Shootouts, kidnappings and carjackings have climbed, as have cartels, also known as transnational criminal organizations (TCO), the State Department said this week in a broadened travel warning.
The travel warning urges Americans to defer nonessential travel to all or parts of the following 14 states: Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan and Nayarit.
Travelers should also exercise caution visiting all or parts of Baja California, Colima and Morelos, it says.
The number of Americans reported murdered in Mexico last year was 120 — up from 35 reported in 2007.
The previous U.S. travel warning issued for Mexico by the State Department, dated in April, advised American to avoid travel to all or parts of 10 states. (CNN)