Government of Canada Updates Its Mexico Travel Advisory
by Daniel McCarthy
Durango, Mexico, one of the regions on Canada's updated Mexico travel advisory. Photo: Shutterstock.com
There’s a new travel advisory for Mexico.
Last week, Canada updates its travel advice page for Mexico, alerting travelers to “exercise a high degree of caution” when traveling to the country due to “high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping.”
Canada’s advisory, in particular, zeroes out regions where its citizens should “avoid non-essential travel” including Chihuahua, Durango, Guerrero, Sinaloa, Sonora, and more. The full list can be found here.
“Levels of crime, particularly violent crime, are high throughout Mexico. Arrest and detention rates are low and don’t deter criminal activity,” the advisory reads.
Canada is not warning to avoid traveling to other regions in Mexico. Instead, it is alerting citizens to exercise caution. For comparison, Canada also has the same advisory for countries including Jamaica, France, Sweden, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and more.
“There are certain safety and security concerns or the situation could change quickly. Be very cautious at all times, monitor local media, and follow the instructions of local authorities,” it said.
Canada’s advisory comes as the U.S. continues to reiterate its own advisory for travel to Mexico.
The U.S. State Department’s advisory, which was first issued on Oct. 5, warns travelers not to travel to some states because of crime or kidnapping including Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. It also suggested reconsidering travel to states for the same reasons including Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora.
For most everywhere else, including Quintana Roo and Mexico City, the State Department advises travelers to “exercise increased caution” mostly due to crime.
Recently, four Americans traveling to northern Mexico for cosmetic surgery were kidnapped in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, one of the regions that are on the U.S. State Dept.’s “Do Not Travel” list, and one of the regions that Canada advises its citizens to avoid all travel to.
