The U.S. government has issued a security alert for Quintana Roo due to the recent spate of violence in the state.
The U.S. Consulate General in Mérida issued the alert, which highlighted tourist hotspots for their criminal activity. “In light of recent security incidents and criminal activity in popular tourist destinations including Cancún, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum, U.S. citizens are reminded to exercise increased caution when traveling to the state of Quintana Roo. Criminal activity and violence may occur throughout the state, including areas frequented by U.S. citizen visitors,” the alert read.
The warning instructed travelers to pay attention to local news, to avoid crowds, to be aware of their surroundings, to review their personal security plans, to follow directions from local officials and to call the U.S. Consulate or Embassy for assistance or to call 911 in case of an emergency.
The alert comes four days after two Canadian men with criminal histories were shot dead and a Canadian woman was injured at the Xcaret Hotel between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
The incident was the fourth beachfront shooting in the state since last October, when gunfire left two tourists dead in Tulum. Another incident saw two drug dealers shot and killed on a beach in Puerto Morelos in November.
In December, shooters arrived on a Cancún beach in personal watercraft, fired weapons into the air and fled.
The increase in violence triggered the deployment in December of a new tourism security battalion of the National Guard.
The U.S. Department of State’s travel advisory for Mexico was last updated on December 8 and set the country at Level 3, advising citizens to “reconsider travel to Mexico due to COVID-19.”
It said violent crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery are “widespread and common in Mexico,” and instructed citizens not to travel to Colima, Guerrero, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Michoacán.
Travelers to Quintana Roo and 14 other states were urged to exercise increased caution. The U.S. State Department said to reconsider travel to 11 states, while two states only required normal precautions: Yucatán and Campeche.
Mexico News Daily
