Shootings Plague Mexico’s Caribbean Resort Area — Bars, Hotels Targeted

Cartel violence continues to run wild in Mexico’s Caribbean resort areas, including the popular beach towns of Tulum, Playa Del Carmen and Cancun. Business leaders are demanding action from government officials, while Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum continues her public claims that crime has been decreasing under her watch.

The most recent attack took place last night at Zulum Beach Hotel, a boutique hotel in Tulum. According to a report by the local news outlet NotiCaribe.mx, a group of gunmen shot at a hotel security guard and his wife, who worked in maintenance, before fleeing the scene. Authorities responded and sealed up the property. The hotel had been the target of other threats.

A similar incident took place on Sunday night, when a group of gunmen shot into a packed seafood restaurant, killing one of the employees and injuring three other victims inside. The restaurant, Camaron Guasaveno, had been open for less than a month before the attack. The gunmen escaped before police arrived. In the aftermath of the attack, the restaurant announced it was closing its doors.

Since then, local and state authorities have tried to downplay the shooting, claiming it was an isolated incident. However, business leaders continue to call for added security in the region, claiming that the ongoing waves of violence are damaging the tourism industry, which continues to see a decline in visitor numbers.

Despite the two high-profile attacks, on Tuesday morning, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed that under her administration murders in Mexico had decreased more than 40 percent. The claim follows a series of empty assurances given by her and her staff at a time when she is being publicly pressured by the U.S. government into not only fighting drug cartels, but also into stopping the protection given to politicians who enable them.

As Breitbart Texas reported, Sheinbaum has publicly criticized the  U.S. government for making public the criminal indictment against Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine of his closest allies on drug trafficking conspiracy charges for allegedly working with the Sinaloa Cartel. Sheinbaum, who is from the same political party as the fugitive governor, claims there is no evidence of wrongdoing on Rocha Moya’s part and that the case against him is politically motivated.