Police arrested two Canadian men who kissed at a beach in Mexico, sparking outrage among tourists and human rights activists.
The incident took place recently in the beach resort town of Tulum, Yucatan. According El Universal, Tulum’s municipal police claimed they received reports of “obscene exhibitionist acts” and detained three men at a public beach. The officers claimed two men were kissing in the presence of children.
A cell phone video of the incident captured the moment when a group of masked local police officers carrying AR-15s are loading two men into the back of a police truck. Several other beachgoers can be seen surrounding the police vehicle and screaming at police to release the men.
“We are gay, that is why they are taking us,” one of the arrested tourists says in the video.
The police officers eventually released the tourists, however, several human rights groups have filed complaints with Mexico’s government. The arrest comes as Mexico tries to reignite its tourism industry despite the pandemic and the raging cartel violence near vacation hubs.
Breitbart Texas reported on a recent large-scale gun battle in nearby Cancun, where authorities arrested 15 gunmen. That shootout followed days after gunmen killed two victims outside of a hotel in the Cancun tourist area.