The brazen murder Saturday of a U.S. consulate employee and her husband in the violent Mexican border city of Juarez could deal another strong blow to tourism in Mexico during and beyond its important Spring Break period, as the country has fallen under a travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State.

The warning came Sunday, a day after Lesley Enriquez and her husband, Arthur Redelf were gunned down by suspected drug traffickers as they left a children's birthday party in Juarez. The husband of another consulate employee was killed in a separate shooting minutes earlier.

While President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have expressed outrage, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon has vowed to find and punish the murderers, operators in tourist destinations that had only recently begun to recover from severe visitor droughts brought on by highly-publicized drug-related violence last spring; a swine-flu scare and global recession, are cautiously hopeful that this latest incident doesn't result in another painful setback.

"I don't think people will be canceling their trips to Cabo, but of course it's not good for Mexico," said Tracy Ehrenberg, general manager of Picses Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas at Baja California's tip.

Eric Brictson, who runs a small fishing fleet north of Cabo San Lucas on the Sea of Cortez, added: "Things are already very slow so any further setbacks could mean financial disaster."

It should be stressed that the warning makes special reference to northern Mexico and particularly border destinations. This is unfortunate for Baja California towns such as San Felipe, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada, all of which have colorful histories as Spring Break party spots. San Felipe, located 120 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula, receives much of its visits from Arizona residents. Three Arizona universities recently cautioned its students against traveling to Mexican border towns.

Rosarito Beach, 25 miles south of the border on the Pacific, has until fairly recently been immensely popular among surfers and revelers, and as a gateway for Baja travelers. Rosarito's mayor, Hugo Torres has made significant strides toward improving the city's image and on Monday morning offered condolences to the victims in Juarez and this statement:

"Our crime rate last year reached a five-year low and homicides were down 56%. With new services including a Tourist Police Force, we believe that Rosarito is safe and welcoming for the hundreds of thousands of people who visit us each year, and the estimated 14,000 expatriates who have chosen to live here. Fighting crime anywhere is an ongoing effort and we know we must continue the work."

Ensenada benefits from regular cruise-ship visitation. As of Monday morning, cruise lines reached for this story had not announced schedule changes pertaining to Mexico.