The State Department issued new travel warnings for parts of Mexico on Wednesday, advising American travelers to entirely avoid five regions due to crime.
The advisory tells Americans “do not travel” to the five Mexican coastal states of Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Tamaulipas. It also suggests exercising “increased caution” or “reconsider travel” to other parts of the country.
Here’s a map of Mexico’s five states the U.S. deemed most dangerous, as well as the general warnings across the rest of the country. The State Department gave Mexico a level 2 travel warning overall, encouraging travelers to exercise increased caution in general.
“Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread,” the advisory states.
The latest advisory gives the five Mexican states the same warning level as risky travel destinations like Syria, Yemen and Somalia.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com and Lon Tweeten at lon.tweeten@time.com