MEXICO’S most popular holiday hotspot has become overrun with drug gangs, as violence in the tourist party town escalates to unprecedented levels.

Cancun has seen 14 murders in just 36 hours – the highest ever in the country’s recorded history, according to Noticaribe.

5 A body lies in the street in Cancun - as the town is gripped by violence and gun crime

The latest violence on April 4 saw 14 people killed and at least five others left with gunshot wounds, in six separate instances in the party town.

The figures surpass Cancun’s previous ‘record’ of nine killings in a day on November 25, 2004.

More than 100 people have now been slaughtered in Cancun since the beginning of 2018, as Mexico’s cartels continue to spread fear throughout the country.

The Mexican tourist hotspot’s growing crime wave threatens to leave it a ghost town, with most murders in Cancun remaining unsolved.

5

5 A crime scene investigator is seen at the Blue Parrot nightclub in Playa del Carmen - just a few miles from Cancun Credit: Getty - Contributor

Loud bangs heard in video as gun battle rages in Meixcan tourist hotspot Cancun

5 Forensic doctors carry the body of a Canadian woman found with multiple stab wounds in Cancun Credit: AP2009

Amid a thriving drug trade and widespread extortion, fear is rampant and threatens to have a knock-on effect on the country’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry.

British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy recently travelled to Mexico for SBS’s Dateline to investigate why so many murders are taking place.

“This is one of the most beautiful views in the world and we are the only people here,” Guru-Murthy said from Acapulco's main beach.

Later, just before sunset, he found himself in the middle of a crime scene — a man had been gunned down in the sand.

Four men had come in through a luxury hotel and attacked the man, who later died in hospital.

5 Marines are regularly seen patrolling Cancun following an increase of gun crime in the last decade Credit: Getty - Contributor

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Frighteningly, this is meant to be one of the safer places in the area, and is frequented by tens of thousands of Brit tourists every year.

Guru-Murthy was also shocked by the lack of police presence, with many tourists unaware of the gruesome sight just metres away.

“It’s as if the police don’t want anyone to notice. There’s minimum fuss and hardly any officers here,” he said.

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