Guards of the Governors Palace
Merida, Yucatan Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason April 2006
Last month, the USA issued yet another travel advisory against the state of Michoacan, where I have called home for the last nine years. The issue? An incident that took place in the remote village of Aranza, far from the main cities and beaches and even further from the tourist route. What frustrates me most about incidents like this, is the fact that an isolated event specific to the avocado industry did not involve anyone outside of the avocado industry, nor was anyone targeting random tourists or locals, and yet the US has condemned an entire village and state as "too dangerous for travel.”
FROM THE US EMBASSY & CONSULATES IN MEXICO
JUNE 14, 2024
Location: Aranza, Michoacan
Event: Due to recent security incidents in Aranza, Michoacan, the U.S. government reminds U.S. citizens not to travel to the state of Michoacan. The U.S. government has advised any of its employees currently in that area to shelter in place. The Department of State’s Travel Advisory for Michoacan is Level 4 – Do Not Travel due to crime and kidnapping.
For the US Government to stigmatize our entire state because of something isolated that happened in a tiny region is harmful to the local economy, which in turn impedes Michoacan’s ability to move away from being constantly controlled and oppressed by crime. The general rule among cartels is a hands-off policy on tourists because nothing attracts international authorities more than the killing of innocent foreigners.
Aranza in the remote Meseta
Screen Shot from Google Maps
I happen to enjoy taking our art-loving guests to the small authentic village of Aranza to browse through the museum quality textiles that are woven on backstrap looms by local artisans there. We often pass through check-points that are set-up by local vigilantes or police, as security is also a priority among the locals. The men and women who work in these checkpoints are looking for specific people and their very presence deters known criminals from even attempting travel through this region. Tourists have never been killed in this region, nor are the artists we visit on the radar of the avocado industry or criminal gangs. There is zero reason for the United States to spread fear about this village, her people or Michoacan, because of an isolated incident. It is, however, a facet of racism to stigmatize such a vast population as dangerous, especially when cities like Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis don’t qualify for travel advisories despite rampant violent crime on a daily basis.
Among foreigners in Mexico, there is a divide between those who believe Mexico is safer than the US and those who promote fear due to reported security issues. I sit in the middle of these opinions, as I believe Mexico to be very safe for tourists, but dangerous for select locals depending on where they live or the occupations they hold. In general, one can track and measure risk in Mexico much easier than one can ever predict where the next random gun-attack on unsuspecting innocents will take place in the US.
Exquisite museum quality Rebozo (shawl)
By Laura Equihua Ortega, Aranza Michoacan Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason April 2022
Why do some foreign nations have the right to promote fear and uncertainty around travel in Mexico? It's true that we often feel safer when in our own familiar environments where everyone speaks our mother tongue, but the murder rate of foreigners in Mexico is drastically lower than the murder rate of Americans in most American cities. In Baltimore alone, 263 people of 570,000 were murdered in 2023, at a rate that is thankfully 20% lower than the previous year. In Chicago, which has a population of 2.7 million people, there were 617 homicides and 2,450 shootings in 2023, which was actually a 13% decrease over 2022. Of the 5.7 million Americans who visited Mexico in 2023, 120 were murdered. This means your chances of being murdered in the city of Baltimore and Chicago are much higher than visiting anywhere in Mexico. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find statistics online to show how many of those 120 murdered in Mexico were involved with crime, but as innocent people are so rarely murdered anywhere in the world, I would assume most of these victims were sadly targeted due to involvement with criminal activity or high risk lifestyle.
The lonely village of Aranza and the entire state of Michoacan pay the price of xenophobic fear. Our governments and media instruct visitors to stay in the tourist zones, even though petty crime has over-run tourist towns for many years due to the cash-flow that arrives with foreigners. A foreigner is highly unlikely to get mugged or raped while visiting an artist in Aranza, as compared to partying in Cancun, Acapulco, Tulum or most places in the USA or anywhere else in the world.
Military truck travelling to camp
Selva Lacandona, Chiapas Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason February 2024
This unnecessary fear is transferred far beyond Aranza across many welcoming states of Mexico, where countless tourists and foreigners travel and/or live without incident. Currently, the USA advises against all unneccessary travel to the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. They site crime and kidnapping as the issue in all mentioned. They also advise reconsidering travel to Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos and Sonora states for the same reason.
