:00:00. > :00:00.This programme contains some strong language.
:00:07. > :00:11.Every year millions of young Brits head abroad to party. So I'm
:00:12. > :00:14.travelling to some of our most notorious holiday destinations to
:00:15. > :00:22.find out what really happens when the sun goes down. MAN SHOUTS.
:00:23. > :00:28.It's quite deep, actually. There's quite a lot of blood.
:00:29. > :00:37.Tonight I'm in Mexico. Where every spring, two million revellers flock
:00:38. > :00:45.to the resort of Cancun. To party. To drink. And to pull.
:00:46. > :00:47.Loads of fit Americans! Spring Break has become a legendary
:00:48. > :00:51.US party season, and now thousands of Brits are getting in on the
:00:52. > :00:56.action too. Australians, Argentinians are fit! You're on the
:00:57. > :01:00.same wavelength, so you're doing the same sheet, man. I hope my parents
:01:01. > :01:04.don't see this! But how much do we really know about
:01:05. > :01:10.this party paradise? Army? Yeah, Marines. There you go,
:01:11. > :01:15.there you go. Oh, my God, that's so strange to see on holiday.
:01:16. > :01:18.I want to find out what life is like for the thousands who keep the
:01:19. > :01:21.Spring Breakers out of trouble. That looks quite deep, actually
:01:22. > :01:26.There's quite a lot of blood. How dangerous is it to holiday here
:01:27. > :01:30.I uncover the side of Cancun the Spring Breakers don't get to see.
:01:31. > :01:35.OK, so things are very, very different here. These are these
:01:36. > :01:41.people's family homes! And the shocking truth behind the
:01:42. > :01:42.tourist trade. The crime here is, like, nowhere
:01:43. > :02:00.else in the world I've ever seen. After an 11 hour flight from the UK,
:02:01. > :02:04.I arrive at the east coast of Mexico, Cancun.
:02:05. > :02:10.I'm here! I've got through customs, they've let me through. But listen
:02:11. > :02:14.to this, right. It's almost like a... "We'll let you into the
:02:15. > :02:18.country, "but we are going to give you 1,000 rules." Don't do anything
:02:19. > :02:20.that will prevent you from going home. Like, "publicly insulting or
:02:21. > :02:36.disrespecting anyone." Overuse home. Like, "publicly insulting or
:02:37. > :02:40.at the Spring Break. But I don't know how many people are going to
:02:41. > :02:44.take this and go, "Right, let me read all the rules because I'm on
:02:45. > :02:48.holiday. And I want to keep up to speed with all the rules and
:02:49. > :02:52.regulations." As if! Spring Break is all about breaking
:02:53. > :02:56.the rules. It started as a student holiday in the US, celebrating the
:02:57. > :02:59.end of exams. It's now become a global phenomenon.
:03:00. > :03:06.There's six of us, we are getting shit-faced every day, all day. It's
:03:07. > :03:09.BLEEP great! I love Cancun! And Mexico, where there is a lower
:03:10. > :03:16.drinking age, has become the number one place to party for Spring
:03:17. > :03:21.Breakers. So I'm heading to one of Cancun's 140 resorts. Set on 13
:03:22. > :03:26.miles of white sand and Caribbean sea.
:03:27. > :03:31.This building here, the Grand Oasis, I'm told is the headquarters for
:03:32. > :03:38.Spring Breaks. This is the place to be. If you're in Cancun, you're on
:03:39. > :03:51.Spring Break. You want to show off, get booze, snog boy. -- boys. This
:03:52. > :03:56.is the place to be and I'm en route. ALL: Spring Break!
:03:57. > :03:59.Off we go! Every day 500 guests check in for
:04:00. > :04:03.Spring Break here and I'm going to join them.
:04:04. > :04:06.Loads of people piling in here to check in, go over the rules and
:04:07. > :04:11.regulations. They are all sat there raring to go. Get this out of the
:04:12. > :04:15.way and then go on holiday. What are you hoping for this
:04:16. > :04:20.holiday? Chicks, booze...? Lots of booze, beach... I need to relax Too
:04:21. > :04:24.much schoolwork and I need to chill and just drink my face off. Drink
:04:25. > :04:25.your face off? Drink my face off. I want my face to melt.
:04:26. > :04:30.Are we ready want my face to melt.
:04:31. > :04:37.This is basically nice and simple. want my face to melt.
:04:38. > :04:42.And they really are ready for us. There are 1,500 staff here. That's
:04:43. > :04:46.one for every three guests. We are all grown-ups, so what we're here to
:04:47. > :04:50.do is have a great time. But in the meantime take care of everything we
:04:51. > :04:54.are going to give you. I've never experienced anything like
:04:55. > :05:01.this, ever. There's a real regimented operation going on. You
:05:02. > :05:04.come in, check in, you go this way, you walk a certain way. You sit
:05:05. > :05:07.down, you have the welcome speech. It's very...school-like. It's like
:05:08. > :05:11.they are trying to keep control of things.
