Five Mexican states have been issued with new travel advisories by the State Department that puts them on a footing with war-torn Yemen and Syria.
US citizens are being told not to travel to Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, or Tamaulipas state due to widespread violent crime and gang activity.
The states were issued with a level 4 warning on Wednesday under new State Department guidance, the same level as Afghanistan, Somalia and North Korea.
These five Mexican states have been issued with a level 4 travel warning by the State Department, putting them on a par with Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan
Mexico as a whole is under a level 2 advisory, meaning tourists should ‘exercise increased caution’.
‘Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread,’ the State Department warns.
But another 11 states are under a level 3 warning, meaning travelers should ‘reconsider’ their plans.
Again crime and gang activity are the two most commonly listed causes, alongside travel restrictions on US government employees meaning they have a ‘limited ability to provide emergency services’.
Colima was once considered Mexico’s safest state but saw a three-fold increase in murders between 2015 and 2016.
Armed police patrol in Guerrero state which is torn between the Guerreros Unidos and Los Rojos cartels, and one of the states named on the list
In 2016 Colima had the most murders of any Mexican territory despite having the lowest population, due mostly to cartel violence.
The state is believed to be under the control of Jalisco New Generation, the former armed wing of El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel that splintered off when he was jailed, though the two gangs are fighting for control.
Guerrero is disputed territory between the Guerreros Unidos and Los Rojos cartels, according to Newsweek, with the State Department saying ‘these groups frequently maintain roadblocks and may use violence towards travelers’.
Michoacán, sandwiched between Colima and Guerrero states, is also disputed territory but in 2016 the New Family cartel announced its arrival in area, apparently a successor to the Michoacana Family gang which was wiped out in 2010.
Sinaloa state, further up the coast, is the sole territory of El Chapo’s former gang which bears the state’s name as its own.
Finally the border state of Tamaulipas, on the Gulf of Mexico, is also frequently fought over but is currently controlled by the Gulf Cartel, according to the BBC.