140 victims in Mexican resorts: Congress demands reform

Members of Congress are putting pressure on the State Department to reform how it responds to information about the deaths and injuries of US citizens vacationing in Mexico, writes USA Today.

Фото: Depositphotos

On Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other officials received letters stating that there were more than 140 cases in Mexican resorts where American tourists fainted and were injured after drinking a small amount of alcohol, and in some cases died. The letter appeals to higher authorities with a request to take a more active position in the government in order to avoid an increase in the number of victims.

“While I understand that the State Department does not have jurisdiction to investigate specific cases, I am confident that a clear and comprehensive analysis of the information provided by victims will reveal systemic problems associated with illicit alcohol, weak and corrupt law enforcement and judicial institutions, and the lack of the rule of law and the overall dangerous environment for U.S. citizens in Mexico,” Baldwin wrote.

At the insistence of Senator Ron Johnson, in December, the Attorney General’s Office began investigating how the department handled complaints from US citizens who were injured or whose loved ones died while on holiday in Mexico. The results of the investigation have not yet been reported.

The pressure from officials followed a month-long study in the journal “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Which first revealed many problems back in July.

The news organization began an investigation into the death of a girl from Wisconsin, who questioned the quality of alcoholic beverages at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico.

So, Abbie Connor, 20-year-old from Pewaukee, WI, passed away in January, 2017, after being pulled out of a pool in Paraíso del Mar, which is part of the Iberostar resort group near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Doctors ascertained the death of the brain, and a few days after arriving in Florida, the girl was disconnected from the life support apparatus.

Her brother, 22-year-old Austin, said that he also lost consciousness, resulting in a bruised forehead and severe concussion. These two young men flew with their mother and stepfather to the resort just a few hours before the tragedy and drank in the bar.

After the first publication of the journal Sentinel Received letters from more than 140 people who reported similar problems after drinking in resorts.

Many others told the magazine Sentinel about similar cases, and several couples reported that they lost consciousness at the same time. A woman from Nina, Wisconsin, said she was sexually abused, and her husband woke up with a broken arm.
The blackouts occurred at Iberostar's Cancun properties and at the company's group of resorts 30 miles (48 kilometers) south in Playa del Carmen. Similar incidents have also occurred at other all-inclusive resorts in the region.

Often vacationers reported that they drank tequila, but in other cases it was rum, beer or other alcohol.

The State Department does not store much data on the deaths of US citizens in Mexico, and only in the last few months has it begun to track injuries.

Travelers expressed disappointment when consular officers, police, even doctors and local hospital workers seemed indifferent and sometimes hostile when they asked for help.

Vacationers were even more shocked when the US Department of State did almost nothing to help them, it turned out in a study magazine Sentinel.

Employees of the US consulates in Mexico say that they have little opportunity to help American victims of crime.

• Employees cannot speak on behalf of citizens.
• They are not allowed to act as translators.
• They cannot offer legal advice or help investigate a situation.

The State Department should help victims gather evidence and “navigate an ineffective external legal system, rather than simply providing limited guidance and essentially leaving them to fend for themselves,” Baldwin wrote.

Johnson, chairman of the Senate Security and Public Safety Committee, said on Sunday that he was keen to see the report of the Attorney General.

“My committee continues to await answers from the State Department regarding the death of Abby Conner and others who suffered tragic incidents while traveling to Mexico,” Johnson wrote. “The State Department must do everything it can to warn Americans about the dangers ... and provide assistance to travelers abroad.”

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