One of Mexico’s popular tourist spots, Cancun, has been taken over by drug gangs, as the violence in the town reaches an all-time high. People come to the town to stay at the resorts but with the increase in murders happening, fear has been spreading, which can affect how the town does in the future.
Statistics
There have been about 14 murders in the last 36 Hours, according to The Sun, which is the highest amount of murders to ever take place in the country. The latest that Cancun has seen was on April 4 when 14 people were killed and there were five people injured by gunshot wounds -- all at different places around Cancun.
This statistic surpasses Cancun’s all-time record of there being nine killings in one day, which was on November 25, 2004. Since the beginning of 2018, there have been more than 100 people killed in Cancun. As more people are being murdered, Mexico’s cartels spread fear throughout the entire country.
Murders that have occurred
Yesterday morning, there was a report of a woman who was strangled to death at a holiday resort. When they found her body, there was a chilling message left on the body of the woman that read: “go to hell.” This woman’s murder is one of the 14 recorded murders in the last 36 hours. Officers said that her body was found with a rope tied around her neck and that her face was beaten.
As her death comes to light, there is growing fear among tourists who decide to come and visit the town.
In a separate instance in March, there was a ferry explosion that tourists were on that left 24 injured which included five United States citizens. The explosion occurred in a nearby town in Playa Del Carmen. This incident led American officials to close their consulate in Cancun because of security fears.
The growing Crime in Cancun threatens to make it a ghost town while most murders that have already happened in Cancun remain unsolved. While people are surrounded by the drug trade and the extortion, fear is spreading, and this can eventually affect Mexico’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry.
British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy came to investigate, and said to reporters: “This is one of the most beautiful views in the world and we are the only people here.” Before the sun went down, he found himself in the middle of a crime scene where a man had just been gunned down.
Guru-Murthy was also shocked by the lack of police presence, with many tourists unaware of the gruesome sight just feet away.
“It’s as if the police don’t want anyone to notice. There’s minimum fuss and hardly any officers here,” he said.
