Amid rising political violence, the State Department warned Americans this week to avoid traveling to Ukraine or lie low if they’re already in the country.
“The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly,” the department in a multi-paragraph explainer of their assessment of the threat to Americans.
It’s a routine, but important, warning our government issues when political violence, terrorism, crime or even anti-American sentiment make traveling in a country difficult.
State Department officials in the U.S. and in embassies across the country analyze intelligence information, work diplomatic relations and consult with other federal agencies and the military to determine when to alert traveling Americans they might be in danger.
A travel warning, like that issued for Ukraine, is the highest type of alert for Americans.
“We issue travel warnings when we want you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all,” the State Department says on its website.
Officials also recently have issued warnings for (an attack on German Embassy officials), (a strong possibility of violence against Americans) and (the highest murder rate in the world).
Some of those warnings seem pretty common sense. But even if there isn’t violence in a country that’s grabbing headlines, you should check State Department warnings before you plan your spring break trip.
That’s because the State Department can also place travel alerts for a country it deems has more short term problems, such as an election that could spark violence or a disease outbreak.
Those kinds of conflicts don’t always make the front page of U.S. newspapers. Officials issued travel alerts recently for popular vacation spots such as (ongoing election disputes) and (Americans have increasingly become targets of carjacking and kidnapping).
They also that Americans might be targets of political violence or cyber attacks while attending the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
So before you start buying plane tickets for somewhere warm, visit , where you can search by country or read for every region in the world.
If you decide to travel somewhere on the list, you can also from the State Department that alert you of any major change so that your adventures overseas will never be too dangerous.
