Shooting near luxury Mexico resort leaves 1 dead, suspects flee on jet skis

A Mexican man was shot dead in broad daylight near a luxury resort in Cancun on Wednesday afternoon in what authorities believe was a targeted shooting carried out by two suspects who fled on jet skis, according to a local report.

The shooting happened around noon behind the Riu Caribe hotel when witnesses say two beachgoers approached the male victim on foot, the Riviera Maya News reported.

The victim, believed to be in his 30s, was shot several times. The suspects then ran to the beach and hopped onto jet skis. A marina boat pursued the suspects without success, the report said.

The hotel released a statement that said the victim was neither a guest nor an employee of the hotel, according to the report. 

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Authorities have yet to release the man’s identity or any information about the gunmen.

The latest incident comes after a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in the resort town in July. Gunmen riding jet skis opened fire on a rival drug dealer on a beach when the boy was apparently struck by stray bullets, Mexican prosecutors said at the time.

Territorial disputes between drug dealers have cost the lives of several tourists in the resorts along Mexico’s Caribbean coast in recent years.

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.