At least one victim had been bound before being shot, while another was apparently killed while lying in a hammock, the Associated Press reported. Other victims were dumped on the streets, dismembered and stuffed into plastic bags, or left inside an abandoned taxi, according to the news agency.<doc-sep>Travel warnings have been issued to tourists visiting Mexico after eight bodies – including two dismembered bodies in plastic bags – were discovered in the resort city of Cancun. Two other bodies, a man and a woman, were reportedly found in an abandoned taxi. They were stuffed in the trunk, and the driver of the cab allegedly fled the scene before police arrived just after midnight Monday, Riviera Maya News reported. Four additional bodies were discovered shot to death in different locations in Quintana Roo earlier this week – one bound, one while lying in a hammock and one that was later covered in a plastic bag, APTN reported. The final body's conditions were not immediately clear. None of the bodies were discovered in the resort district popular among vacationing Americans, authorities confirmed. In response, the U.S. State Department issued a level two travel advisory to Quintana Roo, advising visitors to exercise increased caution. “While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens. Shooting incidents injuring or killing bystanders have occurred,” the department said in a statement. The travel advisory extends to the entire country and warns travelers to be careful visiting local bars, avoid driving at night, pay attention when visiting banks or ATMs and to put away attention-drawing jewelry. RELATED STORIES<doc-sep>Editor's note: This story was published in 2018. Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version incorrectly identified the area of Mexico the travel advisory was issued. The State Department issued a travel advisory Wednesday warning American citizens headed to Mexico to use caution in several states. The advisory comes the same week eight bodies were discovered in Cancun, a tourist hub, but the travel warning does not refer to the Quintana Roo/Cancun area. Mexican prosecutors say they have found a total of eight dead people on Cancun with two bodies dumped in two spots and four others individually found shot to death. None of the killings occurred in the city’s beachside hotel zone. ► Aug. 8:Family of woman who drowned at resort gathers for her 22nd birthday ► Aug. 3:Airlines trim flights to Mexican resorts after reports of tourist blackouts ► June 27:Terrifying stories from tourists continue year after mysterious drowning "Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread," the travel advisory notes, referring to activity in the Mexican states Colima, Guerreo, Michoacán, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas and warning Americans to stay away. The department also advised travelers to use toll roads, avoid driving at night, use caution when taking money out of banks or ATMs and be alert at local bars, nightclubs and casinos. It also advised not to display signs of wealth. The U.S. government has limited ability to intervene in emergencies that citizens may face in Mexico, and government employees cannot travel to certain areas, the State Department said. That restriction does not include Quintana Roo state, where Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen are located. ► April 11:Travel agents, websites didn't share risks with tourists to Mexico resorts ► April 5:Inside the Mexican vacation complex where an Iowa family died "The State Department travel advisory for Mexico does not include any tourist or beach areas and reaffirms that all major tourist destinations in Mexico are safe," a spokesperson for the Quintana Roo Tourism Board said in a statement. A previous State Department security alert issued March 2, 2017, for Playa del Carmen was lifted about two weeks later. The State Department warning amplifies recent alarms about travel to Mexico. An investigation from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, found that more than 170 travelers have become sick, seriously injured — and in some cases have died — after drinking small and moderate amounts of alcohol at all-inclusive resorts throughout the country. Travelers reported being sexually assaulted, beaten, robbed, taken to jail and mistreated at local hospitals. The Journal Sentinel investigation exposed how travelers encounter indifferent — at times hostile — resort workers, police and hospital staff. While the State Department, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, travel websites and Mexican authorities vow they are making changes and doing what they can to ensure the safety of travelers, their slow, bureaucratic efforts have yet to prevent the harms, the Journal Sentinelfound. Reporters received information from tourists who had traveled as recently as July. On Tuesday, the bodies of a man and a woman were found stuffed in the trunk