Texas, El Paso Health Workers Kept Out Of Mexico

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – Health officials in Texas and El Paso have barred their workers from business travel to Mexico because of the ongoing drug cartel war.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission employees were officially told to stay out of Mexico on Feb. 25. Commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman says the decision was made mostly because of a U.S. State Department travel alert.

Following the state’s order, El Paso Department of Public Health Director Michael Hill also ordered his staff to stay out of Ciudad Juarez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the sprawling city during an ongoing struggle for drug and human smuggling routes in the last 15 months.

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