By Lic. Edward V. Byrne
The Yucatan Times
Quintana Roo’s plush Playa del Carmen, long a haven for North American and European tourists, was the scene of presumed narco violence early this morning. Shortly before 6:00 a.m. Tourist Police Chief Mario Gómez Frías was shot several times and found dead in his patrol vehicle. He had sustained a head wound.
A second officer accompanying the chief as his bodyguard suffered at least four gunshot wounds but survived. He was taken to a local hospital and operated on at about 10:30 a.m. The officer was in stable condition.
Witnesses reported hearing at least seven shots. Others say the attack appeared to be an ambush, with multiple gunmen walking up to both sides of the patrol vehicle while it was stopped and firing inside at close range.
In recent months Quintana Roo state has experienced increasing levels of drug related violence, including murders. Police in Playa del Carmen say they began receiving threats after four drug dealers were arrested recently in the tourist zone. In a press conference today the mayor, Filiberto Martínez Méndez, acknowledged that the community is confronting security issues.
Mexican authorities maintain that the feared cartel Los Zetas controls most organized crime activities in Cancun and Quintana Roo.
Additional links:
Pistoleros mataron a jefe de policía turística en Playa del Carmen
Matan a mando de Policía Turística en Quintana Roo
Policías y funcionarios viven bajo amenazas de la delincuencia
If cartel gangs, especially the Z's overtake Cancun, Cozumel and the Playa Rivera coast--Mexico is bust. Let's just hope that putting "Pancho Villa" down there will have an impact in pushing them out.
ReplyDeleteFor those who forgot the BB story: One week after the governor-elect, Roberto Borge announced the appointment of General Carlos Bibiano Villa Castillo as head of State Public Security, two narco-messages were found threatening the life of Villa and warning that Cancun can become as violent as Tamaulipas...it said:(independent) Dealers, Vendors, Thieves, pseudo-Zetas/wannabes,: Get in line law (lawman), unless you want a Tamaulipas in Cancun, You're next. Signed: FEZ (Zetas Special Force). On 12 March, Borge announced the appointment of General Villa, who served as chief of police in Torreon, Coahuila, as head of the Ministry of Public Security of Quintana Roo.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why a tourist police will get killed for. The only thing I can think off is that he was involved in organized crime.
ReplyDeletePerhaps he refused an offer to help run a ransom racket on gringos?
ReplyDeleteI live in Playa. I am not there right now. I am in the US. This is really right on the strip. From here, you can throw a stone, and it will land on the central strip, stuffed with tourists.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is suffering here already. The economy is terrible for tourism, mainly as it has overbuilt, and the US is struggling. This is on the back of a dead last summer with Mexican Bird Flu, and only just recovered from Hurricanes Wilma, Emily and Dean Many businesses have closed, but this is because they have been shaken down by the Zetas. They are dicks. They stand in front of the tourists, looking gang tatooed to the hilt, whispering "hash, coke, meth" to the tourists going past. These are tourists with children, baby strollers, etc. They do not look like drug users, but they are so retarded, they offer it to these people. Of course, they don't come back. They are frightened away. Businesses have closed as many can't afford to stay open in this climate AND pay off the Zetas. Beyond that, even if they could afford it, they get spooked and leave. After all, who wants to live surrounded by that. They do the safest thing, pack up shop, and get out.
The police here are stupid and easily bribed. They never respond to stuff that needs responding to. They just shake down the gringos, as they know they have cash. People were starting to leave in droves anyway.
As with the middle east, we can not speculate on the reasoning used by those who have a totally different type of logic. Add to that the possibility that the killers are following the orders of an illogical psychopath who is upped up on meth. Revenge, intimidation, cohersion, anarchy, rites of initiation, diversion are some of the many possibilities. My take on this is; cancel any vacation plans to Mexico for the forseeable future.
ReplyDeleteIt will take one American on vacation to get killed in the upcoming crossfire and then tourism is finished in Mexico. The government will have to take a no prisoners approach and really start killing these guys off. Tatoo'd guy selling dope on the street....start with him...pick him up, get his superiors and eliminate them.......but instead, drugs are openly dealt in tourist areas of Mexico
ReplyDelete@ September 11, 2011 10:40 AM My friend more than 4 americans already got killed in Mexico, including 1 or 2 military men.
ReplyDeletei also live in pdc and this is so true about the location where the jefe de touristico was murdered. also 2 weeks prior in front on one of my favorite restaurants in fact just had lunch there 2 days prior. a man and his wife were in their car and 2 gunmen shot 7 times into his car killing him but wife ok. a friend of mine lives just above the restaurant and was terrified. she has 4 sons and this is considered a very upscale area in pdc. the news and the papers all said he was laundering huge mounts of money for weapons from a rival cartel and just signed a 1 yr lease to lay low in pdc but was tipped off by someone of his location. before we bought our house here we had been travelling to pdc for 8 yrs and we have seen an increasingly amount of the tattooed guys that sept 10, 703 p.m. mentioned and have gotten so bold with their approach to you. we really started seeing it increase about 3 yrs ago. they are so obvious you can spot them a mile away even if you had no clue about these people. a good friend of mine said he had a friend that unfortunately was selling cocaine and he decided he would venture out to 5th avenue and start selling there. they found him on the beach stabbed 42 x's. of course it's quite obvious it was going to happen, but my point is on the beach where families walk, play,jog, swim???? another story about a friend that lived here was tortured and murdered in his gated condo. the murder scene was so botched and his dog was walking around in his bllod for 2 days. the corrupt authorites would not let the family transport his body back to europe until he was cremated??
ReplyDeleteThis is great, I am leaving soon on a month long stay there, glad I got a rental car, at least I can drive my butt out of there if needed.
ReplyDeleteI mean I was just going down to relax, study the flora fauna ect. It's not my first trip there, I went down for 3 weeks in 2005 and got lucky enough to get the last flight out the day before Wilma hit. I keep wondering, dont these hotel barons all over Mexico have anything to say about how this punk drug gang is destroying tourism in Mexico? It's costing them Billions. It would seem that if the restuarant and hotel people got together they would be able to slap the crap out of these hoods. I live on the border across from Matamoros and I'll tell you the city is virtually shut down, when you do go over there, there are thugs on street corners etc ( the only people you see outside really) and as you pass they all lift up the mobil phones and start talking to their buds. How much longer will the citizens and business people take this crap?
Any tips from the people who live in PDC for my upcoming trip?
We have loved escaping to Playa for over 10 years now... but it is about as expensive as the US now, getting overdeveloped but we still love the get-away... but that is over if there is a lack of safety and a visual presence of gang BS. What a shame for the people of PDC. We may never go back based on the recent news...
ReplyDeleteWay to go Zetas... and crooked police of Quintana Roo... Paradise Lost