The deaths of 31 people who were victims of the two mass shootings in the United States during the weekend have prompted two governments to issue travel warnings. One stated that citizens should be extra careful of traveling to the U.S.
According to CNN, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry office urged its citizens to postpone travels to the U.S. in the meantime. Part of the ministry's statement read that Venezuelans should consider the "recent proliferation of violent acts and hate crimes" in the U.S.
The statement further noted that the recent violent acts in the country stemmed from the issue of possession of firearms. It is unclear how the White House will handle the news from Venezuela as Venezuela is currently listed under the State Department's travel advisory list as a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution country.
However, it is not just Venezuela that released a travel warning to its citizens. The Office of Foreign Ministry in Uruguay issued an advisory, stating that when traveling to the U.S., citizens should be wary of the increasing violence and discrimination.
The Uruguay ministry stressed that the "impossibility of authorities to prevent these situations" is one of the key reasons why the travel warning was released. Among the cities particularly mentioned by the advisory are Baltimore, Detroit, and Albuquerque.
The said cities have been listed in the CEOworld Magazine 2019 index's top 20 most dangerous cities in the world. It is worth noting, though, that the weekend's shootings took place in Ohio and at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.
U.S. President Donald Trump has since addressed the issues, however, without expressing support for the Congress' proposed gun control measures. According to BBC News, Trump urged his countrymen to "condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy."
Trump also said in his address about the shootings that government agencies should work hand-in-hand in efforts to determine which people are most likely to commit violent acts that could harm the American public.
Amid his comments, some analysts questioned why he did not address the issues hurled at him by the opposition. Opposing political parties have indicated that Trump's hard-line stance against immigration contributed to the racism in the country.
Meanwhile, the Gun Violence Archive's tally revealed that as of August 5, there have been 255 mass shootings in the United States. Last year, there were 336 mass shootings, all in all, prompting concern from politicians on how the issue should be handled by Washington.
While there is no clear definition for how a mass shooting should be defined, it can be agreed that any violent act and racially-motivated crime - outside the bounds of the law - will not push society forward to better destinations.
