Travel Advisory Issued After 8 Bodies Found In Cancun
WASHINGTON, DC (CBS Local/CBS Pittsburgh) – The U.S. Department Of State has issued a level two travel advisory after eight bodies were found in the resort city of Cancun.
The travel advisory warns travelers to exercise increased caution due to crime in the area.
The advisory explains that violent crime such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery is widespread in Mexico. Prosecutors say they have found a total of eight dead bodies on the streets of Cancun, with two bodies dumped at two spots and four others were found shot to death individually.
The bodies of a man and a woman were found in an abandoned taxi Tuesday, and the dismembered bodies of two men were found in a several plastic bags at another spot.
Also Tuesday, one man was found bound and shot to death. The prosecutors office for the state of Quintana Roo said another man was killed while lying in a hammock, and another was found shot and covered in a plastic bag.
Details of the eighth body were not immediately available.
Though none of the killings occurred in the city's beach-side hotel zone, the State Department issued the advisory Wednesday.
The State Department says that according to Mexican government statistics, the Cancun area is experiencing an increase in homicide rates compared to the same period in 2016.
"While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Shooting incidents injuring or killing bystanders have occurred," the State Department said on their website.
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