Four bodies have been found near a beach in the Mexican resort city of Cancun, in the latest incident of violence in the popular vacation destination.
There was no immediate information on the nationalities or identities of the three victims. The announcement of the deaths came less than a week after an American tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.
Prosecutors originally said three bodies were found Monday in a lot near one of Cancun’s beachside hotels along Kukulkan Boulevard. They then added that a fourth body was found in the brush on the same lot, bringing the number of victims to four.
Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said two suspects had been detained in the slayings. They said the deaths were under investigation, but did not give a cause of death.
Last week in Puerto Morelos, an American tourist was approached by several suspects and shot in the leg. The motive remains under investigation. The injured man was taken to a hospital in Cancun for treatment and his injury was deemed not life-threatening.
The US Department of State issued a travel advisory earlier this month warning travelers to “use extra caution,” especially after dark, in Mexican Caribbean resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, that have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.
Cancun and the Riviera Maya to the south are the crown jewels of Mexico’s tourism industry, attracting millions of tourists each year.
But the region has been plagued by violence, as drug cartels battle over extortion rackets and local drug markets.
In 2022, two Canadians were murdered in Playa del Carmen, apparently over debts between international drug and arms trafficking gangs.
In 2021, further south in the sleepy destination of Tulum, two tourists, one an Indian-born California travel blogger and the other a German, were killed when they were apparently caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival drug traffickers.
