Travel to Mexico Still Dangerous

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Myles Stepp
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Elevating violence in border regions and selected states within Mexico remains high enough that travel of military personnel continues to be restricted.

Col. Ty Thomas, 97 Air Mobility Wing Commander, stated in a policy letter dated May 26, 2010, that travel to certain Mexican states and cities is only permitted with justifiable reason.

According to the policy letter, "This travel directive applies to all permanent party personnel, students attending training, and personnel assigned to Altus Air Force Base at geographically separate locations/units. This policy does not apply to foreign students. Family members, civilian, and civilian contractors are urged to abide by the travel prohibitions and restrictions imposed for their own safety and security."

With the American death toll rising, Mexico is becoming more and more dangerous for travelers and workers alike. Military members are restricted from certain areas in Mexico; all non-official travel to or through the states of Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, and the state of Durango is prohibited until further notice.

The commander of the Air Education and Training Command, Gen. Stephen Lorenz, has given approval for Colonel Thomas to allow reasonable negotiations for travel into Mexico. For example, if an Airman has family located in an off-limits area, he or she can be approved for travel on a case-by-case basis. However, if an Airman is not approved for travel and does so, he or she is putting themselves in danger and could be subject to significant disciplinary and administrative actions.

As of March 15, drug related homicides in Mexico stood at 2,049, according to Mexico City's "El Universal" newspaper. These include the unsolved murders of U.S. Consulate employees Lesley Enriquez and Arthur Redelfs, according to CNN.

"I would advise people not to travel into Mexico unless you absolutely had to and if one were to travel there to utilize their Anti-terrorism Level 1 training. And avoiding looking, speaking, acting like an American and avoid looking like an opposing gang member. " said Master Sgt. David Langdon, the 97 Air Mobility Wing anti-terrorism officer.

For more information about staying safe in Mexico, contact Altus's anti-terrorism office at 481-7963 and visit http://travel.state.gov for the most current alerts or travel warnings.