Bright yellow police tape fluttered in the breeze outside a restaurant just off the main strip in the Mexican resort town of Tulum, as the lights of a nearby police truck flashed blue and red.
Troops in camouflage fatigues stood guard outside the deserted late-night eatery La Malquerida, “The Unloved” – the site of a gangland shooting that killed two female tourists and wounded another three holidaymakers.
Anjali Ryot, an Indian travel blogger who lived in California and was on holiday celebrating her birthday, and German tourist Jennifer Henzold, died in the 20 October attack that is believed to have been launched by one of several local crime groups in an attempt to assert control over the area’s drug and extortion rackets.