tend to get the impression that all of Mexico is a war zone. This is certainly not the case, as there are numerous places in Mexico that have been untouched by the drug war.

Mexico is well known as an affordable travel destination and for its all-inclusive beach resorts. Fortunately, the majority of these tourist locales remain safe for American and other foreign travelers. In fact, Baja California Sur — the home of the famous Cabo San Lucas and the other Los Cabos — is one of the safest places in Mexico, as it isn’t considered a strategic location for any of the drug cartels. Part of the safety factor is that many of the resorts in the Cabos are all-inclusive, meaning that guests never have the leave the resort grounds for food or entertainment.

Other popular tourist destinations include Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, and Cozumel. These places have occasionally appeared in the news as sites of drug-related violent incidents. However, it’s very important to note that these violent incidents occurred several miles away from tourist areas and resorts, and in no way affected the safety of tourists staying at those resorts. News reports don’t usually provide that helpful context. Other places like Playa del Carmen and the rest of the Riviera Maya are just as safe as Los Cabos. 

In addition to the more well-known tourist destinations, there are dozens of other places in Mexico that cater to visitors who enjoy beaches, Mayan and Aztec ruins, and eco-tours. While too numerous to name individually, most of these sites remain beautiful — and safe — places to enjoy.

The most important thing any potential business visitor or tourist to Mexico can do is arm him or herself with good information about specific destinations. The U.S. State Department travel site for Mexico (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html) is a great place to start. Also make sure to read the most up-to-date travel alerts and travel warnings (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4755.html) for all the specifics on areas to avoid. One should never hesitate to contact a U.S. Consulate in Mexico if questions about the safety of a particular location arise.

Members of the military should be extremely diligent when planning any travel to Mexico, as certain locations have been officially declared off-limits by the Department of Defense, and others require command approval prior to travel.

Above all, travelers to Mexico and any other unfamiliar foreign travel destination need to exercise common sense. Try to blend in. Don’t wear things that scream “I’m American!” or “I’m an easy target!” Don’t wear flashy jewelry. Try to learn a few useful words in Spanish. While you’re not likely to be targeted in Mexico by the mere fact that you’re a tourist, you can still become the victim of common crime by not exercising common sense.

The violence in Mexico is not likely to escape our minds — or our headlines — any time soon. But that doesn’t mean that Mexico is no longer a viable option for rest and relaxation at an affordable price. It sounds almost corny, but it can’t be said enough that you need to know before you go. Arm yourself with good information about your destination, and enjoy the great things that Mexico still has to offer.

Comments

[Ike]

Sylvia:

I couldn't agree more. I went to Cancun and the Yucatán Peninsula last May and again in December. It was wonderful and very safe. The worst problem encountered was the filling station attendants who are highly skilled at ripping off tourists.

Yucatán and Quintana Roo are truly wonderful and safe places to visit. Great food, wonderful accommodations, nice people, interesting history. Did I mention great food?

[Fred]

The argument concerning safety set aside, I would need to disagree with the premise of your article. Reading over the list of vacation hot spots you listed, and being portrayed, if not in fact, by the news media and at least two governments as a ‘’War Zone‘’, it brought back remembrance for me of the spoof vacation posters of another time and place. The time was the ‘’60’s’’ and the place was Vietnam. Two different times and two counties so far removed, yet so much alike in several respects. As I read your account of the present day vacation hot spots my mind pictured not the tourist of the day, but rather of the foreign-born plantation owners having tea on the veranda of their large mansions all those years ago, while we conducted a war around them. Something so unfitting in the picture of a bunch of Americans ( trying not to look American of course) sun tanning and slurping down mixed drinks, while just ’’several miles’’ away families are burying their children and other loved ones…..or recovering them from some mass grave as the case often is. No matter how non-American such tourists may present themselves, my bet is that they will still be recognized. Recognized as the American who has come to a people’s country which is in turmoil, to sun, to dance and to dine. How did you put it: ‘’ an affordable travel destination ‘’?
No I’m sorry. As much as I like Mexico and it’s people, we do ‘them’ no favor by pleasuring ourselves while so many suffer. As we speak the people of that country are starting to awake. A small spark it is at present, but a burning fire it could become with just the smallest amount of notice, and respect such efforts so deserve. I wonder what might be the case should all of these many ‘’non-looking’’ American tourists seeking sun, dance and drink, were instead to spend their vacation time joining in protest with the Mexican people? I wonder what might actually happen if such were to come into being? Two people united in a common cause, with love in their hearts instead of a drink, or a gun in their hands?

