Eight people were killed in a Cancun bar after attackers tossed gasoline bombs into the crowded establishment early Tuesday.
Six women, who worked for the establishment, and two male patrons died in the resulting fire. The bar was located in an area outside of Cancun’s tourism zone.
According to Mexican authorities at least 10 armed men arriving in black vehicles attacked the Castillo del Mar bar in the predawn hours on Tuesday. The men threatened bar patrons before lighting the bar on fire.
This is not the first time the venue has had problems. On August 4, police detained a man who was allegedly trying to extort around $3,000 in protection money from the bar owners.
It is not uncommon for businesses throughout Mexico to be pressured into paying protection money from the drug cartels, which sometimes enact harsh penalties on those who refuse.
Though the bar was frequented by mainly by locals and located in a residential area of Cancun, the bombing is more bad news for Mexico’s already beleaguered tourism industry, which is still recovering from the negative impact of last year’s swine flu outbreak.
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As of Friday, the U.S. State Department extended a Mexico travel warning to the business capital of Monterrey. The warning said that the children of U.S. government personnel were being ordered to leave the city because of concerns about kidnappings and gun battles.
However, in spite of a steady stream of drug-related violence, many in Mexico’s tourism industry say that perceptions don’t match reality.
Local business owners along Mexico’s Caribbean coast have bemoaned the fact that violence in northern and central Mexico is keeping tourists away, despite the safety of Mexico’s resort towns.
According to the State Department, resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico are not seeing the same amount of drug-related violence and crime reported in border regions. However, the State Department does warn Americans that violence is occurring throughout the country, including some areas that are frequented by American tourists.
According to the latest statistics from a USA Today report, however, Cancun has for the most part avoided the bloodshed which has claimed 28,000 lives since late 2006. States along the Yucatán Peninsula, which are known for their beaches and Mayan ruins, have a murder rate comparable to Wyoming and Montana, says the report.
By Adriana Padilla at PeterGreenberg.com.
Related Links: Associated Press, USA Today, Travel.state.gov, MSNBC
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