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The U.S. just issued ’do not travel’ warnings for five Mexico states. Here’s why they’re considered just as dangerous to visit as Syria and Yemen.

The State Department considers five states in Mexico as dangerous for U.S. travelers as war-torn nations like Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Agency officials announced a new numbered classification system for world travel on Wednesday, replacing a confusing array of "travel alerts" and "travel warnings" found on its website. The information is officially for U.S. government employee travel guidance but also serves as a globetrotter's crash course of ongoing risks around the world.

The new classifications range from Level 1 ("Exercise normal precautions") for countries like Canada and Argentina, to Level 4 ("Do not travel"), the highest restriction reserved for active war zones such as Syria and authoritarian countries like North Korea.