Alejandro Poire / File Photo
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's top domestic security official says a U.S. State Department travel warning on almost half of Mexico's states is "ridiculous" and "out of proportion."
Interior Department Alejandro Poire says million of tourists visit Mexico without incident.
Poire told a news conference Tuesday that he believes "these alerts overstate or misstate the standards and security situation that exists in our country."
The State Department issued an updated travel warning Feb. 8 urging travelers to "defer nonessential travel" to 14 of Mexico's 31 states due to drug-related violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since 2006.
The warning notes "millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year" and resort areas are generally safer.
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