Fred

[Beltonwall]

Ike is right! Wait, did I just say that? :)

I enjoy going to Baja for the weekend when the chance arises. It's always been a great experience.

[MaxineCA]

Who in their right mind would take a vacation to any destination listing precautions? If I'm not welcome being an American, and bringing my dollars to help their economy, why would I want to go there? I've taken many, many trips to Mexico over the years, enjoyed the wonderful destinations as well as the warm welcoming from the good people of Mexico. I've not returned for awhile, and don't plan to anytime soon.

Sylvia - Perhaps if all US and international citizens just stop going there, the Mexican government will get serious about cleaning up their mess due to the lack of revenue. I know I loved it but I'm not going back. Too many other places to spend my money and boost a local economy in the US and NOT have to worry about my safety or being an American!

[R Fung]

Ms Sylvia L

I enjoy reading your news and commentary about the drug wars in Mexico, howver, I believe you are exagerating the "safety" of Mexico. I believe there is no area in Mexico which is actually safe, ie safe from danger or secure, with the exception of Mexico City DF.

While I agree the incidence of crime is very low in the cities you've mentioned, Cancun, Puerta Vallarta or Los Cabos, I believe that is only half the security equation. My friends who reside in Mexico, both ciudadanos and expats, love to cite the similarities in crime statistics between Mexico and various US cities. However I explain to them that the significant difference is that a person can be in any part of the US, whether rural or urban, and can call 911 if they believe they are in imminient danger and I maintain that some police officer or sheriff would immediately respond to protect you even with their life. Can anyone in Mexico think that the Mexican police would rush to protect an extranjero from drug criminals!

Mexico has a completely corrupt and unreliable law enforcement/criminal justice system, which is completly unable to protect public officials, law enforcement officials, journalists, etc. (I don't want to disparage the many Mexican law enforcement officals who have been killed trying to protect it's citizens, but they are clearly in the minority)

Therefore, I believe the "safety" which you and other tourism boosters cite is based not on actual safety but essentially on luck, the luck of not being targeted by a criminal. While it is true that the narcos probably have no real interest in targeting tourists, they can always make an exception for anyone they don't like.

I have visited Cancun, PV and Cabo many times and will continue to do so in the future. But when I visit those areas, I realize that my "safety" is based more on avoiding being targeted rather than any protection available to tourists from assault rifle toting criminals.

I'm sure the residents of Cuernvaca, Monterey, Acapulco or Guadalajara also considered those cities as "safe" until the organized crime/narco groups decided to challenge the authorities.

Cancun, PV and Cabos will remain essentially "safe" until the organized crime groups and narcos decide otherwise and the government is clearly unable to effective oppose them or protect their citizens. Until that changes, I don't think you can consider any area in Mexico as safe, just lucky so far!

[Mexico Business Directory]

I believe that if you did a side-by-side comparison of violent crime within the USA to Mexico you would find that the potential for being harmed in one way or another is far greater in the US than in Mexico.

[Midknight]

This may come as a surprise to some but as long as we have all these corrupt politicians in the U.S it will continue to thrive.The United States can match Mexico easily in corrupt greedy politicians. That has been proven. How do you have even a slim chance of solving a problem when the ones who are responsible and paid to solve it are a MAJOR part of the problem to begin with.

[Kofi Ford]

I have been to Mexico twice in the last year, and am currently scheduled to make a third. On the resorts, I have seen nothing of concern. While on excursions, I have seen nothing of concern. The trips have been wonderful.

As a matter of fact, there are areas of my own city that concern me much more than Mexico. Just as I know to avoid these areas, it would make sense to avoid those I hear of in Mexico that are of concern.

Thanks for the article.

[Rebounding Master]

Silvia I have to agree with the comment made above. I see no reason to support a place where they have warnings posted for your safety. I have been to Mexico many times over the last 13 years and I will not go back until there is more control over their cities.