Eight killed in Cancun bar attack

MEXICO CITY – Eight Mexicans died in an attack early Tuesday at a bar in Cancun, the resort city known for its white-sand beaches, spring-break festivities and as the site for this year’s global climate-change summit.

The attack occurred at a bar called Castillo del Mar, about 3.1 miles from the city’s main hotel zone, said Felix Canul, a spokesman at the Quintana Roo state attorney general’s office.

Mexico’s push to draw tourists, among the country’s biggest source of dollar inflows, is getting harder as violence connected to drug trafficking persists. Cancun and Acapulco hotels saw a smaller-than-normal influx of college-age revelers in March, tour operators there said.

Violence is intensifying as the government steps up its battle against drug traffickers and organized crime. In May, federal police arrested Cancun Mayor Gregorio Sanchez for alleged money laundering and ties to drug-funded organized crime groups.

Quintana Roo Attorney General Francisco Alor said the killings wouldn’t have any effect on Cancun tourism.

“People will keep going out, keep living life,” Alor said in an interview. “It has absolutely nothing to do with the tourist hotel area. We won’t have to increase security in the hotel zone.”