The warning impacts a region that’s often popular for day-trippers and spring breakers.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a travel warning last week for the northern state of Tamaulipas, raising the travel advisory to Level 4 – Do Not Travel, due to crime and kidnapping. Level 4 is the highest travel advisory level issued by the US State Department.
The Consulate in the border city of Nuevo Laredo advised that they are “aware of increasingly frequent gun battles occurring in and around Reynosa in the late night and early morning hours. Separately, the state of Tamaulipas has issued a warning to avoid moving or touching improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have been found in and around the area of Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Valle Hermoso, and San Fernando along dirt and secondary roads. IEDs are being increasingly manufactured and used by criminal organizations in this region.”
The warning covers Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Valle Hermoso, and San Fernando, cities along the Rio Grande bordering the United States. The local consulate has advised U.S. government employees to avoid all travel in and around Reynosa and Rio Bravo outside of daylight hours and to avoid dirt roads in Tamaulipas.
The existing travel warning also advised travelers that “Heavily armed members of criminal groups often patrol areas of the state and operate with impunity, particularly along the border region from Reynosa to Nuevo Laredo. In these areas, local law enforcement has limited capacity to respond to incidents of crime.”
Further drug cartel-related violence shook the city of Nuevo Laredo on Monday, following the arrest of someone Mexican authorities believe to be a local cartel leader. The consulate in Nuevo Laredo issued a further warning on Facebook that they had “received reports of multiple gunfights throughout the city of Nuevo Laredo, and U.S. government personnel have been advised to shelter in place.” The Consulate closed on Tuesday, citing the emergency situation in the city.
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The gunfights also interrupted flights at Quetzalcóatl International Airport in Nuevo Laredo, with most flights from the airport canceled on Monday and rescheduled for Tuesday. Aeromexico is allowing passengers scheduled to travel to or from Nuevo Laredo through February 6 to change their flight without penalty before that date. Passengers also have the option of changing their travel to arrive or depart from the airports in Reynosa or Monterey instead.
The State Department’s travel advisory level for Mexico on the countrywide level remains at Level 2 – Exercise Increased Caution. In Mexico, the State Department issues travel advisories on a state-by-state and sometimes regional basis. The states of Campeche and Yucatan, on the Yucatan Peninsula, have even lower travel advisories than Mexico at the country level. Those two states are rated Level 1 – Exercise Normal Precautions.
Tamaulipas is the state immediately south of the Texas cities of Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville, and has in the past been popular with day-tripping and spring break visitors from the United States, visiting for the area’s local cuisine and natural beauty, including an abundance of bird life.
Both the Government of Canada and the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office have warned citizens against all but “essential” travel to Tamaulipas, with a few specific regional exceptions.
American passport holders planning travel to Mexico should register with the State Department via the STEP program, and make note of the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the area they’re visiting.
On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would deploy 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border resulting from mounting pressure from the US government to address cross-border drug trafficking and cartel violence.
