The Canadian government has renewed its travel alert for its citizens regarding 13 states of the Mexican Republic, citing high levels of violence.
On November 13, Canada placed these Mexican states on an orange alert, advising against travel due to "high levels of violence," and assigned a yellow alert to the remaining 19 states, indicating a need for caution.
In Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, the Canadian government urged extreme caution due to "high levels of crime and kidnappings."
However, it issued a special warning not to travel to the Lagunas de Zempoala National Park in the municipality of Morelos. Exceptions to the alert were also made for tourist areas and specific routes, such as Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal de las Casas, and the Palenque archaeological zone in Chiapas.
In Michoacán, the alert was lifted for Morelia and Pátzcuaro; in Nuevo León, for Monterrey; in Sonora, for Hermosillo, Guaymas, and Puerto Peñasco; in Tamaulipas, for Tampico; and for Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo in Guerrero, travel by air was recommended exclusively.
In Sinaloa, Los Mochis and some areas of Mazatlán were approved as safe; however, a risk alert was emphasized in Culiacán, particularly on the Culiacán–Mazatlán highway, due to shootouts and criminal checkpoints.
Canada noted that criminal cells and drug cartels "operate with great intensity throughout the country. Shootouts between cartels or gangs for control of territory, drugs, and smuggling routes are frequent."
Furthermore, it stated that armed clashes between security forces and drug cartels "can occur without prior warning."
The Canadian government mentioned that some Canadian travelers have been victims of physical and sexual assaults. "In some cases, hotel employees, taxi drivers, and security personnel at popular tourist destinations have been involved."
Finally, it stated that hotel personnel do not assist victims and attempt to dissuade them from reporting the incidents to the police.
