The U.S. Department of State continues to warn Americans against travel to Afghanistan.  U.S. citizens should review the Consular Information Sheet and Travel Warning for Afghanistan for the most up-to-date information on the security situation and possible threats.

Anti-government and political violence are common and public concerns regarding security constrain economic activity.  Security is a primary concern for investors. Foreign firms operating in country report spending a significant percentage of revenues on security infrastructure and operating expenses.

The government is sensitive to the threat of terrorism and is engaged with international partners on this issue.  There is no evidence to suggest that international terrorist organizations have operational capacity in Burma or are actively targeting Western interests.  Although both Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and ISIS in the Philippines (ISIS-P) have called for attacks in Burma as a result of the Rakhine crisis involving the Rohingya people, these calls are so far largely seen as aspirational in nature.  Additionally, crime in Burma is low compared to other countries within the region. While violence or demonstrations rarely target U.S. or other Western interests in Burma, several ethnic armed groups are engaged in ongoing civil conflict with the government of Burma, which occurs almost exclusively in the ethnic states.  On October 15, 2015, the government of Burma and eight ethnic armed groups (EAGs) signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).  Two additional armed ethnic groups joined the NCA in February 2018. However, several ethnic armed groups, including the most powerful ones, have not signed the NCA and some signatories continue to fight with the military and other EAGs.

While most of the major cities are quite safe, several areas of the country, particularly the ethnic states, routinely see conflict between the government and EAGs, as well as inter-ethnic violence between EAGs.  One of the ways these conflicts manifest is in the use of landmines and attacks involving improvised explosive devices. These incidents generally target government security forces, but there have been collateral casualties among the civilian population.  The continued use of landmines by the Burmese military and EAGs in the north, northeast, and southeast continue to routinely result in civilian casualties. Civilians have also been killed as a result of clashes between the military and the EAGs, as well as inter-ethnic conflicts.

On August 25, 2017, a Rohingya insurgent group attacked about 30 security outposts in northern Rakhine State.  The government characterized this event as a terrorist attack, and Burmese security forces launched clearance operations throughout northern Rakhine State.  Hundreds of Rohingya villages were burned, and there were widespread, credible allegations of abuses by security forces. An estimated 730,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, and tens of thousands of non-Rohingya are displaced inside Rakhine State.  In November 2017, the U.S. Secretary of State determined that the situation constituted ethnic cleansing. Violence has not spread to other areas of Burma as a result of the crisis in Rakhine State although, as noted above, certain states in Burma continue to experience ethnic or religious violence.  Burma has a minority Muslim population, and violence between Buddhists and Muslims did occur in other parts of the country in 2013 and 2014 following intercommunal violence in Rakhine State in 2012. Since late 2018, there has been a marked increase in violence as a result of the ongoing conflict between the Burmese security forces and fighters from the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine, largely Buddhist, EAG.  A number of townships in northern Rakhine and southern Chin are currently off limits for U.S. government travel due to the violence from this conflict.

El Salvador’s 12-year civil war ended in 1992.  Since then, there has been no political violence aimed at foreign investors.

The crime threat level in El Salvador is critical and the Travel Advisory warns U.S. citizens of the high rates of crime and violence.  A majority of serious crimes in El Salvador are never solved. El Salvador lacks sufficient resources to properly investigate and prosecute cases and to deter crime.  For more information, visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/ElSalvador.html

El Salvador has thousands of known gang members from several gangs including Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street (M18). Gang members engage in violence or use deadly force if resisted.  These “maras” concentrate on extortion, violent street crime, car-jacking, narcotics and arms trafficking, and murder for hire. Extortion is a common crime in El Salvador. U.S. citizens who visit El Salvador for extended periods are at higher risk for extortion demands. Bus companies and distributors often must pay extortion fees to operate within gang territories, and these costs are passed on to paying customers.  The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Competitiveness Index reported that costs due to organized crime for Salvadoran businesses are the highest among 140 countries. In 2017, the World Bank estimated that companies in El Salvador allocated 3.4 percent of their revenues to security and crime prevention, the highest in Central America.

Despite recent progress on improving security in Honduras, crime and violence rates remain high and add cost and constraint to investments.  While the political climate has stabilized since the weeks of protests that followed the November 2017 presidential election, continued low-level protests and uncertainty pose a challenge to ongoing stability.

U.S. citizens should be aware that large public gatherings might become unruly or violent quickly.  For more information, consult the Department of State’s latest travel warning: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/honduras-travel-advisory.html.

On December 9, 2017, former PM Abadi announced all of Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.  Much work remains to prevent the reemergence of ISIS, and Iraqi forces continue to carry out counter-terrorism operations against ISIS cells throughout the country.  Terrorist attacks within the IKR occur less frequently than in other parts of Iraq, although the KRG, U.S. government facilities, and western interests remain possible targets, as evidenced by the April 17, 2015, bombing in the public area outside U.S. Consulate General Erbil.  In addition, anti-U.S. sectarian militias may threaten U.S. citizens and western companies throughout Iraq.

The U.S. government considers the potential threat to USG personnel in Iraq to be serious enough to require them to live and work under strict security guidelines.  State Department guidance to U.S. businesses in Iraq advises the use of protective security details. Detailed security information is available on the U.S. Embassy website: http://iraq.usembassy.gov/.  Some U.S. and third-country business people travel throughout much of Iraq; however, in general their movement is restricted and most travel with security advisors and protective security teams.

There is a long history of politically motivated violence in South Sudan.  The warring parties concluded a peace agreement in September 2018 to stop the civil war that has wrought the country since 2013.  Limited fighting continues in some parts of the country as of April 2019, but in general, the ceasefire has held. The effects of the war on the economy and investment will be evident for some time.

Previous violence during conflict with Sudan resulted in damage to installations in one of the major oil producing areas in the country, shutting down production in that region.  Repairs to these facilities began in 2018, allowing for an increase in oil production.

The environment remains insecure but hopes of peace have been rekindled with signing of a new peace agreement in September 2018.  The parties, however, remain behind in implementation as of April 2019.

There were 1.9 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in South Sudan, and an additional 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries as of April 2019.  The government has not yet developed the conditions that would allow the IDPs and refugees to safely return home. Political opposition leaders faced illegal detention and travel restrictions in 2018.  The government has temporarily shut down several newspapers and detained journalists it accused of printing articles opposing policies or actions undertaken by the government.

The conflict severely disrupted trade, markets, and agricultural activities, claimed thousands of lives and spurred one of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises. The conflict was marked by grave human rights abuses, especially pervasive gender-based violence.  Out of a population of approximately 12 million, some 6.5 million people are in need of food assistance in South Sudan. During 2018, the bulk of U.S. and the international community’s support efforts were directed at the immediate needs of the ongoing humanitarian crisis brought on by the civil conflict.  Other development assistance has been significantly reduced.

NGOs complain of harassment, and aid convoys have come under attack in 2018.  South Sudan was named the most dangerous country in the world for aid workers in 2018.  Armed cattle raids claimed hundreds of lives in 2018, and several ambushes and kidnappings have taken place on the country’s main highway, the Juba-Nimule road.  The Department of State currently warns against travel to South Sudan due to the critically high risk of crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.