Parents take Mexico off options for spring break spots in wake of border violence, warnings

Mexico violence factors in spring break plans

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Students at the spring break destination of South Padre Island, Texas, say they’re avoiding Mexico.

Some cite the grisly murders of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the weekend. Others have noted months of media reports about the bloody drug war south of the border.

For many, parents’ admonitions short-circuited Mexico spring break plans before they got started.

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a warning earlier this month encouraging parents not to allow their children to visit border cities.

The U.S. State Department also issued a travel warning Sunday after the killings of an American employee at the Juarez consulate, her husband and the husband of a Mexican consulate employee.