and this shift in criminal landscape, what we should be thinking is, what are those groups or who are those groups that use violence to advance their business? so there s some criminal organizations, for example, with kidnapping, that you have to use those public displays of violence. but other areas of the country, and this is something that has come from latin america, but we see it in mexico. you can have influence in a territory without using violence on a daily basis. so thinking about that distinction between what are those business models is essential. yeah, yeah. great points. i m curious, though, can you see a strategy that will solve all or mitigate nationwide the gang and cartel issue? because one of the issues isn t that they are very powerful, they re too powerful. they re engrained in social, political, and security systems. and i think this is a very important point. there s no one simple answer
but the criminal landscape in mexico has changed over the year. like extortion and racketeering. essentially what we re seeing today is not only violence related to that drug tasking, but also to these other activities. and in some ways it s not that the violence is new, but it has become more visible because of where it s taking place. exactly, because mexico has had a problem with cartel violence and so on around the country for many years. why hasn t the government with its police army special forces and so on, why haven t they been able to deal with not just gangs but cartels too in the broader debate, which have been running amuck around the country for years, and now we see it in tourist areas. what is the tipping point for meaningful action?
that i could provide. it is very complex. i do think that given the violence that we just saw in cancun, an area that is very famous across the globe. one of the complaints from the mexican government has to pay attention to firearms trafficking, and how that has enabled did not have the capacity to really change that ability to be very predatory towards the local population. so i think this conversation around what has happened in cancun should encourage us to think about how are these arms getting into mexico and how can we do something about them? yeah, a lot of them coming from the u.s. i guess to that point you can look at any number of any u.s. city and see much worse crime than there in cancun. but should people feel safe going to those places? i mean, i think that is
so too does the collateral damage. but cancun becoming an unsafe place for tourists, those ideas seem premature. matt rivers, cnn, mexico city. and joining me now is the head of security research programs at the center for u.s./mexican studies at the university of california, san diego. she joins me from mexico city. i guess mexico, violence there isn t new, but it does seem extraordinary places are going on like in cancun. it shows how fearless the gangs are. why is this happening? thank you for having me. when we see stories like these, the initial reaction is to think that it s related to the drug trade. certainly there s a component that is linked to the elicit activity of drug affectctivity.
repeated. we have to prevent that from happening, so that s why we have a plan to reinforce security. all that said, is traveling to quintana roo state and other destinations too dangerous? tourism officials told cnn the vast majority of the millions of visitors that come here each year do so without incident, and my violence almost always stays between the drug gangs. though the u.s. government says travelers should recommend extreme caution, it doesn t advise avoiding the state. the government at all levels is committed to protecting each and every visitor, said the minister of tourism. crime statistics in the state have held steady, too. so there s no doubt that recent headlines have some people spooked, and rightly so. drug gangs remain operating and