Sandals Montego Bay Resort in Jamaica/photo: Sandals
After we published here that the US State Department issued a travel warning to the Bahamas, following 18 murders in the month of January alone, then came Jamaica, "comparable and higher": 65 people were murdered in the Caribbean country in just four weeks in January, which made the Americans also spend this week in Jamaica Mica severe travel warning.
The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica has raised its travel warning level to three: "Reconsider Travel," which is just one level less than the most severe level that warns Americans against travel at all.
Crime in Jamaica has become so widespread that tourists are not even safe at the resorts theirs, according to the embassy. "Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults and murders, are very common.
"Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts," the warning reads.
"Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents, and when arrests are made, only in rare cases are the criminals prosecuted and severely punished," it reads. "Families of US citizens Those killed in accidents or homicides often wait a year or more for final death certificates to be issued by Jamaican authorities."
Not such a safe paradise anymore.
Jamaica/ShutterStock
According to the US State Department, Jamaica has reported one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere in several years.
As mentioned, at least 65 people were killed between January 1 and 27 this year, according to data from the Jamaican police.
Shockingly, the high homicide rate is down from last year - 81 people were killed in the first month of 2023. At least 1,393 homicides were reported throughout the past year, following 1,498 murders in 2022.
Since 2003, there have not been less than 1,000 murders per year in the Caribbean country, which has 2.8 million inhabitants, according to the data.
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