Chief of Tourist Police executed in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo

Places like Cancún and Playa del Carmen in Mexico's eastern most state of Quintana Roo have long been popular with U.S., Canadian and European tourists. But the area has become dangerous in recent months. Everybody here in Mérida knows it, since we're right next door. Most of the really bad news never gets published in English, probably for fear of frightening off visitors. The Mexican government acknowledges that one of the country's most ruthless drug cartels, Los Zetas, has a strong foothold in QR.

Early this morning the chief of Playa's Tourist Police was shot and killed and his deputy- bodyguard was severely wounded while both were seated in a patrol vehicle. No doubt the brutal ambush was meant to send a clear message to local authorities about who is really in charge in the tourist zone. It's not implausible that Playa del Carmen and other Gold Coast communities on Mexico's Caribbean shore eventually could go the same route as Acapulco on the Pacific coast, which has seen its famed tourism trade virtually destroyed by vicious and incessant narco violence. More details on today's attack on tourist police.