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The United States has slapped a travel advisory on Barbados, warning Americans to be on the alert because of a recent upsurge in robberies involving firearms and a high level of violence.

The Bridgetown-based US embassy has cited robberies against local businesses with multiple employees that pay salaries in cash, including construction sites, bars and convenience stores.

It has also warned that in most cases, criminals were wielding firearms, and that the attacks usually occurred on Fridays when most businesses pay their staff.

The US advisory also highlighted several other incidents, including a recent mugging in the South Coast community of Hastings where multiple assailants violently attacked pedestrians strolling after dark. It also raised concern about reports of men posing as maintenance workers to gain access to homes, mostly in Pine Gardens, St Michael.

Washington also alleged that groups of men were attempting to lure vehicles into stopping by pretending to have car troubles or by placing a baby in a car seat on the roadside and then beating and robbing the vehicles’ occupants.

This latest advisory issued this week comes on the heels of a security alert issued on October 19, which advised Americans to be aware of perpetrators trying to steal valuables from cars in traffic along Pine East-West and Pine North-South Boulevards.