As the Mexican government continues to grapple with a recent spate of car burnings and other attacks in Tijuana, some social media users have claimed that the incidents triggered a border closure.
“The drug Cartels declared war! Tijuana is under attack! All of Mexicali, Tecate, and Rosarito areas are under high alert! The US border has been shut,” reads an Aug. 13 Facebook post that was shared more than 300 times in five days.
While U.S. government employees were temporarily told to shelter in place and there was a decrease in border traffic, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told USA TODAY there were no closures.
Mexican officials “on alert,” but incidents did not lead to border closures
Violence in Tijuana and other parts of Mexico has risen over the past few weeks, but the status of the border has not been affected by it, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“There were no changes for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at our border crossings; no closures and no new restrictions,” agency spokesperson Jacqueline Wasiluk told USA TODAY in an Aug. 18 email.
The Los Angeles Times reported a decrease in border traffic at one point, though it said numbers “appeared to return to normal” by Aug. 16.
Mexican officials did say they were “on alert” in Baja California, the state encompassing Tijuana and other areas mentioned in the Facebook post, as reported by NBC San Diego.
The president of Mexico also visited the area and military reinforcements were sent into Tijuana to strengthen security, according to NPR.
The U.S. government has taken steps to deal with the violence, too.
U.S. government employees were “instructed to shelter in place” in light of the incidents, according to an Aug. 12 alert from the U.S. Mission to Mexico. The U.S. Consulate Tijuana issued an updated alert on Aug. 14 saying those instructions were no longer in effect.
Source: Excelsior
