Cancun, Q.R. — Several police units were sent to the entrance of a Cancun hotel Saturday to break up a group of arguing drivers. A mostly verbal fight between Cancun taxi drivers and private transport vans was recorded outside the hotel’s main gate.
A group of taxi drivers have been accused of using their cabs to block entry and exiting of the hotel. The accusations were made by a different company who transport tourists in private vans.
The Saturday morning exchange of verbal insults was recorded on cell phone video that quickly hit social media.
“Incredible that taxi drivers hijack a hotel and prevent traffic and tourists from arriving or leaving Cancun hotels, urgently call state security to move and remove these taxi drivers from the hotel,” they van transport company posted on Twitter.
Outside the hotel, both sides are videoed insulting and in some cases, chasing each other as tempers flair. The tourists who were left without transportation ended up walking the main roadway.
The hotel’s entrance was blocked for around one hour before police arrived to break up the two groups. The altercation started when Cancun taxi drivers claimed the van transport company was operating without permits.
In a very brief acknowledgement, the Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana de Quintana Roo said that they arrived to maintain free and fluid circulation on the highway.
“In an act of authority, the Secretary of Citizen Security of Quintana Roo (SSC) keeps the Cancun – Tulum highway open to traffic so as to not affect the public by not allowing the access to roads to be blocked by taxi drivers in the area.
“State authorities arrived and attended to the people who were in the place, listened and addressed their concerns, favoring dialogue and consensus.”
