Mexico, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is a safer country than the United States, just weeks after the high-profile kidnapping of four Americans drew global attention to the country’s security crisis.
“Mexico is a safer place than the United States. Traveling safely through Mexico is not a problem. “That is something that US citizens, like our fellow Mexicans who live in the US, are aware of,” he said during his daily morning press briefing.
In early March, the kidnapped Americans were traveling in the Mexican border city of Matamoros when they were attacked by gunmen believed to be linked to the Gulf cartel. During the attack, two Americans and a Mexican bystander were killed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety advised residents on Friday to avoid traveling to Mexico during spring break due to the risk of cartel violence.
When asked about security in Mexico by a local reporter on Monday, March 13, López Obrador cited his country’s popularity with American tourists and expats, who have descended on popular coastal areas.
“According to US government warnings, it is safe to travel only in the states of Campeche and Yucatan. If that were true, so many Americans would not be moving to Mexico City and other parts of the country. More Americans have come to live in Mexico in recent years. So, what’s going on? “What’s the deal with the paranoia?”
The Mexican president also claimed that there is a “campaign against Mexico by conservative US politicians who do not want this country to continue developing for the benefit of the Mexican people.”
Six people have been arrested in connection with the deadly Matamoros kidnapping, and Mexico has deployed hundreds of security forces to the area in an effort to protect “the well-being of citizens,” according to the defense ministry.
