Man indicted in killing of Tucson man on Sonora highway
Mexico's Federal Highway 2 and Highway 43, where Quets was initially attacked, both pass through a volatile region of northwest Sonora that been embroiled in territorial battles between warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel since last fall.
The U.S. State Department says its employees cannot travel in the area where Quets was killed. That off-limits the "triangular region" spans west from the Mariposa U.S. Port of Entry; east of Sonoyta, Sonora; and north of Altar, Sonora, on Highway 2.
The State Department only recommends traveling to Rocky Point via Federal Highway 8, from Sonoyta, across the U.S.-Mexico border from Lukeville.
Quets' killing is the second time in the past year that a U.S. resident or citizen has been fatally shot on Highway 2 after reportedly failing to stop at an illicit checkpoint. In a third incident in August, two Arizona women, one a U.S. citizen and one a legal permanent resident, were killed on a different stretch of this same highway, heading to Caborca from the Lukeville port of entry.
The state Department's general travel advisory for Mexico includes a warning about unofficial checkpoints, advising travelers to stop and cooperate no matter what.
"In some parts of Mexico, criminal organizations and other non-governmental actors have been known to erect unauthorized checkpoints and have abducted or threatened violence against those who fail to stop and/or pay a 'toll,'" the advisory says. "When approaching a checkpoint, regardless of whether it is official, cooperate and avoid any actions that may appear suspicious or aggressive."
