Mexico: Increased security in Cancún during summer months

Event

The Mexican Ministry of Public Security announced in late May that security measures would be increased in Cancún (Quintana Roo state) during the upcoming popular summer tourism season. According to officials, additional tourist police officers will be deployed to the city to increase surveillance and crime-prevention operations. Darwin Puc Acosta, the head of Benito Juarez Public Security, also said that the tourist police will coordinate with other security services to patrol beaches and popular areas within Cancún.

Context

The summer tourism season runs from approximately from the beginning of June to September. Officials estimate that 20,000 to 25,000 US and Canadian citizens will visit Cancún during the summer period.

In early April 2018, officials reported rising levels of violence in Cancún, with over 120 murders since the beginning of the year. 2017 was the most violent year on record in Mexico with over 25,000 homicides reported nationwide; violence levels continue to climb in 2018. The spike in violence has been attributed in part to fierce turf wars between competing and increasingly fragmented cartels. This trend has been observed in much of the country since mid-2016 despite the deployment of extra security forces to the worst-affected areas. Business owners and government figures are also targeted, and bystanders can be caught up in the crossfire.

Advice

Individuals present in Cancún - and in Mexico, in general - are advised to remain vigilant, to vary daily routines, and to refrain from sharing personal information with unknown persons to reduce the risk of being targeted by potential kidnappers. If abducted, remain calm and obey all demands issued by your assailant(s). Do everything in your power to keep the situation as calm as possible (e.g. accept offered food, engage in conversation initiated by your captors, avoid all political or potentially inflammatory topics, do not do anything that would alarm your captors, etc.).