:05:12. > :05:15.Here's a map for the hotel. Thank you. This is all the restaurants
:05:16. > :05:18.included and the most important thing, the bar. Naturally! This is
:05:19. > :05:23.for the all-inclusive, OK? You have to wear this all the time so you can
:05:24. > :05:26.get the food and all the staff, OK? OK. The freebies.
:05:27. > :05:29.My all-inclusive bracelet gives me limitless food from 18 restaurants
:05:30. > :05:31.and, more importantly for Spring Breakers, all I can drink from ten
:05:32. > :05:36.bars. Here we are! Happy Spring Break
:05:37. > :05:42.ALL CHEER. Ohhh! Here we are. First Spring
:05:43. > :05:45.Break. The ocean looks amazing, the sun is out, the pool is really
:05:46. > :05:49.starting to pick up now. You can hear the DJs starting the games
:05:50. > :05:53.There's 4000 people here Spring-Breaking. I need to get
:05:54. > :06:01.involved. WHOOPING.
:06:02. > :06:06.Hello! He's in good form! I want to go near the DJ. I feel that's where
:06:07. > :06:09.the biggest crowd are. MUSIC AND SHOUTING After the formal
:06:10. > :06:17.welcome, things are hotting up on the beach, with some notorious
:06:18. > :06:21.Spring-Breaker games. DJ: You have to respect my guests.
:06:22. > :06:25.Go away! What's the competition? A
:06:26. > :06:28.shake-your-arse contest? Hello there, big-tits! Get out here! Let's
:06:29. > :06:33.go! MUSIC there, big-tits! Get out here! Let's
:06:34. > :06:38.The girls will do anything to win the crowd's vote. All for
:06:39. > :06:43.coveted prize of a T-shirt. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
:06:44. > :06:48.How about contestant number two CHEERING.
:06:49. > :06:54.I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but you just BLEEP. Contestant
:06:55. > :07:01.number six! WILD CHEERING. There's the champion! The champion
:07:02. > :07:04.arse-shaker! The entertainment may be having a
:07:05. > :07:10.break, but the competition is still very strong, mostly with the boys
:07:11. > :07:16.and who can pull. SHE SQUEALS.
:07:17. > :07:21.My God, it's like a zoo! I hunt down some other British girls
:07:22. > :07:24.to see what they make of it. Tell me why Spring Break, because
:07:25. > :07:29.there's not a lot of Brits here It's something that's growing. Loads
:07:30. > :07:32.of fit Americans! THEY SCREECH. The boys here are outrageous. Who
:07:33. > :07:38.have you got your eye on? There s quite a few. I like the Australians.
:07:39. > :07:42.Yeah. Australians, Argentinians are fit. Definitely!
:07:43. > :07:46.There are plenty of British lads getting in on the action too.
:07:47. > :07:49.Tell me what's different between a holiday here and a holiday in
:07:50. > :07:53.Europe. They're just crazy! Everyone here is crazy. Everyone here knows
:07:54. > :07:56.why they are here. You're on the same wavelength, so you're doing the
:07:57. > :08:00.same sheet, man. There's loads of Brits out here
:08:01. > :08:04.Loads! English boys can party more. English boys can party hard. The
:08:05. > :08:07.Americans don't know how to, they can't drink. They can't keep up
:08:08. > :08:12.They can't drink, they can't dress, they don't go to the gym. They're
:08:13. > :08:16.out of the game! They're useless! It's a really nice atmosphere. It's
:08:17. > :08:20.not boisterous and it doesn't feel gritty. But it's not dark yet and
:08:21. > :08:25.they've only really started boozing. They've only been here two hours or
:08:26. > :08:28.so, some of them. In a couple of hours I'm sure we'll see something
:08:29. > :08:32.different. MUSIC POUNDS. As revellers move off
:08:33. > :08:35.the beach, the drinking steps up a gear inside the hotel. Spring Break!
:08:36. > :08:44.Spring Break! Spring Break! USA USA! USA! USA!
:08:45. > :08:48.Is this what Spring Break is like? Yes. Every night? Every night. All
:08:49. > :09:05.the time. MUSIC AND YELLING. And at only 10.30, this is just the
:09:06. > :09:07.start of the evening. I've been invited to a British Spring
:09:08. > :09:10.Breakers' room, where 18-year-old Yousef and his mates are getting
:09:11. > :09:15.ready for their eighth night out in a row.
