Spring Break Warning: Avoid Mexico, Partying Travelers Urged

Spring break is approaching, and with it, the plans of college students around the country to travel to exotic locales to get hammered and litter the scenery with spent condoms- but a Texas agency has issued a spring break warning [PDF] for residents of the state regarding trips to sunny Mexico.

Texans- and ostensibly the rest of America- have/has been urged not to move ahead with any plans they may have to go get wasted south of the border after escalating drug cartel violence inspired authorities to issue the spring break warning. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, “spring breakers” should avoid Mexico and seek other destinations in which to consume large quantities of Jagermeister and bone one another.

Texas DPS Director Steven C. McCraw said in a statement issued on the agency’s website:

“The Mexican government has made great strides battling the cartels, and we commend their continued commitment to making Mexico a safer place to live and visit. However, drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat, even in some resort areas.”

The release goes on to cite nearly 13,000 homicides related to drugs alone during the first nine months of 2011 in Mexico, with 120 American citizens killed in the country in 2011- up from 35 in 2007. Kidnapping, stray bullets, carjacking and highway robbery were all cited as possible risks for Americans visiting Mexico in the spring break warning, and rape and sexual assault were noted as persistently problematic in resort areas.

The release notes that the State Department currently urges Americans to defer non-essential travel to 14 Mexican
states, up from 10 in 2011. McCraw adds:

“The situation in Mexico today is significantly different than it was just a decade ago. Many crimes against Americans in Mexico go unpunished, and we have a responsibility to inform the public about safety and travel risks and threats. Based on the unpredictable nature of cartel violence and other criminal elements, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time.”

US citizens who travel to Mexico despite the spring break warning are urged to register with their local consulate.