title: Crime in Mauritania
text: # Crime in Mauritania
  
  Since Oct. 2022 the U.S. Department of State advises to reconsider travelling to Mauritania. It warns: Violent crimes, such as mugging, armed robbery, and assault, are common. Local police lack the resources to respond effectively to serious crimes.
  
  Criminal activity in Nouakchott continues to rise. A number of homes and private individuals, including U.S. citizens, have recently been targeted by violent criminals. In Nouakchott, armed robberies and burglaries are occurring at homes as well as on busy streets in broad daylight. Some of these incidents have been violent, and the use of knives and other weapons is becoming more common.
  
  In recent years, Mauritania, like much of West Africa has become a distribution hub for cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Europe.
  
  