Quintana Roo Mayor Killed by Suspected Drug Traffickers After Closing Beach Access Due to COVID-19

"MX" for Borderland Beat

Obed Durón Gómez

On Monday evening, Obed Durón Gómez, the mayor of Mahahual, Quintana Roo, was killed by gunmen in a drive-by shooting while he was heading to the community of Xcalak. Investigators suspect that the mayor was killed by drug traffickers after he closed access to Mahahual's beach due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Residents from the area had complained in the past that Durón Gómez was linked to local smugglers.

The coast of Quintana Roo is a strategic corridor for narcotics arriving from Central and South America. Though once controlled by the Gulf Cartel, other criminal groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) now operate in the area. In this report, Borderland Beat will cover the murder, its possible motives and Quintana Roo's innovative drug network.

Attack

On April 6, Durón Gómez was traveling from Mahahual to Xcalak in a white van with multiple people. He was heading there to see the sanitary measures that were constructed along the town's beach. While driving through a highway, a car pulled over next to them and fired at their vehicle. Durón Gómez was shot five times and was critically wounded. His companions called paramedics, who arrived at the scene and took him to the nearest hospital. However, Durón Gómez died moments after arriving at the hospital.

Following the attack, multiple law enforcement agencies set up checkpoints and carried out surveillance measures across the area to locate the perpetrators. Among them was the rural police, the Quintana Roo State Police, the National Guard and the Mexican Navy. Quintana Roo's Attorney General's Office collected evidence at the scene and announced that the case would fall under their jurisdiction.

The van where Obed Durón Gómez was traveling in

The official motive for the murder has not been established. One of the main motives suggested by investigators is that Durón Gómez was killed by drug traffickers after he closed access to Mahahual's beach following the COVID-19 outbreak. Narcotics are smuggled through the coasts of Quintana Roo and this closure may have affected the operations of local gangs that received the drug shipments from Central and South America.

Another possible motive brought up by investigators was that Durón Gómez was killed as vengeance for the arrest of five people last week. According to the mayor, these suspects had threatened several fishermen in Xcalak and were stealing their merchandise. In their interrogation, the men stated that they would seek vengeance against residents of Xcalak and local authorities (including Durón Gómez) for arresting them.

Prior to his murder, Durón Gómez was being investigated by municipal authorities in Othón P. Blanco for his alleged organized crime ties. Residents from Xcalak told investigators that Durón Gómez had ties with drug traffickers from the area. They also noted that there were several "irregularities" in his career path since he was first police chief and was then elected mayor of Mahahual. 

Drug network in Quitana Roo

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo is a strategic corridor for smugglers bringing narcotics for Central and South America. In the community of Xcalak, some residents are involved in a drug smuggling activity known as playear (which comes from the Spanish word playa, or beach), where they look for cocaine shipments dropped off by planes.

The method works the following way: planes drop cocaine packages to areas along the coast (be it land or water). Smugglers then take speedboats to those locations and retrieve the merchandise. However, it is not uncommon for them to lose trace of some of the packages. When a package is lost, they are oftentimes found later floating in the water or somewhere along the beach areas. That is why it is important for smugglers to have control and access to beaches like the one in Mahahual.

Quintana Roo (in red) within Mexico

Once the drugs are retrieved from Xcalak, they are smuggled to Chetumal before they are sent to northern Mexico or Cancún. Cocaína mojada (literally "wet cocaine"), cocaine retrieved from the ocean, is sold at a market price of US$5 for a portion as small as the size of a person's fingernail. Historically, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas controlled the drug trafficking corridor in Quintana Roo, but other criminal groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) are now operating in the area.