State Department issues level two advisory for Mexico after 8 bodies found in beach resort city
Eight bodies were discovered in the beach resort city of Cancun, prompting the US State Department to issue a level two travel advisory for Mexico. At least two bodies were found dismembered in the back of a taxi cab. In the early hours of Monday, the bodies of a man and a woman were discovered stuffed into the trunk of an abandoned taxi cab, according to the Riveria Maya News. Authorities are yet to reveal the identities of the two victims. According to the Associated Press, at another location, investigating officers found the bodies of two other men dismembered and placed in several plastic bags. Mexican news organization EJE Central reported the location of the bodies, which are yet to be identified, to be Rancho Viejo avenue.
On Tuesday, another body was found bound and shot to death. According to the prosecutors' office in the state of Quintana Roo, a sixth victim was found fatally shot and covered in a plastic bag, while a seventh was found murdered lying in a hammock. According to local media, the eighth and final body was found decapitated in the Tres Reyes neighborhood. That being said, none of the murders appeared to have occurred in Cancun’s beach-side hotel zone.
As of now, the State Department warned both tourists and travelers to “exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime.” Violent crimes "such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery" were widespread in the country, according to the travel advisory issued Tuesday.
Due to a marked increase in crime, travels are advised not to travel to Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Colima, and Guerrero states. Other peripheral advice from the advisory includes avoiding driving at night, being extra cautious while visiting banks or ATMs, and using toll roads whenever possible.
While quite a few homicides which took place in Quintana Roo state appeared to be targeted, there is also a surge in violent crimes in neighborhoods frequented by tourists, especially American, the travel advisory noted.
“While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens,” the State Department said in the advisory.
"Shooting incidents injuring or killing bystanders have occurred," the advisory noted.
Cancun, a world famous beach destination for tourists, is witnessing a significant rise in violence. Just a couple of months back, in April, 14 homicides occurred within a span of 36 hours near major tourist attractions. While a total of 57 murders were reported, the aforementioned 14 cases were possibly drug-related, according to The Dallas Morning News.