US issues level 3 travel warning for Jamaica due to violent crime

The US State Department has raised its travel alert level for Jamaica amid a spate of murders in the Caribbean nation.

The US government also urged Americans to reconsider visiting the island “due to crime and [unreliable] medical services.”

The agency announced the travel alert change on January 23 stating that the country is under a Level 3 travel advisory due to its “crime and medical services.”

“Home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides” are common in the country, and sexual assaults frequently occur at “all-inclusive resorts.”

“The homicide rate has been for several years.  The Western Hemisphere is the highest among others, the alert reads.

The Government of Jamaica reported the homicide rate.

According to the agency, violence and shootings “took place regularly” all over many areas of the country.  “Local police “do not respond to serious criminal incidents effectively,” it said.

Besides, multiple Jamaican neighborhood communities were considered high-risk travel areas.

The state department warned Individuals who are looking to travel to Jamaica as medical providers with varying response times are under-resourced and not readily available.

As US health insurance may not be accepted, and Medicare and Medicare do not apply overseas, the advisory stimulated possible travelers to gain travel insurance.

Those who planned to travel to Jamaica were asked to avoid public buses, stay away from secluded places, and not walk or drive at night.

Earlier this month, Jamaica Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that the country greeted a “substantial” growth of tourists last year.

A press release statement from Bartlett reads that in 2023, the country welcomed 4.15 million visitors, which is a 24% increase over the previous year. This includes 2,886,064 stopover tourists, an increase of 16.4% from the 2022 total. Furthermore, the year’s total cruise arrivals was 1,265,586.