Mexico forms Tourist Security Battalion in Cancun and Riviera Maya
Mexico has announced the creation of the Tourist Security Battalion, under the National Guard, to reinforce security in Cancun, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya, given the increase in the level of insecurity and two specific cases of shootings in the resort area.
Mexico's Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) has announced the creation of the Tourist Security Battalion, under the National Guard (GN), to reinforce security in Cancun, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya, given the increase in the rate of insecurity and two specific cases of shootings in the recreational zone.
In this regard, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, stated that the new security corps will begin operations on December 1 and will be made up of 1,445 elements. "The National Guard agents will have under their responsibility the priority of attending to (the municipalities) of Benito Juárez, Solidaridad and Tulum. This battalion will provide security to the entire tourist area as the year progresses," explained López Obrador during a tour of Cancún.
General Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), said that this security model that will begin in the Riviera Maya will be implemented in other tourist destinations in the country.
Deaths in Tulum
The creation of the new battalion is the main response to the recent shooting at La Malquerida bar in Tulum, which claimed the lives of two foreign tourists and injured three others and even forced a meeting between security personnel and consuls from 16 countries to inform them of the advances in the security strategy.
In Mexico's most important tourist area, the Sedena already has a presence in the construction of two sections of the Mayan Train which aims to operate by the end of 2023 with 1,500 kilometers along with Palenque, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, along the Gulf and Cancun, Escarcega along the Caribbean and the borders with Guatemala; as well as in the new airport of Tulum.
