Cancun 2013
Dear friends of Cancun:
On July 12, 2013, the U.S. State Department issued a new Travel Warning recommending avoiding travel completely to certain areas in Mexico currently deemed unsafe as a result of the ongoing drug wars between the drug cartels and the Mexican Government.
The state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya and Tulum wasn’t listed as unsafe for travelers, appearing in the document as “No travel advisory in effect”.
From the Travel Advisory:
“Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day. More than 20 million U.S. citizens visited Mexico in 2012. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations, and there is no evidence that Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have targeted U.S. visitors and residents based on their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime that is reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes.”
We are not trying to cover the harsh truth: our country is currently going through a painful war between organized crime and federal forces, but it is important to put things into perspective. Cancun and the Riviera Maya are literally thousands of miles away from the troubled zones in Mexico.
Please see this map to get an idea of the distance between Cancun & the Riviera Maya and currently unsafe zones in Mexico:
Map showing distance from Cancun to troubled areas
If you want more information, we suggest contacting the U.S. Embassy in Cancun:
U.S. Consular Agency Cancun
(An extension of the Consulate in Merida)
Blvd. Kukulcan Km 13 ZH
Torre La Europea, Despacho 301
Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico C.P. 77500
Public hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 1:00pm
Tel: (998) 883-0272
Fax: (998) 883-1373
E-Mail: cancunagency@gmail.com, meridacons@state.gov
http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/edirectory.html
We hope this information was helpful to you. Please help us by spreading the word; refer your friends to this page and follow us on Twitter & Facebook.
Thanks, and warm wishes from Cancun.
(Featured photo credits: dasha9613 – Map by Alma Noguez)
