News / Mexico

Gunmen abduct rival gang members in Mexico's resort city

Tuesday, 16 August 2016 1:06 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 16 August 2016 1:06 PM ]

The photo shows the view of a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, where a number of people were kidnapped on August 15, 2016. (AFP)

An attack on people in a resort city in western Mexico did not involve tourists or residents, says a state prosecutor, but armed men abducting members of a criminal gang who were celebrating in a beach restaurant.

Eduardo Almaguer, the state prosecutor in Jalisco, said Monday that gunmen abducted 10 to 12 presumed members of a gang in the popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta a day earlier, adding that both the kidnappers and the kidnapped were members of criminal organizations.

"They were people tied to a criminal group we can very clearly presume," Almaguer said, citing results of an investigation. The official would not elaborate further though he said authorities believe they know which groups were involved.

"They were not tourists or residents who work in legal activities," he said, adding that those kidnapped were apparently celebrating at La Leche restaurant on Puerto Vallarta’s main boulevard when five gunmen arrived on two SUVs to carry out the attack.

Authorities said those targeted had been vacationing in Puerto Vallarta for a week.

"Obviously, those who acted (the kidnappers) — we presume with the information we have — also belonged to a criminal group that acted against members of another criminal group they located here in Puerto Vallarta," Almaguer said.

Reports said the kidnappers could have been from the Jalisco New Generation cartel, the dominant criminal force in the state. The gang has been battling the powerful Sinaloa cartel for supremacy in other parts of the country.

Observers, however, challenged the official narrative about the incident, saying that it was relatively odd that a group of alleged cartel members would be taken without a shot being fired.

“It’s a bit surprising that in effect they were drug traffickers but didn’t have any security,” said Alejandro Hope, a Mexico City-based security analyst.

Puerto Vallarta, a resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, saw some violence last year but the city has been quiet recently.

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