Why has the US issued a ‘terrorism’ travel alert for Mexico?

The US State Department has issued an updated question informing for Americans visiting Mexico, citing risks of “terrorism, crime, and kidnapping”.

The determination follows months of aggravated unit from President Donald Trump implicit issues specified arsenic migration and the activities of transgression gangs progressive successful cause smuggling and quality trafficking.

Here is what we know:

What happened?

On Tuesday, the United States authorities issued a caller question alert for Mexico, informing of “terrorist” unit successful 30 of its 32 states. It’s the archetypal clip Washington has ever sounded the alarm connected Mexico for coercion risk.

The advisory paints a grim picture: soaring rates of homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery, alongside a caller informing of imaginable violent attacks and violent violence.

“There is simply a hazard of violent violence, including attacks and related activities,” it warned, urging Americans to instrumentality precautions. The question alert was raised to Level 2 – “exercise accrued caution” connected a standard of 4 levels.

Which places did the US pass astir and why?

The alert warns Americans not to question to Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas provinces owed to “terrorism, convulsive crime, and kidnapping.” These states are marked reddish connected the representation and classified arsenic Level 4 — the astir unsafe, per the US.

Travellers are advised to reconsider visiting Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora for the aforesaid reasons; these look successful orangish and are rated Level 3, oregon marginally safer.

Another 16 states – including Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Morelos, Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Durango, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz – autumn nether “exercise accrued caution”. While determination are nary outright question bans, the advisory notes that some convulsive and non-violent crimes are common. These areas are shown successful yellowish and are listed nether Level 2.

Only Yucatan and Campeche stay astatine Level 1, the lowest hazard level, highlighted successful blue.

What is the backdrop for this advisory?

According to experts, these actions travel increased unit from Trump, which has prompted the Mexican authorities to instrumentality a scope of measures.

Earlier this week, Mexico extradited 26 alleged cartel members to the US, successful what appeared to beryllium an effort to easiness Trump’s demands for stronger enactment against fentanyl smuggling and organised crime.

In a statement, the US embassy said those extradited included cardinal figures from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s 2 astir almighty organised transgression groups.

We admit @GabSeguridadMX for its dedication and commitment. This enactment reflects the spot of our bilateral practice arsenic sovereign partners and our shared committedness to guarantee our people’s information and good being. https://t.co/XbuqLNtmNK

— Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) August 13, 2025

This marks the 2nd wide transportation of the year; successful February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the US, a determination that stirred statement implicit its governmental and ineligible merits.

Among them was Caro Quintero, a founding subordinate of the Guadalajara Cartel, accused of murdering DEA cause Enrique “Kiki” Camarena successful 1985.

US officials had requested the extraditions, pledging not to question the decease penalty. Mexico described the suspects arsenic high-risk criminals tied to cause trafficking and different superior offences.

While extraditions are not uncommon, they are typically carried retired successful ones and twos. But this twelvemonth alone, Mexico has already handed implicit 55 people.

The transfers travel months of US pressure, reinforced by tariff threats, and reports that Trump directed the Pentagon to see subject enactment against Latin American cartels.

According to those reports, the bid would licence nonstop subject operations connected overseas ungraded and successful corresponding territorial waters against organised transgression groups. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the US and Mexico are adjacent to finalising a information statement to boost practice against cartels, but she has firmly rejected the thought of unilateral US subject operations connected Mexican soil.

How has Mexico responded to the caller alert?

Sheinbaum downplayed the updated question advisory. She argued the alteration stems from Washington’s determination to statement cartels arsenic violent organisations  – done done an enforcement bid earlier this twelvemonth – alternatively than from immoderate caller information reality.

Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico remains the apical destination for US travellers, with astir a cardinal Americans surviving successful the country, and noted that fashionable areas specified arsenic the Southeast, Baja California Peninsula, Pacific coast, and Mexico City proceed to pull visitors contempt the warning.

How atrocious is Mexico’s unit problem?

Bad, but it’s improving.

According to a 2024 study from Human Rights Watch, convulsive transgression successful Mexico has risen sharply since the authorities began its “war” connected organised transgression successful 2006.

However, this year, Sheinbaum tin study a 25.3 percent drop successful regular homicides implicit her archetypal 11 months successful office, from 86.9 per time successful September 2023 to 64.9 present – the lowest monthly figures since 2015.

While Mexico remains 1 of the world’s astir convulsive countries, the diminution is seen arsenic a important improvement, credited to her administration’s information strategy, but besides US pressure.

When Trump took office, helium rapidly warned Mexico that it had to amusement existent advancement successful stopping the travel of fentanyl, a cause that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, oregon look steep commercialized tariffs. He promised to propulsion Mexico harder to curb cause trafficking and amerciable migration, making it wide determination would beryllium superior economical consequences if it didn’t act.

In Sheinbaum’s archetypal twelvemonth successful office, authorities person seized much than 3.5 cardinal fentanyl pills and arrested astatine slightest 29,000 suspects, including high-level cartel leaders with section and nationalist reach. Security main Omar Garcia Harfuch credited the occurrence to the important enactment of specialised quality and investigative units.

However, successful places similar Sinaloa, the bloodshed escalated sharply aft the arrests of large figures, including Ismael Zambada, the person of the Sinaloa cartel, successful August 2024.

During the archetypal six months of this year, authorities recorded 883 homicides successful the state, up from conscionable 224 successful the aforesaid play past year, with astir killings concentrated successful Culiacan.

The unit whitethorn beryllium lone portion of the toll. Since Zambada’s arrest, much than 1,500 radical person gone missing successful Sinaloa. Security officials judge transgression groups are down galore of these disappearances, suggesting the existent outgo of the crackdown could beryllium adjacent higher.

Zambada, 1 of Mexico’s astir notorious accused cause lords, was captured astatine an airfield adjacent El Paso, Texas, alongside Ovidio Guzman, a lad of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – the erstwhile person of the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a beingness condemnation successful a US prison. Zambada claims Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and handed him implicit to US authorities.