US slaps highest-level 'do not travel' warning on five Mexican states

The State Department unveiled a revamped travel warning system Wednesday, giving five Mexican states the sternest "do not travel" advisory alongside war-torn nations like Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

All five states -- Tamaulipas on the U.S. border and Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero on the Pacific coast -- are hotspots of drug cartel activity, either hosting trafficking routes or extensive drug-crop cultivation.

The new warning system designates the states as a "level 4" risk, the highest level of potential danger. Mexico as a whole has a level 2 rating, meaning Americans should "exercise increased caution" because of concerns about crime. But an additional 11 Mexican states got a level 3 warning Wednesday, which urges people to "reconsider travel" there. Mexico has 31 states in all.

Those states where Americans are urged to reconsider travel include the State of Mexico - Mexico's most populous state, which includes most suburbs of Mexico City - and Jalisco, home to the city of Guadalajara, the Puerto Vallarta resorts and the lakeside expat community of Chapala and Ajijic. But the travel advisory said there are "no restrictions on U.S. government employees for stays in ... Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Ajijic."