Monday, March 8, 2010

Baja California Mayor Condemns Inaccurate Travel Alert

(Letter)

March 1, 2010

Stephen Kashkett

U.S. Consul General

Tijuana Consulate,

Baja California, Mexico

Dear Consul General Kashkett,

I am writing this letter to express my concerns with the U.S. State Department’s updated  Travel Alert for Mexico issued on Feb 22. While it is a travel alert and not a warning, I believe it presents an inaccurate portrait of conditions in  Baja --- including Rosarito --- and will unfairly increase safety concerns.

I appreciate that the alert begins by stating that “millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year (including tens of thousand[s] who cross the land border every day for study, tourism or business and nearly one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico.)”

But most of the remainder of the alert is a summary of violence throughout all of Mexico, caused primarily by the government’s crackdown on organized drug cartels and confined overwhelmingly  to those involved in that international effort. If the same approach were taken in an alert for the U.S. --- primarily  listing high risk areas and detailing crimes there --- people would be afraid to travel anywhere in the U.S. That would not be fair.

The alert states that a “number of areas along the border continue to experience rapid growth in crime” and cites Northern Baja California as being one of those areas. That is not accurate. Year-to-year crime in this region was down 10 percent in 2009. In Rosarito it was down 21 percent , to a five-year low. That included a 24 percent drop in robberies and burglaries, a 38 percent reduction in violent crimes and a 56 percent decrease in homicides.

I both understand and share the U.S. State Department’s concern for the well being of its citizens who choose to visit or live in our region --- we have an estimated 14,000 in Rosarito alone and we value them highly. But I also ask for your assistance in getting the wording of the alert changed so that it more accurately reflects the reality of this region.

Sincerely,

Hugo Torres, Mayor

Rosarito Beach

Baja California, Mexico

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Source: Office of the Mayor, Rosarito Beach (Playas de Rosarito), Baja California, Mexico