The drug cartels are of concern all over Mexico, but they tend to be concentrated in some areas more so than others. Such is the same with life regardless of place or time- everybody know that there are “those” areas of a city or town that one does not go to because “those” areas are synonymous with crime and usually, poverty.
The cartels are problematic all over Mexico, but they tend to concentrate into certain states more so than others. In the past they were more concentrated on the US border, but now they have moved to the southern regions, such as Michoacan. Until a few months ago, they were not heard of in significant concentration around major tourist areas, such as the American vacation destination and outpost of collegiate hedonism that is the city of Cancun.
However, this is changing rapidly, and according to another recent story, a drug cartel executed three rivals in the hotel district of Cancun according to a report:
Yesterday, an alleged dispute between criminal groups ended with a triple execution in broad daylight in Cancun, Quintana Roo.
Everything happened at the intersection of Bonampa and Nichupté avenues, in a hotel zone of the city. According to the images captured by a security camera, the victims were on board a white pick-up truck, waiting for the green light of the traffic light. Just before the cars started to move forward, a subject descended from the next vehicle with a long gun and started firing into the truck.
Although the driver of the pick-up accelerated, his companions had already been hit by bullets. According to the information released, the three deceased were originally from Michoacán, of which one died instantly, while the others, who still managed to be treated by the emergency services, died later; one in the place and another in the hospital.
The driver was also attacked with bullets; However, the bullets did not compromise vital organs, so he is receiving medical attention. After the attack, the subject went to the nearest Police module.
Subsequently, the authorities set up a security operation to search for the aggressors; however, the only thing they found was their abandoned car in the streets of Supermanzana 15, very close to where the attack occurred.
Photo: After the aggression, the authorities mounted an operation to locate those responsible, on March 2, 2019 (Cuartoscuro)
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Quintana Roo reported that they are analyzing signs inside the vehicle. On the other hand, Alberto Capella, Secretary of Public Security of Quintana Roo, indicated that, until now, the investigations indicate that it was a conflict between criminal groups, and that the survivor has a criminal record for homicide in Colima. (source)
I warned in February 2018 that Americans may want to be careful traveling to Cancun because given the ties of the cartels to the US government, the well-established history of terrorism as a vehicle of policy, and the fact that they are moving into a major American tourist area, is a sign that an attack against tourists may be coming.
It is Spring Break week for many colleges right now, and while I am NOT saying that “an attack is going to happen this month,” it would not be a surprise if over the coming year and attack did happen. Given the interesting state of the political landscape and the evisceration of Trump’s base by Trump’s own hand, it would be quite “timely” to have an incident such as this to rally neo-nativist sentiments for political gain. If not for that, it could be used at a later point for another end.
Either way, the fact that the cartels are moving in is NOT good. Many people have enough of their own personal issues, and they do not want or need to add any more, the least of which would be the role of an expendable pawn in a game of geopolitical chess.