U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents (LPRs) planning to travel to the Baja California state in Mexico should reconsider, the U.S. State Department (DOS) warned in a travel advisory issued earlier this month.
DOS's Bureau of Consular Affairs (BCA) states "violent crime and gang activity are common" in the region due to rival drug cartels and other criminal groups battling to control smuggling routes. BCA reports in its March 16 advisory that U.S. citizens and LPRs have been kidnapped by gangs and have also been among bystanders killed or injured during violent disputes.
"Transnational criminal organizations compete in the border area to establish narco-trafficking and human smuggling routes," BCA states in the advisory. The agency cautions travelers to avoid remote locations and roads and to remain on main highways.
The increasing number of homicides in non-tourist areas of Tijuana is a major concern, the agency states. BCA reports most killings are targeted, "however, criminal organization assassinations and territorial disputes can result in bystanders being injured or killed."
BCA advises travel only during daylight hours along specific corridors in the Mexicali Valley, including Highways 2 and 2D between Mexicali, Los Algodones and San Luis Rio Colorado; Highways 1 and 8 for travel to and from the Mexicali Airport; and along Highway 5, the advisory said.
Although there are no current travel restrictions or advisories for high-traffic areas of tourism such a Tijuana, Ensenada, and Rosarito, DOS has issued "Do Not Travel' warnings for Colima, Guerrero, Tamaulipas , Sinaloa, and Michoacán states in Mexico. These states are also regions with increasing rates of crime and kidnapping, DOS reports.
"Violent crime – such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery – is widespread and common in Mexico," the State Department reports in the advisory. 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."
