5 August 2024, Boy shot dead by cartel assassins on beach in front of 5-star Riu Cancun hotel

The Riviera Maya News says that on Sunday, 28 July, around 3:00 pm, a shooting occurred on a beach in Cancun’s hotel zone, resulting in the death of a 12-year-old boy. The incident took place when gunmen on jet skis opened fire on a rival retail drug dealer. The boy, who was with his family, was hit by a stray bullet and later died at a hospital. Authorities confirmed the shooting was related to a drug dispute.

CBS News says the killing happened next to the Hotel Riu Cancun, located at Blvd. Kukulcan Mz 50 Lt 5-Km. 9, Punta Cancun, Zona Hotelera, 77500 Cancún, Q.R., Mexico. It is a 5-star hotel on the north-facing beaches of Cancun’s world-class hotel zone.

Analyses of photos of the crime scene indicate the shooting happened between the Hotel Riu Cancun – within 40 feet of the hotel – and a hotel-looking building referred to as “Best Will Trip.” The latter appears to be a vacation rental property that has copious fraud claims levied against it on social media.

The Cancun Post says the victim was enjoying a day at the beach with his family, relaxing on a lounge chair when the attack unfolded. The gunmen, riding jet skis, approached the beach and opened fire at their intended target/targets, either a single rival drug dealer or a group of rivals. The gunman fired multiple rounds, with one stray hitting the boy in the torso. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his wounds. Eyewitnesses described the chaos, with tourists seeking refuge in nearby hotels and some calling emergency services.

The Scottish Sun interviewed an eyewitness who was on the beach, vacationing at the Riu Hotel Cancun through travel company TUI. She said masked assassins on two jet skis drove toward the beach. One of the jet skis had two men – a driver and a gunman – and the other had one man.

While still in the water on their wave craft, the gunman opened fire with a pistol, showering the beach and the hotel area with multiple rounds. The witness said the water was choppy and indicated that the shooter’s rounds went everywhere. She said, “I spotted the guys with guns shooting right at us.” She said hotel staff shouted at their guests to get down. “I thought we were all getting killed because they were so close to us,” the witness said. “It was awful.”

In the immediate aftermath, the Mexican National Guard and Cancun Police arrived to secure the scene and conduct forensic investigations. The witness said hotel staff told people to get to their rooms, and to be careful because there might be gunmen inside the hotel. She added, “We later went to reception, and there was no procedures, people were just standing about. It was terrible the way staff handled it. We got speaking to TUI and said we wanted out. The police were going round toilets with metal detectors saying there could be bombs in the hotel too.”

She concluded by saying that the hotel eventually went on functioning as normal and that she’d never go back to Mexico, calling it the “holiday from hell.”

According to The Scottish Sun, a TUI spokesperson said of the shooting: “We are sorry to hear of the impact that a shooting which took place near one of our resorts in Cancun had on this family. We’ve been made aware that this was an isolated incident between locals and has been handled by the local authorities. Our teams in [the] resort are aware of the situation and have offered support to customers impacted.”

Diario de Yucatan reports that the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office (FGE) had assigned a special prosecutor to the case, Raciel López Salazar. Mr. Salazar told the press, “We have already fully identified the attacking group, we will soon arrest them.” The FGE released no details on who the culprits were.

National World reports that Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama said new surveillance technologies are being considered to enhance Riviera Maya beach security. She emphasized the need for increased safety measures to protect public spaces and ensure that such incidents do not recur. The government is working closely with Cancun’s Hotel Council to invest in security along the beaches.

This shooting comes days after a special operation netted Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, top Sinaloa Cartel leader, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of drug kingpin “El Chapo,” former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Reporting says the duo was tricked onto a plane that, instead of going to their intended destination, flew to a US airport near El Paso, Texas. Upon landing, the two cartel leaders were arrested by US authorities, says the Associated Press.

