FROM sun-drenched shores to shimmering turquoise waters, these Latin American resorts are a picture-perfect paradise adored by Brits.
But behind the postcard-perfect facade, a deadly drug war rages – and tourists have found themselves caught in the crossfire.
Instagram/nikohonarNiko Honarbakhsh was fatally shot after being caught in the crossfire between rival gangs[/caption]
The deadly shooting took place at the popular Mia Beach Club in TulumInstagram/@miatulum
Armed soldiers have been seen patrolling the beaches of Cancún over the years
Around 1.3 million Brits visited Mexico in 2024, with the UK being one of the Latin American country’s top European markets.
But over 25,000 people were killed in violent attacks in Mexico in 2024 alone – a deadly toll that has barely budged since 2018.
And just this week, the violence hit the internet in real time.
On Tuesday, Valeria Márquez, a Mexican model and influencer was shot dead in a hair salon.
Though authorities say her death is being treated as a possible femicide – not a cartel hit – it highlights the ongoing crisis of violence gripping Mexico.
Most killings in Mexico last year were brutal, execution-style hits – the work of drug cartels battling for control of smuggling routes and turf.
In Quintana Roo – home to popular tourist hotspots like Cancún and Tulum – cartel violence is surging.
At least five major cartels are battling for control in the state – including the brutal Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, Cartel del Noreste, and the local “Cártel de Cancún”.
And while it’s not their home turf, the feared Sinaloa Cartel is believed to have a presence too, according to expert Bertrand Monnet, who has spent over a decade interviewing its members on the ground.
Between January and August 2024 alone, authorities in Quintana Roo opened 3,650 criminal investigations.
But that number may just scratch the surface: over 92 percent of crimes in the state go unreported or uninvestigated, according to the National Citizens’ Observatory.
In February 2024, American tourist Niko Honarbakhsh and Belizean Shawn Billary were gunned down at a beach club in Tulum.
While Billary had known ties to Quintana Roo gang conflicts, Niko is believed to have been simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Los Angeles native Niko and her husband, Karl Pearman, used to split their time between their home in Beverly Hills and a condominium in Cancun.
While staying in their Cancun condo for a few days as Pearman went on a work trip, she decided to spend a few days in an Airbnb just two hours away.
Reports at the time suggested that Billary was being chased by the gang and tried to flee in a restaurant with Niko, when the shots were fired.
Pearman, a DEA agent for 15 years, said he and his wife were aware of the State Department’s travel advisory, but they figured that some areas of Mexico were safer than Los Angeles.
These resorts are like a Swiss Army knife for the cartels.
Speaking to The Sun, professor of economic crime at EDHEC Business School, Bertrand Monnet, explained: “Violence is an asset they use to do business – and if there are innocent victims, for them this is not an issue at all.
“So that’s why it becomes so dangerous for tourists.”
Monnet, who has interviewed members of the Sinaloa Cartel in both Mexico city and Culiacán, insists that “having spent time with these people, you realise that they don’t care at all” about the collateral deaths.
“First, they have to kill their enemies – and then they terrify others.”
InstagramNiko tragically lost her life after being caught in a crossfire shooting[/caption]
Instagram/@miatulumThe tropical Mia Beach club in Tulum where Niko and Shawn were killed[/caption]
InstagramNiko and her husband Karl Perman, a former DEA agent[/caption]
Mexico’s big cartels are raking in an estimated $20-30 billion (£16-24bn) a year in profits, according to US government figures.
Monnet says that cartels exploit tourist resorts as strategic tools for money laundering and criminal operations.
Hotels, clubs and private beaches handle vast amounts of cash from visitors, making them ideal fronts for laundering illicit profits.
“So they (cartels) fight for control,” he says. “There’s big competition for these kinds of places, especially in the Cancún region.”
But laundering money is just one reason – tourists also fuel a booming black market.
“These resorts become markets for the cartels to shift drugs, and for the prostitutes they control, and so on,” Monnet adds. “It’s like the Swiss Army knife for the cartels.”
While tourists are not usually targeted directly, they can become unintended victims – caught in the crossfire between rival gangs fighting for control.
Shooters fled on jet skis
A few months after Niko’s murder in 2024, a group of three men were shot dead when visiting Mexico for a surfing trip.
Jake and Callum Robinson, two surfers from Australia, and Carter Rhoad from California were found dead after a suspected carjacking south of Ensenada in May 2024.
Two months later, a 12-year-old boy named Santiago was struck by multiple stray bullets while sitting with his family on Cancún’s Caracol Beach.
The shooters fled on jet skis, as horrified Scottish tourist Carys Cannon ran for her life.
Santiago was treated at the scene and rushed to hospital, where he later died.
The Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office said the assailants were targeting rivals over drug sales.
In December 2024, a California couple was killed while on holiday in Michoacán, a state located in western Mexico.
Gloria Ambriz, 50, and Rafael Cardona, 53, were driving their 2016 Ford Platinum pickup truck when gunmen began shooting at their car.
In March 2023, two American tourists were killed in the crossfire of gangs, while two others were kidnapped.
The group of four had travelled through a region labelled as dangerous by the US government when they were ambushed.
In an odd turn of events, local mob gunmen left a letter accusing those who killed the Americans of breaking cartel rules.
In November 2022, the butchered bodies of three men washed ashore at a beach resort in Acapulco, a city in Guerrero, a state plagued by cartel violence.
Tourists discovered the bodies: one had their hand and foot tied to a cement anchor and another lay face-up in the sand.
A third body was discovered just over a mile away on Icacos beach.
Australian surfers Callum and Jake Robinson were found dead behind a well in Mexico
California couple Gloria Ambriz and Rafael Cardona were shot dead while on holiday in Michoacán
Members of the National Guard (Guardia Nacional de México) patrol a beach in Tulum
How tourists can stay safe
Tourists continue to flock to Mexico – often unaware of the country’s ongoing violence.
The UK government currently advises tourists to “be very cautious after dark in downtown areas of Cancún, Tulum and Playa del Carmen.”
Expert Monnet says: “Tourists have to understand the reality of the country.”
He urges Brits to check trusted sources like the British consulate or Foreign Office before and during their trip.
Monnet also advises asking hotel staff about which spots are safe to visit.
While kidnappings mostly target locals, “cartels are very opportunistic” and on the lookout to “diversify their businesses”, so tourists should stay alert.
He warns against using private, unregistered taxis or “fake Ubers”.
Finally, he stresses: “Don’t consume drugs,” both for the health risk and because “it’s important not to fuel this economy as a consumer.”
What is the Mexican Drug War?
Mexico is grappling with an ongoing conflict between drug cartels, the Mexican and US governments, along with their law enforcement agencies
The drug war began in the 1980s, when Mexico became a key transit point for cocaine and other drugs being smuggled to the US
In the 1980s, drug cartels like the Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel started gaining power
In the 1990s, competition grew between cartels, leading to greater violence
In the early 2000s, powerful criminal organisations, like the Sinaloa, Gulf and Zetas cartels, fought for control of drug trafficking routes and markets
In 2006, President Felipe Calderón launched an all-out war on drug cartels, deploying the military to fight them – this is seen as a major turning point, sparking a surge in cartel violence
In 2010, the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas cartel became the dominant forces, leading to brutal turf wars
By the 2010s, the murder rate in Mexico soared, with tens of thousands of deaths related to the drug war
In 2014, 43 college students were kidnapped and likely killed in Guerrero, reportedly due to collusion between police and drug gangs
In 2016, El Chapo Guzmán, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was captured after escaping prison twice
In 2024, top leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, including the son of El Chapo, were arrested by US authorities
Today, Mexico’s drug war continues with reported violence, more cartels and civilian casualties
How US and Mexican crackdowns could shift the drug war
Mexico’s drug war has never just been between the cartels – to a large extent, it’s a battle between suppliers and consumers, cartels and the US, the historic destination for Mexican drugs.
Almost all of fentanyl – the “silent killer drug” – intercepted at the US-Mexico border comes from Mexico, according to data by the US Customs and Border Patrol.
Trump‘s return to the US presidency in January ramped up the pressure on cartels.
In February, the US slapped “global terrorist” labels on eight Latin American drug gangs, six of them Mexican.
Trump even threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Mexican goods unless drugs – especially fentanyl – and migrants stopped entering.
In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum launched a crackdown on cartels, sending 10,000 National Guard troops to the border and hundreds more soldiers to Sinaloa state.
By February 27, nearly 30 suspected cartel figures were handed over to the US.
Monnet acknowledges the effort, saying: “The government of Mrs. Sheinbaum has adopted a very good strategy: they have upgraded the resources of the state’s forces, the police, the intelligence and so on, to try and fight against the cartels.
“But it’s not sufficient, of course, because they [cartels] have billions of dollars.”
Discussing the US’ crackdown, he says: “Maybe Trump’s pressure on the cartels will slow down the operations and so on – but it’s not sufficient.”
US President Donald Trump has pledged to crush cartels