Please note: Canada issues travel alert to avoid travel to 13 Mexican states
The Government of Canada issued a travel alert to its nationals to avoid travel to 13 Mexican states due to "high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping".
The Canadian Government issued a travel alert to its nationals to avoid travel to 13 Mexican states due to "high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping". The alert emphasizes for Canadian citizens to avoid non-essential travel throughout Chihuahua; Colima, except the city of Manzanillo; Coahuila, except the southern part of the state in and below the Saltillo-Torreon road corridor; Durango, except the city of Durango; Guerrero, except the cities of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo and Taxco; Guanajuato, especially Highway 45 between Leon and Irapuato and the area to the south including Highway 45 D between Irapuato and Celaya.
The alert was issued for all of Michoacán, except the city of Morelia; in Morelos the Lagunas de Zempoala National Park and surroundings; in Nayarit, the area within 20 km of the border with Sinaloa and Durango, and the city of Tepic; Nuevo Leon, except the city of Monterrey; all of Sinaloa, except the city of Mazatlan; Sonora, except the cities of Hermosillo and Guaymas, San Carlos and Puerto Peñasco, and Tamaulipas, due to high levels of violence and organized crime. The Government of Canada warned that crimes such as homicides, kidnappings, vehicle theft and extortion continue to increase throughout Mexico, even in tourist destinations, so it asked to be "extremely cautious" when traveling to Mexico City and some municipalities in the State of Mexico.
"Violent crime, including homicides, kidnappings, carjackings and extortion, continues to increase year after year across the country in Mexico, even in popular tourist destinations. Be extremely cautious if traveling to Mexico City and surrounding municipalities in the State of Mexico, where crime rates have increased in recent years," it detailed.
The Canadian authorities mentioned that, although most incidents appear to be gang-related, it is not ruled out that a person may be "injured or killed". In that sense, they recommended to remain alert at all times, to stay in tourist areas, to be very careful on main roads, to avoid traveling at night and to closely monitor local media. Canada also warned that even police officers have extorted tourists or arrested them for minor offenses or traffic infractions when driving rental cars, therefore, he asked to ask for the officer's name, badge and patrol car number, as well as to refuse to give passport or money if they do not identify themselves.
Perception of insecurity decreases in Mexico
Mexicans' perception of insecurity decreased from 66.6 percent in June to 64.5 percent in September, according to the quarterly survey released Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). This means that 64.5 percent of the population aged 18 and over perceive that living in their city is unsafe, a drop of 2.1 percentage points compared to the result three months ago, the results of the National Urban Public Safety Survey indicated.
"This percentage represents a statistically significant change from those recorded in September 2020 and June 2021, which were 67.8 percent and 66.6 percent, respectively," Inegi said in the statement. In the third quarter of the year, the perception of insecurity continued to be higher in the case of women with 69.1 percent, while in men it was 58.8 percent.
Regarding the perception of insecurity in specific physical spaces, in September 2021, 75 percent of the population said they felt insecure at ATMs located on public roads, 68.7 percent on public transportation, 61.4 percent at the bank and 56.2 percent on the streets they usually use.
During the third quarter of 2021, the percentage of the population that mentioned having seen or heard criminal or antisocial behavior in the vicinity of their dwelling was: alcohol consumption in the streets (60.2 percent), robberies or assaults (53.4 percent), vandalism in homes or businesses (42.7 percent).
The cities with the highest percentage of people 18 years and older who considered that living in their city is unsafe were: Fresnillo (94.3 percent), Ciudad Obregón (92.5 percent), Irapuato (91.7 percent), Coatzacoalcos (89 percent), Naucalpan de Juárez (88.3 percent) and Zacatecas, (86.1 percent).
On the other hand, the cities with the lowest perception of insecurity were: San Pedro Garza García (14.5 percent), Mexico City's Benito Juárez (21.8 percent), Los Cabos (22.2 percent), La Paz (27.3 percent), San Nicolás de los Garza (28.6 percent), Saltillo (29.5 percent).
Mexico has registered the two most violent years in its history in the first part of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration with 34,681 murder victims in 2019 and 34,557 in 2020. The country accumulated between January and August a total of 22 thousand 611 intentional homicides.
It is up to you to decide what "non-essential travel" means, depending on family or business requirements, knowledge or familiarity with a country, territory or region, and other factors.
