Los Cabos Increasing National Guard Presence To Protect Visitors

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Last Updated 1 year ago

Accidents are on the rise on the streets and highways of Los Cabos, and local officials are taking proactive steps to ensure the safety of tourists to the beach resort destination.

After much deliberation, the State of Baja California Sur has opted to request enforcement support from the Mexican National Guard to support traffic enforcement activities.

Calling in the Guard

The federal government has approved the deployment of the National Guard in Los Cabos to support the traffic enforcement activities of the municipal police.

They will focus their efforts on the federally controlled Transpeninsular Highway with equipment furnished by the state government.

Additional vehicles have been secured for the patrols, bringing the actual deployment to more than 100 law enforcement vehicles on the roadways of Los Cabos.

Why is This Action Taking Place?

According to Baja California Sur Governor Victor Castro Cosío, there are a number of places on the Los Cabos roadways, which he considers “blind spots”, that are actually under patrolled and in need of additional enforcement.

This is especially the case with key parts of the Los Cabos Tourist Corridor, where there are fixed National Guard stations for surveillance.

The issue is there is a perception that there is not enough road patrol in place in the area, and more can be done to keep tourists safe in the area.

The National Guard will assist with this need.

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Specifically, Governor Castro Cosío has charged the National Guard with focusing on additional surveillance and reduction of traffic accidents due to speeding and unsafe driving behaviors.

The National Guard also plans regular patrolling of the Cabo San Lucas-San Jose del Cabo and Los Cabos-La Paz highway corridors to protect tourists traveling between the different cities and the Los Cabos International Airport.

Safety in Los Cabos

Overall, the incidence of crime in Los Cabos is actually low for a major beach resort destination in Los Cabos. Most of the crimes are related to traffic or petty crimes.

Most of the traffic crimes are related to speeding and inattentive driving.

Unfortunately, in Los Cabos, a rising number of those traffic crimes are resulting in traffic accidents, especially in the tourist corridor and on the Transpeninsular Highway.

Surveys of visitors to Mexico have indicated that safety and security is a key concern in Mexico and an important factor in the choice of a vacation destination.

All three levels of government, the municipal, state, and federal levels, have come together to increase the level of safety tourists feel when visiting Los Cabos.

The hope is that eventually their efforts to reduce overall crime levels and increase visitor safety will encourage the United States State Department to lower its threat level for Baja California Sur.

Currently, it stands at Level Two – Exercise Increased Caution – citing overall crime activity in the area.

It was left unchanged at a recent review by travel officials with the United States State Department.

What it Means for Visitors

The added visibility of the National Guard and the increased enforcement of driving standards should help tourists visiting Los Cabos feel more safe and secure.

While many tourists may be put off by military officers patrolling the Los Cabos Tourist Corridor with semi-automatic machine guns, it should be emphasized that they are there for safety and not due to increased levels of crime.

Many countries around the world have these types of highly visible patrols in place to secure the safety of key tourist sites.

In Europe, several large cities have a national army in place to protect tourists visiting the country.

Overall, the increased level of patrols in Los Cabos should be a step in the right direction to lower the issues related to speeding and unsafe driving behaviors that put visitors at risk when visiting the beach resort destination.