State Department Warns Against Travel To Popular Mexican Destinations

The U.S. government has issued a travel warning for multiple areas in Mexico.

The Department of State is urging Americans to avoid traveling to Baja California and the nearby Mexican towns of Tijuana, Ensenada, and Rosarito. They also announced that the U.S. government will not be able to assist American citizens if they are the victim of a crime while traveling in Mexico.

The advisory states: “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.”

Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a statement about the recent increase in crime, that cartels and gang members “attacked the civilian, innocent population like a sort of revenge. It wasn’t just a clash between two groups, but it got to the point where they began to shoot civilians, and innocent people. That is the most unfortunate thing in this affair.”

There have been reports of more than two dozen vehicles being carjacked and burned within the past week in Baja California. 

U.S. government employees are not allowed to travel to certain areas in Mexico due to the limited emergency services available. If there are employees already in those parts of Mexico, they are restricted from hailing taxis and traveling in the dark to other cities. Employees may only use authorized vehicles such as ride-hailing apps like Uber and taxi stands and are urged not to travel alone.

The advisory also restricts employees from driving from the U.S.-Mexico border to interior areas of the country. Daytime travel in Baja California is allowed as well as on Mexican Federal Highway 15D, between Nogales and Hermosillo, and on Highway 85D, between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey. 

The U.S. government wants all Americans to follow the same travel guidelines as its employees.