The daily bemoans a new law requiring Americans to have a passport in order to visit Mexico, calling this June 1 prerequisite for crossing the Mexican border the latest in a series of problems plaguing the Mexico travel industry. Beside the need for passports when visiting Mexico or Canada, Valley travel businesses also lay blame on the recession for dampening travel south of the border.
While those may be contributing factors, the fact is, Mexico now ranks as one of the world’s most dangerous nations, with drug cartels reigning bloody terror over Mexicans and visitors alike. It also has among the most elevated rates of swine flu worldwide — a disease now being called a “pandemic.”
The U.S. Department of State travel alerts list cautionary information for those traveling to Mexico. Here is a sample:
CRIME: Crime in Mexico continues to occur at a high rate, and it can often be violent, especially in Mexico City, Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Acapulco, and the states of Sinaloa and Durango. Other metropolitan areas have lower, but still serious, levels of crime. The low rates of apprehension and conviction of criminals also contribute to Mexico’s high crime rate
THREATS TO SAFETY AND SECURITY: Violence by criminal elements affects many parts of the country, including urban and rural areas, visitors should remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times. In its efforts to combat violence, the Government of Mexico has deployed military troops to various parts of the country. Military checkpoints increased in border areas in early 2008.
Visitors are also warned of armed robbery and rape, while kidnappings of non-Mexicans, which are described on the site as a “lucrative business,” continue to occur at alarming rates.
Mexican authorities have failed to prosecute numerous crimes committed against U.S. citizens, including murders and kidnappings. Local police forces suffer from a lack of funds and training, and the judicial system is weak, overworked, and inefficient. Criminals, armed with an impressive array of weapons, know there is little chance they will be caught and punished. In some cases, assailants were wearing full or partial police uniforms and have vehicles that resemble police vehicles, indicating that some elements of the police may have been involved.
Blaming the decline in tourism on passport requirements is akin to blaming the hot summer temperatures in Phoenix on the lack of shade trees.