A group of at least three cartel gunmen on jet skis stormed a beach in Cancun and clashed with rivals before making a clean escape from authorities.
The shootout took place Tuesday before noon in Playa Tortuga, surrounded by beach resorts. According to the local newspaper NotiCaribe, the gunmen reportedly fired at least 20 shots. No one was injured.
Mexican military and police set out a large-scale manhunt to capture the gunmen, however, they were only able to find three abandoned jet skis.
Quintana Roo Public Security Secretary Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez confirmed the attack through his social media accounts and revealed they are still looking for the gunmen.
The location where the shooting took place is yards away from a popular dock used by ferries and tourist vessels.
The shooting comes weeks after another group carried out a major shootout near a Hyatt hotel in Cancun. That shootout caused panic as tourists were forced to seek cover and lock themselves inside the hotel common areas.
Cancun and other previously peaceful tourist destinations in the state of Quintana Roo are seeing an unprecedented level of violence as rival organizations including Cartel Jalisco New Generation try to take control of the region from the Sinaloa Cartel and allies. Prior shootings have killed or injured tourists.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.