:09:16. > :09:19.My God, it smells like cologne in here! This is a serious, serious
:09:20. > :09:24.beauty regime going on right now. I've watched females! Look at you
:09:25. > :09:30.all! You're killing me! We are thorough. Shower, after-sun, Nivea
:09:31. > :09:34.skincare... SHE LAUGHS. We do it every night as well. Stand there for
:09:35. > :09:40.an hour drying out. Brilliant. We've got so much on. So this is your
:09:41. > :09:44.first Spring Break, right? ALL: Yeah. This is our first
:09:45. > :09:47.official lads' holiday. OK, so you've set the bar high, right?
:09:48. > :09:51.Yeah, cos everyone goes to Magaluf. They do Magaluf, Zante, Ayia Napa,
:09:52. > :09:55.so we thought why not do something different? Has Spring Break lived up
:09:56. > :09:58.to your expectations? 100%. It's like a completely different culture
:09:59. > :10:01.in the way of partying, really. British people going out, you know
:10:02. > :10:04.what to expect, but coming here doing it all day on beaches with
:10:05. > :10:07.American people is different. They just chant for no reason. What do
:10:08. > :10:11.they chant? They just go, like, "Whoo, yeah!" For no reason. You
:10:12. > :10:14.just look at them, "What are you doing? You're an idiot."
:10:15. > :10:16.The lads and I are heading off campus.
:10:17. > :10:21.Everyone is en route now. They're all going to the same place.
:10:22. > :10:24.We are hitting the strip where over 70,000 come to party in Latin
:10:25. > :10:27.America's biggest superclubs. But it's not just the tourists who are
:10:28. > :10:31.out in force. So, there are police on the left. Is
:10:32. > :10:34.that standard? That's normal? Yeah, all the time. Everywhere. There s
:10:35. > :10:39.army guys, Marines... all the time. Everywhere. There s
:10:40. > :10:41.back behind the pools. You can't all the time. Everywhere. There s
:10:42. > :10:43.really see them unless you look They are all standing there in
:10:44. > :10:49.balaclavas, all armed, Marines, soldiers. At the pool?! Yeah. And
:10:50. > :10:54.they're everywhere? There you go, there's two of them. Oh, yes! Oh, my
:10:55. > :11:02.God, that's so strange to see on holiday. Huge guns, look. M-16s
:11:03. > :11:06.they are holding. That's insane Mum and Dad said, "Do not get arrested
:11:07. > :11:09.while you're out there." They can do what they want to you out here.
:11:10. > :11:12.That's definitely something unique to Cancun. I've never, ever seen
:11:13. > :11:17.military Marines manning a party area. MUSIC POUNDS.
:11:18. > :11:20.Once you're inside the clubs, security is just as tight. Clubbing
:11:21. > :11:25.here is a massive, orchestrated operation.
:11:26. > :11:29.This is like nothing I've seen in Europe.
:11:30. > :11:35.The main goal is to provide Spring Breakers with enough drink to have a
:11:36. > :11:41.good time. And if things get messy, the club has that covered too, which
:11:42. > :11:48.the manager is keen to show me. Hello, Stacey! Everything is OK
:11:49. > :11:53.Fine! Very OK. You feel good? I feel great. Anything urgent, we have my
:11:54. > :12:00.paramedico here. This is a paramedic? Yes. Check it out. So we
:12:01. > :12:05.are behind-the-scenes... Ohhh! This is Stacey. Hello, sir! Like a little
:12:06. > :12:12.mini doctor's surgery. The cupboard has got agua, oxygen, bandages. .
:12:13. > :12:22.Needles. For a drip? Yeah. What s this in the bottom?
:12:23. > :12:32.So it's a potty for women who are too drunk to make it to the toilet.
:12:33. > :12:37.Yeah. Excellent. I had a really nice time. It's quite
:12:38. > :12:39.buzzy. It's jam-packed with Spring Breakers, really full. But I've got
:12:40. > :12:44.to say it was quite Breakers, really full. But I've got
:12:45. > :12:50.was no kerfuffling. It felt like a nice atmosphere. And to find out
:12:51. > :12:53.they've got that paramedic hut literally right behind the dance
:12:54. > :12:58.floor. I think it's a really good thing.
:12:59. > :13:01.After six hours of clubbing, young drunks are hitting the streets and
:13:02. > :13:09.the police and army are making their presence known. Relax, senor! Relax!
:13:10. > :13:14.I'm starting to wonder why there is so much security here.
:13:15. > :13:17.Even when I return to the hotel there's a guard every step of the
:13:18. > :13:29.way back to my room. Your number, please. 2630. Gracias.
:13:30. > :13:35.Ohhh... Fatiga! Fatiga. Si. Adios, amigo. Definitely a different type
:13:36. > :13:45.of partying. I've never seen this type of... Controlled...contrived...
