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The evening of 19 April in the oil town of Minatitlán, assassins crashed a private birthday party within the La Porta palapa (party shelter) in Colonia Obrera. The man they were chasing from a nearby bar, had run into the shelter to hide among the party-goers. This did not dissuade the assassins, who indiscriminently opened fire.
Just one week prior, the owners of the El Rinconcito bar, which is located on Xicoténcatl street in the Playón Sur neighborhood, were murdered.
The Playon Sur and Obrera colonias are a few kilometers apart, less than ten minutes.
It is believed the two cartels “New Generation” and “Los Zetas” are currently engaged in a turf battle over who controls: Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlán, Cosoleacaque and Acayucan, and bar and restaurant owners are caught in the switches.
While Minatitlán is not normally associated with tourism, business travelers should exercise caution and hightened awareness, given the cartel’s turf war. The situation is not as dire as that which is being experienced by the city of Ecatepec, which we consider to be the most dangerous within Mexico.
We continue to believe travel to Mexico is safe, and one can enjoy both vacation and business travel without being shot, providing that due diligence is conducted prior to travel to assess the level of crime taking place in those locales to be visited. Of the highly recognizable tourist areas, we consider Cancun to be relatively low risk, while Acapulco as very high risk and should be avoided.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has designated Minatitlán as one of the 18 regions of Veracruz considered as “high risk of violence” and one of the 266 regions in Mexico where the federal government intends to deploy the Mexican National Guard.
The U.S. Department of State, categorizes the State of Veracruz, Mexico as Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
