Cancún, which boasts that its world famous hotel zone is completely safe, had to contend with some difficult security issues in 2012, as well as economic ones (Cancún, no longer an oasis for most).
In January, a 15 year old Orlando, Florida girl on vacation with her parents was sexually assaulted at a major hotel while the adults were out of the room for a few minutes. The incident had nothing to do with organized crime, but it was an embarrassment for the establishment.
On March 27, a Los Zetas cartel operative was shot to death by a member of Los Pelones in front of the Hotel Ibis, in the presence of many witnesses (Execution in Cancún hotel zone). Tension between those two groups increased throughout the year, and now they're involved in a full scale war for control of drug trafficking and organized crime activity throughout Quintana Roo (Two cartels unite to declare war on Los Zetas in Cancún, foreshadowing a "bloodbath" in Riviera Maya).
On April 5, a Los Zetas executioner was arrested near the Hotel Oasis Cancún, and several hit team members with him were captured. He soon confessed to a number of brutal murders in the area.
During the last weekend of April, the head cashier at the Grand Oasis Cancún was executed on the premises. While there is strong reason to believe the vicious crime was an inside job, that does not exclude the possibility that it was also the work of organized crime. The case vanished off the radar screen within days, and has not been solved.
In May, a local press source reported that Los Zetas control the entire criminal economy of Cancún - drugs, extortion and prostitution - and operate uninhibitedly throughout the lush hotel zone.
On July 19, shoppers at one of the swankest malls in the zone - Kukulkán Plaza - heard the sharp, staccato report of assault rifles discharged inside Luxury Avenue, an ultra high end department store. A heavily armed band of young jewelry robbers reasoned they'd get everyone's attention faster that way, and they certainly did (Machine gun fire in upscale Cancún mall terrifies hotel zone shoppers).
Finally, on September 30 the bodies of two men, both of whom had been almost decapitated, were abandoned along Cancún's prominent Kukulcán boulevard. They had been bound hand and foot, and their eyes were sealed with industrial tape. Criminal investigators called it a first in the hotel zone. The executions could have been the work of several different groups. The case has not been solved.
Now Cancún officials are admitting they've got a real problem along Kukulcán, one of the hotel zone's most prestigious avenues. Mundane crimes, like ordinary muggings and robberies, are becoming increasingly commonplace. Joggers and those seeking a bit of fresh air and exercise have been victims. So the city plans to beef up patrols in the area, especially at night and during early morning hours. Police also will use camouflaged foot units, presumably posing as jogging or strolling tourists.
There's no word yet on whether they'll use camouflage tactics with the not-at-all-shy local crocodiles, and if so, just what the disguises might look like.
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