:13:46. > :13:48.Partying before. But I think I'd be really fascinated to see it from the
:13:49. > :13:50.other side, because I'm assuming they... They see it through
:13:51. > :14:10.completely different eyes. I've been told by the workers and
:14:11. > :14:14.Spring Breakers that although it all seems very controlled actually,
:14:15. > :14:21.accidents totally still happen. And people do end up in the back of
:14:22. > :14:25.ambulances. So I've managed to get access to an ambulance crew. I'm
:14:26. > :14:28.going to spend the whole night with these paramedics. And I'm really
:14:29. > :14:35.lucky, because they just situate themselves in the Hotel Zone.
:14:36. > :14:42.Ola! Ola! Como estas? Muy bien. Y tu? Er... Very good. Are you? I m
:14:43. > :14:48.very well, thank you. I'm Stacey. OK, Stacey. I am Rosalino.
:14:49. > :14:54.Rosalino... I am Abran. Nice to meet you, sir. And I can spend the time
:14:55. > :14:57.with you today? Perfect. Rosalino and Abe belong to an
:14:58. > :15:02.11-strong ambulance team who handle up to 300 Spring Breakers every day.
:15:03. > :15:06.Emergencies take them to hotels the clubs, and often the beach.
:15:07. > :15:20.Very beautiful. Spring Breakers like it here?
:15:21. > :15:41.Have some of them been this Spring Break? This Spring Break? Erm..
:15:42. > :15:47.You mentioned drugs there, and this is a party destination. How many
:15:48. > :16:07.Spring Breakers that you treat are under the influence of drugs?
:16:08. > :16:14.Despite the security, Spring Breakers seem to be getting drugs
:16:15. > :16:25.from somewhere. But for today, the beach is clear. After the sun sets,
:16:26. > :16:29.we head to the strip. Clubs pay for ambulances to sit outside waiting
:16:30. > :16:33.for accidents to happen. While we wait, one of last night's patients
:16:34. > :16:41.turns up. He took me to the hospital! No way! Yeah, yeah. How
:16:42. > :16:44.drunk was he last night? Yeah. Although drunk, this Irish lad could
:16:45. > :16:47.still remember how he got a dislocated shoulder. Basically, two
:16:48. > :16:54.naked girls run sat on my knee and she fell over so
:16:55. > :16:57.I tried to grab her and my shoulder went. Brilliant. A naked chick on
:16:58. > :17:01.the floor and a dislocated shoulder. Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember him
:17:02. > :17:05.though? I seen him at the nightclub afterwards. You went and got your
:17:06. > :17:12.arm taken care of, and then you went clubbing? Yeah. With the cast? Yeah.
:17:13. > :17:16.I hope my parents don't see this! SIREN BLARES. POLICE RADIO.
:17:17. > :17:20.Minutes later, we're called to an emergency. A student's been drinking
:17:21. > :17:25.in a bar, and found himself in the middle of a fight. Right now
:17:26. > :17:32.somebody called us. We are going to check...a boy. He has a cut in the
:17:33. > :17:38.front. He is bleeding. We are going to check it. He is in the disco
:17:39. > :17:41.Hello, what happened? Come in, please. SPEAKS SPANISH TO PATIENT
:17:42. > :18:00.OK, erm... We are going to clean the... Clean
:18:01. > :18:05.the cut. The cut. He say he don t want to go to the hospital. I think
:18:06. > :18:13.he has to. That looks quite deep actually. Quite a lot of blood.
:18:14. > :18:17.SIREN BLARING. Ciao, amigo. Ciao. They've just taken a guy in, given
:18:18. > :18:21.him the once-over in the hospital and explained to the doctor what's
:18:22. > :18:24.gone on. I imagine he'll need a couple of stitches. It's quite a
:18:25. > :18:28.deep gash. Every time he pulled the bandage away - loads and loads of
:18:29. > :18:34.blood. But, hopefully - the worst case scenario - he'll have a scar.
:18:35. > :18:37.So he's been very lucky. Rosalino was telling me earlier that lots of
:18:38. > :18:45.people come out far, far worse than he has tonight.
:18:46. > :18:49.Next day, I go back to the hospital to meet the head
:18:50. > :18:54.Next day, I go back to the hospital Rivas! Hi. Hello, I'm Stacey.
:18:55. > :19:00.Rivas. Very lovely to meet you. I want to find out what happens with
:19:01. > :19:03.the more serious accidents. When people come to Cancun, they drink
:19:04. > :19:08.and they drive, or they incur another risky behaviour. They jump
:19:09. > :19:13.into a shallow pool, they fall from a balcony, and they get seriously
:19:14. > :19:16.injured. Often alcohol or drugs are involved in whatever happened to
:19:17. > :19:30.them. And it can result in a life-changing accident.
