Is it safe to travel to Mexico for Spring Break?
A former assistant director of the FBI is warning Americans that nowhere in Mexico is safe from the cartels, following the kidnapping of four US citizens and the murder of two last week.
Latavia McGee and Eric Williams were found alive yesterday in a storehouse near Matamoros, a border town in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. McGee’s cousin Shaeed Woodard and friend Zindell Brown were both shot dead.
Their abduction is still under investigation, but US and Mexican authorities believe they were mistaken for a rival trafficking gang and taken by members of the Gulf Cartel.
Tamaulipas is one of six Mexican states currently subject to no-travel advisories from the US government.
The others are Sinalola, Zacatecas, Michoacan, Colima and Guerrero. Thirty of Mexico’s 32 states are currently subject to a warning or advisory from the US government.
The only two states free of it are Yucatan and Campeche, near Cancun. The advice for Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, is to take extra care.
These are the current travel advisories for Mexico from the US government. Only two states – Yucatan and Campeche – are completely advisory-free
The National Guard and military vehicles are taking part in an operation to return two of four US citizens kidnapped in crime-ridden northeastern Mexico to Brownsville, USA. Former government officials warn that nowhere in Mexico is safe for Americans because of the cartels’ control of the country
So said former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes NewsNation that even what appear to be “safe” resorts may not be as safe as many Americans believe.
You are vulnerable on the highway. In this case, it sounds like the cartels set up a checkpoint, actually a toll gate, that you had to go through.
“And it sounded like the van was trying to get past it. And then the cartels opened fire,” he said.
Nayyera Haq, a former national security adviser, added: “Most of Mexico is effectively in the hands of cartels. The government does not control the entire territory there.
In fact, the government of Mexico has been complicit in relinquishing control for decades. It is wonderful to travel abroad. It is not the same as traveling in the United States no matter what purchase or deal you can get.
“You have to understand what life is like for rural people.”
Retired FBI special agent Richard Kolko warned American tourists not to drive into Mexico and recommended dressing modestly once they get there.
‘Don’t cross the border if you want to go to Mexico. Definitely go to Mexico, but be careful. Fly in. Go to the tourist areas. That’s where you’re safest. Carry that cell phone.
“Let people know where you are. Do not wear jewelry. Do not flash cash.
“Don’t dress so much as an American wearing uniforms from baseball teams or football teams,” he said.
Six states currently have a “do not travel” advisory. 30 have some kind of warning
Lucky to be alive: Latavia McGee and Eric Williams were rescued from a warehouse in Mexico yesterday after being kidnapped. Their two friends were killed
Senator Lindsey Graham is now pushing for a bill that would allow the US military to enter Mexico and “stabilize” the ongoing unrest.
“I would take Bill Barr’s advice and crack down on Mexico. It’s not just the hostages.
“Number one, I would do anything to get them back. I would do what Trump did. I would notify Mexico.
“If you continue to provide fentanyl drug dealers with a safe haven, you are an enemy of the United States.
Senator Lindsey Graham is calling for a bill that would allow the US military to enter Mexico and take action
‘I would say so [the] Mexican government: “If you don’t clean up your act, we’re going to fix it for you,” he said in an interview with Fox News last night.
Military action across the border requires an authorization to use military force, which can only be obtained if approved by Congress and signed into law by the President.
Congress would need a two-thirds majority to overthrow the president.
Others, including the mayors of border towns, support Graham’s proposal.
“It’s up to the Mexican government to stabilize or let us help stabilize,” McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos told NewsNation.
Others have called on the US to finally “declare war” on the cartels.
Robert Almonte, a former US marshal, told Fox news yesterday: ‘We need to get angry and I’m waiting for more people to get angry.
“I am waiting for our White House to get angry because the Mexican government has failed its people, the United States and our citizens as well.
“And it’s time we did something.”