Two alleged drug dealers died this Thursday after facing gunshots on the beach of an exclusive neighboring hotel in Cancun, the main tourist destination in the Mexican Caribbean, the local prosecutor’s office reported.
“There was a confrontation between members of antagonistic groups of drug dealers on a beach in Bahía Petempich, Puerto Morelos. Two of them lost their lives at the scene. There are no serious injuries, ” the Quintana Roo prosecutor’s office reported on Twitter.
The events took place in the beach area of the Hyatt Riviera hotel, which is part of the luxurious resorts of the Mexican Caribbean, according to testimonies from guests on social networks.
Cancun Resort Attack: Two killed in shooting between Drug gangs
Images released by these tourists show the moments of panic that were experienced in the hotel complex.
Mike Sington, an executive of the American network NBC Universal, who was at the scene, published on his certified Twitter account images of tourists, many in bathing suits, sheltering in the corridors of the Hyatt Riviera hotel.
The executive pointed out that, according to testimonies from guests who were on the beach, “some armed men came shooting.” “They all ran off the beach and out of the pools. The hotel staff told us to hide in the rooms behind the kitchens, ”he added.
Puerto Morelos, where the confrontation broke out, is a neighbor of Cancun, the main recipient of foreign tourists from Mexico. Violence linked to crime, especially the retail sale of drugs, has hit the Mexican Caribbean for years.
Most violent incidents have been in urban areas and rooms, far from exclusive hotels. But in recent years there have been armed clashes in tourist areas such as this Thursday.
All guests and employees told to duck, and we’re all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything. pic.twitter.com/Hf7SRzRJIZ
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021
Last October, a shooting between alleged criminals cost the lives of two tourists, one German and one Indian, in Tulum, a resort located south of Cancun and a neighbor of the Riviera Maya.
Mexico: military anti-drug cooperation
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in his meeting in mid-June of this year with the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, asked to end military anti-drug cooperation and promote further development.
“It is a completely new stage. Until we no longer speak – we commented on them in a very respectful and frank way – about the Merida Plan. We don’t want military cooperation, ”López Obrador pointed out in his morning press conference.
The president was referring to the cooperation program established in 2008, through which the United States provides military assistance to Mexico and Central America to reinforce security and combat drug trafficking.
“We no longer want it to be like before, that they brought us a helicopter gunship and the United States ambassador took the photo with the president in turn. We want development cooperation, we no longer even want to hear about the Plan Merida, ”the leftist leader stressed.