A group of gunmen riding on motorbikes fired into a packed bar in the tourist hotspot of Playa Del Carmen. That area is roughly an hour away from the beach resort area of Cancun. The attack comes at a time when Mexico’s Caribbean region sees a high influx of tourists during the Spring Break and Easter holiday seasons.
The attack took place on Sunday, shortly before 2 a.m., when a group of gunmen riding in motorbikes pulled up to the entrance of the bar and fired several shots and sped away before authorities could respond.
According to the local news outlet NotiCaribe, the bar was packed at the time of the attack, and only one patron inside suffered injuries. Police arrived at the scene and began providing emergency medical care to the injured victim while other officers began a search operation for the gunmen. No arrests were made in the incident, and the victim is expected to recover.
The attack comes at a time when various beach towns in Mexico see a high number of tourists during Spring Break and Easter holidays. This year, there were heightened security concerns over tourism following the February 22 death of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) leader Ruben Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. As Breitbart Texas reported, the ruthless cartel boss died following a U.S.-based operation where Mexican military forces clashed with his gunmen. In the aftermath, CJNG spread terror throughout Mexico, torching buildings, vehicles, and setting up roadblocks throughout most of Mexico.
While authorities have not revealed a motive for the shooting, Breitbart Texas has reported on similar cases in Playa Del Carmen and Cancun tied to extortion schemes by cartels, where bar owners are forced to pay a protection fee or face similar attacks. Another reason for the shooting could be tied to ongoing turf wars between rival cartels for the control of the street-level distribution, in which restaurants and bars are pressured to only allow the product from one group to be sold inside.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.