U.S. Warden’s Message for Peten Guatemala

PUBLISHED FROM WARDEN’S MESSAGE
WARDEN’S MESSAGE – PETEN GUATEMALA
May 16, 2011
Dear American Citizen:
The following is a Warden Message concerning Security in Peten. Please share the
following information with any other U.S. citizens you know, as soon as possible. It
should be disseminated as widely as possible within the U.S. citizen community.
Please contact the American Citizen Services Unit via e-mail
(amcitsguatemala@state.gov), fax (2331-3804), or telephone (2326-4501) if you have
any questions. Thank you very much for your support and assistance.
The following notice was received from Asistur, the Guatemalan agency that helps
tourists. We are passing this notice to you for your information.
“We are informing all that due to the latest incidents in the Department of Peten, we
recommend not to travel to that destination to avoid any inconvenience that might arise
and to protect the physical safety of local and foreign tourists”
There is an increased level of violence in areas of the Peten, characterized by murders
on a finca in the municipality of La Libertad and shootings and bombings in Flores and
Santa Elena. The U. S. Embassy wishes to alert travelers to exercise extreme caution
when traveling through those places. Travelers going to Tikal should bear in mind that
the airport for Tikal is in Flores and the road passes through Flores and Santa Elena
before reaching Tikal.
Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the U.S. Embassy’s website, the U.S. Department of
State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs’ website www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution,
Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Country Specific Information can be found. The U.S. Embassy also
encourages U.S. citizens to review “A Safe Trip Abroad,” found at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/safety_1747.html, which includes valuable security information for
those both living and traveling abroad. In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain upto-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada, or
outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala is located at Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zone 10, Guatemala City. Please
contact the American Citizen Services Unit by email to amcitsguatemala@state.gov, by phone at 011-
(502)2326-4501, or by fax at (502)2331-3804. The after-hours emergency number is 011-502-2331-2354
or (502)2331-2354.