TIJUANA, Mexico, March 15 (UPI) -- An official says relatives of employees at six U.S. consulates in Mexico are allowed to go home after the killing of three people tied to the Juarez consulate.
Steven Kashkett, head at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, said the authorization for government employees at six U.S consulates to send their relatives back to the United States was voluntary, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.
The measure is in effect until April 12.
"This is not an evacuation. This is simply an administrative measure that makes it possible for family members who wish to be relocated temporarily to do so for a limited period of time," Kashkett said.
The consulate "remains open for business for normal operations," he said.
A U.S. couple and a Mexican citizen affiliated with the U.S. Consulate in Juarez were killed Saturday in the town across the border from El Paso, Texas, in two separate incidents about 10 minutes apart. The U.S. couple's 7-month-old daughter was unharmed in the back of their car; two children in the Mexican citizen's care were wounded, The New York Times said.
In its travel warning to U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico, the State Department said the authorized departure affected consulates in Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros.
"While millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year -- including tens of thousands who cross the land border daily for study, tourism or business and nearly one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico -- violence in the country has increased." the State Department said in its warning Monday.
