Turf war between drug cartels is blamed for recent shootouts in Quintana Roo

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Recent shootings at popular Mexico beach resorts near Cancun and Tulum leave tourists shaken.

A turf war between drug cartels is blamed for recent shootouts that sent tourists scrambling at a luxury hotel in Puerto Morelos and a restaurant in Tulum.

Quintana Roo — Tourists at two Mexican resorts popular with Americans were shocked when terrifying shootouts recently interrupted their vacations.

Two tourists caught up in the gunfire in Tulum last month were killed and three others were injured. 

On Thursday, dozens of panicked vacationers ran for cover as bullets flew on the beach of their luxury hotel south of Cancun. Two drug dealers died in that shooting.

Officials in Mexico blame a turf war between drug cartels for both deadly shootings and other recent crimes that threaten to scare vacationers away from the tranquil oasis.

Gov. Carlos Joaquin called the attack “a serious blow to the development and security of the state, putting the image of the state at grave risk.”

Shootout near Cancun

The most recent shooting happened on the beach at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun in Puerto Morelos. 

A commando of masked gunmen in boats stormed ashore and executed two drug dealers from a rival gang.

“About 15 people arrived on the beach to assassinate two men who had showed up saying they were the new dealers in the area,” the head prosecutor of Quintana Roo state, Oscar Montes de Oca, told the Radio Formula station.

Joaquin said one of the men targeted in the attack fled into one of the hotels before dying. The other died on the beach.

The dramatic attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the Hyatt and the nearby Azul Beach Resort. 

The governor said one person suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, but authorities could not determine whether that person was a hotel employee or a guest because they were still undergoing medical treatment.

Mike Singleton tweeted video saying guests gathered in the lobby where employees brought them after determining the danger was over. He said people were “crying and hugging.”

Guests at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun posted videos and photos of tourists hiding or nervously milling in the lobby and hallways of hotels during the incident.

Several cartels are fighting for the area’s lucrative retail drug trade, including the Jalisco cartel and the a gang allied with the Gulf cartel.

Credit: AP Government forces guard the entrance of hotel after an armed confrontation near Puerto Morelos, Mexico, Thursday, November 4, 2021. Two suspected drug dealers were killed after gunmen from competing gangs staged a dramatic shootout near upscale hotels that sent foreign tourists scrambling for cover. (AP Photo/Karim Torres)

Source: El Universal

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