US State Department Issues Level 3 Travel Advisory For Jamaica and Colombia

If you have trips planned for some countries in the Caribbean and South America this summer, you may want to reconsider. Jamaica and Colombia have now been added to the danger list.

Fox News reports the United States has issued travel warnings to Americans hoping to travel there this summer due to increased crime. There have been five updated travel advisories in three weeks for Haiti, Colombia, Jamaica, Chile, and Peru.

Haiti received the highest level advisory simply saying, “Do Not Travel,” claiming the country has been inundated with “widespread” kidnapping, with victims including U.S. citizens regularly. In response to the rise of gang violence seen in the capital of Port-au-Prince, Jamaica offered to send police and soldiers, but Jamaica has its own problems to deal with, receiving a level three advisory of “reconsider travel.”

For years, the State Department warned of homicide spikes in the Caribbean country “among the highest in the Western Hemisphere,” according to Fox News. United States government personnel have been prohibited from traveling to different areas of the country and from traveling on buses or driving outside areas of Kingston at night. Travel + Leisure reports violent crimes like home invasions, armed robberies, and homicides are common, with sexual assaults occurring often, even at all-inclusive resorts. The Department continued, saying, “Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”

A ‘do not travel’ advisory was issued for several areas on the island, including downtown Kingston, Montego Bay, and more.

Colombia has been struggling with political uproar and crime for months. Government officials and the National Liberation Army, the country’s largest guerilla group, have plans to meet in Cuba this month to discuss peace talks and a cease-fire. Travelers are warned to reconsider their trip “due to crime and terrorism” and to “exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping.” Attacks could occur in public areas, including public transportation, hotels, restaurants, and airports.