Is it Safe to Visit Mexico Now?

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As a frequent business traveler, my hat is NOT off to the?Texas Department of Public Safety, which issued a release last week warning citizens of the Lone Star State not to go to Mexico over spring break.

Business travelers tend to be smarter travelers, almost by definition. We are aware of our surroundings, and we tend to be more streetwise than vacationing tourists. As business travelers, we possess less fear, more common sense, and nothing stops us from our mission.

Until a government authority puts out a worrisome press release and scares both business and leisure travelers. The release read:

“While drug cartel violence is most severe in northern Mexico, it is prominent in other parts of the country as well,” said DPS Director Steven C. McCraw. ?”Various crime problems also exist in many popular resort areas, such as Acapulco and Cancun, and crimes against U.S. citizens often go unpunished.”

On the Road in Mexico

I read that press release while I was in Mexico! I was walking down the streets of Oaxaca without incident. The day before, I was in Guerrero Negrol then I was in Chihuahua, and Mexico City, and over the last three weeks in many other Mexican states. I bumped into many American business travelers, too. All of us traveled without a safety issue. Without a problem.

I’ll try to give Mr. McCraw of the Texas Department of Public Safety the benefit of the doubt and presume his intentions were honorable. But his information was based on fear and flawed statistics and was misleading. “Underestimating the violence in Mexico would be a mistake….” said McCraw. “Our safety message is simple: avoid traveling to Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive.”

Analyzing Geography and Crime Statistics

Here are some facts:

An overwhelming majority of the crime is in the northern part of the country. The?distance between Tijuana and Cancun almost matches the distance between Los Angeles and New York. An overwhelming majority of the crime is drug