The number of Americans getting nipped and tucked in Tijuana is dropping due to fears of local cartel violence.
The medical tourism trade for plastic surgery in the border city in Mexico, just south of California, has dropped by more than half, according to Border Report.
Ricardo Vega Montiel, president of the Plastic Surgeons College of Baja, said one of the main factors driving the decline is fears about public safety in Tijuana.
"There's a lot of bad publicity about the city creating a negative perception," Vega Montiel told the outlet. "The government needs to step up and invest in strategic promotions to generate a better image for the region."
According to the Associated Press, Tijuana has the most homicides of any city in Mexico at around 2,000 murders per year -- nearly double the amount of the city that comes second.
"Observers say turf battles between the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, and other groups — like remnants of the old Arellano Felix gang — are largely to blame," per the AP.
Vega Montiel says about 3,000 Americans normally get bariatric surgery in Tijuana each month, but that figure has now dipped to fewer than 1,500.
The cost factor is also keeping some people away, with a surgery-seeker's dollar not going quite as far as it used to. While some surgeries have historically cost as much as 50% less in Mexico, the peso has been gaining strength against the US dollar, appreciating around 20% over the past year and a half.
Last month, the Baja California State Attorney General's Office said it was involved in 25 separate medical negligence investigations at clinics that perform cosmetic procedures, most of them in Tijuana. This year, at least four people have died after undergoing cosmetic surgeries in Baja California, The Tijuana Sun reported.
According to Border Report, Vega Montiel "refused to address" whether news about the investigations was keeping American patients away.