U.S. officials advise curfew in Monterrey

The U.S. Consulate imposed a curfew for government employees living in the Monterrey area and advised other Americans in the area to take similar precautions.

Government employees and their families are now restricted from traveling outside San Pedro Garza Garcia, a suburb of Monterrey, between midnight and 6 a.m. daily.

Consular officials recommend other U.S. citizens in the area to adopt similar travel restrictions “due to increasing violence in the Monterrey metropolitan area,” a warden message published Thursday states.

Officials also recommend motorists visiting Monterrey to leave enough room to make sudden maneuvers while in traffic, plan an escape route and be prepared to make evasive maneuvers at any time.

Officials said people in the area should also not share personal information such as relatives’ names, addresses, telephone numbers while in public.

Northeast Mexico continues to experience widespread drug cartel-related violence. The U.S. State Department extended a travel warning July 16 that focused on the dangers of traveling in cities across the border from South Texas and across northeast Mexico.

Cartel-related violence has claimed about 25,000 lives since late 2006. The bloodshed has surged in Tamaulipas and other northeast states since February, when the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas began battling for control over smuggling routes that lead to the United States.

“American citizens in the Monterrey consular district should consider adapting these travel restrictions for themselves, and remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings at all times,” the message states.