US Issues Advice Against Visiting Casinos In 10 Mexican States

The US government has issued a travel advisory for the second time asking its nationals to avoid traveling to casinos and other betting establishments in Mexico.

In a statement issued by the US State Department earlier this month, the advisory has listed 21 states in Mexico as risky places to visit and asked travelers to keep away from casinos and other gambling establishments in these 10 states.

Although the statement highlights the fact that the Mexican government is working to safeguard US citizens and emphasize that organized crime groups in Mexico are not targeting US nationals specifically, the statement warns travelers that there are still many US nationals who have gone to Mexico only to become victims of criminal activity such as carjacking, kidnapping, homicide and gun battles.

KGUN 9 News

Incidents involving kidnappings and death of U.S. citizens in Mexico have increased in the past few years. Over 130 cases of kidnapping have taken place between January and November 2014 and murders rose from 81 to 100 in 2014.

With the Mexican government waging an intensive battle against criminal groups, the statement notes that gun battles have been occurring in day light and in public spots across the country, necessitating care in visiting these areas. It has also asked the citizens to lower their “personal profile” by avoiding expensive jewelry or watches, and avoid any circumstances which would cause them to be isolated or stand out.

The travel advisory released a statement which cautioned U.S travelers from visiting familiar hot spots that had sports books, casinos and adult entertainment sites. The ten locations highlighted in the statement were Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Zacatecas as US authorities believed these locations had security concerns for its citizens.

This fresh alert replaces a similar one issued in May 2015. At that point in time, Miguel Angel Ochoa, President of the Mexican Gaming Association (AIEJA) said that the safety of foreigner visitors to casinos in Mexico was guaranteed as a number of protection measures have been put in place after the Casino Royale attack in 2011.

Reacting to the recent advisory, Governor of Aguascalientes Carlos Lozano de la Torre said that the alert was “misplaced” and that it could negatively impact the number of visitors coming to the Feria Nacional de San Marcos (San Marcos Fair), which features a temporary casino. The President of the National Chamber of Commerce of Monclova, José María Gil de los Santos was disappointed with the statement and said that it showed a “lack of information” as the state of Coahuila has had no casinos or betting shops for the past three years.

Similarly, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the inaccuracies in the alert saying that it needs to have correct information and avoid generalizations to be actually useful to travelers.

Adrian Sterne

More articles by Adrian Sterne