Travel warnings issued for US after deadly mass shootings

'Indiscriminate possession of firearms by population' means travellers must avoid large public spaces, countries warn

A visitor joins a vigil outside the Walmart in El Paso to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in Saturday's attack (AP)

Two countries have urged their citizens to avoid public spaces and take “extreme precautions” after the recent mass shootings in the United States.

Both Uruguay and Venezuela have issued travel warnings for America after 31 people were killed in two separate massacres in El Paso and Dayton.

Uruguayans who visit the US must take “extreme precautions” because the local authorities are unable to stop mass shootings, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Considering that it is impossible for the authorities to prevent these situations, due to factors such as the indiscriminate possession of firearms by the population, it is especially advisable to avoid places where large concentrations of people occur,” the statement said.

Citizens should particularly shun large public spaces such as shopping centres, religious gatherings and even art and food festivals.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry has gone even further and recommended its citizens “postpone travel” to America in light of “violence and indiscriminate hate crimes”.

The alleged gunman who carried out the El Paso shooting, Patrick Crusius, is thought to have targeted Latinos inside a Walmart, just a few miles from the border with Mexico.

Eight Mexicans are known to have been killed. A manifesto believed to have been posted online by Mr Crusius shortly before the attack began is filled with hate speech and white supremacist rhetoric against immigrants and Latin Americans.

Mexican officials have already denounced the massacre as a violent assault on Latinos.

“The intentionality of the attack against the Mexicans and the Latino community in El Paso is frightening,” tweeted the country’s ambassador to Washington, Martha Barcena.

Foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard has suggested Mexico may even seek to charge Mr Crusius with committing terrorist acts against its citizens.

Mexico is also hoping to set up a meeting with other Latin American nations which have immigrant populations in the US to discuss how to ensure their safety, Mr Ebrard also said.

It is possible the Uruguayan decision may be retaliatory, after the US State Department issued its own advice on Friday last week which upgraded the warning for Americans travelling to Uruguay from “normal precaution” to “increased caution”.

This was down to fears of rising violent crime, particularly carjacking, murder, theft and armed robberies of small businesses, “in which innocent bystanders are often victimized”.

America has also advised against all travel to Venezuela since April, due to “crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, and arbitrary arrest and detention of US citizens”.