BORDER VIOLENCE PROMPTS MEXICAN TRAVEL ADVISORY

U.S. State Department officials on Friday said kidnappings of Americans in
Mexico border towns along the Texas border over the last five months and a
spate of recent murders in Tijuana prompted them to issue a public
announcement for travelers.

Since August 2004, a total of 27 American citizens in Nuevo Laredo along
the Texas border have been kidnapped for ransom and of those, two were
murdered, 14 have been released by their captors and 11 remain unaccounted
for, said Liza Davis, public affairs director for the U.S. Consulate in
Tijuana.

The Mexican consul in Yuma, Hugo Oliva, said he could not comment or render
an opinion on the matter by order of his government.

Oliva said that Mexican embassies or consulates are not allowed to comment
and said the matter is being discussed between Mexico's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the U.S. State Department.

Yuma Sector Border Patrol and the Yuma County Sheriff's Office have said
violent crimes along the border have been on the rise.

The state department on Thursday issued an announcement attributing the
increased violent criminal activity "as a product of a war between criminal
organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade along
the border."

"The leaders of several major criminal organizations have been arrested,
creating a power vacuum. This has resulted in a wave of violence aimed
primarily at members of those trafficking organizations and criminal
justice officials. However, foreign visitors, including Americans, have
been among the victims of homicides and kid-nappings in the border region
in recent months," the announcement stated.

Davis said no U.S. citizens thus far this year have been kidnapped or
murdered in Mexican border towns along the Arizona border, however, one
American man last year was killed in an armed robbery against a family
member in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.

Davis said more than 30 people have been murdered in Tijuana since the
start of 2005, none were U.S. citizens. Davis said "almost all" of the
murders were drug-related and some were the result of robberies.

The homicides, Davis said, combined with the kidnappings prompted the U.S.
Ambassador in Mexico to investigate and subsequently issue the announcement.

Davis said the state department has issued six such announcements
concerning violence in Mexico since 1999.

Regarding the response of U.S. and Mexican governments to the escalating
violence, State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said: "We are working
closely with Mexican authorities to ensure the safety and security of U.S.
citizens.

The state department announcement also stated: "Mexico's police forces
suffer from lack of funds and training, and the judicial system is weak,
overworked and inefficient. Criminals, armed with an impressive array of
weapons, know there is little chance they will be caught and punished. In
some cases, assailants have been wearing full or partial police uniforms
and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles, indicating some
elements of the police might be involved."

In late December while traveling through the town of Escuinapa in the
Mexican state of Sinoloa, two Yuma County Mexican brothers and their
children were attacked by three gunmen.

The two victims, who are legal U.S. residents, later identified three
Escuinapa police officers as their attackers. The accused police officers
were charged with armed robbery but were set free on bail once the victims
returned to Yuma.