A man who was executed outside a five-star resort in the Cancún has been identified as a local drug dealer who was involved in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy dead on a beach next to the hotel in July.
The victim, a 30-year-old Mexican national, was gunned down outside the RIU Palace Las Americas hotel on Wednesday afternoon.
Cancún police reports indicated that the gunmen arrived on jet skis at Caracol Beach and fired four shots at the rival drug dealer, who was walking near the pool area.
The suspects, who were wearing black clothing and orange life jackets, fled towards the Caribbean Sea.
Hotel workers provided medical assistance to the victim, who died before the arrival of paramedics.
A 30-year-old alleged drug dealer was shot dead on a beach in front of the RIU Palace Las Americas hotel in the Mexican resort town of Cancún on Wednesday. The Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office said the victim was involved in the July 28 shooting at a beach next to the RIU Cancun that left a 12-year-old boy dead
The RIU Palace Las Americas hotel said in a statement that workers provided medical assistance to the 30-year-old alleged drug dealer, who died before paramedics arrived
The Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that the victim was riding one of the two jet skis that approached the shores of Caracol Beach, where they confronted rival drug dealers.
One of the bullets struck the stomach of 12-year-old Santiago, who was sitting on a beach chair several yards away from the RIU Cancun hotel. The child, a native of Mexico City, was rushed to an area hospital, where he died.
Two drug dealers from the rival groups were arrested during an operation August 4.
Footage of Wednesday’s shooting showed concerned guests milling around in the lobby of the RIU Palace Las Americas.
A man vacationing from Chile told Chilean television station TL13 that he was with a group swimming when the suspects began shooting.
‘We were in the water, there were probably 10 Chileans in the sea and suddenly, a jet ski arrives,’ he recalled. ‘It stops on the shore, picks up someone, that person runs and someone comes from behind and from that dock they shoot him. And he died there, in the sea.’
Mexican authorities linked the murder of a 30-year-old man at the RIU Palace Las Americas hotel to a dispute between rival drug dealers
The victim was confirmed by the Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office as a 30-year-old Mexican national
The Chilean man said the mood at the resort was normal about an hour after the dealer was executed.
‘We all ran out to the sand. That happened about an hour ago, it’s just now getting a little bit back to normal,’ he said. ‘They let us get out, to get things for those of us who had something here. The police came first, the military arrived, everything was very busy.’
In an email to DailyMail.com, a hotel spokesperson said none of the guests were injured in the incident.
‘Our team immediately activated the security and emergency protocols, working closely with the municipal and state authorities to provide timely attention to the injured person, who is not a guest from RIU,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We continue to communicate and cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities to support in any necessary way to ensure the safety of all our guests and employees,’ they said. ‘We reiterate our commitment to the safety and well-being of our guests, employees and the community.’
The US State Department lists the state of Quintana Roo, the home of Cancún and Tulum, another tourist hotspot, at a tier two advisory level – meaning tourists should exercise increased caution when visiting.
‘While Mexican authorities endeavor to safeguard the country’s major resort areas and tourist destinations, those areas have not been immune to the types of violence and crime experienced elsewhere in Mexico,’ the warning notes.
‘In some areas of Mexico, response time of local police is often slow. In addition, filing police reports can be time consuming. Increased levels of cartel-related violence have resulted in territorial disputes and targeted killings, injuring or killing innocent bystanders.’
Alena Golovin, of Seattle, Washington, told DailyMail.com that she heard of the incident down the road from the hotel where she and her friends are staying and that cops were patrolling the beach moments before the drug dealer was shot.
‘My experience has been really good, we haven’t came into any problems and the resort feels safe. We did notice there was more police stopping by at the beach before the shooting happened,’ she said.
The 27-year-old hairstylist said that water sport activities were suspended following the shooting and resumed Thursday.
‘But we’ve felt safe our entire week of being here and even leaving the resort and going out into the city we were able to explore,’ she said.
Golovin had the following advise for visitors looking to vacation in the resort city: ‘I would probably say to stay inside the resorts, there’s a lot to do in there and avoid accepting drinks from strangers. If anyone tries to talk to you that you aren’t comfortable with wear sunglasses and avoid eye contact and saying anything because Cancún tourists are very diverse and speak so many languages that nobody really knows if you speak English or not.’