Summary
Since 2018, the State Department has published Travel Advisories to help U.S. citizen travelers abroad determine risks and make decisions to keep themselves safe. Many in the private sector use these Travel Advisories, along with OSAC’s Country Security Reports and the OSAC Risk Matrix, to help formulate security plans for personnel and facilities abroad. The Department assigns each country’s Travel Advisory a travel advice level (1-4) based on various risk indicators such as crime, civil unrest, and other potential risks.
Mexico is unique in that its Travel Advisory assigns a travel advice level to each individual state and Mexico City, given the wide variation in security conditions across the country, the uniquely high volume of U.S. citizens living and traveling in Mexico, and the availability of crime data on each individual state. Beginning on April 20, Mexico’s Travel Advisory no longer includes an overall level for the country, instead focusing on individual state summaries. This report provides an overview of Mexico’s Travel Advisory and the language in its travel advice, as well as how it can be useful in formulating risk assessments for the private sector.
Travel Advisories
The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs began issuing Travel Advisories in 2018 to consolidate information that had been published in its former consular information products. Every Travel Advisory level corresponds to particuar travel advice—Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions, Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, Level 3: Reconsider Travel, and Level 4: Do Not Travel.
Travel Advisories use established risk indicators to provide reasoning for the level given, and include the following:
- C – Crime: Widespread violent or organized crime is present in areas of the country. Local law enforcement may have limited ability to respond to crimes.
- T – Terrorism: Terrorist attacks have occurred and/or specific threats against civilians, groups, or other targets may exist.
- U – Civil Unrest: Political, economic, religious, and/or ethnic instability exist and may cause violence, major disruptions, and/or safety risks.
- H – Health: Health risks, including current disease outbreaks or a crisis that disrupts a country’s medical infrastructure, are present. The issuance of a CDC Travel Notice may be a factor.
- N – Natural Disaster: A natural disaster, or its aftermath, poses danger.
- E – Time-Limited Event: A short-term event, like elections or major events, may pose security risks.
- K – Kidnapping: Risk of kidnapping may be present in areas of the country.
- O – Other: There are potential risks not covered by previous indicators.
The Department of State updates each Travel Advisory as security conditions change, to reflect short-term and long-term security concerns alike. Because security conditions can vary across an entire country, many Travel Advisories contain specific levels of recommendation for specific areas of the country.
Mexico’s Travel Advisory
Given the size of the country, variance of risks across states, and the uniquely high number of U.S. citizen travelers and residents, Mexico’s Travel Advisory offers specific travel advice for each of the country’s 31 states and Mexico City. As of April 20, the Mexico Travel Advisory no longer provides a Travel Advisory level for the entire country, instead noting that crime and kidnapping pose increased risks in some areas of the country. Individual state travel advice does not include number designations either, although the language used in each state’s travel advice directly corresponds to the standard Travel Advisory levels. Since Mexico’s Travel Advisory does not have an overall country travel advice level, it is designated “Other” on the State Department's international travel webpage. Mexico is the only country with this designation. Travel Advisory offers specific travel advice for each of the country’s 31 states and Mexico City. As of April 20, the Mexico Travel Advisory no longer provides a Travel Advisory level for the entire country, instead noting that crime and kidnapping pose increased risks in some areas of the country. Individual state travel advice does not include number designations either, although the language used in each state’s travel advice directly corresponds to the standard Travel Advisory levels. Since Mexico’s Travel Advisory does not have an overall country travel advice level, it is designated “Other” on the State Department's international travel webpage. Mexico is the only country with this designation.
Individual designations are useful in learning about risks in every state, which can vary widely due to geography, the autonomy that federal entities exercise in establishing their own laws and security forces, and the presence of criminal groups in different states. Individual state descriptions list portions of each state where U.S. government travel is restricted.
At the time of this report’s publishing, the state-by-state summaries are as follows:
Do Not Travel to (Equivalent to Level 4):
Reconsider Travel to: (Equivalent to Level 3)
Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling to: (Equivalent to Level 2)
Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling to: (Equivalent to Level 1)
Understanding Mexico’s Travel Advisory
The links for each state description above will take travelers to the specific section of the Travel Advisory for that state. These sections highlight particular areas of concern in which risk indicators are present, and also provide information regarding which areas of the state are restricted for U.S. government employees. Each state description generally provides information specific to large cities as well as major tourist centers, making it easy to find recommendations for major travel destinations.
It is important to note that each state’s advice is based on overall security conditions and the capacity of the U.S. government to provide assistance to travelers, and they are not meant to be interpreted as a comparative ranking of each state, nor are they necessarily indicative of the situation in the entire state. Although Guanajuato, for example, is notable for having high levels of cartel violence in the region south of Federal Highway 45D, other areas of the state do not pose as high of a risk for crimes. Thus, the Department advises travelers to reconsider travel to the entire state, and should not travel to areas with U.S. government employee travel restrictions (such as those south of Federal Highway 45D). Organizations planning multi-state travel should evaluate each state’s security environment individually. State designations may also change as security conditions change: for example, the Department recently updated Baja California’s Advisory due to increases in violence in the Mexicali Valley, Organizations should also consult Mission Mexico’s Find Your Consular Location map, which provides a visual of whether the Embassy or one of the U.S. consulates is responsible for consular services in a particular state. Travelers should keep in mind that the responsible diplomatic post may change when they cross state borders and should save contact information for each responsible post prior to travel.
Impact on OSAC Members
Mexico’s Travel Advisory is very useful in creating risk assessments for travel throughout Mexico; many OSAC members use the recommendations and specific areas of restricted government travel to assist in planning their own travel in the country. However, it is important to understand that designations are not made with the purpose of comparing states against each other, and that organizations should read the entire Travel Advisory to develop their security plans. While the recent removal of an overall country Travel Advisory level removes the ability to reference a single number as a decision point, it emphasizes the need to consider Mexico’s security environment as highly varied across 32 entities. An individual state’s travel advice need not be the only decision point in considering operations within a state but is a useful benchmark for evaluating security conditions. For organizations with multi-state operations and travel needs within Mexico, a thorough review of each state is necessary. OSAC’s Mexico Country Security Report provides a baseline overview of security conditions throughout the country and provides a useful resource in conjunction with the Travel Advisory. Another helpful resource (in Spanish) is the Mexican federal government’s Semaforo Delictivo (“Criminal Traffic Light System”), which provides crime-specific advisories for each state.
Organizations should also consult the U.S. Embassy’s webpage on COVID-19 and review the CDC’s Travel Health Notice for Mexico. Additionally, Mexico’s federal government publishes information on official COVID-19 transmission rates and “stoplight” system designations on the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT) COVID-19 dashboard.
Additional Information
For more information on the security environment in Mexico and across Latin America, contact OSAC’s Americas team.
