With the 62nd Newport to Ensenada International Yacht race beginning Friday, the Editorial Board of the Orange County Register (the Appeal-Democrat's sibling newspaper) met with the Mexican consul and Mexican tourism officials to discuss growing safety concerns that Americans have given the ongoing and particularly brutal war that's taking place south of the border — and occasionally on this side of the border — between Mexican drug cartels and Mexican authorities. The drug-related violence has claimed more than 7,300 lives throughout Mexico since January 2007, and Mexican officials are concerned that the bad publicity will unnecessarily alarm Americans and depress tourism.

We understand their concerns and agree, to an extent, that all such violence needs to be put in context. The killings have taken place across an extremely large country, and the violence has focused mostly on cartel members and government forces. The vast majority of tourists has no problems visiting Mexico, and there have been only a handful of times that tourists have been caught up in the problems. Far more tourists are killed in automobile accidents and even suicides than in drug violence. We are sad that so many small shop owners in Mexico are struggling because of the dramatic decline in the tourist business.

Nevertheless, we feel an obligation as a newspaper to report and comment on the Mexico problems and let readers make their own decisions about safety and risks.

Members of this Editorial Board enjoy visiting Mexico, but no amount of spin can downplay the seriousness of the problem, much of which is concentrated on the border cities that Southern Californians are most likely to visit. As one Register reporter noted during the meeting earlier this week, tourists have legitimate concerns not just about drug cartels but about Mexican police forces, which have been corrupted by the cartels, and about the degree of militarization at tourist areas. The Mexican government has stepped up security to protect visitors, but the sight of military vehicles and armor-clad officials with submachine guns tends to dampen the Margaritaville atmosphere.

There's no doubt that the United States shares the blame for Mexico's drug problems. The gangs are fighting mainly to supply American consumers with illegal drugs. Although the number is greatly exaggerated by the Mexican and American governments, many guns used in the war come from America. The Mexican government has decided to directly confront the gangs in a military manner at the urging of U.S. drug warriors. In our view, a misguided drug war is at the root of the problem.

Those are broader policy issues that need to be widely discussed, but at the end of the day, the best service a newspaper can provide its readers is an honest assessment of news events — and there's no question that the war down south is news that must be covered. Some complain of sensationalistic news coverage, but it seems that the news media had largely ignored the drug war until recent months.

We think the public should pay more attention to the problems while keeping in mind the limited degree to which American tourists have been caught up in the problems in Tijuana and elsewhere. We wish the Mexican government the best and hope the yacht race and other tourist events are successful. But, as with everything, an honest assessment of the situation is the best approach. Then everyone can make their own judgments about whether to visit Mexico, or any other place for that matter.