Mexico: Authorities find 8 bodies in Cancun resort as drug cartel violence rages

The bodies of eight people were found in the Mexican resort of Cancun, one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, officials said Tuesday.

Mexican officials said bodies were discovered over the weekend about 10 miles from Cancun’s beach and hotel zone, after police launched a coordinated effort to search for the missing. That too in sinkhole ponds, also known as cenotes.

Oscar Montes de Oca, chief prosecutor for the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, said the five bodies were found at an abandoned construction site. The three were later identified as the first missing people.

Authorities said three sets of skeletal remains were discovered at a different site in a wooded area near a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Cancun, close to the resort’s airport. He has not been identified yet.

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People enjoy a day out at Playa Delfin Beach (Dolphin Beach) in the hotel zone of Cancun in Mexico’s Quintana Roo State on November 8, 2022. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Montes de Oca said authorities estimate that the bodies were dumped there a week to two months ago.

According to the government, more than 112,000 people are listed as missing across the country. While crime is more common in other areas of the country, Cancun and other resorts were generally regarded as safe travel destinations.

Drug cartels have begun disposing of their victims’ bodies in secret body dumping grounds, especially as several cartels fight for control of the Caribbean coast and its drug trade.

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National Guard members patrol a beach in the hotel zone in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Authorities made a similar search in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, about 140 miles south of Cancun.

Volunteers, including relatives of the missing, assisted investigators in the search. Sniffer dogs were also used.

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Earlier this month, four people were killed in Cancun after an altercation related to drug gang activity. The dead were found near a beach in the city’s hotel zone.

In March, an American tourist was also shot in the leg in the nearby city of Puerto Morelos.

Aerial view of an almost empty beach in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on March 28, 2020. The novel coronavirus pandemic has led to a significant drop in the number of registered tourists at Mexico’s resorts. (ELIZABETH RUGGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Cancun remains the top destination for Americans vacationing in Mexico.

The US State Department issued travel guidance last month that warns travelers to “exercise caution” anytime after dark, especially near resorts such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

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In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, which is about 40 miles south of Cancun.

In 2021, in the city of Tulum – about 80 miles south of Cancun – two foreign tourists, including an American and a German, were killed when they apparently came under fire from rival drug dealers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.