MEXICO: Petrol bomb attack on Cancun bar kills eight

Record ID: 303470

  • Title: MEXICO: Petrol bomb attack on Cancun bar kills eight
  • Date: 1st September 2010
  • Summary: CANCUN, MEXICO (AUGUST 31, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BAR EXTERIOR WHERE PETROL BOMBS WERE THROWN INTO SHOE IN STREET POLICE VEHICLE / CORDONED OFF AREA MORE OF BAR EXTERIOR BAR ENTRANCE EXTERIOR OF ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE QUINTANA ROO STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FRANCISCO ALOR BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) QUINTANA ROO STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FRANCISCO ALOR, SAYING "What they did was to set fire to the place and according to eyewitnesses, they intentionally blocked the door where it is thought they (those inside) could've escaped and they couldn't get out, they passed away. If it's an armed group, according to eyewitnesses, they could've threatened the people in charge of security to operate freely inside. There were practically no clients there, just employees. It was one-thirty in the morning. Maybe they wanted to confuse authorities to make it look like a gang robbery but we can't rule out it was carried out by a more professional criminal group." MORE OF BAR EXTERIOR PARKED POLICE CAR MORE BAR EXTERIOR
  • Embargoed: 16th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Reuters ID: LVA7M5C9XE1M4MLWIBQTVZVL5SZO
  • Story Text: At least eight people were killed after an armed group threw petrol bombs into a bar in the popular Mexican beach resort of Cancun at dawn on Tuesday (August 31), in the midst of escalating drug-related violence in the country, authorities said.
    Cancun, the highest grossing tourist resort in Mexico, was untouched by violence up until a few years ago.
    Six people died at the bar and two at hospital.
    Local media reported the attack was carried out by an armed group because the owner of the bar "Castillo del Mar" (Sea Castle), located on the outskirts of the tourist strip in Cancun, refused to pay for protection. Drug traffickers usually tend to extort businesses.
    "What they did was to set fire to the place and according to eyewitnesses, they intentionally blocked the door where it is thought they (those inside) could have escaped and they couldn't get out, they passed away. If it's an armed group, according to eyewitnesses, they could have threatened the people in charge of security to operate freely inside. There were practically no clients there, just employees. It was one-thirty in the morning. Maybe they wanted to confuse authorities to make it look like a gang robbery but we can't rule out it was carried out by a more professional criminal group," said Quintana Roo State Attorney General Francisco Alor.
    The attack occurred just hours after the arrest of top drug trafficker Edgar Valdez, known as "The Barbie," on the outskirts of Mexico City, who was one of the most violent drug kingpins.
    Over 28,000 people have died since Calderon launched his crackdown in late 2006, and the bloodshed shows no sign of stopping as gangs battle for control of smuggling routes. The violence has spread to traditionally quiet areas.
    Last May, the mayor of Cancun was arrested and charged with money laundering and drug-related crimes, making him one of the highest-ranking public officials swept up in Mexico's crackdown on narcotics traffickers.
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