A drive-by machine gun attack Friday evening (April 13) killed two Cancún men and left the teenage son of one seriously wounded, say police here. The victims were hit by AK-47 fire about 10:15 p.m., and two of them died at the scene. Cancún, the gateway to Mexico's famed Riviera Maya, is increasingly the center of street violence between two brutal groups, Los Zetas and Los Pelones, which are locked in a bloody struggle for control of local drug markets, extortion and other criminal activity along the country's Caribbean coast.
The latest victims, 47 and 21, were street drug dealers for the Los Zetas cartel, according to investigators. The older of the two was from Valladolid, Yucatán and worked as a taxi driver. The younger man, a waiter, was a native of Acapulco who had recently moved to the area. The 15 year old son of the driver survived the attack but was gravely injured. His mother told police he had a criminal record for drug possession and burglary.
Eyewitnesses reported that the vehicle in which the three men were traveling was stopped at a controlled intersection in a western suburb of the city when two vans drove up and strafed it with automatic weapons. One witness claimed there was continuous gunfire for 10 seconds. The victims' car was hit by at least 25 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. Police, who recovered 50 shell casings, said the men were shot from a distance of no more than two or three meters. The driver and his front seat passenger died almost immediately from massive wounds. The vehicle rolled across the street and came to a rest after striking a curb. The boy, shot in his left side and right leg and knee, is expected to survive.
There are no arrests and no suspects have been identified.
Update Apr. 29, 2012 - A contract executioner who worked for both Los Pelones and Los Matazetas has confessed to these murders, say Cancún police. He was arrested April 25.
Los Pelones killer in Cancún also may have been hit man for Los Matazetas: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/los-pelones-killer-arrested-in-cancun.html.
Los Zetas, al mando del sindicato de taxistas: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=169301.
Sindicato de taxistas, fuera de control: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=166484.
Taxistas, peones del crimen organizado: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=162138.
Another bad week for Mexican taxi drivers: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/another-bad-week-for-mexican-taxi.html#more.
In Cancún, Los Pelones happily deliver drugs by taxi and death on demand: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/03/in-cancun-los-pelones-happily-deliver.html.
Memo to independent drug retailers - stay out of Cancún: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/cancun-narco-violence-claims-fifth.html
Mexico's Riviera Maya in the hands of drug cartels and extortionists: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/mexicos-caribbean-riviera-maya-in-hands.html.
Brutalized bodies of two men found in Cancún: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/brutalized-bodies-of-two-men-found-in.html.
Double AK-47 execution in Cancún: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/ak-47-attack-in-cancun-leaves-two-dead.html.
Los Pelones hit man with Mérida connection admits to 30 executions in Cancún: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/hit-man-with-possible-merida-connection.html.
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