Gunman Kills Two Canadian Tourists in Mexican Caribbean Resort, Say Authorities

A lone gunman shot a group of three Canadians who were staying at an upscale resort in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, killing two of them. Mexican authorities claim that the two fatal victims had criminal histories tied to drug trafficking.

The shooting took place on Friday afternoon at the upscale Xcaret Hotel in Mexico’s famed Mayan Riviera. The hotel is at a midpoint between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, in the state of Quintana Roo. According to information released by Lucio Hernandez Gutierrez, the head of police for Quintana Roo, the three Canadian tourists were guests at the hotel and a fourth guest went up to them and after an apparent argument began shooting. The gunman then ran into the jungle area and has not been captured.

Este es el huésped que disparó ocasionando las lesiones que posteriormente provocaran la muerte a uno de ellos, las autoridades del grupo de coordinacion despliegan fuerte operativo para su captura, cualquier información para pronta detención estaremos profundamente agradecidos. pic.twitter.com/PRDC0hhBBe

— Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez (@Lucio_HG) January 21, 2022

Multiple tourists shared videos of the chaos that ensued after the shooting.

Video del lugar del ataque en el Hotel Xcaret donde tres turistas canadienses fueron heridos, uno de los cuales murió posteriormente. El atacante sigue prófugo https://t.co/QZwQBsacIp pic.twitter.com/U63DeN1ksV

— Noticaribe (@Noticaribe) January 21, 2022

According to the local news outlet Noticaribe, the shootings appeared to have been a targeted attack where someone in a white vehicle brought the handgun to the shooting suspect. Public officials also claimed that one of the victims was considered a “very dangerous” individual in Canada, Noticaribe reported.

SEGUIMIENTO | ATAQUE EN XCARET FUE PLANIFICADO: Revelan que vehículo llevó arma al huésped que disparó contra tres turistas canadienses, matando a uno y dejando dos heridos https://t.co/QZwQBsacIp pic.twitter.com/8KA3kojHbb

— Noticaribe (@Noticaribe) January 22, 2022

Hours later, the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office revealed that two of the Canadian tourists had died and both had criminal histories. Since Mexican authorities have not revealed the full names of the victims, Breitbart Texas was unable to independently verify if the victims did indeed have criminal histories. In other cases, Mexico’s government has claimed that victims had criminal histories as a way to divert blame from their inability to effectively decrease violence.

ACTUALIZACIÓN: La primera persona que perdió la vida (https://t.co/oRSVAHKHIn) contaba con antecedentes delictivos: tráfico de drogas, uso falso de identidad -entre otros-. Se confirma el deceso de otra persona que resultó lesionada. (R.J.D) también contaba con historial criminal

— Fiscalía General QR (@FGEQuintanaRoo) January 22, 2022

Authorities identified the two decedents as A.T.CH and R.J.D. The local newspaper Noticaribe revealed that the three shooting victims have been identified by the first names of Jessica, Robert, and Thomas.

Despite the many assurances given by Mexico’s government, the tourist areas of Quintana Roo, including Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and others have seen a dramatic spike in violence as rival criminal organizations fight for control of the local drug trade as well as smuggling routes into Mexico.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.