A group of men wearing ski masks arrived by boat at a beach on Mexico's Caribbean coast and executed two suspected drug gang members in the latest episode of the area's narcotics war.
Video shared on social media showed tourists scrambling for cover in a Cancun resort during Thursday's face-off between warring gangsters on a beach in Bahia Petempich, Puerto Morelos.
The head prosecutor of Quintana Roo state, Oscar Montes de Oca, said that the two people who were killed had arrived in front of the Azul Beach Resort and the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun earlier in the day claiming it was their territory.
He told a local radio station that "about 15 people arrived on the beach to assassinate the two men," The Associated Press reported.
He said one of the men who was shot died on the beach, while another fled into one of the hotels before dying.
All guests and employees told to duck, and we’re all taken to hiding places at Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort. Active shooter? Terrorist or kidnapping threat? They’re not telling us anything. pic.twitter.com/Hf7SRzRJIZ
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 4, 2021
One other person suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack but authorities have not yet determined whether the victim was a hotel employee or a guest.
Frightened tourists shared images and comments on social media about how they had to hide from the shootout.
Twitter user Mike Sington said he took cover with guests at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun Resort after being told that an active shooter was in the vicinity.
He later tweeted that guests were taken out of hiding and brought to the lobby, where they cried and hugged each other.
Citing news outlet DRV Noticias, Radio Formula reported that a group of at least 10 people were later arrested in Cancun "possibly in connection with the case."
Newsweek has contacted Quintana Roo state's prosecutor's office for comment.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Mexico issued a statement about the incident, advising American citizens to contact the U.S. Consulate in Merida if they needed assistance.
"We advise U.S. citizens in the area to contact concerned family and/or friends to let them know they are safe."
Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Manuel Joaquin González said in a statement that the shootout was "a strong blow to the development of the state," Radio Formula reported.
He tweeted that the incident "hurts our society" adding that "we will continue investigating together with the federal forces until we find those responsible".
A number of cartels are fighting for the area's lucrative retail drug trade, including the Jalisco cartel, a gang allied with the Gulf cartel.
On October 20, a woman from San Jose, California, and a German woman were killed in a crossfire of a drug dealers' shootout in the resort of Tulum about 80 miles from Cancun.
Three other tourists were wounded in the incident which took place at a street-side eatery, AP reported.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
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