Cartel Hitmen Kill Tourist in Front of 5-Star Cancún Hotel

Cartel violence in Cancún continues after an early morning attack Tuesday left one dead in the Hotel Zone.

Cartel gunmen opened fire on a Jeep Wrangler, leaving the driver dead, according to local media. The driver was later identified as Rogelio E.G., 31, a Mexican tourist from the Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. He was allegedly pursued by gunmen traveling in a second vehicle who opened fire directly in front of Hotel Nizuc. The gunmen then sped away, leaving the victim mortally wounded from multiple gunshots.

The body was found by Cancún Tourist Police. Investigators reportedly recovered numerous spent shell casings at the scene and reported the victim was visiting Cancún with several friends. Mainstream travel booking sites commonly rank the nearby hotel as a five-star establishment.

Breitbart News reports extensively on the cartel violence plaguing the once peaceful beach resort city. During a 24-hour period in April, nine homicides were registered. At least 62 murders were tallied with victims who were shot to death in the month. On April 27, four Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) assassins were arrested for the recent murder of Policía Turística Juan Carlos López Pérez, 40. At the time of their arrest, the cartel gunmen were found to be in possession of two rifles and a handgun, along with a tactical vest featuring the initials “CJNG,” according to local media.

Earlier this week, Breitbart News reported on the capture of a leading hitman affiliated with the CJNG. He was wanted for multiple killings following a shootout with ministerial police that left one female cartel operative dead.

In 2018, the global tourist magnet smashed its previous annual record for murders with at least 546—the previous mark was 227 in 2017. 

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.