The U.S. State Department is warning Americans thinking of booking trips to Nicaragua to reconsider their travel plans because the country is sinking deeper into authoritarianism, making it more perilous for tourists.

Nicaragua has been on a Level 3 travel advisory since December, which means people are urged to avoid traveling there because of an arbitrary enforcement of laws, the risk of wrongful detention and the limited health care. (Level 4 — “do not travel” — is the highest advisory level.)

U.S. officials, alarmed by a flurry of positive press about Nicaragua in travel publications took the unusual step Friday of holding a briefing to reiterate the warning. The officials spoke on the condition that their names not be published so U.S. officials can continue working in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua, the officials stressed, has much going for it, including low prices, pristine beaches, plus excellent surfing conditions and bird watching. It started emerging more than a decade ago as a low-cost alternative to other nearby countries, like Costa Rica, which had become crowded with tourists.

“It does have the potential to be a great holiday destination, but crosscutting that are very severe human rights violations and a very strict authoritarian system of governance,” one of the U.S. officials said. “And we see these having knock-on effects for U.S. citizens and really all sorts of travelers.”

Nicaragua has been in the throes of political upheaval since 2018, when people around the country took to the streets to protest the increasingly dictatorial rule of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who was vice president then but is now co-president.

Hundreds of people were killed and more imprisoned in a law enforcement sweep that followed.

In more recent years, the government consolidated its grip on power and cracked down on nonprofit organizations and church groups, especially those with ties to the United States.

American missionaries who traveled to Nicaragua have been forced to leave. Americans who live in Nicaragua were expelled and saw their properties confiscated, the officials said.

Even bird-watchers could run afoul of the government if they fail to secure licenses for camera gear, the officials said.

Some Americans, particularly those who work for U.S. news organizations, don’t even make it on the plane: The Nicaraguan government routinely notifies airlines of passengers who are not welcome.

“They are barred from entry,” the U.S. official said.

Last year, a New York Times reporter and his family going to Nicaragua on vacation were prevented from boarding a flight from the United States after the Nicaraguan government apparently sent a notice to the airline denying them entry.

One surfer was turned back, apparently because he had a journalism degree listed on LinkedIn, the U.S. official said.

People who work at nonprofit organizations, religious groups, universities and news organizations are at particular risk, the U.S. travel advisory warns.