The State Department issued a stark travel warning for one more Caribbean nation Tuesday — cautioning that Jamaica has been rocked by 65 murders this month.
The US embassy in Jamaica upgraded the travel advisory to a Level 3: “reconsider travel,” which is only one level in need of probably the most severe that warns Americans against travel altogether.
The crimes have turn out to be so pervasive that tourists aren’t even secure within the shelter of their resorts, the embassy said.
“Violent crimes, equivalent to home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur continuously, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the warning stated.
“Local police often don’t respond effectively to serious criminal incidents. When arrests are made, cases are infrequently prosecuted to a conclusive sentence,” it continued.
“Families of U.S. residents killed in accidents or homicides continuously wait a 12 months or more for final death certificates to be issued by Jamaican authorities.”
In accordance with the US State Department, Jamaica has reported certainly one of the best homicide rates within the Western Hemisphere for several years.
At the very least 65 people were killed between Jan. 1 and 27 of this 12 months, data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force shows.
Shockingly, the high murder rate is down from last 12 months — 81 people were killed in the primary month of 2023.
At the very least 1,393 homicides were reported throughout your complete last 12 months, following 1,498 murders in 2022.
Jamaica has not reported lower than 1,000 murders per 12 months since 2003, data shows. The country has a population of two.8 million.
The travel advisory marks the second the State Department made against a Caribbean nation in days.
The US embassy within the Bahamas on Friday put the island on a Level 2 “exercise increased caution” warning, telling Americans to maintain a low profile while visiting and never to fight back in the event that they find themselves the victim of against the law.
While not as severe as Jamaica, the Bahamas was labeled unsafe for tourists amidst 18 murders — “primarily” motivated by gang violence — in January alone.
“Murders have occurred in any respect hours including in broad daylight on the streets,” the embassy wrote in a release, also recommending using “extreme caution” on the eastern side of the Bahamas’ capital city of Nassau.