The Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is taking the unusual step of urging college students to avoid parts of northern Mexico during spring break.
The bureau's Los Angeles field division said Monday that it discourages travel to Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, noting that both cities just south of San Diego have witnessed lots of drug-fueled violence. Rosarito has long been a mecca for Southern California students on spring break.
The warning goes a step further than the State Department, which last month advised travelers to Mexico to avoid areas of prostitution and drug-dealing and to take other commonsense precautions.
The ATF is responsible for preventing arms from being smuggled into Mexico.
