KENNEWICK — Some Pasco officials are getting ready to pack their bags for a weeklong visit to their “sister city” in Mexico.
Dozens of community leaders will fly to the state of Colima, Mexico, this fall for a visit organized by the Pasco-Colima Cooperation and Friendship Agreement (COPA).
This is the first time in five years Pasco will send a delegation south of the border. But the federal government is warning against travel to the small, mountainous state.
Since December 2019, the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has had a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory in place for Colima because of a high risk of crime and kidnapping.
Violent crime and gang activity are widespread, says the State Department. And while most homicides have targeted members of criminal organizations. U.S. citizens and green card holders have been victims of kidnapping.
Still, Gabriel Portugal, president of COPA and the trip’s organizer, believes the trip will be safe. Pasco officials will be tailed by Colima state police, he said.
“I think that the security, I’m not really worried about,” Portugal said.
Their first trip in 2019 with former Mayor Matt Watkins was smooth and safe, Portugal said.
Mayor Blanche Barajas said the COPA group is monitoring security changes and working to ensure all travel is safe.
“Overall, this is an exciting event taking place in benefit of both cities and residents originating from Colima,” she wrote in an email to the Tri-City Herald.
Pasco, WA-Colima partnership
Colima delegates have visited Pasco several times, but this will be just the second time Pasco officials pay a visit to the Mexican state.
Fifty-three delegates will fly out Oct. 30 and return Nov. 5.
A majority — about 30 — are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Portugal said. Officials from the city of Pasco and Port of Pasco also will join the trip.
Pasco spokesman Jon Funfar said the city will be covering travel costs for three council members to attend.
The goal of the trip to strengthen the relationship between the two regions and to engage in discussions around education, economic development, public safety and health, and arts and culture.
It’s estimated about 20% of Pasco residents have ties to or are from the state of Colima.
Barajas said the trip also is a show of solidarity to the Coliman people. Last year, the country was ravaged by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that killed two people.
“It’s very much a cultural, educational exchange — an exchange of health resources, medical resources. Just an exchange of everything that both Pasco and Colima can offer each other,” Barajas said at the July 17 city council meeting.
Barajas said she will be handed the key to the state of Colima during a ceremony with Gov. Indira Vizcaino Silva.
City Councilman David Milne also will showcase a grant and fundraiser he helped lead for rehabilitation equipment donated to the state.
Colville members will host three performances and will share cultural connections with other native tribes from Colima.
Port of Pasco officials will meet with Manzanillo port officials and other state economic leaders.
Pasco also will be representing the U.S. at a Colima state fair event that regularly turns out more than 10,000 people, Portugal said.
The Southeast Washington city first started discussions to establish a sister city-cooperative relationship with the state in 2018. The next year, officials from both countries flew internationally to learn more about each other and solidify the partnership.
COVID ceased travel for several months.
Most recently, a group of Colima musicians held two performances in downtown Pasco with the Mid-Columbia Symphony last September. The visit coincided with a deadly earthquake in Mexico.
Is Colima safe?
Colima is a small, mountainous state on the southwest coast of Mexico with a population of 731,000. The largest industries are agriculture, tourism, fishing, and food processing and packaging.
A port in the state’s largest city of Manzanillo drives more than two-thirds of the state’s $6 billion economy and connects the wider country to international imports.
But it also attracts activity from competing Mexican drug cartel members transporting synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to nonprofit news source InsightCrime.
Gang-on-gang violence regularly drives annual homicide rates, and last year the state reported a murder rate of 110 per 100,000 residents, according to Institute for Economics and Peace.
While Colima remains one of the “least peaceful” states in the country, according to the 2022 Mexico Peace Index report, it’s also experienced the largest year-over-year improvements due to reductions in homicides and gun crimes.
“Despite the overall improvement in its peace score, Colima continues to be among the most violent states in Mexico,” the report read.
But Portugal argues that the media’s focus on crime doesn’t reflect wholeheartedly the positive culture and economic development of the Mexican state. High-level crime is mostly concentrated in a small area of the state, and safety is mostly dependent on where you are and who you’re with.
“If you’re not in those areas where those guys are fighting for control, I think you’re OK. And I think that’s the common understanding in Mexico,” he said.
The State Department recommends U.S. travelers take precautions while traveling in the state, including enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov.
“We take seriously our commitment to provide U.S. citizens with clear, timely and reliable information about every country in the world so that they can make informed travel decisions,” said a State Department spokesperson.
“We share information across a range of platforms and in many formats so that U.S. citizens have the information they need to travel smart, travel safe and travel well.”
Colima is one of six states under a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory.
Half of Mexico’s 32 states are currently under a Level 2 “Exercise Increased Caution” advisory.
