Gangs in Cancun

[tridacna]

From the Guardian today. Lovely story.

Cancún tourists rush for shelter as armed gang storms beach at luxury hotel

Two people killed at Hyatt Ziva in Puerto Morelos in what state officials said was confrontation between drug dealers

www.theguardian.com

 

[drrich2]

Yeah. 2 Alleged drug dealers killed, no tourists, but then this blurb lower down:

"The incident comes two weeks after a Californian travel blogger and a German tourist were killed at a restaurant in the nearby beach resort of Tulum during a shootout between suspected gang members.

“It was only the latest in a series of attacks in Tulum’s tourist zone,” said Vicente Carrera, publisher of news site Noticaribe."

And

"But the region has been plagued by violence as drug cartels dispute territories and run extortion rackets."

I don't see the time of day or night mentioned, though people were playing volleyball. The prior episode when the Californian and German were killed was said to've occurred 'late Wednesday.'

Naturally this triggers a 'they should do more' response, but it's a hard, complex issue. One article mentions the strategy of targeting kingpins leads to fragmentation in the gangs, and that can exacerbate conflict.

That said, I hope they get this settled down fast. Once a region gets enough bad publicity as dangerous for tourists, it can take awhile to shake it.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Makes me glad that almost all of my diving is in Palm Beach County where it's safe.

1 dead, 2 hurt after triple shooting in Chipotle parking lot near Palm Beach Gardens

One man was killed and two others were injured after a triple shooting in the parking lot of a Chipotle restaurant located near Palm Beach Gardens, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

www.wptv.com

Singer Island party ends with one man shot, police say

Two groups of people shot at each other Friday afternoon in Ocean Reef Park, leaving one man wounded.

www.palmbeachpost.com

16-year-old charged as adult in fatal shooting of woman on Singer Island

A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting of a woman on Singer Island earlier this month.

www.wptv.com

 

[greeniguana]

Meh. I just make sure I pick cancun resorts that have the high concentrations of Russian mafia guests.

 

[drrich2]

Makes me glad that almost all of my diving is in Palm Beach County where it's safe.

'Where it's safe' is a key term, and whether people can tell where that is.

What makes the original story scary isn't that a couple of (alleged) drug dealers got killed by rival criminals. As long as we're not drug dealers or rival criminals, and don't know them personally, it seems little threat.

The issue is the potential for bystanders to be hurt or killed. So, how much of a threat is this? Are the usual risk mitigation strategies (e.g.: at least for some of us, avoid obvious bad neighborhoods, don't go out drunk, don't go looking for drugs, don't hit on local women in bars and get in fights with their boyfriends, etc...) sufficient?

We can find violent crime reports in quite a number of U.S. cities. I think most people figure it's not a big deal because if you stick to upscale residential or shopping areas the odds a street gang is going to mug you are pretty low.

The fear factor is greater when considering a foreign destination because we lack intuitive familiarity with it. And 2 weeks earlier 2 tourists were killed as bystanders in a shootout at a nearby beach resort.

That this occurred at a beach by a luxury hotel is alarming. And the reported destabilization/fracturing of the local criminal community with fighting factions.

If I had a stay booked at an A.I. in Cancun I wouldn't cancel over this, but if I were torn between an A.I. at Cancun vs. Dominican Republic, it could be the swing vote.

I hope for everyone's sake we're not reading a similar area story in another couple of weeks.

 

[tridacna]

Makes me glad that almost all of my diving is in Palm Beach County where it's safe.

1 dead, 2 hurt after triple shooting in Chipotle parking lot near Palm Beach Gardens

One man was killed and two others were injured after a triple shooting in the parking lot of a Chipotle restaurant located near Palm Beach Gardens, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

www.wptv.com

Singer Island party ends with one man shot, police say

Two groups of people shot at each other Friday afternoon in Ocean Reef Park, leaving one man wounded.

www.palmbeachpost.com

16-year-old charged as adult in fatal shooting of woman on Singer Island

A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting of a woman on Singer Island earlier this month.

www.wptv.com

FloriDUH. No big surprises here.

 

[Jake 10]

From the Gaurdian today. Lovely story.

Cancún tourists rush for shelter as armed gang storms beach at luxury hotel

Two people killed at Hyatt Ziva in Puerto Morelos in what state officials said was confrontation between drug dealers

www.theguardian.com

Yea, I saw this in the nightly news yesterday evening. These events will not help tourism in the area.

 

[ChuckP]

There are issues and they are way bigger than what you see in the news.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Its still safer than going to a Walmart / movie theatre / church in the US. Or being a black man in Chicago.

 

[NDL_Diver]

In US their are 2,000 gang-related murders each year yet people visit the US.