State Department Issues Travel Advisory for Mexico

The U.S. State Department this week issued a travel advisory for Americans visiting Mexico warning that some areas of the country "have increased risk of crime and kidnapping."

In a statement, the department warned that "Violent crime — such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery — is widespread and common in Mexico. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico, as travel by U.S. government employees to certain areas is prohibited or restricted. In many states, local emergency services are limited outside the state capital or major cities."

Americans are advised not to travel at all to the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas because of "crime" including "kidnapping." 

The advisory notes that "U.S. government employees may not travel between cities after dark, may not hail taxis on the street, and must rely on dispatched vehicles, including app-based services like Uber, and regulated taxi stands."

Incidents in the state of Baja California caused the State Department to issue shelter-in-place alerts in five of the state's cities due to increased criminal activity in the area.

"Transnational criminal organizations compete in the border area to establish narco-trafficking and human smuggling routes," the recent advisory said. "Most homicides appeared to be targeted; however, criminal organization assassinations and territorial disputes can result in bystanders being injured or killed."

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