Collateral Damage: Drug violence in Mexico: Are tourist zones the latest victims?

An assessment of where and why some tourists are running into the drug war. 

Drug violence in Mexico: Are tourist zones the latest victims?: "Contrary to one popular misconception, the cartels have never given tourists a free pass because of the money they bring in, or for any other reason — tourists simply weren't relevant to the drug business.

Nor are tourists relevant now. If cartels do not have a hands-off policy, neither do they have any particular interest in going after tourists. Rival gangs are their main focus, with law enforcement authorities, government officials and journalists close behind. Visitors are not the targets of the violence, but rather we are closer to the violence in certain places, which is unnerving at best and dangerous at worst. ...

The turmoil reaching (coastal port) areas has nothing to do with tourism and everything to do with the supply chain. Especially as land routes are increasingly disrupted by the government offensive, Mexico's ports are critical to the drug business, for receiving both narcotics and chemicals used for making synthetic drugs. At the same time, the violence along the border has siphoned off a huge percentage of federal police and troops, leaving a security vacuum elsewhere. With less pressure from authorities, not only the cartels but lower-level criminals have more freedom to operate.

Since Mexico's most popular tourist destinations are coastal cities near ports, the increased activity brings the drug battle closer to tourists,"