For the past few years, travel industry representatives have remained confident that Mexico was safe to visit for United States citizens since the ongoing violence there, mostly between drug lords and cops, rarely claimed the life of an American.
But that argument may be a little harder to defend from here on out. The Associated Press reported Monday night that three teenage boys, including two Americans, were shot to death in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez.
Now, it should be noted that the bordering cities, especially Ciudad Juarez, have always been highly dangerous and that these crimes should in no way impact travel to more robust tourist destinations as Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Nonetheless, the fact that two Americans were involved will definitely mean the country's tourism industry will again be faced me more questions regarding safety to visitors. And tourists, especially those who aren't geograhpically savvy when it comes to Mexico, will again raise questions about visiting the country.
According to the AP story, the boys were killed at 4:22 p.m. Saturday while looking at cars in a dealership in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas. One was found inside a white Jeep Cherokee and the other two in the courtyard.
There were no leads on suspects or a motive, Sandoval said. Two managers were also in the dealership during the attack. The Americans were identified as Carlos Mario Gonzalez Bermudez, 16, and Juan Carlos Echeverri, 15. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said it could provide no immediate information on the case. The third teenager was identified as Cesar Yalin Miramontes Jimenez, 17.