:19:31. > :19:42.I run -- around 12 tourists died in Cancun. I want to know if they have
:19:43. > :19:50.easy access to drugs. Have you been offered it? Yeah, in the toilets in
:19:51. > :19:54.the club, yeah. You walk in and there's cubicles and guys with stuff
:19:55. > :19:58.go... ..and just let you go in. Very subtle! Very subtle! There's a
:19:59. > :20:01.security in there, but they must be like...tipped. As long as you tip
:20:02. > :20:05.them, they don't care. I'm not doing that. I'm not getting caught. Not
:20:06. > :20:09.police. Not in Mexico. Not in Mexico. It's so easy, though. I know
:20:10. > :20:13.a few lads from London who get on beach... And they sell cigars and
:20:14. > :20:18.they just... They even have security there.
:20:19. > :20:24.I decide to head down to the beach and look for the so-called dodgy
:20:25. > :20:30.cigar sellers. And in minutes, I'm offered cocaine.
:20:31. > :20:52.Gracias. No. After wasting their time, I get out
:20:53. > :20:58.of there. It's blatant. After wasting their time, I get out
:20:59. > :21:08.drugs, you can get them. Even in this high security zone.
:21:09. > :21:12.To see what the authorities think of the drug situation, I am meeting
:21:13. > :21:16.with the tourist police. Created five years ago to look after the
:21:17. > :21:24.Hotel Zone. Hello. Hello, Stacy. How are you?
:21:25. > :21:30.Very good. Giovanni. Nice to meet you. Lovely to meet you.
:21:31. > :21:34.I am joining offices Giovanni and Daisy on patrol for the evening
:21:35. > :21:38.I have got to say, Giovanni, I've never seen in any other holiday
:21:39. > :21:42.destination so much police presence. Cancun, right now, is one of the
:21:43. > :21:48.safest cities in all Mexico. So we have to take care of that. We cannot
:21:49. > :21:53.allow that to come down. First thing that hits me is how busy
:21:54. > :21:58.it is. It's the weekend when local Mexicans join the Spring Breakers,
:21:59. > :22:04.and already things are kicking off. Hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey! RAISED
:22:05. > :22:09.VOICES. Hey, listen, listen. Just calm down and tell us what happened.
:22:10. > :22:13.The driver had a problem. And he hit me, and he hit my friend. Whatever.
:22:14. > :22:19.I don't give a sheet. Like, I'm cool. Like, I fight, I do not
:22:20. > :22:24.attack. Whatever. So, are you boys going home now? Well, we're trying
:22:25. > :22:29.to get a ride. Mate, there's a bus. Let's take the bus. It's fine. OK.
:22:30. > :22:33.Situation defused, we're called over to a well-known Spring Breaker bar.
:22:34. > :22:40.Apparently, somebody got in problem. This guy doesn't want to leave.
:22:41. > :22:44.A young local Mexican is arrested. He's in a real state, this lad his
:22:45. > :22:49.trousers are undone, his shirt's ripped... Yes, he got in a fight
:22:50. > :22:58.over there and I think... THEY SPEAK SPANISH. He was
:22:59. > :23:03.the disco. Made trouble with other tourists. So we are taking him down
:23:04. > :23:11.to the police station. Right. SIREN BLARING. HORN TOOTING.
:23:12. > :23:17.Back on patrol, I take my chance to quiz Giovanni about drug dealing.
:23:18. > :23:21.Tell me about suspicious behaviour. What do you look for? Because I m
:23:22. > :23:26.assuming this is a drug dealer's element. There's people everywhere,
:23:27. > :23:31.there's parties everywhere, people have been drinking. If I was a drug
:23:32. > :23:36.dealer, I would come to this part of Cancun. Well, we look in the little
:23:37. > :23:44.street, dark corners. That there is no drug dealing. That there is no...
:23:45. > :23:49.Mugging anybody. That is what we're looking for. So, one of these hidden
:23:50. > :23:53.alleys, that you say drug dealers tend to go down, is it possible to
:23:54. > :23:56.have a look down there now? Yes of course.
:23:57. > :24:00.Giovanni takes me down some of the quieter streets, where drug dealers
:24:01. > :24:06.have been caught in the past. See, the parking lot areas?
:24:07. > :24:14.But tonight we are in no danger of catching anyone. They act pretty
:24:15. > :24:17.clever. I don't know how they do it. They got people, eyes on the
:24:18. > :24:21.street... And they call them, and they tell them we are coming when we
:24:22. > :24:26.are doing our walking through, and... Well, probably they hide
:24:27. > :24:32.Because most of it is people hiding. We don't see it. That's why our
:24:33. > :24:37.riding is very constant. That's why we are circling again and again
:24:38. > :24:39.But as they do their rounds, rather than catching the dealers, it's the
:24:40. > :24:44.more obvious drunken incidents that take over. This is not a public
:24:45. > :24:49.bathroom. No, no, I just peed. It's a first night in Cancun. First night
:24:50. > :24:53.in Cancun? First time. First time. For now we are going to give you a
:24:54. > :24:55.warning, OK? But you cannot use the streets, the buildings, as
:24:56. > :24:56.bathrooms. So far tonight, most
:24:57. > :25:01.bathrooms. are getting away with a warning But
:25:02. > :25:06.bathrooms. accused of harassing girls, and he's
:25:07. > :25:12.going to the cells. Why did the girls say you were
:25:13. > :25:18.following them? I can't....speak... No problem. Giovanni, talk me
:25:19. > :25:24.through what's happened. He was misbehaving because he's had too
:25:25. > :25:30.much alcohol. We cannot let all these people walk around so drunk,
:25:31. > :25:33.causing problems. Because, as you can see, tourists from all over the
:25:34. > :25:38.world are looking. They don't want to see drunk people. And this guy
:25:39. > :25:44.was following girls? Is that correct? Exactly. He was molesting
:25:45. > :25:51.the girls. Is correct. Is that correct? Yes, it is correct.
