Mexico Leader Dismisses Canada Travel Warning

Mexico City — President Claudia Sheinbaum has downplayed the travel advisory issued by Canada for its citizens visiting Mexico, stating that such alerts are not very effective as tourists continue to arrive.

During her morning press conference on November 18, Sheinbaum addressed the advisory issued by the Canadian government. "We are going to check with the Embassy of Canada, but the truth is, they are not very useful because American, Canadian, and European tourists keep arriving," Sheinbaum stated.

She also referenced travel advisories from the United States, noting that citizens from the U.S. and other countries continue to visit Mexico despite the warnings.

Canada Issued Travel Advisory for 13 Mexican States

The article recalls that Canada alerted its citizens about traveling to Mexico due to high levels of violence, insecurity, and the presence of crime in some states, with exceptions for some of their capital and economic cities.

Canada called for a high degree of caution throughout Mexican territory due to criminality and the risk of kidnapping, just as the United States has done for its citizens. The North American country stated that, while there are protection efforts in tourist zones, the threat is significant for visitors.

The advisory included specific qualifications for each state:

1. Chiapas (except Palenque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and San Cristóbal de las Casas)
2. Chihuahua (except Chihuahua capital)
3. Colima (except Manzanillo by air)
4. Guanajuato (especially on highways and the southern zone of the state)
5. Guerrero (except Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo by air)
6. Jalisco (especially the border zone with Michoacán)
7. Michoacán (except Morelia and Pátzcuaro)
8. Nayarit (especially the border zone with Sinaloa and Durango)
9. Nuevo León (except Monterrey)
10. Sinaloa (except Los Mochis, Guaymas, San Carlos, Puerto Peñasco)
11. Sonora (except Hermosillo)
12. Tamaulipas (except Tampico)
13. Zacatecas (except Zacatecas capital)

Sheinbaum Previously Minimized U.S. Travel Advisory, Claiming Citizens Disregard Them

The article notes that in the past month of October, President Claudia Sheinbaum also minimized travel advisories from the United States using the same argument.

She said at the time that U.S. citizens do not take their government's advisories into account and continue to travel to Mexico. On that occasion, she stated that "these alerts are increasingly taken less into account" and said that work is done daily to protect the citizenry.

The federal Secretary of Tourism has reported that Americans are the top nationality visiting the country, followed by Canadians and the British.