Eight dead in Cancun bar attack

Six women and two men have died in an attack on a bar in the Mexican town of Cancun.

Six women and two men have died in an attack on a bar in the Mexican town of Cancun.

The attack occurred at a bar called Castillo del Mar, about 5km from the city's main hotel zone, early yesterday. All the victims were Mexican, according to the Quintana Roo state Attorney General's office.

Violence is intensifying as the government steps up its battle against drug traffickers and organised crime, expanding its focus beyond the northern border with the US where most smuggling is concentrated.

In May, federal police arrested Cancun mayor Gregorio Sanchez for alleged money laundering and ties to drug-funded organised crime groups.

READ MORE

The attack may have been related to a previous attempt to extort the owners of the bar, Attorney General Francisco Alor said.

"We're not ruling out that it could have been revenge for an extortion complaint made by the owners," he said.

Cancun is hosting the next major round of United Nations- sponsored talks on carbon emissions and global warming, scheduled for late November.

Mexico's international tourism fell for the first time in a decade last year amid a weak economy and a swine-flu scare, bringing in $11.3 billion compared with $13.3 billion in 2008.

The Cancun attack came hours after the federal Attorney General's Office said police apprehended a suspected Texas-born drug trafficker, known as "La Barbie" for his blonde hair and fair complexion. US authorities he say has smuggled thousands of kilos of cocaine from across the border in Mexico.

Edgar Valdez Villareal, an alleged leader of the Beltran Leyva Cartel, was captured yesterday in central Mexico after a year-long investigation.