US issues strictest “do not travel” advisory to Mexico: Spring breakers beware!

The State Department recommends strongly that you rethink your upcoming spring break plans in Mexico, especially if you were planning on visiting any of the more than a handful of Mexican states that have reported increased threats of “crime and kidnapping.”

Within the Mexican states of Guerrero, Colima, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, the United States has issued its highest level of travel warning. Only two of Mexico’s 32 states, Campeche and Yucatan, have been given the State Department’s lowest “normal precautions’ designation.”

Some resorts, long regarded as safe areas, may actually be under the control of Mexican drug cartels, experts told NewsNation. “There is a cartel presence in these resorts,” Robert Almonte, a former U.S. marshal in the western district of Texas, said.

Furthermore, U.S. Treasury Department officials are urging citizens to be on the lookout for a wanted extortion suspect who has been known to frequent tourist hotspots.

Known by his alias “Chocho,” Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez is suspected of belonging to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Some government officials claim that Chocho, a native of the popular spring break destination of Puerto Vallarta, extorts local businesses in exchange for protection funds.

The U.S. Treasury alleges that Chocho and his associates are able to launder drug money through their connections to businesses along the city’s main strip, which is home to numerous nightclubs and restaurants. A “significant proportion of the fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States” is due to the cartel’s trafficking, according to the Treasury Department.

Fox11 reports that public defender Elliot Blair, 33, was discovered dead in Rosarito, Mexico, last month while celebrating one year of marriage with his wife. According to a Mexican prosecutor, Blair’s death was an unfortunate accident caused by his falling off the hotel balcony after drinking heavily. On the contrary, Blair’s loved ones do not think he was drunk when he fell. His loved ones think he was the victim of a particularly heinous crime.

On his way back from a restaurant, Blair allegedly ran a stop sign, prompting police to pull him over. The couple claims the police officers demanded money and drove off after receiving $160.

Local law enforcement reports that Blair passed away a few hours after he fell from an open hotel walkway. Blair’s family has initiated their own independent investigation into his death after expressing dissatisfaction with Mexican authorities over a lack of communication.

Earlier this year, DETOUR reported that medallion taxi drivers in Mexico had begun harassing and assaulting Uber drivers and their customers, prompting the U.S. State Department to issue a travel warning for the Caribbean coast, which is dotted with resorts. A struggle has broken out because of rivalry over lucrative tourist rides.

Just a few months earlier, in October, Fox reported that a tourist had been abducted in Mexico by a cab driver. He was beaten, robbed, and left for dead in a ditch but miraculously survived to return to his family.

As if this wasn’t terrifying enough, ABC reported that on October, 3 Americans were discovered dead from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Mexico City Airbnb.

Given this, it’s probably best to avoid Mexico and look elsewhere for a vacation. Research thoroughly and always keep your senses on high alert folks!

Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, Ukraine, North Korea, and Syria are additional nations included in the list of those under the maximum level travel warning.

Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of any developments within it. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all.

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This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 1:17 PM with the headline "US issues strictest “do not travel” advisory to Mexico: Spring breakers beware!."