As Americans think about traveling to warmer climates and planning their summer getaways and family vacations, they may be considering traveling overseas. However, there are countries that have no desire for visitors.
While having that blue U.S. passport is still a privilege, in some of the world’s more combustible regions, it may lead to trouble. Where should American travelers steer clear of this year? Here are 16 countries with travel advisories issues by the U.S. State Department.
1. Afghanistan
On August 30, 2021, after a violent, prolonged withdrawal, the last American passenger aircraft transported what remaining people it could from Hamid Karzai International Airport. Subsequently, Afghanistan’s Taliban closed in, regaining control of the country and re-establishing their version of Sharia Law.
Suffice it to say that Afghanistan is now unsafe for anybody, let alone citizens of its former occupying force, the United States. There are still unverified numbers of people left behind, although one year later, up to 800 more people had been evacuated by U.S. forces, according to Politico.
2. Belarus
Many know that Belarus is a pro-Russian state, and it’s also a country with high levels of corruption and unemployment. The U.S. State Department advises nationals not to visit Belarus, citing “the buildup of Russian military forces in Belarus, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, the potential of civil unrest, the risk of detention, and the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens.”
3. Burkina Faso
There is no shortage of problems in Africa’s Burkina Faso — the recent jihadi attack at an Essakane village Catholic church is the latest reason for American travelers to avoid the West African sub-Saharan country. Burkina Faso’s turmoil began with a 2022 coup d’etat when Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba lost control of the country.
In the subsequent power vacuum, Islamist terrorist insurgents swept in and now control vast areas of territory. Visitors might want to avoid this beautifully-named country until stability returns.
4. Central African Republic
One of the poorest countries on the planet is landlocked in the heart of Africa, and rife with political, economic, and agricultural instability following the 2013 overthrow of Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye.
The Central African Republic (CAR) has a problem with illicit weapons to add to its woes, and the United Nations (U.N.) has just “urged greater support for the country’s efforts to build a professional national army as part of a security overhaul, and (to) stem the proliferation of deadly illicit weapons.” One peacekeeper lost their life in a recent targeted attack from sectarian insurgents against U.N. blue-hat operatives.
5. Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
One of the most iconic geopolitical moments ever was in 2021, when local fitness influencer Khing Hnin Wai unwittingly recorded the opening moments of Myanmar’s military coup d’etat. She was live streaming her morning workout routine outside the Nay Pyi Taw parliamentary complex, and her backdrop showed military personnel en route to a forced transferral of power.
Incidentally, I know an international teaching professional who had military agents force their way into his home to question him just because of his Western nationality. He has since left the country. Meanwhile, American government services are restricted in the region in the event of any emergency.
6. North Korea
North Korea is notorious in the collective global psyche for being a rogue state with rockets aimed at its southern neighbor, having a malnourished and petrified population, and being run by a ruthless child-king dictator. While all of this is true, in the recent past, Americans could enroll in the Pyongyang Marathon.
I know two people (an American and an Australian) who entered in 2015, reporting how the circuit through North Korea’s capital city culminated with a full lap of a packed national stadium. This year’s marathon has been canceled, says the official website; furthermore, travel to North Korea comes with a risk of arbitrary detention with no access to emergency help.
7. Libya
Since Muammar al-Qaddafi (Gaddafi) was killed after rebels bombed and took control of Sirte, where he had been hiding with his loyalist forces, Libya’s subsequent decline has been dismal. Strong economic growth since the new millennium has since dropped from a high of over $15,000 in 2012 to below $5,000 more recently, according to the World Bank.
An indication of the threat to Americans came in 2011 when U.S. Ambassador Chris Williams and colleagues lost their lives after Islamic terrorists stormed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.
8. Mali
Mali is a West African nation located in a region long renowned for bouts of terrorism, unlawful roadblocks, and random, arbitrary police checks. Moreover, agricultural and economic problems have constantly plagued the developing nation.
