Gunmen Abduct Man From Playa del Carmen Bar; Manager Arrested

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Armed men abducted a man from a downtown Playa del Carmen bar Wednesday night, and police later arrested the manager after he tried to block responding officers from entering the venue.

The victim was drinking at La Pigua, located on Avenida 40 between streets 4 and 4 Bis, when a group of armed men arrived in a vehicle, entered the bar and forced him out, witnesses said. The establishment previously operated as El Acuario.

Witnesses called 911. Municipal police arrived within minutes, but the abductors had already fled with the man to an unknown destination.

When officers tried to enter the bar, the manager stood in the doorway and blocked them. He was arrested and turned over to the State Prosecutor’s Office on charges of obstructing police duties. Police also detained three people inside the bar for administrative violations after they allegedly insulted officers while intoxicated.

The bar had been shut down in May after the State Prosecutor’s Office raided it during an investigation into suspected human trafficking. Despite the seals, other individuals later took over the property, reopened it as La Pigua and used the rest of the lot as parking for tourist vans.