Cancun Bar Bombed With Molotov Cocktails

Castillo del Mar bar, in Cancun | Getty Images

Around 1:30am on Tuesday, August 31st, Molotov cocktails were thrown into a bar in Cancun and, as a result, 8 people lost their lives.  Local police believe the incident to be drug-related, since the bar is a known meeting place for local drug gangs.

The US media is reporting the location of the bar as being in an area near where tourists would be found.   This is not true.  CNN, a reliable news source, says “Although the tavern is just 5 kilometers from the city’s tourist stretch, it sits apart from the area frequented by tourists, and the clientele is composed of locals”.  As a Cancun resident, I can honestly say that, despite the relatively short distance of 5 km, the bar is nowhere near any place the average tourist will ever go, or think of going.  In fact, it’s nowhere near any place I, as a long-time resident of Cancun, want or need to visit, either.

The bar, Castillo del Mar, is actually located in Region 229.  This area is not near Cancun’s hotel zone, where the majority of the tourists stay.  Nor, is it close to “El Centro”, the downtown area of Cancun where tourists go to visit flea markets, dine in restaurants, or shop in the supermarkets.  To see where the incident occurred, in relation to where Cancun’s hotel zone & downtown Cancun are located, please consult this Google map of location of Castillo del Mar bar.  (Cancun’s hotel zone is in the green shaded box on the right side of the map.)

While drug-related incidents are not uncommon in Cancun, they normally take place far from tourist areas and, to date, no tourists have been harmed by any acts of violence related to drug trafficking.

Keep in mind that Cancun is a large city, with nearly 1 million residents.  Every major city in the US has similar incidences of violence and danger, yet people don’t stop visiting those areas.  And, I hope none of you will let this tragic event stop you from visiting my gorgeous city.  Also, I’d like to point out that most of the violence you hear about in Mexico is actually taking place along the border of Texas.  That area is 1000’s of miles from Cancun.

For more information, about the safety of Cancun, please visit www.cancunissafe.com.