President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the travel alerts issued by the United States against some states in the country as “in bad taste” and “nosy”.
The president complained about travel warnings from the US last month when he suggested Mexico doesn’t send out travel notices with every mass shooting in the US. Read more
Questioned about Coparmex ‘s concern about the wave of violence in the country, the president called for interpreting the comments as something “political” and compared them to the “opposition campaigns” and the security alerts announced by the government of Joe Biden.
“It’s like the announcements they make at the United States embassy: ‘don’t go to this state’, also with political overtones. It’s as if I said, ‘don’t go to Los Angeles, don’t go to New York’ and of course they have problems,” AMLO said at the morning press conference.
Although, Mexico would have every right to issue travel advisories to its citizens.
“It’s also in bad taste, it’s nosy. That is not serious, but it is now a political practice and all of that has to be put aside,” he added.
Most of the violence in Mexico is due to cartels fighting for routes to the United States for fentanyl sales, making the violence the business of the US, a fact Mexico’s president ignores and insists that most violence is only propaganda to ruin his presidency by his adversaries.
US issues travel alert to 6 states due to waves of violence
A few weeks ago, the United States issued a travel alert for six states of Mexico: Zacatecas, Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas, due to recent violent events in the country.
Ken Salazar, US ambassador to Mexico, stressed that the alert issued by the State Department is due to the increase in criminal activity in these entities.
“Violent crimes, such as homicides, kidnappings, carjackings, and robberies, are widespread and common in Mexico. The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in many areas of Mexico, as travel by US government employees to certain areas is prohibited or restricted… US citizens adhering to US government employee travel restrictions,” the statement said.
The travel alert indicates that American employees cannot travel between cities at night, nor should they take taxis on the street and only use the vehicles of apps such as Uber or official taxi sites. In addition, it is noted that they should avoid traveling alone in remote areas.
“U.S. government employees may not drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior of Mexico, except for daytime travel within Baja California and between Nogales and Hermosillo on Mexican Federal Highway 15D, and between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey on Highway 85D”, details the warning.
It should be noted that based on the peace index, a measurement of violence and unrest in countries around the world, the US ranks at 2.4 and Mexico ranks at 2.6, very similar in terms of violence and unrest.
The difference between violence in the United States and Mexico is that in Mexico, government officials from city, state, and federal levels, police forces, and the military have wide and deep connections to criminal gangs, so the apparatus of the government to stop, or protect people, during violence is corrupt and insufficient.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the travel alerts issued by the United States against some states in the country as "in . . .
