Mexico ‘Safer’ Than the United States, Claims Mexican President

By Rick Martin First Posted: Mar 13, 2023 08:59 PM EDT

With all the current problems Mexico has, from rising femicide to murderous drug cartels running loose, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claims that his country is actually safer than the United States.

The pronouncement came a few days after four Americans were kidnapped by the Mexican drug cartel Gulf Cartel, resulting in the deaths of two of these U.S. citizens. This incident drew global attention and has placed the AMLO administration's focus on security in the spotlight, according to CNN.

During his daily morning press briefings, AMLO said, "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."

When AMLO claimed this, the president was asked about the various U.S. travel advisories levied against the country. The president responded by questioning the validity of these travel advisories.

"U.S. government alerts say that it's safe to only travel [in the states of] Campeche and Yucatan. 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 said in the press briefing.

He also blamed conservatives in the United States for the various problems happening in Mexico, saying they have "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."

Texas Issued a Travel Advisory Against Mexico

After the kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican city of Matamoros, Texas issued its own travel advisory to residents, warning them about traveling to their direct neighbor to the south. This was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which specifically urged residents to avoid spring break travel to Mexico.

According to NPR, the Texas agency encouraged U.S. citizens who decide to travel to Mexico to register with an embassy or consulate before they go. DPS Director Steven McCraw said that this was "Based on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there."

The state of Tamaulipas, where the kidnappings happened, is considered one of the most dangerous states in Mexico and one of six Mexican states under a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory, according to NPR.

Is Mexico Really Safer? Numbers Say Otherwise

When Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed that Mexico was safer than the United States, it raised a lot of eyebrows as the crime rate in the country is far higher than in the U.S.

The Guardian pointed out that 2020 has shown that Mexico's murder rate was around four times higher than in the U.S. that year, with 28 murders per 100 people. Homicides did fall at around 7% last year in Mexico, but the country did experience a rise in femicide or women getting murdered.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Mexican president says Mexico safer than US- The Washington Examiner