The new wild frontier

A bloody turf war is raging on the US-Mexican border, says philip jacobson

American citizens are being warned by the US State Department to exercise "all due caution" when visiting Mexico, as a fresh wave of drug-related violence and kidnappings rocks the country.

The unprecedented travel advisory urges them to drive only in daylight hours on main roads and confine overnight stays to well-known tourist destinations with good security. It also recommends extreme vigilance in public places due to the 'heightened risk' of innocent bystanders being caught up in violent incidents: a few days after it was issued, the son of a US diplomat stationed in Mexico was stabbed and seriously injured in a street attack.

One of the areas singled out as