The State Department issued a stern travel warning for other Caribbean countries on Tuesday – warning that Jamaica has been rocked by 65 murders this month.
The US Embassy in Jamaica upgraded its travel advisory to Level 3: “reconsider travel,” which is just one level short of the worst that warns Americans against travel at all.
Crime has become so rampant that tourists are not safe in their resort shelters, the embassy said.
“Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and murders, are common. “Sexual assaults are common, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the warning said.
“Local police often do not respond effectively to serious crime incidents. When arrests are made, cases are rarely prosecuted until conclusive punishment,” he continued.
“Families of US citizens killed in accidents or homicides often wait a year or more for a final death certificate to be issued by Jamaican authorities.”
According to the US State Department, Jamaica has reported one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere for several years.
The US Embassy in Jamaica upgraded its travel advisory to Level 3: “reconsider travel.” Jamaican Constabulary
At least 65 people were killed between January 1 and 27 this year, data from the Jamaican Constabulary Force shows.
Surprisingly, the high homicide rate is down from last year — 81 people were killed in the first month of 2023.
At least 1,393 murders were reported last year, followed by 1,498 murders in 2022.
At least 65 people have been killed in Jamaica since the beginning of January. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
Jamaica has not reported fewer than 1,000 murders a year since 2003, the data show. The country has a population of 2.8 million.
The travel advisory marks the second the State Department has issued against the Caribbean nation in as many days.
The US embassy in the Bahamas on Friday placed the island on a Level 2 “heightened vigilance” alert, telling Americans not to profile while visiting and not to fight back if they find themselves victims of crime.
“Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents,” the US embassy in Jamaica warned. dpa alliance/image via Getty Images
Although not as bad as Jamaica, the Bahamas was labeled unsafe for tourists amid 18 murders – “mainly” motivated by gang violence – in January alone.
“Killings have occurred at all times including in broad daylight on the streets,” the embassy wrote in a statement, also recommending the use of “extreme caution” east of the Bahamas capital, Nassau.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