Hotel violence in Mexico’s tourist areas is not uncommon. Muir Analytics has covered this extensively. Three sample violent episodes are here:

Analytical takeaways

There are seven takeaways. First, the fact that a civilian was murdered on the beach in front of a 5-star Cancun hotel is not surprising. As stated above, Muir Analytics has scores of incidents like this in its SecureHotel Threat Portal database, and it has predicted that they would continue unless the risk environment along the Riviera Maya was better mitigated.

Second, while the gunman’s likely intent was to eliminate a rival retail drug dealer, the gunman also knew full well his rounds were showering civilians on the beach and the hotel. The latter two, then, became de facto target sets for this attack.

Third, the tactics the assassins applied were effective for mobility – getting to and from the target area – but completely ineffective regarding shot placement (aim/hitting the intended target). The attack was sloppy and amateurish.

Fourth, strategically, the organization that facilitated the attack failed to achieve its end goal of eliminating its competition in the Cancun hotel zone. Moreover, by killing a 12-year-old boy, an innocent bystander, the organization in question attracted bad press, which increases public and government animosity.

Fifth, given the many tourist beach and hotel shootings that have occurred along the Riviera Maya, TUI should consider recalibrating its assertion that this was an isolated incident. Statistical data and insights, supported by qualitative intelligence analyses, demonstrate that these kinds of shootings are not at all uncommon, and the threat level in this tourist area should be considered elevated.

Sixth, the eyewitness’ commentary on hotel staff and police hypothesizing that gunmen or a bomb might be in the hotel is remarkable. If the eyewitness’ commentary is accurate, then it suggests that hotel staff and police had reason to believe the threat was potentially well beyond the typical Riviera Maya hotel/beach shooting. This is an ominous concern. It merits monitoring and mitigation considerations.

Seventh, while it is unknown if the arrest of Zambada influenced the shooting in front of the Hotel Riu Cancun, it is possible that a rival organization sensed weakness, and it decided to take over retail drug dealing in this section of Cancun’s hotel zone.

Moving forward, Governor Lezama’s commentary on improving security via cooperation with hotels and increased surveillance along the Riviera Maya is immediately pertinent and necessary. More beach/hotel violence and more innocent bystanders getting killed will erode this region’s well-deserved reputation as a world-class, tropical vacation spot. More such violence will occur if security is not improved.

Muir Analytics runs the world’s largest, most sophisticated hotel violence database – the SecureHotel Threat Portal – with over 3,400 hotel attacks (and growing). We can provide the hospitality, insurance, and law enforcement/government sectors with intelligence that facilitates full-spectrum risk reduction, which helps hotels protect guests, staff, buildings, brands, and revenues. Contact us for a consultation: 1-833-DATA-444.

Sources and further reading:

“Tiroteo en la zona hotelera de Cancún; identifican a responsables de muerte de un adolescente,” Diario de Yucatan, 1 August 2024.

“BEACH GUN KILLING, Scots family’s TUI holiday terror as they dodge death after masked gunmen shoot dead boy, 12, on beach in Mexico,” The Scottish Sun, 31 July 2024.

“A 12-year-old boy was killed during a shooting attack by organized crime on a beach in Cancun,” The Cancun Post, 30 July 2024.

“Cancun shooting: Boy, 12, killed on popular beach in Mexico by gunmen on jet skis targeting rival drug dealer,” National World, 30 July 2024.

“Gunmen open fire at rival drug dealers at a Cancun beach. A 12-year-old boy was left dead,” USA Today, 30 July 2024.

“12-year-old accidentally killed on Cancun beach in jet ski drug shooting,” Riviera Maya News, 29 July 2024.

“Gunmen on jet skis open fire at rival drug dealer on Cancun beach, killing 12-year-old boy on lounge chair,” CBS News, 29 July 2024.

“Powerful cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was lured onto airplane before arrest in US, AP source says,” Associated Press, 26 July 2024.