DPS urges Texans not to travel in Mexico during the holidays
by Sergio Chapa

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is urging Texans to avoid traveling south of the border during the holidays.

In a warning issued late Thursday afternoon, DPS officials cited concerns that drug cartel violence continues to plague cities on the Mexican side of the border as other cities such as Monterrey and Acapulco.

DPS warned that drug-related and other criminal activity has even been documented in popular tourist destinations such as Cancun and Mazatlan.

The warning came out just a couple of hours after Mexico's Attorney General's Office (PGR) released figures that 30,196 people have been killed in Mexican President Felipe Calderon's war on drug traffickers.

The PGR reports that about 41 percent or 12,456 people have been killed this year alone.

DPS Director Steven C. McCraw said in a statement that the safety and security of holiday travelers cannot be guaranteed if they venture into Mexico.

“We recognize people safely travel and vacation in Mexico on a daily basis, but the increase in violence is also a reality,â€