MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday his country is safer than the United States amid criticism of security in Mexico following the kidnapping earlier this month of four Americans in northern Mexico. in which two of them were killed.

“Mexico is safer than the United States. There is no problem with safe travel through Mexico,” she said at a news conference in response to a question about the US travel advisories for Mexico.

López Obrador said American tourists and Mexicans living in the United States were well informed about the country’s security, citing a recent increase in Americans residing in Mexico.

The criticism of the country’s handling of crime was part of an «anti-Mexico» campaign by conservative US politicians who wanted to prevent the country’s development, he argued.

Homicide rates were about four times higher in Mexico than in the United States in 2020, according to data published by the World Bank.

The US embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment.