Messages left around Playa Del Carmen are believed to be warnings to the festival’s co-founder.
Mexico’s Zetas cartel has claimed responsibility for the shooting at Blue Parrot which left five dead on Monday (18 January), according to reports by Fox News.
Mexican authorities are investigating the claim after four separate so-called “narcoblankets” were found around the city. The blankets, which feature spray-painted messages, are frequently used by organised crime gangs as a means of communicating throughout Mexico. The message, which is the same across all blankets, reads:
“This is a sign that we are already here because you didn’t align PHILLIP -BPM, it is the beginning we are going to cut the heads of Golfos, PELONES and chapulines, Atte [Sincerely] el FAYO Z from the old SCHOOL”.
There is speculation that the “PHILLIP” is Phillip Pulitano, a co-founder of BPM Festival.
This development follows the news that Playa Del Carmen officials have issued a ban on forthcoming electronic music events, with Maria Helena Mata Pineda, President of the Business Coordinating Council in the Riviera Maya, issuing a statement to the publication El Universal:
“We’re asking for these kinds of events to go away. Don’t let in anymore. We don’t want BPM here anymore, or any other similar event. We don’t want it and we thank the authorities who are listening.”