Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[REGNUM] In the United States, jokes have come into use about sending a harmful relative to rest in Acapulco - the resort from year to year replenishes the registers of the most dangerous cities not only in Mexico, but also in the world. The number of references to crimes that have recently made their way into the mainstream media has indeed increased. In this case, we are talking about those deeds that occur in the light of day.
On the eve of Easter, which this year fell on April 9, many Mexicans, as well as their northern neighbors, like to spend their holidays on the Caribbean coast. At the same time, drug cartels, which have long become a kind of hallmark of Mexico, are no longer too frightening for vacationers. But this year it's different.
Due to the sharp increase in cases of violent crime at popular resorts, the Mexican government decided to send a military contingent to protect tourists. How effective are such measures?
RESORT MILITARIZATION
The Mexican media, describing the militarization of local resorts, have already calculated that such “unprecedented” measures are designed to ensure that tourists are not afraid to spend the Easter weekend and, of course, bring revenue to the local budget.
It was expected that this year it could reach about eight million euros. And this is if we take into account only those who do business "in a white manner" and report on income.
More than 8,000 National Guard, Navy and Army troops are known to have been deployed to the coast. Of these, 3,800 people will go to ensure the security of transport infrastructure: roads, 14 airports, 42 bus stations.
The rest of the 4,724 military personnel were more fortunate - they were sent to patrol the beaches.
First of all, the most popular Cancun (Quintana Roo) and Acapulco (Guerrero). The resorts in Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Veracruz also received reinforcements.
The military contingent is planned to be used in this mode until April 16.
Tourists have already reported that now among the curvaceous senoritas one can meet cheerful personalities in khaki every now and then. They have a lot of work: it is necessary to keep an eye on the area with sun loungers, mini-bars, and the beach area, and beyond the sea - there were cases when members of the cartels came "to visit" on jet skis. And the corpses thrown ashore by the waves have become a local variation of the classics of a beach holiday.
"DRUG BLOCKADE" AND OTHER LOCAL CUSTOMS
The above measures are mostly focused on the day and evening. The nightlife of Mexican resorts is a separate sport with its own security measures, in which one can never be completely sure.
Previously, the owners of hotels of a certain class (luxury or those where foreigners stay) independently took measures to ensure security in their possessions.
The measures could include various things: an increase in the security staff, and “borrowing” a contingent from state law enforcement officers, and hiring PMCs, and, of course, negotiations with drug cartels.
The latter were accompanied by requests to “arrange a showdown” outside decent establishments, to resolve all issues quietly and not scare away tourists. Of course, all this was accompanied by significant financial bonuses. Also, some cartels even guaranteed the inviolability of the territories, the owners of which "repay all debts on time."
It is doubtful that all these touching "customs" that have developed over the past forty years will suddenly be abolished. At the same time, no one ever guaranteed the personal safety of tourists who decided to go on a night out, limiting themselves to a warning to return to the room before dark.
The protection of highways, to which almost half of the military contingent was sent, is a measure that is quite expected, given the specifics of the actions of local criminal groups.
In particular, in response to any state special operations (arrests, a series of searches and seizures), cartels often arrange a series of so-called drug blockades, blocking the main roads of the city with cars on fire and actually paralyzing traffic.
Often, at the same time, spikes and other sharp little things are scattered on certain routes, which are almost guaranteed to damage tires and provoke many accidents.
FRESH REPORTS FROM THE CRIMINAL FRONT
As the reason for the deployment of troops to popular resorts, the Mexican authorities cite a sharp deterioration in the crime situation. It's hard to argue with them.
For example, in Cancun, a week before the holidays, a group of unknown people in Hawaiian shirts shot and killed four people relaxing on sun loungers. It is assumed that the dead were connected with the drug trade and did not share with their "colleagues" (for which they were punished). Information about the successful capture of intruders in the information field did not appear.
Later, in Puerto Morelos (near Cancun), an American tourist caught a bullet. A few days later, four corpses were found in the hotel zone of one of the beaches of Cancun - the nationality and causes of death of these persons were not made public.
At the same time, almost immediately, the US State Department warned American citizens about the need to be prudent and cautious in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. In particular, it was recommended to return to hotels before dark.
In parallel, in Acapulco, assassins opened fire on one of the beaches, frightening tourists and provoking panic. As a result, at the hands of the cartel members, not only the one whom they were hunting, but also at least one person who was simply walking behind, died. Another four vacationers received injuries of varying severity.
Before that, there were stories about a taxi driver who was shot in the head, as well as about plastic bags with parts of human bodies that suddenly popped up right among the bathers.
ON THE CREST OF A NEW WAVE OF VIOLENCE
All of the above, especially in terms of the “seafood” constantly appearing on the coast, is practically a local norm. It is not for nothing that jokes about sending a harmful relative to rest in Acapulco have come into use in the United States - the resort from year to year replenishes the registers of the most dangerous cities not only in Mexico, but also in the world.
True, no matter how conventional this “norm” is from the point of view of the criminal chronicle, the number of references to crimes that have recently appeared in the mainstream media has really increased. At the same time, we are talking about those acts that occur in the light of day, a large number of people and can hardly be hidden.
What can it say?
About the growth in the number of small “new wave” gangs that are not controlled by large cartels. Members of such criminal gangs are distinguished by their “indecently open” nature of their actions, they have little regard for the old-timers and have not yet acquired connections and motives that would allow them to resolve most of the disagreements and other issues “quietly”.
With the raging “youngsters”, issues are usually resolved radically: some of the troublemakers are punished as severely as possible, making sure that as many “colleagues” as possible find out about their fate. From the latter in the future require complete submission.
As for the deeper problems of the growth of crime (social and economic), at the moment in Mexico hardly anyone is really concerned about solving them.
The seasonal militarization of resorts undertaken by the Mexican authorities will not fundamentally improve the situation.
For example, already on April 10 - after Catholic Easter - on the coast of the state of Nayarit (which is located between Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, where they deployed a military contingent), members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel staged a series of nightly drug blockades in response to the seizure of a ton of cocaine and an attempted arrest one of the leaders of the criminal gang.
Dozens of cars belonging to tourists burned down, and none of the members of the cartel was ever caught.
"PEPPY ALTERNATIVE TO THE MALDIVES"
The news about the introduction of troops into the territory of the resorts immediately made many think about how dangerous holidays are on distant shores.
It is important to note here that Mexican resorts are primarily popular with the local population and foreigners, among whom the Americans are predictably in the lead. In 2021 and 2022, Mexico became the number one tourist destination for American citizens, according to the US Department of Commerce (more than six million people visited the country in the first half of 2022 - and that's just by air).
Often, tour operators in other countries do not recommend compatriots to fly to the same Cancun during American public holidays - and for these dates everything has been booked for a long time.
As for the Russians, for most of our compatriots, Mexico is not among the popular holiday destinations: the high cost of such a trip also affects, and last year also the lack of direct flights.
True, in recent times the number of Russian tourists in Mexico has been growing, but has not even reached 100,000 people a year.
At the same time, among the representatives of the so-called creative class (of course, with an income above the average), Mexican resorts have gained some popularity. One of the first to try the local service was Ksenia Sobchak, who lived in Tulum for some time and recorded a couple of video interviews here.
Ksenia not only advertised the resort as a “cheerful alternative to the Maldives”, but also unwittingly confirmed the rumors about the local color: near the hotel where the TV presenter lived, the cartels staged a shootout, getting rid of one of their former “employees”. Luckily, no one else was hurt then.
April 12, 2023
Olga Kuznetsova
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