65% of Mexico declared "off limits" to foreign travelers by western nations

In the past 12 months, the governments of Australia, the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany have warned their citizens to stay out of almost 65% of Mexico's national territory. The alerts were based upon high levels of organized crime violence in 20 of the country's 31 states. The most dangerous areas, according to the reporting nations, include Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Baja California, Sonora, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Durango, Michoacán and Guerrero.

In Culiacán, Sinaloa last Friday evening (Nov. 4), eight people were machine gunned to death while playing volleyball in a neighborhood park. Six others were critically wounded. They were attacked without warning by a group of men who arrived in a convoy of vehicles, armed with AK-47s or AR-15 assault weapons. For more details click here.

U.S. authorities have issued the most travel alerts in the last year, but Australia's government has been especially vocal in its warnings. "Mexico has experienced a dramatic increase in crimes related to drug trafficking, including murders, kidnapping and auto theft. Travelers could become victims of this violence," said authorities there.

All of the alerting countries have warned their nationals to stay far away from border communities, especially the frontier city of Ciudad Juárez, which is regarded by some experts as the most deadly metropolitan community in the world. Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta are also often on warning lists. Acapulco's tourist trade has been severely disrupted by narcoviolence in recent years, and it's now regarded as one of the three or four most dangerous cities in Mexico. Guerrero state and local police backed by federal troops implemented a tactical military operation last month to confront the powerful cartels operating in the region, but executions and other crimes remain weekly if not daily events.

With increasing frequency, Quintana Roo has appeared on the warning lists. Q.R. state is home to Mexico's Gold Coast, and includes famous resorts such as Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Isla de Mujeres. There have been multiple murders there in recent weeks which have all the hallmarks of drug cartel executions. Quintana Roo is immediately to the east of Yucatán state.

Mexico's federal district also appears on some nations' alerts, but generally for claimed vulnerability to common crime rather than cartel activity. Mexico's tourism department and foreign affairs ministry have criticized the warnings, saying that in most instances they are exaggerated and unnecessary. Earlier this year governors in Aguascalientes, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí complained when their states appeared on some warning lists.

Read about recent Quintana Roo and Gold Coast violence:
Two women executed in Isla de Mujeres hotel room: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/two-women-executed-in-plush-isla-de.html;
15 year old boy arrested in murder case: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/arrest-made-in-isla-de-mujeres-murder.html;
Hotel rooms empty on Isla de Mujeres: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/empty-hotel-rooms-on-isla-de-mujeres.html;
53 year old mother of drug hit man is found decapitated in Cancun: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/woman-53-decapitated-in-cancun-police.html;
Los Zetas taking over Gold Coast: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/los-zetas-are-taking-over-cancun-playa.html;
More deadly attacks in Quintana Roo: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/more-deadly-attacks-in-quintana-roo.html;
Gold Coast narco murder: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/presumed-narco-murder-on-mexicos-famed.html;
Chief of Tourist Police executed in Playa del Carmen: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/chief-of-tourist-police-executed-in.html.