Dismembered Bodies of 4 Men Found in Mexico's Tourist Paradise of Quintana Roo, 7 Charred Bodies in Guanajuato
Dismembered bodies of four men were found in Mexico's tourist paradise of Quintana Roo on Thursday, authorities said.
According to Associated Press, the prosecutor's office in Quintana Roo state said the bodies did not show signs of bullet wounds, making it unclear how they died.
The bodies were reportedly dumped in the shrubs beside an access road in Villas del Sol, Playa del Carmen, implying an execution-style killing.
The Sun reported that sanitation workers discovered the dismembered bodies while collecting trash in the area. Local police, who were called to the scene, have since cordoned off the area and are investigating the case with the Mexican National Guard.
Mexican Drug Cartel Wars in Mexico's Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo, a state on the Yucatán Peninsula, has some of Mexico's best-known tourist destinations. The state's town of Tulum offers seaside Mayan ruins, sandy beaches, and undersea caverns. Its resort city of Cancun is known for its long beaches with coral reefs.
But recently, the state has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons: Mexican drug cartel wars have killed tourists and provoked a military deployment.
Quintana Roo has lost its status as a safe vacation spot following recent high-profile acts of violence, according to Global Risk Insights.
Last January, a lone gunman killed two Canadian visitors and injured another in the resort town of Playa del Carmen, an attack that security officials described as targeted and involving individuals with criminal records.
Two weeks prior, a California Instagram influencer and a German tourist were killed when caught in the crossfire of a drug gang shootout in Tulum.
In July, a Texas firefighter on vacation with his wife to celebrate their 10th anniversary was kidnapped and murdered at a resort in Cancún. In May, a U.S. tourist was wounded in a shooting attack that killed two men at a beach in Cancun.
In response to the violence, the Mexican government deployed almost 1,500 National Guard troops to Quintana Roo's Cancun city and surrounding beaches to provide security to the entire tourist area late last year.
However, many believe that the violence in the state is likely to worsen since military presence will do little to solve the root causes of the violence because it will only push the Mexican drug cartels' shootouts away from resorts.
7 Bodies Found Burned in Mexico's Guanajuato State
Mexican authorities also found seven bodies burned in the bed of a pickup in Guanajuato on Tuesday.
The State Attorney's General Office on Thursday said the truck was found on the side of the road in San Jose el Nuevo community in Celaya, and the victims were all men whose hands were tied behind their backs, according to Periodico AM.
Local officials said the truck was reported stolen and was from the Mexico's state of Michoacan. The AP also reported that another body was found near the area where the charred bodies were discovered.
Guanajuato was also plagued by turf wars between rival Mexican drug cartels. The Jalisco cartel was reportedly among the local drug gangs fighting to take over territory in the state.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
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