The U.S. State Department is warning Americans they should avoid traveling to five Mexican states due to an increase in violent crimes like homicides, kidnappings, carjackings and robberies. Mexico saw a record number of murders in 2017. The "do not travel" advisory is normally used for war zones such as Iraq and Syria.
The advisory warns that increasing gang violence in Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas makes traveling to those states extremely dangerous, and the State Department says the U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in those areas.
They suggest Americans traveling south of the border use toll roads when possible and avoid traveling at night. They advise Americans to exercise caution when visiting local bars, nightclubs and casinos.
Mexican officials want to assure people that popular tourist areas were mostly safe, and were not part of the areas targeted by the travel warning. CNN reports the Mexico's Tourism Ministry noted that "the five tourist destinations that account for 80% of foreign tourist travel to Mexico (Cancún, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta-Riviera Nayarit and Mexico City) were not classified with restrictions for international travelers by the State Department."
The Mercury News has a map that shows the states affected by the do not travel advisory.