According to The Washington Post, several countries in the world are urging their citizens to be cautious in visiting the US. Some of them might be motivated by political clashes, such as in the case of Venezuela, which has been at daggers drawn with the US government for years, or Uruguay, whose risk rating was raised by the US State Department last week. Venezuelans were advised to “take extreme precautions or postpone their travels in the face of the proliferation of acts of violence and hate crimes” by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, while Uruguayan travelers were told “to avoid taking children to crowded places like theme parks and sporting events,” by their Foreign Ministry, the newspaper pointed out. However, the list of countries that advise their citizens to be careful includes traditional US allies, such as Germany, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand. Their warnings highlight the danger caused by the high circulation of weapons, allowed by lax gun control laws. “The travel advisory addressed growing gun violence, mostly hate crimes, including racism and discrimination, highlighting that the traveler’s race, country of origin, ethnic background, sexual orientation or gender identity may place them at higher risk after recent attacks linked to white supremacist ideology,” Amnesty International’s statement further said. According to the US State Department website, the US government considered the United States a country where it is sufficient to exercise normal caution, while major European nations such as Germany, France and Spain are classified as countries that require extra caution. The United States has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world, according to a 2017 report by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as quoted by The Washington Post."People in the United States cannot reasonably expect to be free from harm – a guarantee of not being shot is impossible. Once again, it is chillingly clear that the U.S. government is unwilling to ensure protection against gun violence." https://t.co/0XhFMRhQNr
— Amnesty International (@amnestyusa) August 7, 2019
After shootings, Amnesty International issues travel warning for the U.S.
"This Travel Advisory is being issued in light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country,” the NGO said.
