Planning a vacation? You might want to avoid certain parts of Mexico, according to a recommendation from the U.S. State Department.
The warning comes during a spike in violence in states where some of the country’s most popular tourist regions are located -- Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo.
Cabo San Lucas and La Paz are located in Baja California Sur, and popular cities like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Tulum and Riviera Maya are located in Quintana Roo.
The State Department issued the advisory Tuesday, citing an uptick in criminal organizations in those areas.
Conflicting groups have become embroiled in "turf battles," and shootings between the groups have resulted in the deaths of innocent bystanders, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the State Department, many of the gun battles occur in public places during broad daylight.
The State Department said U.S. citizens have also been kidnapped and murdered during carjackings and robberies.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a military-led drug war in Mexico is spurring violence across the whole country, which is on track to record more homicides in 2017 than it did in the preceding 20 years. An increase in demand for heroin from U.S. citizens has also spurred violence and conflict between drug cartels, the Times reported.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times and the U.S. Department of State.
Find details on which Mexican regions have safety advisories in effect here.
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