Mexico travel warning. Photo: / Shutterstock The US Embassy in Mexico has issued a third security alert update this morning (Monday, February 23, 2026), amid roadblocks and criminal activity in several states across the country. The announcement urged US citizens to stay home and avoid non-essential travel.
According to the update, the directive applies to large areas including the states of Jalisco, Baja California, Quintana Roo, Nayarit, Sinaloa, as well as parts of Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Estado de Mexico, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Zacatecas.
Popular tourist destinations included in the alert include Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Tulum in Quintana Roo; Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara in Jalisco; Tijuana and Ensenada in Baja California; and Mazatlan in Sinaloa.
US government employees in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ciudad Guzmán, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Reynosa, Tijuana, and the state of Michoacan were instructed to stay home and work remotely on Monday, February 23. At the Consulate General in Monterrey, employees were instructed to remain in the Monterrey metropolitan area and to prohibit travel to Mazatlán until at least February 25.
Although the airports themselves were not closed, road closures affected airline operations, and most domestic and international flights in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta were canceled. In Puerto Vallarta, all shared transportation services were suspended, and some local businesses ceased operations.
Mexican authorities announced that the use of toll roads in the states of Puebla, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Veracruz, as well as in the Tijuana and Mazatlan regions, will be temporarily suspended due to blockages that have affected driver traffic.
The embassy called on citizens to take precautionary measures, including isolating themselves and reducing non-essential traffic, avoiding areas where law enforcement is active, monitoring local media updates, and checking the status of roadblocks on the CAPUFE (Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos) account on X. Authirities also urged citizens to contact the 911 hotline and inform family and friends of one's location and personal situation in the event of an emergency.