MEXICO TRAVEL ADVISORY ISSUED

Drug-Related Deaths Prompt U.S. Warning; Border States Included

MONTERREY, Mexico - The U.S. State Department warned Americans this
week of drug violence in several parts of Mexico, including states
along the Texas border. The travel advisory comes as emboldened
traffickers have posted written death threats against government
officials and their families - attaching them with ice picks to the
bodies of murder victims, U.S. and Mexican officials said.

In the past month, at least three bodies have been found in the
Monterrey area with messages accusing Nuevo Lesn state authorities of
favoring rival cartel groups and warning of reprisals against them and
their families, authorities said.

"This won't end until you understand," one note said.

"The environment has never been this tense," said a U.S. State
Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We've never
seen our counterparts as worried about their personal safety as they
are today."

"We're all walking on eggshells," said a Nuevo Lesn state official,
"hoping that the messages they're leaving behind aren't directed at
us." Direct threats against government officials and their families
are unusual in Mexico, authorities say.

While confirming the threats, the Mexican official reiterated
President Felipe Caldersn's vow to crack down on drug traffickers,
whose turf battles so far this year have claimed the lives of more
than 700 people nationwide. Last year, more than 2,000 people were
killed.

Mr. Caldesn, who recently disclosed that he too had received death
threats, said: "I want to reiterate that we will not only persevere in
our cause, but the more violence we face from those who criminalize
our youth, the more energetic the response will be from the
government."

Two of the states listed in the State Department's travel advisory
border Texas: Nuevo Lesn, "especially in and around Monterrey," and
Tamaulipas, "particularly Nuevo Laredo." The travel advisory also
includes the popular beach city of Acapulco.

While much of the violence is between rival cartels battling over
control of drug routes into the United States and for new emerging
drug markets in Mexico, the U.S. government warned that foreigners
also faced risks.

"U.S. citizens should make every attempt to travel on main roads
during daylight hours," the State Department said in the announcement,
which replaces one issued in January.

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, added: "We ask U.S.
citizens to exercise all due caution while in Mexico and remain
vigilant for any situation that could become dangerous."

U.S. officials also expressed concern for American citizens and
investments in Mexico, particularly in the northern region, which has
been hit hard by drug violence this year. As many as 50,000 Americans
live in the Monterrey area, and 1,200 U.S. businesses have investments
there, representing about half the region's $14.4 billion in foreign
investment, U.S. officials say. That makes the situation "a great
national security concern for us," the U.S. official said.

Alejandro Paez y Aragsn, secretary of economic development for Nuevo
Lesn, said in an interview that foreign investment in the state
continues unabated, but acknowledged: "Foreign companies, particularly
American firms, are increasingly raising concerns about the security
situation in our state. That is a big concern for all of us."

The killings continued across Mexico this week, including 22 deaths
reported Monday. In the northern city of Hermosillo, Sonora, an
unknown assailant tossed a grenade into the offices of Cambio
newspaper, breaking windows but not causing any injuries.

The attack came a day after gunmen kidnapped a reporter, Saul Noe
Martmnez Ortega, who had been investigating drug violence for the
Diario de Agua Prieta newspaper, also in Sonora.

Since 2000, at least 33 journalists have been slain or disappeared in
Mexico, making it one of the most dangerous countries for
journalists.

Officials on both sides of the border warned that violence in Mexico
will continue to surge as the demand for drugs within Mexico grows.
Traditionally, Mexican traffickers refrained from selling drugs to
Mexican youths, preferring to focus on U.S. drug demand.

But Mr. Caldersn said drug traffickers are today solely focused on
profits. He said the country has nearly 1 million Mexicans drug
addicts, adding that many become addicts by the age of 12.

"That's why they're pushing them into drugs, so that they can make
them slaves to their addictions and force them to buy their drugs," he
said.

"This is all part of the drug traffickers' diabolical plan," Josi
Santiago Vasconcelos, deputy attorney general for international
affairs, said in an interview. "We're talking about a nightmare for
our children, and when I say children I mean that in the broader
sense, U.S. and Mexican children. Only when we start talking about our
children as being both U.S. and Mexican, only then will we alter the
battle against traffickers."

Few cities across Mexico represent a more attractive market for drug
traffickers than Monterrey, where the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels are
waging war. The city is prosperous and close to the Texas border. The
suburb of San Pedro Garcma Garza has the highest per capital income in
Latin America.

Nuevo Lesn's police forces, which have boasted as being among the most
professional and cleanest in the country, got a black eye this week
when Mexican troops swept into several cities in the Monterrey area
and detained more than 133 police officers for investigation of
possible ties with drug gangs.

At a police station in suburban San Nicolas, just as roll call ended
Thursday, a police officer took out his gun and shot two of his
colleagues and then himself. One of the officers died and the other
was in critical condition. The shooter, Gabriel Rangel Caldersn, died
at the scene. He left behind a suicide note, but authorities did not
disclose what it said.

Americans Warned

The State Department is warning Americans traveling
in Mexico of drug-related violence in the states of Tamaulipas and
Nuevo Lesn, both bordering Texas, and in Michoacan, Baja California
Norte and Guerrero.