Cancún business leader with Mérida ties executed at home - but by Los Matazetas?

Narcomensaje might have been authentic, or maybe just a ruse

*Updates below*
Cancún, Quintana Roo --
A prominent Cancún businessman and local civic leader was found murdered in his home here yesterday morning (May 21).

The body of Raúl Enrique de Jesús Encalada Burgos, 52, was discovered by a housekeeper when she arrived for work about 8:30 a.m. Press reports say that Burgos lived previously in Mérida, four hours west of this resort city.

In what is becoming an increasingly voguish manner of execution in Cancún, the victim was bound hand and food and his head had been tightly wrapped in industrial tape. Police say Burgos died from asphyxia. Narcomensajes, or executioner's warnings, were left at the scene, purportedly signed by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). That group is commonly known as Los Matazetas, or Zeta killers. Mexican authorities say it's a drug cartel and execution gang currently working in Quintana Roo to exterminate its chief rivals, Los Zetas, who control narcotics, extortion and other criminal activity in much of Q.R.

Burgos was found sprawled on the dining room floor of his home, where he lived alone. There was no sign of forced entry, suggesting Burgos knew or at least freely admitted his assailant(s). The notes left at the scene were curiously worded, according to police, and were not typical of a cartel execution. Although investigators haven't entirely excluded the possibility that Burgos was killed for refusing to pay the derecho de piso, or extortion fees collected from local business owners, most commercial extortion in Cancún is the work of Los Zetas, who are never shy about taking full credit for their labor (Cancún Zetas extort even street vendors: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/cancun-zetas-extort-even-street-vendors.html).

A note signed by Los Matazetas thus makes little sense, and why and how Burgos might have run afoul of the group is not clear. Sources say that just last week he participated in a conference of Cancún business owners which was focused on security issues and the area's skyrocketing crime, as well as on the promotion of development in the city's core. Police are considering the possibility that his execution was in fact a revenge murder or a "crime of passion" carried out by an individual, with bogus narcomensajes left behind to confuse investigators and lead them astray.

The crime scene was in disarray but theft did not appear to be an obvious motive. The home was protected by a security system and video cameras. Neighbors told police that Burgos was quiet and kept to himself. Family members and immediate acquaintances said that he was separated from his wife and was suffering from undisclosed health problems. Forensic examiners estimated that Burgos died about 9:00 p.m. Saturday (May 19).

The manner of this execution was remarkably similar to that used in a murder at the Grand Oasis Cancún Hotel on April 29. In the Oasis case, the hotel's lead cashier was also found bound and gagged, with her head wrapped mummy-like in industrial tape. Police suspect one or more co-workers, but no one has been arrested. There has been no suggestion that the Oasis case involved Los Matazetas, or any other organized crime organization. Investigators are working on the assumption that the employee's murder was part of an inside robbery. Oasis has filed a criminal complaint with local prosecutors alleging the theft of about $52,000 USD during the weekend of the execution. Brutal execution at Grand Oasis Cancún: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/05/brutal-execution-at-grand-oasis-cancun.html#more. There has not been a single development in the case since.

Colleagues of Burgos were shocked that one of Cancún's most respected businessmen was viciously murdered in his home. The question on everyone's mind is whether the cruel execution is the work of a cartel, and if so, why?

Update May 24: The investigation continues, with no major developments. However, it appears that authorities are now reconsidering robbery as the motive. Although the only item of value taken was a laptop computer, the assailant(s) may have believed that significant cash would be on the premises. But to whom, and why, did Burgos open his door that night? (Giro en el caso del empresario asesinado: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=168496).
Update May 26 - Tras la pista de asesinos de empresario: http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=168914.

Case solved July 18 - TV reporter, not "Zeta killers," behind prominent Cancún businessman's murder

Los Pelones killer arrested in Cancún also may have been hit man for Matazetas: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/los-pelones-killer-arrested-in-cancun.html.
50 Matazeta executioners in Cancún to "control the plaza" for El Chapo Guzmán: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/50-matazeta-executioners-in-cancun-to.html.
Los Matazetas - the "Zeta killers" - may have arrived in Cancún, authorities fear: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/los-matazetas-zeta-killers-may-have.html.
Los Zetas executioner arrested near Hotel Oasis Cancún; hit team captured: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/04/los-zetas-execution-squad-arrested-at.html.
Mexico's Caribbean Riviera Maya in the hands of drug cartels and extortionists: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/02/mexicos-caribbean-riviera-maya-in-hands.html.
Los Matazetas are just a competing drug gang, says Mexican government: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/los-matazetas-are-just-competing-drug.html.