Mexicali, Baja California, August 25, 2026 – U.S. government activities in Mexicali and official travel by its personnel to the city were suspended Tuesday after the U.S. Mission to Mexico issued a one-day security alert. American citizens were told to avoid government buildings, monitor local news, follow directions from Mexican law enforcement, and seek shelter if an incident occurred.
The notice was posted Monday night through the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana and was limited to August 25. It did not direct private citizens to leave Mexicali or announce a closure of the border crossings with Calexico. The two ports continued operating normally Tuesday, Canal 66 reported after visiting the crossings.
Mexico’s federal Security Cabinet said it had found no information confirming a specific or imminent risk to the public. Federal, state and municipal agencies were exchanging information with U.S. counterparts and had increased patrols and surveillance at strategic points in the city, the cabinet said.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her Tuesday morning news conference that the U.S. warning grew out of agency information about the possible presence of a criminal group in Mexicali. She said that presence had not been confirmed and that Mexican officials had no specific security event to report.
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila said security operations were reinforced through coordination among all three levels of government. The deployment includes the Mexican Army, Navy, National Guard, federal and state prosecutors, state security forces and Mexicali municipal police.
The alert produced one confirmed public service disruption. The Federal Judiciary declared August 25 a nonworking day at Fifteenth Circuit offices in Mexicali. The decision halted hearings and froze procedural deadlines that would otherwise have run Tuesday. The judiciary called the closure strictly preventive and cited force majeure.
Canada later repeated the U.S. warning in its official Mexico travel advice, telling Canadians in Mexicali to avoid government buildings and seek shelter if an incident occurred. The Canadian update cited the U.S. Embassy notice rather than announcing a separate threat assessment.
Tuesday’s action is a short-term security alert, separate from the standing U.S. State Department advisory. Baja California already carries Level 3 guidance to reconsider travel. Existing rules bar U.S. government employees from much of the Mexicali Valley while allowing movement in defined parts of Mexicali city and along the approved airport route. Tuesday’s alert temporarily stopped official U.S. travel to the city even within those normally permitted areas.
The Mexicali notice does not change guidance covering Jalisco or Puerto Vallarta. The State Department continues to place Jalisco at Level 3 while imposing no employee travel restrictions in Puerto Vallarta or neighboring Riviera Nayarit. PVDN previously examined that distinction after a nationwide security emergency in February.
Emergency calls within Mexico can be placed through 911, while anonymous reports can go to 089. The U.S. notice lists only August 25. Anyone with a Mexicali trip after Tuesday can check the Embassy alert page and State Department advisory before departure.
