The United States recommends against traveling to Jamaica due to its crime wave
The country issued a level 3 travel alert at the end of January after 65 murders occurred in just four weeks.
On January 23, the United States issued a level 3 travel alert for Jamaica. The reason? The rising crime wave in the region, with as many as 65 murders in just four weeks.
This, among other reasons, caused the Department of State to raise the travel alert to level 3 due to its "crime and medical services," as can be read in the alert published by the agency on its website, which it also warns that "violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common." Along with this, the agency assures that "sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts."
The United States Department of State is especially concerned about the fact that the Police in Jamaica "do not respond effectively" when a crime occurs. According to the agency, relatives of Americans wait up to a year to obtain a death certificate:
Poor hospital care in Jamaica
The State Department also expressed concern about the poor health care provided by Jamaica. As can be read in the travel alert, public hospitals are "under-resourced" and ambulances, on many occasions, do not arrive in time to care for patients who need it:
All of this led the agency to recommend that Americans not travel to Jamaica. And, if you do so, the State Department says, they recommend traveling by first obtaining "traveler’s insurance, including medical evacuation insurance," since, the agency warns, "the Department of State does not pay medical bills."