Eight bodies have been discovered in tourism hotspot Cancun as an ex-New York cop warns it’s the “most dangerous time ever to travel to Mexico.” The bodies were found over the weekend around ten miles from Cancun’s beach and hotel zone.
Police believe that the bodies had been dumped there between one week and two months ago.
Five of the bodies were found at an abandoned construction site and three of them were later identified as previously reported missing people, according to Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo.
Volunteer searchers, including the relatives of missing people, and specially trained dogs helped the investigators in the searches.
The three other remains were found in a separate site on the outskirts of Cancun near the resort’s airport, however, they have not been identified.
More such searches were also carried out in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a town south of Tulum.
Michael Alcazar, a former New York Police Department detective, thinks Americans travelling to Mexico should reconsider their plans.
He said: “Right now, it seems the most dangerous time [ever] to travel to Mexico.
“The Mexican Government doesn’t have any control over what’s happening with the cartels. The cartels seem to be running riot.”
READ MORE: Christian Horner accuses Mercedes of not returning real F1 trophy
Last month a travel guidance was issued by the US State Department issued warning travellers to “exercise increased caution,” especially near resorts such as Cancun – with more than 112,000 people listed as missing throughout Mexico.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw has advised against people travelling to Mexico.
He said: “Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat to anyone who crosses into Mexico right now.”
“We have a duty to inform the public about safety, travel risks and threats.
“Based on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time.”
The warning comes after Latavia McGee, Shaeed Woodward, Eric James and Zindell Brown were kidnapped on March 3 after driving from South Carolina to Mexico to help support their friend undergoing a tummy tuck.
The US government has put almost every state in Mexico under a travel risk with some even labelled as “do not travel” or “reconsider travel” and asked tourists to “exercise increased caution.”