“Climate-related hazards in Mali include droughts, floods, and crop pests,” the Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP) reports. “These hazards are a natural occurrence in Mali, which nevertheless pose serious constraints on development and food security.”
9. Russia
It’s never good advice to visit any warring nation, especially one your country has plotted against in its recent occupation of Ukraine. Surprisingly, there are still officially 4,583 American nationals living in Russia — more than in Thailand, Bermuda, and American Samoa.
Fox News staffer Tucker Carlson didn’t seem to have any troubles on his recent visit to Moscow. However, a recent Mirror article about a farming family who moved to Russia to escape Trudeau’s Canada paints a different picture — not having access to their money, to start with.
10. Somalia
Like its neighbor to the north, Yemen, Somalia has cornered the market in modern international piracy; the movie Captain Phillips humanized this situation. Countless videos show Somali terrorism on the high seas, and while the maritime dangers are still there, the mainland is also volatile.
“Terrorists continue to plot kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks in Somalia,” explains the State Department website. “They may conduct attacks with little or no warning…”
11. South Sudan
Ongoing conflict over the last few decades, including the 2003 Darfur crisis, has cost the Sudanese people over 2 million lives. After Sudan officially partitioned into Sudan and South Sudan in 2011, the world’s newest nation has not yet realized its potential, remaining socially and economically volatile.
While it contains huge oil wealth, it has no refineries, exports its crude oil, and must import petroleum. However, this situation should improve in the future with the announcement of plans for new national refinery projects, says S&PGlobal. Americans should avoid the country due to continuing armed conflicts, kidnapping, and crime. Moreover, World Population Review claims South Sudan has an 82.3% poverty rate, making it the world’s highest.
12. Sudan
Now separated from its South Sudanese neighbors, the upper Sudan region has experienced unrest in the nation’s capital. Museums and galleries were damaged and looted during recent civil unrest. This was unheard of in Khartoum until 2023’s clash between rival military and paramilitary factions, according to Art News.
Those who dare visit the country risk potential kidnapping, terrorist attack, or carjacking as violence continues to flare up in certain borderland regions, but no region is safe from danger.
13. Syria
The world map is littered with needless wars that have devastated entire countries, and Syria is no exception. During the Arab Spring of 2011, sparked by a successful popular uprising in Tunisia, several Arab countries launched revolts against oppressive rulers. However, while Egypt’s people toppled the Mubarak regime, Syrian rebels failed to remove the Assad one, resulting in years of war and millions of refugees.
Since then, no part of Syria has been safe, and those entering this historical land risk kidnapping, detention, or zero-warning aerial bombardments, among other serious menaces.
14. Ukraine
It would be hard to justify visiting Ukraine in modern times unless one is enlisting to join the war or report on it. Even though it may appear life in Western Ukraine is returning to normal, the generational trauma and physical damage to many Ukrainian cities will take years to heal.
Americans, like most other nationals visiting Ukraine, may risk being stranded or, worse, killed in bomb attacks if they’re anywhere near the Eastern Donbas region or any strategic city.
15. Venezuela
Venezuela’s descent into economic and social instability has been exacerbated by corruption and marred by hyperinflation, starvation, disease, and violent repression. The oil-rich country was plunged into turmoil with dropping crude oil prices and not reducing spending.
This led to a country suffering blackouts, medical supply shortages, and, ironically, gasoline. A shocking story emerged in 2015 when an expat couple that had lived in Caracas’s suburbs for almost 50 years were slaughtered at home by thieves, as reported by the Miami New Times.
16. Yemen
Yemen is the most newsworthy nation right now due to the continuing conflict in the Red Sea passage between Houthi Rebel forces and any oceanic vessel perceived to be allied with Israel.
Yemen has been a dangerous country for Americans over many years — the violent struggle between Yemeni government forces and their allies against the Houthi rebels has caused pain and poverty, resulting in a humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N. The risk to all Westerners in the region is real, with other groups, such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), presenting threats like kidnapping, detention, and armed conflicts.
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