The U.S. State Department has recently updated its travel alerts for Mexico, highlighting areas with significant safety concerns.
Due to “widespread and common” violent crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, and robbery, certain parts of Mexico remain under a “do not travel” advisory, the highest level of warning. Only Campeche and Yucatán are under the lowest advisory level, “exercise normal caution.” Meanwhile, Quintana Roo, which includes the popular tourist destination Cancun, is under “exercise increased caution” due to crime.
The advisory notes that violent crimes like homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery are prevalent in Mexico. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to its citizens in many areas, as travel by U.S. government employees to certain regions is restricted or prohibited. In many states, local emergency services are limited outside the state capital or major cities.
Special regulations for government employees include restrictions on travel between cities after dark and not hailing taxis on the street.
The State Department routinely updates travel alerts based on current conditions. Here are the advisories for each Mexican state:
Do Not Travel To:
- Colima (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Guerrero (due to crime)
- Michoacán (due to crime)
- Sinaloa (due to crime)
- Tamaulipas (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Zacatecas (due to crime and kidnapping)
Reconsider Travel To:
- Baja California (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Chiapas (due to crime)
- Chihuahua (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Guanajuato (due to crime)
- Jalisco (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Morelos (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Sonora (due to crime and kidnapping)
Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To:
- Aguascalientes (due to crime)
- Baja California Sur (due to crime)
- Coahuila (due to crime)
- Durango (due to crime)
- Hidalgo (due to crime)
- Mexico City (due to crime)
- Mexico State (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Nayarit (due to crime)
- Nuevo León (due to crime)
- Oaxaca (due to crime)
- Puebla (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Querétaro (due to crime)
- Quintana Roo (due to crime)
- San Luis Potosí (due to crime and kidnapping)
- Tabasco (due to crime)
- Tlaxcala (due to crime)
- Veracruz (due to crime)
Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling To:
- Campeche
- Yucatán
Source: AL.com