:25:52. > :25:56.It's clear the police have zero tolerance for Mexicans tainting the
:25:57. > :26:00.tourist image of Cancun. But I still want to know more, so I join them in
:26:01. > :26:08.the cells. MAN SHOUTS. We already talked to his
:26:09. > :26:18.parents. He is not arrested. OK He is only... Being here...
:26:19. > :26:28.BLEEP. BLEEP. BLEEP. This is normal? You have to put up
:26:29. > :26:32.with this? That's why we put them away, so they can relax. We know
:26:33. > :26:39.that it's not him, it's the alcohol, or something. So... He's still a
:26:40. > :26:43.tourist. So we're just going to keep him until his family comes and picks
:26:44. > :26:45.him up and takes him safely to his hotel. This is a regular thing?
:26:46. > :26:56.Pretty often. Typical. Gracias. Leaving this tourist to cool off, I
:26:57. > :26:59.want to know if what I've seen tonight is usual for the police in
:27:00. > :27:03.Cancun. So there hasn't
:27:04. > :27:07.Cancun. violence? No, actually, that is the
:27:08. > :27:10.Cancun. basic night in Cancun. Most of the
:27:11. > :27:13.time it is only drunk people, lots of traffic, lots of hardcore, but
:27:14. > :27:24.nothing of violence, no gun shooting, no gangs, no big violence.
:27:25. > :27:30.I don't doubt that Cancun is safe and there are great things. And on
:27:31. > :27:35.the whole it's a very lovely place for tourists to come. But no
:27:36. > :27:40.organisation or no town is perfect. So what in Cancun do you need to
:27:41. > :27:44.change, do you need to work on? The rest of the crime scenes, the rest
:27:45. > :27:48.of the robberies, that is in the outside of Cancun, in the city, in
:27:49. > :27:53.the Downtown area. And most of the tourists don't visit that area. Most
:27:54. > :27:57.of the tourists are only in the strip of Cancun, where they have
:27:58. > :28:01.everything that they need. So Downtown is very different to the
:28:02. > :28:07.Hotel Zone? Completely different, completely. It's like two different
:28:08. > :28:12.worlds. And that's where most of the big problems or serious problems,
:28:13. > :28:17.that's where they are. BEEPING. Is that for us? Actually, that's an
:28:18. > :28:21.emergency. Probably something.. Well, not an emergency but something
:28:22. > :28:26.in Downtown. Are we going to go to that? We're going to see. Let's
:28:27. > :28:28.check it out. There's an incident Downtown that
:28:29. > :28:31.the tourist police have been alerted to and it's an opportunity for
:28:32. > :28:36.Giovanni to show me the difference between the Hotel Zone and where the
:28:37. > :28:40.locals live. But after a quick conversation with his colleagues, it
:28:41. > :28:44.appears I'm not allowed to go. We cannot go to the Downtown area
:28:45. > :28:48.because it is out of our jurisdiction. It's not possible
:28:49. > :28:52.It's not possible because the cars, they have GPS, and it pops up in the
:28:53. > :28:57.computers that we are out of the area we are protecting of our
:28:58. > :29:02.responsibility. You're killing me, Giovanni. Sorry, Stacey. Not
:29:03. > :29:08.possible? Not possible, Stacey. I'm sorry. But that is out of our hands.
:29:09. > :29:13.Is it because I'm here and it's sorry. But that is out of our hands.
:29:14. > :29:18.dangerous? No, no. It's just that we cannot go outside our jurisdiction.
:29:19. > :29:22.I'm very keen to see Downtown, but it looks like it won't be with the
:29:23. > :29:25.police. Right now, speaking to Giovanni and
:29:26. > :29:29.spending time with the police, I don't feel like I'm massively in the
:29:30. > :29:34.know. I don't feel I've become enlightened. I don't feel like we're
:29:35. > :29:38.going to catch a load of drug dealers and we're going to get into
:29:39. > :29:41.the thick of it. I feel like I'm getting a bit of PR, which is
:29:42. > :29:45.understandable. And I totally accept that. I don't want PR. I want to
:29:46. > :29:53.find out what's going on. I want to find the real Cancun.
