More Government Warnings About Riviera Maya Security

With March Break beginning later today for many Canadians, it would be understandable if folks heading to the Mexican Riviera Maya for the week ahead found themselves nervous about what to expect.

A bomb went off on Feb. 21 on a ferry that plies the waters between the popular tourist destination of Playa del Carmen, a town on the mainland south of Cancun, and the island of Cozumel. Some 20 people were injured.

Another explosive device was found a few days later, causing both American and U.S. government officials to warn their citizens about taking the ferries and to recommend they exercise caution in the area.

The U.S. Embassy said it received information on Wednesday of this week about a "security threat" in Playa del Carmen. Embassy officials said U.S. government employees are prohibited from going to the ciity, but they didn’t specify the nature of the threat. They also said the U.S. consular agency there "will be closed until further notice."

Obviously, a prohibition on U.S. government workers travelling to the area is worse than an advisory, but details haven’t been released.

"US citizens must have as much information as possible to make informed travel decisions," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement Thursday (March 8). "Clearly, there is a threat (and) we're making Americans aware of that threat so that Americans can protect their own safety and the safety of their families."

Associated Press on Friday morning was reporting that the State Department warning from Wednesday was not related to the ferries. AP also said that "the violent Jalisco drug cartel has been seen moving into the Playa del Carmen area.

The Canadian government travel advisory website noted the U.S. actions. As of Thursday night, the Canada site stated that Canadian visitors should “continue to exercise a high degree of caution in Playa del Carmen.”

What constitutes a high degree of caution is difficult to say, and could be entirely different from one person to another.

Mexican officials are insisting that Playa del Carmen is safe, despite the U.S. alert.

The government of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said that President Enrique Pena Nieto was scheduled to attend an ocean conservation conference in Playa del Carmen on Thursday.

"All tourism and economic activity in Playa del Carmen continues in a normal manner," the state government wrote in a statement, noting that hotel occupancy at the resort was 80 per cent.

"We do not know why the U.S. government decided to emit this alert," the government said.

Playa del Carmen is near Mexico's most popular tourist destinations, including Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum. No doubt the Mexican government is worried about potential damage to the country’s tourism reputation given the Riviera Maya’s critical role as the leading destination for foreign sun-seekers in a country that relies heavily on tourism.

More than 10 million U.S. citizens visited Mexico last year, as did some almost 2 million Canadians.

Cruise ships have cancelled excursions involving ferries, although other visits to the Playa Del Carmen area and to the island of Cozumel appear to be going ahead as per normal.

The ferry bombing isn’t the only issue the area has had to deal with. Five people were killed outside a Playa del Carmen nightclub in a shooting that took place in January, 2017. Another shooting in the city claimed a life and seriously injured two people in July of last year.

The U.S. government travel warning website notes that Mexico statistics reveal an increase in homicide rates in the state of Quintana Roo for 2017, versus the prior year.

“While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens,” the U.S. site states. “Shooting incidents injuring or killing bystanders have occurred.”