Two Canadian citizens were killed and a third were injured during an exchange of fire at a hotel complex near Cancun, Mexican authorities said on Friday.
The attack took place in the Xcaret complex, when a man of Canadian origin opened fire on the three victims.
The three had a serious criminal record in Canada for rape, drug and weapons cases, according to Canadian authorities cited by the Mexican prosecutor.
In November 2021, two alleged drug traffickers were killed by fire on a beach at a nearby hotel in Cancun.
In October, another shootout between alleged drug traffickers killed two tourists, a German and an Indian, in Tulum, a seaside resort in the area.
Gang-related violence, particularly drug retailers, has been sweeping the Caribbean coast of Mexico for years.
The incidents have prompted European governments and US authorities to warn their citizens about the dangers of visiting the area, which is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world.
The tourism sector contributes 8,5% of Mexico's GDP; it is the main activity in the southeastern part of the country.
In Mexico, 33.308 homicides were officially recorded in 2021 –91,25 per day on average–, a number slightly lower than the 34.554 in 2020.
Since December 2006, when the government of then-President Felipe Calderon unleashed the much-controversial war on drug-trafficking gangs, deploying an army within the country, some 340.000 people have been killed in Mexico, according to authorities. most of them in drug cartels.
Source: RES-EAP