The Current - Traveling to Mexico after cartel violence

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Mexico is a favourite destination for Canadians, especially this time of year. But the recent violence in Puerto Vallarta, after the death of a notorious cartel boss, has caused some reconsidering trips down south. We’ll talk to a travel consultant on what you should consider before traveling to Mexico.

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N-E-T-H-R-I-S dot com. Nethris, much more than just a payroll software. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. It is the second day of March. Winter is dragging in many parts of this country. March break is just around the corner. Maybe you're thinking, I would like to get out of the cold and embrace the hot, hot sun.

Perhaps Mexico is on your map. 2.8 million Canadians traveled to Mexico last year, but some are rethinking travel plans to that country after the outbreak of violence. in Mexico last week. I'd have to see less cars getting burnt, less gunshots, less travel advisories, just an overall safer state of affairs. Who's going to Mexico freely at the moment? Last week, there was violence

in popular tourist destinations like Portoviata after the death of a cartel boss. We spoke with people in Toronto about whether to stay or whether to go. I would not want to go to Mexico right now. I think there's just too much instability seeing the scenes of everyone stuck where they were sheltering and the bombed cars. When the violence first occurred, it was a little bit dramatic,

but I think it's died down a bit and you're following the instructions of the local authorities. I think it should be okay. All our friends from Fredericton are going to Mexico. The Cancun side, though. I think they're fine. It's far enough. I want them to have fun. Currently, if I were to go to Mexico, I'd probably go to the West Coast,

but I'm not really looking to go there in the next year or so, given the current climate. We're heading to Mexico today. I always think that there's probably a bigger emphasis on security now with that having just happened, which gives me some comfort. We called down to a few hotels, and the locals seemed to give us confirmation that still come down, make sure you bring your sunscreen.

That was helpful to us to feel comfortable going. Max Johnson is a travel consultant in Winnipeg has been helping his clients weigh the risks of traveling to Mexico. Max, good morning. Good morning. A real mixed bag of opinions there from people saying, yeah, I'm going and I'm bringing this on screen. And some other folks are saying, no, that they're not interested in going for upwards of a year because of what occurred over the last week in a bit. What have you heard from your clients about traveling to Mexico?

Exactly the same sort of spectrum. You know, any time these sorts of events happen, media, of course, is extremely quick to show pictures of plumes of smoke and burnt out cars. and they don't tend to go back three days later and show people going back to the beach. So the images that we have tend to be a little frightening, but I think that, you know, as your interviewee said, it's the spectrum. I'm never going again or I'm on my way to the airport. How popular is Mexico with your clients? Very.

And one glance out of the window at the piles of snow that we have shows exactly why it is, wandering down to the airport today and picking up any flight to Mexico would be a pleasure. Now, Mexico is a huge destination out of central Canada. It's easy to get to. It's fun to be there and the weather is predictable. And so what advice do you have for people who are considering traveling to Mexico? As I said, it's not just the mountains of snow and ice. March break is approaching and people might be thinking, I just need to get out.

And if they can afford it, maybe Mexico's on the agenda. What would you say to them? Well, I would absolutely say go. You know, any of these sorts of tourist destinations have extremely good security in place. You often don't see it and don't notice it. And of course, you know, Mexico is not the only country that has a government and a powerful, shall we say, underclass, coexisting. Italy's had the mafia and the Andrigetta for a long time, where Britain had its own problem with Irish groups. And as tourists, civilians are very rarely caught in the crossfire.

This was a very, very unusual incident because it happened in a major tourist destination. For people going down now, I don't think they would have any clue that these sorts of things were going on underneath the surface. Are there specific things that you advise people to do? I mean, whether it's staying at a resort versus an Airbnb, whether they should be renting a car or driving around, or just staying put? I mean, what are the specific bits of advice that you give? Well, I think that the specific advice is really no different than going anywhere else in the world. You try to avoid the sketchy parts of town.

You avoid clothing that shows that you have passports and large amounts of money in your pocket. You act perfectly normally, and your hosts will act perfectly normally towards you. Staying in areas that have more visitors, more tourists, are better illuminated, is certainly the way that most people would go about life anyway. But renting a car, I don't think that's a problem. We have many people who will fly into any of the Mexican resorts, pick up a car and go and explore. And I really don't think that in the vast, fast majority of cases,

this is going to present any difficulty at all. I mean, one of the things about traveling is that people like to be a traveler, not a tourist. Do you know what I mean? That they want to go and see the more interesting places. And maybe some of those, I mean, whether it's the sketchy part of town or not, But that's where some of the most interesting parts of life can be, is getting off of the tourist track and exploring. And you're saying to people that that's fine.

Absolutely. As long as people keep their wits about them, that's the most important thing. You know, you can't go into a place that you really don't understand the language fully, you don't understand the culture fully, and assume that everything is going to be the way it is at home. You know, at home, we understand the nuances of danger. simply keeping your eyes open a little bit more is really the most important thing.

But by and large, go and explore, have fun. Do you advise your clients to register with Global Affairs Canada? We heard as those images of the burnt-out cars were circulating that people were frantically trying to register, and there were the 26, 29,000 Canadians who were down there, but a lot of people who couldn't get through as well. That's an interesting question, because up to now, the registration, with global affairs has been something that people have considered much more if they're going into sort of West Africa or into curious parts of Central Asia more than a tourist destination.

It's really something, it's an option that's open to people, whether or not the Canadian government has the administrative capacity to register 2.8 million people in Mexico is another matter and what they would do with that information. but by and large, I don't think unless there is a problem. And, you know, let's look at other sorts of issues. I think in the West Coast of Mexico, you're far more likely to be affected by an earthquake than you are by another outbreak of this kind of violence.

It can happen, of course, but the probability is very small. The other thing, and we heard a little bit of that from folks at the airport, is there aren't a lot of other options that people are having right now. In terms of affordable travel, you can't go to Cuba right now. Jamaica is still affected by the results, the after effect of the storms. And of course, people aren't traveling, many people aren't traveling down to the United States. They're not going to Florida, Palm Springs, or what have you. No, that's absolutely right.

And I think that people are indeed spreading out more within Central America. We've had certainly more people getting into Belize, getting into Nicaragua, getting into Panama and Costa Rica. But yeah, the options are shrinking. Tempted when you're looking at those piles of snow out the window? Would you like to be on a plane to Mexico right now? I would love to be on plane, almost anywhere except north. Max, good to talk to you. Thank you very much. That's a pleasure.

Max Johnson, travel consultant. He's based in Winnipeg. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.