U.S. State Department updates Mexico travel warning

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City issued the following Travel Warning Updates on Dec. 8, 2016.

The U.S. Department of State renewed the Travel Warning for Mexico on December 8, 2016. The Department of State reviews Travel Warnings routinely to ensure they remain valid and up to date. Below is more information about Travel Warnings and what has been updated in the current version.

Background on Travel Warnings

• The United States issues Travel Warnings for many countries in the world.  There are currently 39 Travel Warnings.

• The Travel Warning for Mexico is uniquely detailed and includes a state-by-state assessment that provides information on safety and security conditions in specific areas of Mexico.
• Travel Warnings do not reflect the nature of our bilateral relations with a country.  They are part of our commitment to inform and protect U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad.

• We strongly encourage U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive messages from the Embassy and Consulates, and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.  They should also read the Country Specific Information for Mexico for details about the country.

Background on the U.S.-Mexico Relationship

• The U.S.-Mexican bilateral relationship is strong and vital.  Our close partnership and the spirit of cooperation between our countries reflect deep institutional, economic, personal, and cultural bonds.

• Our countries share a 2,000-mile border, which handles several hundred thousand crossings daily.  On average, in 2015 more than $1.6 billion dollars in trade crossed the border every day, making Mexico our third largest trading partner.  Our vital relationship involves every U.S. cabinet agency, and we are more committed than ever to closely collaborating as partners to achieve security and prosperity for citizens of both our countries.

 U.S. Tourism in Mexico

• Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including hundreds of thousands who cross the border every day.

• The U.S. government actively encourages U.S. commerce, trade, and investment with Mexico as well as tourism and educational and cultural exchanges.

• Mexico is making an extraordinary effort in addressing security challenges.

What is new in this Travel Warning?

We strongly encourage U.S. citizens to read the Travel Warning in its entirety.  The main change to this travel warning is the lifting of security restrictions for U.S. government personnel in the state of Oaxaca that were put in place in June of 2016 (see https://mx.usembassy.gov/security-message-u-s-citizens-mass-demonstrations-oaxaca/), with the exceptions of the El Istmo region and Highway 200.  This update also includes some changes to U.S. government restrictions on its personnel for travel in Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora, based on a detailed assessment of safety and security conditions in those states

Updated Travel Warning:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html

Previous version of Travel Warning:

https://mx.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/12/Mexico-Travel-Warning-april2016.pdf