The United States Embassy in Mexico City has issued a warning concerning an unnamed threat in the Sonoran border town of Nogales, which is, of course, across the border from the American city of Nogales, Arizona. Now the United States government has placed travel restrictions on U.S. government employees in the area.
Travel restrictions have been placed on U.S. government employees in the Mexican border city of Nogales, Sonora, according to officials.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico on Saturday issued a warning restricting government activity over an unspecified threat in Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico.
"Due to threat information, U.S. government activities in, and travel to, Nogales have been restricted to essential movement during daylight hours only," the U.S. Consulate General in Nogales said in a statement.
It's not clear what the threat is, but that part of the border presents all manner of possibilities, from cartels to Chinese infiltrators.
The Mexican State of Sonora did not have any specifics; at least, none that they are warning the United States about.
Sonora's State Security Board said it contacted U.S. consular officials after the alert was issued but did not provide information identifying a specific threat. State authorities said they had no information establishing a concrete risk to the public, though they would continue preventive security operations in Nogales.
The alert also reminded Americans that the U.S. Travel Advisory designates Sonora as a Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" area.
Anyone in the area is urged to exercise increased caution and be aware of their surroundings, seek shelter in the event of an incident, notify friends and family of their safety in the event of an incident, follow instructions from Mexican law enforcement, and monitor local media for updates.
The official notice from the U.S. Missions to Mexico lists actions U.S. government personnel in the area are listed on the official warning.
Exercise increased caution and be aware of your surroundings.
Seek shelter in the event of an incident.
Notify friends and family of your safety in the event of an incident.
Follow instructions from Mexican law enforcement.
Monitor local media for updates.
This area of the southern border has long been a hotspot for illegal immigration, human trafficking, and smuggling of everything from drugs to children. Smuggling has been going both ways, at times even facilitated by the United States government. When camping in the area on a javelina hunt as long ago as 1999, we were warned by the Border Patrol to leave an armed guard in camp lest all our gear and even the canvas on our pop-up trailers would be stolen. Since then, even with President Trump's crackdowns on the southern border in general, the Nogales corridor is still a trouble spot.
Mexico in general remains a popular vacation destination for travelers from the Estados Unidos, which, given current events in Mexico, seems unwise. Granted, the border towns and cities have always been more unsettled than places like Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, but those areas are growing troubled as well.
As of this writing, the advisory for the Nogales area remains in place. Stay tuned.