:29:54. > :30:00.The following morning, while most Spring Breakers are still in bed,
:30:01. > :30:03.I'm back at the club strip. I'm meeting one of Mexico's top
:30:04. > :30:09.journalists who I'm hoping will tell me more than the police. Lydia Cacho
:30:10. > :30:15.has spent seven years exposing drug dealers in Cancun, and is going to
:30:16. > :30:19.show me where they target tourists. You have the big flea market there.
:30:20. > :30:26.That's where they sell most of the drugs. In the flea market? The flea
:30:27. > :30:30.market, yeah. Wow. Are we allowed to go over near there? Is that
:30:31. > :30:34.possible? Sorry? Yes, yes, let's go. To me, this looks quite innocent.
:30:35. > :30:39.This isn't somewhere you would necessarily associate with picking
:30:40. > :30:43.up... Absolutely. But anyway, it is. It is a market, it's a flea market,
:30:44. > :30:46.and it's the same as you might find in Spain or in Britain. Anywhere
:30:47. > :30:50.where there's tourists, there's selling drugs. What happened last
:30:51. > :30:55.year here, they arrested 40 people in this market... 4-0? 4-0.
:30:56. > :31:00...selling drugs, all kinds of drugs, and it was a big thing on the media.
:31:01. > :31:04.And now they are back in business, so you can buy any kind of drugs.
:31:05. > :31:09.They are getting cheaper and cheaper.
:31:10. > :31:11.They are getting cheaper and controlled by some of South
:31:12. > :31:14.America's most notorious drug cartels. What you see at night, you
:31:15. > :31:18.see all the soldiers and police Marines? Marines. They are not here
:31:19. > :31:22.to protect drunken tourists, of course. What they are doing here,
:31:23. > :31:28.basically, is making sure that if the cartels... The Zetas cartel and
:31:29. > :31:31.the Gulf cartel, which are the main ones that are fighting for this
:31:32. > :31:37.place. They are rival cartels. If they pick a fight, they are here to
:31:38. > :31:42.try to control it. I'm going to show you another area around here. It's
:31:43. > :31:46.called the Alley of Miracles. And it seems drugs aren't the only
:31:47. > :31:50.thing on offer. The cartels also deal in prostitution.
:31:51. > :31:55.We have an important problem with that. Some experts are saying that
:31:56. > :32:00.Mexico is virtually becoming the Thailand of Latin America. I uncover
:32:01. > :32:05.a network of sex traffickers here. One of them is the owner of a big
:32:06. > :32:08.hotel. I'm shocked to find out how many
:32:09. > :32:14.women come to Cancun looking for work, but end up in prostitution.
:32:15. > :32:17.I don't think necessarily Cancun is a place that you would think that
:32:18. > :32:24.sex tourism, under-age prostitution is a rife problem. I think you think
:32:25. > :32:29.Southeast Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, all that area really struggles with
:32:30. > :32:33.that. But, here, to know that that is going on in fancy hotels, down
:32:34. > :32:36.these alleys where we're going for drinks. And we're going for our
:32:37. > :32:41.nights out is a really sobering thought. This is a very nice side of
:32:42. > :32:46.Cancun, and there's a very nasty side. And the nasty side has a lot
:32:47. > :32:52.to do with how criminals are making a huge economy.
:32:53. > :32:57.I want to see the other side of Cancun. And Lydia has agreed to take
:32:58. > :33:02.me downtown, the area the police didn't show me.
:33:03. > :33:06.Here on you have most of the hotel workers. Everyone that cleans the
:33:07. > :33:09.hotels, that make you happy workers. Everyone that cleans the
:33:10. > :33:12.hotel, the barman, the cleaning woman,
:33:13. > :33:15.hotel, the barman, the cleaning of the city. How many
:33:16. > :33:16.hotel, the barman, the cleaning part of Cancun? None. Absolutely
:33:17. > :33:24.none. Just ten minutes from five-star
:33:25. > :33:28.hotels and I enter a different world.
:33:29. > :33:32.Tarmac is gone. We've left the tarmac and we're just driving down a
:33:33. > :33:35.little sort of dirt track. You can see... I mean, look over there.
:33:36. > :33:44.Things are very, very different here. I mean, this, look, it's a
:33:45. > :33:51.home. There's one here. These are these people's...family homes.
:33:52. > :33:55.It's not just family homes. Lydia tells me this is where many of the
:33:56. > :33:58.tourist drug dealers live. And crime is rife.
:33:59. > :34:00.It's easy to forget we're in Mexico because it's so luxurious, and
:34:01. > :34:03.everything's so plush, and everything's so polished. 15, 2
:34:04. > :34:07.minutes outside the Hotel Zone, things are very, very different for
:34:08. > :34:12.a lot of people. DOG BARKS. There's guns, there's knives,
:34:13. > :34:15.there's gangs, there's shootings. They seem to be intensified the
:34:16. > :34:19.further outside the Hotel Zone you get.
