Two Killed, Nine Injured in Cancun Bar Shootings

A group of gunmen fired into two separate bars in Cancun killing two people and injuring nine others. The shooting attack comes as the region is experiencing a wave of violence linked to a cartel turf war leaving tourists caught in the middle.

The attack took place Friday night when a group of gunmen in a Jeep Cherokee and a Chevy pulled up to an entertainment district. The gunmen ran up to a bar called “Deja Vu” and began firing inside, the local news outlet NotiCaribe reported. The gunmen killed one bar patron and injured six others.

At the same time, a group of gunmen — believed to be the same ones — carried out a second shooting attack at another bar called “Las Micheladas de la Khaba.” In that attack, the gunmen killed another person and injured three others.

A surveillance video captured the moment of the shooting. Three men with handguns can be seen walking to the entrance of the bar and firing indiscriminately inside. One of the gunmen is seen shooting at the bar’s host at least twice.

The violence in Cancun comes at a time when authorities have been unable to curb a fierce cartel turf war for control of the local drug distribution as well as control of lucrative drug and human smuggling routes into Texas. The fighting is largely carried out between cartel cells linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation. The fighting resulted in multiple shootings and shootouts near tourist hotels and on beaches packed with tourists. Additional targeted assassinations have taken place inside posh resort hotels, Breitbart Texas reported.

Despite many assurances by government officials and the deployment of military forces as well as federal police forces, Mexico’s government has been unable to curb the violence.

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.