Just a warning to stay out of Chilpancingo, Guerrero for now, (today July 10th) due to the current safety situation. The towns people have taken over the town and all interstates are shutdown to and from and Chilpancingo. They even took the national guard armored truck and drove it into the palace. They are burning vehicles in the street. So, avoid that area and major interstates.

Thanks for the heads up, Global A. Guerrero always one of the most dangerous Mexican states, with highest US State Department risk score. L�stima but I agree, stay away.

THey kidnapped those police officers and used them as shields. Crazy.

The situation is actually much worse than the above posts make out. Today’s Washington Post has an article giving more details:

The “protest” (more like an armed insurrection) was because the police had arrested two members of the Ardillos drug gang, one of sixteen gangs controlling the drug trade in the state of Guerrero.

Between 2000 and 5000 people from villages controlled by the Ardillos paralyzed the city of Chilpancingo, population 300,000.

The main highway between Mexico City and Acapulco was blocked to all traffic.

The revolt was successful as protesters “took over not just a whole city, government installations and a major highway in Mexico, but they also took public officials hostage.”

As an aside: as of 7:30 am Eastern time Wednesday, the US Department of State had issued no travel warnings regarding Chilpancingo…

Probably because State issued a standing "DO NOT TRAVEL" warning for the entire state since early October 2022. There really is not much more to add, except they do permit USG employee travel to Taxco. Here is the full warning:

Guerrero state – Do Not Travel
Do not travel due to crime.

Crime and violence are widespread. Armed groups operate independently of the government in many areas of Guerrero. Members of these groups frequently maintain roadblocks and may use violence towards travelers. U.S. citizens and LPRs have been victims of kidnapping in previous years.

Travel for U.S. government employees is limited to the following area with the noted restrictions:

• Taxco: U.S. government employees must use Federal Highway 95D, which passes through Cuernavaca, Morelos, and stay within downtown tourist areas of Taxco. Employees may visit Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park during the day with a licensed tour operator.

U.S. government employees may not travel to other areas of the state of Guerrero, including to tourist areas in Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, and Ixtapa.

I find the following language interesting: "armed groups operate independently of the government." I guess the corollary is it's okay when armed groups operate in concert with the governments?

Ok, FWIW - yes this was a serious situation, but Chilpo is not exactly a tourist spot. You do have to travel through the city going from MEX to Acapulco. Protests are not uncommon, but they are usually nothing like this. As an aside, the police were rescued, schools reopened and government forces are providing security to the city.

As for the DNT advisory from State. IMO outdated and needs to be revised. 5 years ago I would have cautioned people from travelling to Acapulco. The situation has gotten better to the point there are less homicides in Acapulco per capita in the last 12 months than in Cancun, which has not restriction besides "be careful at night". Same thing with Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo and Tulum. Objectively safer vs Tulum over the past 12 months, but same mismatch of restrictions.

The larger area of Guerrero (minus Taxco) has never been a tourist destination, and having a DNT make little difference (although the state is trying to open up tourism on the costa chica beaches between Acapulco and Oaxaca). But the advisories on the tourist cities are taking their toll.