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More than 8,000 soldiers from the National Guard, Navy and Army are being deployed in the country’s coastal cities and on tourist-crowded highways during the Easter holidays. This is due to the murder of at least eight people earlier this week on the beaches of Acapulco and Cancun, two favorite destinations for foreign and Mexican tourists.
With our correspondent in Mexico City, Gwendolina Duval
Although startling, the scene has become commonplace on beaches: heavily armed soldiers patrol among bathing and basking tourists. This will happen in Cancun and Tulum, in the Caribbean, Veracruz, as well as in Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and Mazatlán, on the Pacific coast, until April 16.
The presence of the armed forces is not hidden, on the contrary, it is clearly visible. It is about deploying greater vigilance by the authorities to discourage criminal groups from acting and carrying out their activities in tourist areas in full view of all and, paradoxically, it is also intended to reassure tourists. During Holy Week, these coastal cities are packed with national and foreign vacationers.
However, the United States has issued security alerts in the Riviera Maya and Acapulco, since several regions of the Pacific coast are already among the areas not recommended for US tourists. Despite the complicated security situation, with some 80 homicides a day, Mexico continues to be one of the 10 most visited countries in the world.
