A Different War: As violence — largely from drug cartels — extends to the northernmost parts of Mexico and beyond the southernmost areas of Arizona, the gap between the traditionally "safe" and "unsafe" is shrinking. This story is the first in a three-part series that speaks of the shifting violence from Mexico into Arizona.

As students prepare to drive and fly to spring break destinations across Mexico, ASU officials are warning students about increasing violence across the country.

Karen Moses, director of Wellness and Health Promotion, said students are being heavily encouraged to read the travel alert by the U.S. Department of State.

“We are doing everything that we can to point students to the information that is available so they can make informed decisions about travel plans,” Moses said. “[Students] can be the adults that they are and make the best decisions for them.”

In addition to the usual spring-break safety tips, Wellness and Health Promotion is distributing different information than in the past, Moses said. The state alert — first issued in April 2008 and updated on Feb. 20 of this year — warns all U.S. citizens about traveling to Mexico because of widespread crime and violence.

The alert, which has been widely distributed to students online and in residence halls, cites significant increases in carjacking, robberies, kidnappings and homicides, often in public places, and encourages visitors to travel only on main roads, even during the day.

In recent months, crime rates in border towns like Nogales, Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez have been on the rise. More recently, violence — often related to drug cartels battling government forces — has spread to common tourist destinations that have previously been relatively unaffected.

A sister’s story

Suzanne Connor, 46, of Scottsdale, called her brother Timothy on Feb. 6 to warn him about the violence before his upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta.

“He had been going there for 10 years. He knew the locals, had local friends, was learning to speak the language,” Connor said. “He had a false sense of security.”

Five days later, Timothy Connor, 47, was stabbed to death after a man broke into the condominium where he was sleeping.

Timothy and his wife, Susan, were staying in a condominium complex built into the side of a mountain.

“He was stabbed several times, but the first blow became the fatal wound,” Suzanne Connor said. “He bled out quickly through his jugular vein.”

Connor said police believe Timothy’s attacker entered and exited through the locked balcony door accessed from a nearby rooftop.

“Several witnesses saw the suspect walking through town with only one shoe on,” Connor said. “You can clearly see a shoe trapped under my brother.”

Connor saw pictures of her brother’s mangled body and the crime scene posted on the Internet, but police have no suspects.

Photographs from the crime scene depict a gleaming kitchen knife wiped clean near a scarred, lifeless body lying in a sea of blood.

Police haven’t identified the motive of the crime, but believe it was likely robbery, Connor said.

Timothy’s wife attempted to stop the intruder with a lamp and was also stabbed in the process. She was released from a hospital in Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 12 and returned to the U.S. the next day.

“Susan left the hospital still covered in my brother’s blood,” Suzanne Connor said. “People think about Mexico and picture beautiful beaches, but it’s still a Third-World country. On top of poverty in Mexico, there is desperation.”

In the weeks since Timothy’s death, Connor has tried to get answers from the city of Puerto Vallarta and the police, but to no avail.

“The corruption down there is so horrible,” she said. “I can’t call and get answers. I just feel helpless.”

A real concern

Connor said she is worried about the large number of students who will travel to Mexico for spring break in the coming weeks.

“Your generation has grown up under terrorist alerts since you were kids,” she said. “How seriously do we take these warnings?”

Connor fears the emergencies that could occur when alcohol and large groups of college students are combined, emphasizing the lack of fast emergency responders and expert medical professionals most people in the U.S. are used to.

Timothy’s wife, Susan, ran the halls of the complex seeking help as her husband bled on the floor and neither emergency medical responders nor police officers were on the scene quickly, Suzanne Connor said.

“Tim grew up in New York,” Connor said. “He had street smarts. That man knew how to take care of himself, and then this happened. You just have to be informed no matter where you’re going.”

Connor said she is also concerned about widespread corruption in Mexico, even in tourist destinations, where most people don’t expect problems.

“When people came back to the crime scene just a few hours later, Tim’s wedding ring and wallet had been stolen,” Connor said, adding that the condo owners cleaned the room and had another couple renting it just two days later.

From here to there

According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 100,000 young adults travel to Mexico during spring break each year. Connor said she knows thousands of ASU students will still make trips to Mexico next week and hopes she won’t hear any horror stories upon their return.

Patrick Evans, spokesman for Student Travel Agency, said more students are booking domestic vacations this year, but destinations in Mexico are still very popular.

“Cancun and Cabo are still some of our most-purchased packages overall,” Evans said.

More than 30,000 people will travel to Mexico through STA for spring break this March and April, a number comparable to past years, he said.

Officials with the U.S. Passport Services said applications have increased significantly in the past months because of the new laws that will take effect this summer.

On June 1, a passport will be required for all travel to Mexico.

Currently, Americans driving across the border can use a birth certificate combined with other forms of identification to cross and return.

Connor said she hasn’t been to Mexico in about 20 years and probably won’t enter the country again.

“If we continue to pump tourist dollars into that country when the corruption is already so far-reaching, what is going to prompt them to make changes?”

Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.