Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asserted Monday that his country is safer than the United States—despite a recent headline-grabbing border city kidnapping that claimed the lives of two Americans and left another pair to survive with long-lasting physical and psychological trauma. In his daily briefing on Monday, Obrador was questioned on recent travel warnings from U.S. officials. “Mexico is safer than the United States. There is no issue with traveling safely through Mexico,” he said. “That’s something the US citizens also know, just like our fellow Mexicans that live in the US. US government alerts say that it’s safe to only travel [in the states of] Campeche and Yucatan. If that were the case, so many Americans wouldn’t be coming in to live in Mexico City and the rest of the country. In the past few years is when more Americans have come to live in Mexico. So, what’s happening? Why the paranoia?” According to Reuters, the Obrador government is on track to register a record total murder rate for any six-year administration.