Mexican military swarms popular American tourist spot amid crime surge

Mexican authorities are cracking down on surging crime in the popular tourist destination, Tulum, as authorities seek to create a “safer and calmer environment.”

According to Tulum Mayor Diego Castañón Trejo, an additional 30 members of the Mexican Navy were added to the existing law enforcement presence in the bustling Caribbean coastal destination.

In a published report, Trejo said that the additional 30 military personnel will bring the current personnel up to more than 250.

Of the 250 current active military members providing law enforcement support in Tulum, nearly 100 of them are from the Navy, Trejo said.

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The news came after a Mexican tourist was shot and killed at a Tulum resort in April.

Authorities said that the tourist allegedly refused to hand over an expensive watch he was wearing, and was shot by the robbers.

In 2023, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert warning travelers to “exercise increased caution,” especially after dark, at beach resorts in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.

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In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, apparently because of debts between international drug and weapons trafficking gangs.

 

In 2021, in Tulum, two tourists — one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German — were killed when they apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.