of a taxi early Tuesday in the Paseos del Mar neighborhood of Cancun, local newspaper Riviera Maya News reported. The bodies have not yet been identified. ► Feb. 23:Mexico police shut down second black market tequila still ► Feb. 21:'There is more to this deeper, darker story than we know' Authorities discovered dismembered bodies of two men in multiple plastic bags at another location later that day.Another man was discovered bound and fatally shot. The prosecutors’ office for the state of Quintana Roo said another man was killed while lying in a hammock while another was found shot and covered in a plastic bag. Authorities found the eighth victim decapitated in the neighborhood of Tres Reyes, more than a dozen miles from the hotels, according to Newsweek, citing local reports. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Lilly Price on Twitter: @lillianmprice Related ► Dec. 15:State Department says it now tracks Mexico alcohol-related blackouts ► Dec. 13:Injuries, deaths at Mexico resorts spark investigation of State Department ► Nov. 21:FTC reviews TripAdvisor as travelers say their warnings were blocked ► Nov. 8:Woman says TripAdvisor lied about apology for deleting post ► Nov. 1:TripAdvisor removed warnings about rapes and injuries at Mexico resorts ► Sept. 22:Travelers warned about meth-laced soda in Mexico ► August 2017:What we know about Mexico resort blackouts and tainted alcohol ► August 2017:Mexican authorities seize illicit alcohol in crackdown at resorts ► August 2017:Blackout victims at Mexico resorts have little hope of justice ► August 2017:Cancun crime wave threatens tourist mecca ► July 2017:Mexico says it will act on tainted alcohol ► July 2017:Tourists to Mexico inclusive resorts suspect they got tainted alcohol ► July 2017:A Mexican vacation, a mysterious death, and now endless questions<doc-sep>
Eight dead bodies have been discovered throughout Cancun, Mexico -- a popular resort destination -- each killed in grisly fashion, local prosecutors told The Associated Press. While none of the bodies were found in the city's hotel area, the brutality of the killings has stoked fear among not just residents but also tourists. The State Department urges Americans traveling to the area to exercise increased caution, but it hasn't updated its travel advisory because of the deaths, despite several press reports saying otherwise. Two of the male victims were found Tuesday dismembered in several plastic bags. A man and a woman were discovered killed in an abandoned taxi. Another man was found bound and shot to death, with another shot and covered in a plastic bag. A seventh victim was killed lying in a hammock, and details of the eighth were not yet available, according to the Associated Press. None of the victims are believed to be Americans or tourists of other nationalities. Cancun is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Americans, 35 million of whom visited Mexico in 2017, according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. Quintana Roo, the state that includes Cancun and other tourist hot-spots like Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, is normally viewed as safe for visitors. The State Department lists it as a "Level Two: Exercise Increased Caution" on its four-level scale, and while it notes an increase in homicides since 2016, it says that "most" of them "appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations" and "turf battles between criminal groups." After the gruesome news Tuesday, the State Department issued a separate advisory on Wednesday, but an official tells ABC News it wasn't related to the slayings in Cancun. Instead, the only update to the advisory was continuing a security alert for Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. Since July 13, U.S. government employees have faced travel restrictions in and around the city, including a ban on traveling downtown without advanced permission because of a string of daytime killings. The homicide rate in Mexico is at its highest level in decades. In 2017, there were 31,174 -- a 27% rise -- according to a July report from Mexico's National Statistics Institute. While the violence overwhelmingly affects locals more than visitors, there have been a number of incidents involving Americans this year. Five Americans were among the 24 injured when an explosion tore through a ferry to Cozumel. Explosives were later found on a second ferry owned by the same company, and the State Department issued a travel alert for Americans and prohibited employees from traveling to the area for about two weeks. The next month, the U.S. Consular Agency in Playa del Carmen was closed temporarily because of a security threat, although the State Department did not offer further details. There are five Mexican states that are on the State Department's "Level Four: Reconsider Travel" list -- along with the likes of war-torn countries like Syria or dangerous regimes like North Korea's.