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Five Bodies Found Stuffed In Car In Cancun As Murder Rate Skyrockets

Five Bodies Found Stuffed In Car In Cancun As Murder Rate Skyrockets

The identities haven't yet been released but they reportedly have signs of torture

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Cancun has been a popular Mexican party destination for tourists for decades. Nestled on the far eastern tip of the country, its population nearly quadrupled between 1990 and 2010 to accommodate this year-round influx of foreigners.

Unfortunately, the city has a dark underbelly that has its roots in drug trafficking and it's racking up a pretty severe body count.

Mexican police are investigating after five bodies were found stuff into a car. Local media reports that while their identities haven't been released, their bodies showed signs of torture.

This takes the death toll for 2018 to more than 100. According to Noticaribe, 13 people were murdered in a 36-hour period earlier this month and the violence is being attributed to drug trafficking and warring cartels.

There were 33 homicides in January alone, which was triple the amount in the same month last year. As April comes to a close, Dallas News says 57 people have been murdered, which is nearly two a night.

PBS Newshour

British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy travelled to the region for SBS's Deadline recently and revealed: "This is one of the most beautiful views in the world and we are the only people here.

"We've been told that local politicians here have put the press under pressure not to report violence in this area, because if the tourists are scared away from here, it will be an economic disaster not only for Cancun, but for Mexico."

This assertion was backed up by activist Daniel Pérez Villaseñor who told the Guardian: "The government always wants to downplay the violence. The [state] governor doesn't have a plan for fighting the violence.


"They just want to put some makeup on Cancún to give it a good image."

The news site says that the escalation in violence could be blamed on the rise of the Jalisco New Generation cartel who are described as a group that 'shoots first and asks questions later'.

They've been rapidly increasing their territory and Cancun has previously been claimed by the Juárez Cartel and Los Zetas.

If you need another reason to fear the Jalisco crew, there are reports from Mexico that new recruits are forced to eat the flesh of their victims. Whether that's just cartel Chinese whispers or it's legit, that's messed up.

Global News highlights that even though these murders seem to be increasing as 2018 continues, travel agents keep selling trips to Cancun without much warning about the sprawling violence.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Drug, Mexico, Party