Gunmen Kill 12 People at Christmas Party in Mexico; 3 More Die in Resort Town
MEXICO CITY — A Christmas season party turned deadly in the town of Salvatierra in Mexico’s north-central state of Guanajuato on Sunday when gunmen attacked, killing a dozen people, according to state prosecutors.
Local media reported that the victims in Salvatierra were leaving an event hall following a Christmas party known as a “posada” when they were gunned down. Guanajuato has been the scene of violent turf battles between the Jalisco cartel and local gangs backed by the Sinaloa cartel, leading to the state having the highest number of homicides in Mexico.
In a separate incident in the city of Salamanca, four other people died in a shooting, but prosecutors did not provide details about the circumstances of the attack.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum, three men were shot to death and four people were wounded in an attack at a bar on Sunday, authorities said. Quintana Roo state prosecutors indicated that the shooting “may have been a dispute involving retail drug sales” and insisted that the safety of the public and visitors was never at risk.
Tulum, a popular tourist destination, has seen violence in the past, including incidents in which tourists have been killed in drug gang shootouts. In 2021, two tourists were killed while dining at a restaurant in Tulum, caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.
These incidents prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a travel alert earlier this year, advising travelers to “exercise increased situational awareness,” particularly after dark, at Mexico’s Caribbean beach resorts such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum.