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 advisories, along with OSAC’s Country Security Reports and the OSAC Risk Matrix, to help formulate security plans for personnel and facilities abroad. Every country is assigned a Travel Advisory level (1-4) corresponding to travel advice based on various risk indicators such as crime, civil unrest, and other potential risks. While most countries receive one level for the entire country, Mexico is unique in that its advisory gives a travel advice level to each individual state. This report provides an overview of Mexico’s Travel Advisory and 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, variance of risks, and uniquely high number of U.S. citizen tourists and residents, Mexico’s Travel Advisory offers specific travel advice for each of the 31 states and Mexico City. Mexico has an overall country designation for some risk indicators, but other indicators are state-specific. These 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 that have varying presences in different states. Individual state descriptions list areas of each state where U.S. government travel is restricted.
At the time of this report’s publishing, the state-by-state Advisories are as follows:
Level 4: Do Not Travel to:
Level 3: Reconsider Travel to:
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling to:
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling to:
Understanding Mexico’s Advisory
Following the links for each state description above will take travelers to the specific section of the Travel Advisory for that state. These sections will highlight particular areas of concern in which these indicators are present, and will also provide information regarding which areas of the state are restricted for U.S. government employee travelers. Each state description will generally provide information specific to large cities as well as major touristic centers in each state, making it easy to find recommendations for major travel destinations.
It is important to note that each state’s Advisory level is based on overall security conditions and the capacity of the U.S. government to provide assistance to travelers, and that 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 assesses the state at Level 3, indicating travelers should 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 will 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 Advisory to develop their security plans.
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 CONACYT’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Additional Information
For more information on the security environment in Mexico and across Latin America, contact OSAC’s Americas team.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or any affiliated organization(s). Nor have these opinions been approved or sanctioned by these organizations. This product is unclassified based on the definitions in E.O. 12958. OSAC’s full disclaimer and copyright policy is available on our site at OSAC.gov/About/Disclaimer.
