Armed robbery at cenote'

[cwaver]

Just wanted to post this warning about an incident that happened to me this past Thursday. Nov. 8. Went to a cenote' call Angelita south of Tulum. Right on Hwy 307. 7 divers with two dive guides and a helper. After we all submerged, the helper, on his way back to the trucks, he was asaulted by 2 robbers armed with pistals. They fired at him twice, but the bullets didn't work . They tied him up and dumped him in some kind of shed on the site. They then broke into 4 vehichles and took all of our money , cameras, ipods. Everything. I'm posting this so you know. This was an incredible dive, but it's not safe. I'm also not going to mention the dive operator.

 

[docmartin]

yikes! i wanted to hit angelita in Dec after hearing lots about it. not so sure after reading this.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

This is horrible news! I am so sorry for you loss. I know I have never personally seen a gun here on anyone but cops, but I know they exist. I do hear reports of this kind of thing happening around Tulum or further south. It doesn't happen often, but it always could. My advice, don't make your self an easy target or look too much like a lost and ignorant tourist...you will be robbed.:14: Another reason for me to stay on the reef.

 

[divenflyer]

So very sad. It must have been terrifying for the helper. Tulum is a beautiful area and the Cenote's are a beautiful experience, but like much of Mexico, extreme poverty begins 50 feet off the main drag. Be thankful you only lost some material goods, and in the future, don't travel with a lot of cash or other things that make you more likely to be a target. I wouldn't eliminate Tulum cenotes from a dive destination, but I'd keep watching these blogs for evidence of a trend. You can't punish the entire economy for a single bad event. These people rely on us for their livlihood, so they don't want this type of event either.

Thanks for the post.

 

[SteveC]

Wow.... we are going to be diving in that area next week.

 

[cwaver]

just one more thing. the talk of the dive community in the area said this was the first time guns were used. They want to boycot the Angelita cenote' for safety reasons. I'm not telling people not to go to the area and punish the entire economy. I'm just reporting what happened to me. This cenote' parking area is only 10 to 21 feet of the hwy. The helper did not look like like a tourist. Our vehicles were the target.

 

[pennypue]

Seems like the next logical step in safety would be to hire a taxi van to bring you in. No personal belongings and no vehicles to break into. They were probably watching and waiting for the next set of divers to come to the cenotes. Four tourist vehicles is a pretty tempting target.

Glad to hear that the no one was hurt. Hopefully, the local that was tied up was not too traumatized by it.

 

[Otter]

Does the owner of Angelita charge an access fee? Might the robbers be motivated to cause the owner economic harm as well?

 

[cwaver]

the owner of Angelita is an 88 yo Mayan who also owns a lot of the beachfront in Tulum. The dive people of the area say he realy would not care. As I said, a lot of the dive people who take us to these cenote's, will be staying away from this one. The only people who will be hurt by this are the tourist divers who will be missing out on one incredible dive experience.

 

[daniel f aleman]

You might want to talk to that "helper" a little more...