U.S. State Department Issues January 2018 Mexico Travel Warning
January 2018 State Department Mexico Travel Warning
With recommendation that travelers reconsider travel plans to Sonora
The U.S. State Department issued its latest Mexico Travel Advisory on January 10, 2018, in conjunction with a State Department Fact Sheet that announced a new advisory system for international travel. Both announced updates to how the State Department provides traveler information and advisories. Read more here.
Among the changes is a new four-category system of rating a nation or region within that country with respect to potential safety concerns, ranking areas from “1” (Exercise Normal Precautions) to “4” (Do Not Travel).
Their new international travel advisory rating system assigned a level “3” rating to Sonora and other US – Mexico border states – “Reconsider Travel,” meaning that anyone with plans to visit Sonora should reconsider their travel plans. Read more about the travel advisory ratings.
The State Department assigned a letter rationale of “C” for the Level 3 designation – meaning that it was assigned due to increased crime in that Arizona-Sonora border state. As always, the State Department has provided very general information with no specific sources or examples for the “C” rating assigned to Sonora. It also fell short in connecting the risk of increased crime to its potential connection with or impact on tourists and other visitors.
So, the US Department of State advises travelers to reconsider travel plans to Sonora, Mexico due to increased levels of crime. How does that affect Nogales?
As in its previous advisory, the State Department traveler guidance did not specifically mention the city of Nogales but did reference “the triangular region west of Nogales, east of Sonoyta, and north of Caborca (including the towns of Saric, Tubutama, and Altar).”
We still believe that the Nogales border tourism area is a very safe place to visit, and that Sonora is also safe for tourists who use proper precautions.
In fact, the only event in Sonora where they issued an alert in 2017 was for a January protest weekend on the border in Nogales, Sonora. Read more about the protest weekend.
Here is the text regarding travel in Sonora, from the State Department’s International Travel Country Information Page for Mexico:
Sonora state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel
Reconsider travel due to crime. Sonora is a key location utilized by the international drug trade and human trafficking networks. However, northern Sonora experiences much lower levels of crime than cities closer to Sinaloa and other parts of Mexico. U.S. government employees visiting Puerto Peñasco must use the Lukeville/Sonoyta crossing, and they are required to travel during daylight hours on main roads.
U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to:
- The triangular region west of Nogales, east of Sonoyta, and north of Altar.
- The eastern edge of the state of Sonora, which borders the state of Chihuahua (all points along that border east of Federal Highway 17, the road between Moctezuma and Sahuaripa, and state Highway 20 between Sahuaripa and the intersection with Federal Highway 16).
- South of Hermosillo, with the exception of the cities of Alamos, San Carlos, Guaymas, and Empalme.
Is there an acceptable level of risk in visiting Nogales? Definitely. It is a foreign country, but the border tourism districts are well patrolled and considered to be generally safe. And a word of advice – if you see an information source that insists and continually repeats “Nogales is safe! Nogales is safe!,” you have a biased source that you can probably not trust for an honest and accurate safety assessment.
Following is the Sonora travel warning from the 2016 State Department Mexico Travel Warning:
Sonora: Nogales, Puerto Peñasco, Hermosillo, and San Carlos are major cities/travel destinations in Sonora – Sonora is a key region in the international drug and human trafficking trades and can be extremely dangerous for travelers. Travelers throughout Sonora are encouraged to limit travel to main roads during daylight hours. Defer non-essential travel to the region west of Nogales, east of Sonoyta, and from Caborca north (including the towns of Saric, Tubutama, and Altar), and the eastern edge of Sonora bordering Chihuahua, as these are known centers of illegal activity. Travelers should also defer non-essential travel to the eastern edge of the state of Sonora, which borders the state of Chihuahua (all points along that border east of the northern city of Agua Prieta and the southern town of Alamos), and defer non-essential travel within the city of Ciudad Obregon and south of the city of Navojoa. You should exercise caution while transiting Vicam in southern Sonora due to roadblocks that can be instituted ad hoc by local indigenous and environmental groups. U.S. citizens visiting Puerto Peñasco should use the Lukeville, Arizona/Sonoyta, Sonora border crossing, and limit driving to daylight hours. Please see above for general conditions for travel in Mexico.
Be safe.