The US State Department has issued a travel alert for visitors entering Mexico.  Tourists are warned to stay away from the drug and prostitution areas in Mexican border cities.  Many cities along the Mexico/USA border such as Tijuana and Nogales have been experiencing escalating drug wars with the use of automatic weapons and grenades becoming common.  In 2008, there were over 6,000 drug related killings in Mexico.

Visitors are not prohibited from visiting Mexico, they are just advised to stay within the tourist areas and do not venture into the drug and prostitution related areas.