A team of cartel gunmen stormed a restaurant in Playa del Carmen and opened fire, killing the owner and wounding four others before fleeing Sunday. Authorities attributed the incident to a failure to pay a cartel extortion tax, often called a “piso.”
The attack occurred at approximately 12:30pm when two gunmen arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire with pistols, according to local reports. The owner of taqueria El Fogonazo, Gonzalo Poot Kantún, died from multiple gunshot wounds. Two employees and two customers sustained gunshot wounds inside the restaurant.
Witnesses said the two assailants wore helmets to conceal their identities.
Investigators from the state attorney general’s office believe that cartel operatives targeted the eatery for refusing to pay an extortion tax. Most local businesses in tourist hubs are forced to pay a piso for the right to remain in operation. Merchants are threatened with violence and property damage if they do not comply. The collection of the tax is a large generator of cash flow. In September, Breitbart Texas reported when an extortion gang consisting of municipal police officers was busted in central Mexico.
Authorities reported the arrests of two males who matched the description of the Sunday shooters. It has not been determined if they are the actual gunmen involved in the attack.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce completed work assignments in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year tour in Monterrey, Mexico, for the U.S. Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program. As the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico in charge of the Mexican states of, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas) You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at robertrarce@gmail.com.