Cancun and Los Cabos violence has been cited in a U.S. tourism warning issued by the State Department Tuesday, cautioning Americans about the surge in crime in the popular Mexico tourism destinations.
The travel warning said an increase in violence in Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur has resulted from turf battles involving criminal groups in those Mexican states. The violence has led to innocent people being killed as bystanders, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The warning followed another U.S. advisory that tainted alcohol at resorts in Mexico may be linked to numerous reports of death, blackouts, injuries and illnesses among American tourists.
"According to Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado de Baja California and Secretaría de Gobernación statistics, the state of Baja California Sur experienced an increase in homicide rates compared to the same period in 2016," the State Department warning said about Baja California Sur, where Los Cabos is located.
"While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens," the warning continued.
A similar warning was issued in Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located.
In January, nine people were killed in two days of violence around the Mexico beach resort. At least four died after gunmen opened fire at a government office, a day after at least five people died in a shooting at a nearby music festival.
The Times said the warning could hurt Mexico's tourism industry, which generates some $20 billion annually for the country and represents seven percent of its gross domestic product.
"This is very bad news for Mexico," Rafael Fernandez de Castro, director for the Center for U.S.-Mexican studies at University of California, San Diego, told the Times.
Fernando de Castro said the popularity in Los Cabos may be the reason for part of the uptick in crime as residents from around Mexico have traveled there for jobs building new hotels and resorts.
"The growth of Los Cabos has been way too accelerated in the last two years," Fernando de Castrol told the Times. "It's creating a little bit of social chaos."
The San Diego Union-Tribune pointed out that there are areas of Mexico with no State Department advisories, including Mexico City along with the states of Hidalgo, Campeche, Tlaxcala, Yucatan, Tabasco, Queretaro, Puebla, and Guanajuato.