For those paying attention to crime in Mexico, there are always isolated tragedies, such as the four Americans who were kidnapped after crossing the border into Tamaulipas enroute to Matamoros. Two of them were senselessly murdered, and the Gulf Cartel later issued an apology for what they called a case of mistaken identity. The cartel then turned five of their own members over to the authorities for the murder, though whether they were the guilty ones, we may never know. While the cartel turning over 5 of their own isn't of comfort to the families and friends of their victims, it does reveal their lack of desire to be involved with the murder or kidnapping of foreign citizens. More recently, there were 3 men who were tragically murdered on the West Coast of Mexico after possibly resisting a car-jacking. It seems this attack was a case of petty-crime, and not connected to the cartel.
Incidents like these should never be dismissed, even when isolated, but nor should they be used to promote damaging stigma against Mexico or Mexicans. The United States and Canada have both reported the murder of tourists in their territories, but never has either one suffered oppressive travel advisories that have resulted in the absence of tourism and the economic benefits that come with it.
Gorgeous Hand embroidered blouse from war-torn village
Chenalho, Chiapas Mexico
Procured in San Cristobal de las Casas December 2023
Available for Purchase
On our recent tours through Chiapas, we were intending to return to a remote archaeological site called Piedras Negras, which sits on the banks of the Guatemala side of the mighty Usumacinta River. We were there in December for a fun adventure, but upon return in February, Willy Fonseca of Finca Vallescondido informed us that we could no longer go. The military had moved into the area due to complications of cartel exploiting migrants that were moving into Chiapas along the river, which is part of the border for Guatemala and Mexico. The media was reporting that Bonampak, Yaxchilan and Tonina were closed due to conflict in the region.
We learned that Bonampak was open and the closures of Yaxchilan and Tonina were unrelated to one another and had nothing to do with cartel. As these two major sites were closed, we contacted our guests and discussed changing one of our tours, as both of these sites had been on our itinerary. We detoured to Campeche at the end of our tour for a fantastic exploration of remote and unpopulated sites there. We will always be flexible with our tour planning, as our priority is making our guests happy.
As our other tour focussed on bird watching, we decided to stay in Selva Lacandona because our focus was different, which meant we could visit Bonampak. Just outside of Bonampak, we were welcomed by the local Lacandona, who brought us to the site. We had a wonderful time exploring there, before visiting a lovely eco-lodge. We also had a picnic at a remote waterfall in the jungle before retreating back to the Finca.
Throughout all of the months that followed our travels, there were no reports of tourists being robbed, killed or otherwise harmed in this region. Yaxchilan and Tonina remained closed, but this was due to local political controversies and not because of anyone being at risk of harm.
The archaeological site of Tonina, which is located near Ocosingo on the highway between San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque, has been closed for over a year due to a fued between a local land owner and the government. The local land owners property is utilized to access the site, and there was an agreement in place for many years that he would be paid for this access point. As he has not been paid for years, he has blocked access through his property while trying to resolve the issue. Why the media reported this as part of a violent conflict only shows how misunderstood and complicated some of these issues are. Again - we are grateful to the local guides who steered us in the right direction and offered updates and knowledgeable advice.
The Reclamation of Mayab
Maya Archaeology, Chiapas Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason February 2024
Sensationalizing travel advisories for isolated incidents that will never harm tourists is problematic for foreigners who live in Mexico, as many of us dwell in regions that are constantly being advised against. After a while, it's hard to take any of these advisories seriously - and yet there are places that are unsafe. The Tierra Caliente region is one of those places, as are parts of the remote highlands of Chiapas and large parts of Guerrero. Local guides do not bring guests into these areas currently, nor shall we. It's interesting that we are safe to travel to communities that border these regions, because most of these conflicts are territorial. This means we can visit Chiapas, but will avoid Nuevo Morelia, Chenalho, Acteal and other parts of the state. We will visit Michaocan, but never Apatzingan, La Huacana and other villages in the Tierra Caliente region. We will explore many places throughout the state of Chihuahua, but ask our guests to refrain from taking photographs of local men if they are armed. It's important to remember tourists are not targets, as it attracts international attention, and most violent crime in Mexico (and the world) is personal.
If you have concerns about safety, please do not hesitate to ask us questions or share your concerns. We have tours scheduled for Chiapas, Chihuahua and Yucatan Peninsula, as well as in and around Michoacan, including Aranza. We will continue to keep our ears to the ground to avoid any war-torn regions that really should be avoided, and encourage you to read between the lines of isolated incidents and consider the statistics that show we are much safer in Mexico than many other places north of this border.
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Remote Village of Selva Lacandona
Nuevo Palestine, Chiapas Mexico
Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason February 2024
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