Presumed narco murder on Mexico's famed Riviera Maya

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo - The 28 year old son of the Director of Urban Development in this Gold Coast state was kidnapped and murdered today, says a spokesperson for the prosecutor´s office. Police say Amer Abisai Montalvo Pool was shot at least twice with a .38 caliber weapon. His body was found near the vehicle which he had been driving. Evidence indicates he may have been chased by his assailants.

The events occurred in Felipe Carrillo Puerto municipality. Although one media report called the homicide the presumed work of drug traffickers, officials have not yet so characterized it. Family members said that in recent days Pool had received telephone threats from unknown persons. His body showed signs of beating and other physical abuse, presumably inflicted just before or just after he was shot. Pool’s throat was cut.

In recent months Quintana Roo state has experienced increasing levels of drug related violence. On September 9, Playa del Carmen’s Chief of Tourist Police Mario Gómez Frías was executed at close range while on patrol. A second officer with him was shot four times but survived. On September 14 the mayor of Solidaridad, Filiberto Martínez Méndez, survived an attack while he was traveling from Playa del Carmen to Cancun. That event occurred on the main road from Cancun International Airport to the city proper.

All of this is the work of the drug cartel Los Zetas. The entire Gold Coast tourist trade -- Cancun, Playa del Carmen and similar resorts -- could collapse, just as did Acapulco's on Mexico's Pacific coast, if local authorities don't get the situation under control. The drugs are moving north from Belize, and that's why Q.R. has become such a battleground.

Yucatan Times story, with photo.