Staff
The recent kidnapping of four Black Americans—two of whom were killed— in the border town of Matamoros, serves as a reminder to Americans to take stock in travel advisories issued by the U.S. officials when venturing beyond U.S. borders. In October of 2022, the U.S. issued the highest-level warning against travel to six states in Mexico: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, and Tamaulipas due to kidnapping and increased risk of crime.
It was in the state of Tamaulipas that the four were abducted after traveling from South Carolina to Mexico for one of them to have a cosmetic procedure in Matamoros, which is about a half hour drive from Brownsville.
Less than two hours after crossing the border, they were caught in crossfire between rival gangs and abducted. Two of them were believed to have been killed in broad daylight as their SUV was fired upon before they were loaded by gunmen onto the back of a pickup truck and driven away.
They were found in a shack two days later and after being treated and released—one unharmed and the other, with gunshot wounds to his leg—have now been returned to the U.S. with an FBI escort.
One arrest has been made, as officials in the U.S. stress that Americans take the travel advisories seriously, given that some of the country’s most popular travel destinations—including Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Ixtapa— are located in the impacted areas.
In addition to the six states that have received the highest “do not travel to” advisory, the following advisories should also be taken into consideration:
Reconsider Travel To:
- Baja Californiastate due to crime and kidnapping.
- Chihuahua statedue to crime and kidnapping.
- Durango state due to crime.
- Guanajuato state due to crime and kidnapping.
- Jalisco state due to crime and kidnapping.
- Morelos statedue to crime.
- Sonora statedue to crime and kidnapping.
Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To:
- Aguascalientesstate due to crime.
- Baja California Sur statedue to crime.
- Chiapas statedue to crime.
- Coahuila statedue to crime.
- Hidalgo statedue to crime.
- Mexico Citydue to crime.
- Mexico Statedue to crime.
- Nayarit statedue to crime.
- Nuevo Leonstate due to crime and kidnapping.
- Oaxaca statedue to crime.
- Puebla statedue to crime and kidnapping.
- Queretaro statedue to crime.
- Quintana Roo statedue to crime and kidnapping.
- San Luis Potosi statedue to crime and kidnapping.
- Tabasco statedue to crime.
- Tlaxcala state due to crime.
- Veracruz statedue to crime.
Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling To: