American tourists are being warned about travel to Jamaica with 65 murders recorded in January.
The U.S. State Department recently issued a “reconsider travel” warning due to high crimes and lack of medical services.
The warning noted that all-inclusive hotels are not considered safe.
“Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the warning from the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica stated.
Officials from Jamaica, however, responded to the statement by the United States government.
The Jamaica Tourist Board stated that crimes against visitors to Jamaica remain “extremely low” at about 0.01%, according to Travel Weekly.
“The island consistently ranks among the top destinations for international travel, welcoming 4.1 million visitors in 2023, including 2.1 million from the United States,” the tourist board told Travel Weekly. “Visitors can continue to come with confidence to enjoy all that Jamaica has to offer.”
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The U.S. embassy highlighted what it perceives as a lack of adequate response to serious crimes on the island.
“Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents. When arrests are made, cases are infrequently prosecuted to a conclusive sentence,” the embassy’s warning states.
At least 65 people were killed from Jan. 1 to 27, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The Jamaica travel advisory follows a recent warning about The Bahamas due to an influx of crime, including 18 murders that happened last month.
The advisory said the majority of crimes occur in popular travel destinations like New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport) islands. In addition, the “Over the Hill” area of Nassau has seen more gang-on-gang violence that “has resulted in a high homicide rate primarily affecting the local population.”
