Four Bodies Found Along Cancun’s Hotel Zone

Authorities in Cancun, Mexico, confirmed four dead bodies were found near a resort in the city’s hotel zone near the beach.

The deaths are the latest acts of violence plaguing Mexico, a popular tourist destination.

All of the deceased are Mexicans, said José Pablo Mathey Cruz, the Secretary of Public Security of Benito Juárez, the municipality where Cancun is located, CNN reported. According to officials, the suspects are allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

Video surveillance of the area and the work of local authorities helped lead to the arrest of the suspects.

Prosecutors initially reported three bodies had been found Monday in a lot near one of Cancun’s beachside hotels along Kukulkan Boulevard but discovered a fourth body in the undergrowth on the same lot, bringing to four the number of victims, CBS News reported.

Photos published by Reuters captured local police, the Mexican National Guard, and a vehicle from the attorney general’s office outside of the Fiesta Americana hotel. 

There are reports that the victims were shot to death. Polo Gallegos, a tourist in the area at the time of the incident, told CNN en Español that he heard shots around 10:00 local time.

“We heard the shots, and they hid all of us in an office, and they kept us there until the incident was over. Everyone kept us there until they secured the area, and right now there are police, the Navy, everyone, everyone in the beach area, and it’s very uncomfortable for us,” he said.

Last week in Puerto Morelos, a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg and treated after a group of individuals approached him. The incident remains under investigation. His injuries were non-life threatening.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert last month warning travelers to “exercise increased caution” when traveling to Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum due to reports of violence.