The US government has asked for their citizens to reconsider their trips to Baja California due to crime and kidnapping. It has classified gang activities and violent crimes in the region as “common”.

“Travelers should remain on main highways and avoid remote locations. Of particular concern is the high number of homicides in the non-tourist areas of Tijuana,” the Department of State stated.

Although they clarified that most murders have been related to organized crime, they stated that territorial disputes can cause bystanders to be hurt, killed, or even kidnapped.

Moreover, they revealed some routes that are considered safe during the day and others that should be avoided at night. This information is especially for Americans that visit the region for labor reasons. These are the routes that the US has restricted:

To the east, the Baja California/Arizona and Baja California/Sonora borders; to the south, from La Ventana (on Highway 5) due east to the Colorado River; to the west, Highway 5; and to the north, Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas/Highway 92/Highway 1 to Carretera Aeropuerto, from the intersection of Highway 1 and Carretera Aeropuerto due north to the Baja California/California border, and from that point eastward along the Baja California/California border. If you want to know all the routes that must be avoided, click here.

Meanwhile the US government asks people to “reconsider” traveling to Baja California due to crime, and said that the following states should not be traveled to at all due to crime and kidnapping: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas.

It is not strange that the US has taken these preventive measures since crime in Tijuana has increased. It should be noted that in the first months of the year there have been two journalist murders and areas that used to be considered safe have been scenes of violent crimes, such as the owner of Taikishi in Colonia Cacho, who was mugged and murdered.

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