Mexican authorities discovered a clandestine cemetery near a Caribbean resort in Cancún, where the remains of at least 16 people were found.
The site is located in the town of Leona Vicario, 42 km west of Cancún, reported Quintana Roo Attorney General Raciel López Salazar.
He added that five points of “forensic interest” remain to be examined, which could raise the number of victims.
The skeletal remains were found in 10 different locations and were covered with cement and quicklime.
More than 133,000 people are registered as missing in Mexico. The vast majority of them have disappeared in the last two decades.
It is common for these types of burials to be discovered in other parts of the country, such as Jalisco, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.
However, they are not common in Quintana Roo, a state known for its tourism.
Even so, the coastal region has always had a presence of organized crime, as it is a major area for drug trafficking.
It has also been a significant entry point for illegal immigrants.
Cancun is a major tourist destination and received approximately 10 million international visitors in 2024.
In April 2023, eight bodies were found dumped at a resort, according to CBS News.
At the time, authorities stated that five of the bodies were found at an abandoned construction site, while three were discovered in a wooded area outside of Cancun.
Following the gruesome discovery, authorities issued a statement on social media, urging the public “not to publish and share false news on social media that only damages the image of Quintana Roo.”
A month earlier, in March 2023, an American tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning that same month, urging tourists to “exercise extreme caution” in resorts such as Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen.
Source: independentespanol
