The U.S. Department of State has issued a fresh security warning for Americans traveling to Los Cabos, as cartel violence surges in the once-popular beach resort area.
The violence, fueled by an ongoing turf war between rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel — the Chapitos and the Mayos — includes not just targeted killings but increasingly brutal attacks on public transportation. In recent days, gunmen have been setting fire to city buses full of passengers, sparking chaos and terror across Baja California.
Footage posted online shows masked men dousing a bus with fuel before lighting it ablaze, forcing desperate passengers to flee for their lives.
The violence erupted earlier in the week with targeted attacks on law enforcement officers, alongside numerous homicides across the region. Cartel operatives have used similar arson tactics in Sinaloa, torching businesses and vehicles suspected of cartel affiliations — often killing innocent civilians in the process.
Despite repeated promises by Mexican officials that the region is safe, the bloody cartel war has turned Los Cabos and surrounding areas into battlegrounds.
By Friday, U.S. consular officials had issued emergency security alerts, urging American tourists to stay vigilant and shelter in place if violence breaks out.
Earlier this week, Mexico’s government announced a ban on a Trump administration immigration ad featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling the campaign “propaganda” and a violation of national sovereignty. The ad warns illegal immigrants they will be found and deported under President Donald Trump’s renewed enforcement efforts.
The $200 million campaign, launched shortly after Noem’s Senate confirmation, targets illegal immigration through international broadcasts in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Secretary Noem delivers a firm message in the one-minute ad, stating that illegal entrants will be deported and urging those in the U.S. illegally to leave voluntarily.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her government will prohibit the airing of the ad on public airwaves, citing concerns about “discrimination” and a need to protect Mexico’s sovereignty. Sheinbaum plans to introduce legislation barring foreign “propaganda” on public broadcasting networks.
