Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador this week criticized the U.S. for issuing travel advisories for Mexico, saying that the country "is safer than the United States."
The U.S. State Department last year issued a travel advisory that stated in part: "Violent crime — such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery — is widespread and common in Mexico."
More recently, authorities in Texas issued a statement warning that "Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat to anyone who crosses into Mexico right now."
In his morning press briefing on Monday, Obrador criticized these advisories as an overreaction following the kidnapping of a group of Americans a few weeks ago.
"Mexico is safer than the United States. There is no issue with traveling safely through Mexico. That's something the U.S. citizens also know, just like our fellow Mexicans that live in the U.S.," Obrador said.
"U.S. government alerts say that it's safe to only travel [in the states of] Campeche and Yucatan," he continued. "If that were the case, so many Americans wouldn't be coming in to live in Mexico City and the rest of the country. In the past few years is when more Americans have come to live in Mexico. So, what's happening? Why the paranoia?"
He also said that there is "a campaign against Mexico from conservative U.S. politicians that don't want this country to keep developing for the good of the Mexican people."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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