Mexico: Shootout in central Cancún June 15

Event

A shootout between armed men and the police took place in central Cancún (Quintana Roo state) on the evening of Thursday, June 15. The incident, which lasted some 20 minutes, occurred after the vehicle the men were traveling in was pulled over by police. One of the attackers was killed in the shootout and four others were arrested. No civilians were injured. However, the shootout occurred in an area frequented by tourists (on Tulum, Cobá, and Bonampak avenues) and caused a panic.

Context

Quintana Roo state has been wracked by an increase in gang-related violence, as have parts of Baja California Sur, both highly popular tourist destinations. In January 2017, an additional 400 federal police officers were deployed to Cancún due to the spike in violence, in part due to ongoing turf wars between members of rival crime groups, including the Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.

Advice

Individuals in Quintana Roo state, particularly in Cancún and nearby Playa del Carmen, are advised to remain vigilant and expect a heightened security presence. 

More generally, due to extreme levels of violence linked to the presence of various armed groups, many Western governments advise against travel to a large portion of Mexican territory, in particular Guerrero, Michoacán, and Tamaulipas states as well as the northeastern border with the United States, and to a lesser extent Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, and Sonora states.