:34:20. > :34:24.After passing through the worst of Downtown, Lydia has one more stop a
:34:25. > :34:28.few minutes away. She wants me to meet one of the victims of Cancun's
:34:29. > :34:33.sex traffickers. Right now we're at a secret
:34:34. > :34:38.location. The security is taken quite seriously, I'm assuming to
:34:39. > :34:42.keep the girls here safe. We have to call her Maria. It's very important
:34:43. > :34:47.we call her Maria because she absolutely can't be identified. The
:34:48. > :34:51.man who forced her into that lifestyle is still free. He's still
:34:52. > :34:56.running around. He's not in prison. So if he finds out that we're here,
:34:57. > :35:00.or she's speaking to the press, he could kill her. These guys aren t
:35:01. > :35:03.mucking about. Maria had hoped to work in tourism,
:35:04. > :35:07.but was forced into prostitution by her former husband.
:35:08. > :35:17.Why did you come to Cancun in the first place?
:35:18. > :35:51.What did your husband force you to do?
:35:52. > :36:01.How many men would you have two sleep with a night in Spring Break?
:36:02. > :36:06.Do you believe, Maria, that there's lots of young women being forced
:36:07. > :36:07.into prostitution because tourism exists here, because tourists come
:36:08. > :36:33.here for Spring Break? Maria is going to have to spend the
:36:34. > :36:37.rest of her life in hiding. And sadly, she's just one of many who
:36:38. > :36:44.come to Cancun looking for work but end up being a victim of the tourist
:36:45. > :36:49.industry. I want to know if working for Spring Breakers is the dream job
:36:50. > :36:53.many Mexicans imagine. There are half a million men and women who
:36:54. > :37:04.work in the hotels and I'm going to join one of them.
:37:05. > :37:16.Teresita. Teresita. Stacey. What do you need help with? Rapido, rapido.
:37:17. > :37:25.Why do we have to be so rapido? How much do you have to clean a day
:37:26. > :37:33.Teresita seems to be managing perfectly well on her own, so I ll
:37:34. > :37:36.see if I can help elsewhere. With an average of 50,000 Spring Breakers in
:37:37. > :37:48.Cancun at any one time, there's a lot to clear up. WOMAN VOMITS She's
:37:49. > :37:53.being sick. She's being sick. She's thrown up everywhere. I'm going to
:37:54. > :37:56.have to clean that up in about 5 seconds.
:37:57. > :38:00.Despite the work not always being that pleasant, there are still
:38:01. > :38:04.plenty of smiles for the Spring Breakers. She's very patient. And
:38:05. > :38:09.it's interesting, because when you try and ask her in detail about her
:38:10. > :38:12.wages or her tips, or whether she thinks this is a good job or not,
:38:13. > :38:17.she's very, very private, which is completely fair enough, and you
:38:18. > :38:23.never want to push that. But I think she really is just truly grateful
:38:24. > :38:26.for this job. Oh, there she is. Happy Spring Break!
:38:27. > :38:31.Although the Spring Breakers may be easy to get along with, the cleaners
:38:32. > :38:38.work a six-day week and only get the minimum wage. I want to find out how
:38:39. > :38:42.their homes compare to the luxury of the hotels they work in, so I'm
:38:43. > :38:48.heading back downtown to take a look behind closed doors.
:38:49. > :38:52.This water pump that you see behind me is the only source of water that
:38:53. > :38:55.these homes get. It goes without saying that everything you see here
:38:56. > :38:58.is completely, totally and utterly different to that we're used to
:38:59. > :39:08.seeing in the Hotel Zone, the five-star luxury. It's worlds apart.
:39:09. > :39:12.DOG BARKS. Ola.
:39:13. > :39:16.I've come to see Rosa, a mum of three who started working in a
:39:17. > :39:19.Cancun hotel five months ago. Thank you
:39:20. > :39:25.Cancun hotel five months ago. come. Is this you? Ola!
:39:26. > :39:30.Cancun hotel five months ago. So, this is the food area, the
:39:31. > :39:40.kitchen area. Lovely. This is your cooker, water and all your food for
:39:41. > :39:49.the family. Si. And then is this the baby's bedroom? Right. OK. So that's
:39:50. > :40:02.the living room. And then you've got one bed here. Where do you all
:40:03. > :40:14.sleep? It's a bit cramped. Tell me about your job.
:40:15. > :40:21.So that's about ?3 a day. And your home? Did you make your home, or did
:40:22. > :40:41.you buy this plot of land? I guess it's very different because
:40:42. > :40:46.you're working in the Hotel Zone, which is very luxurious and there's
:40:47. > :40:52.electricity everywhere. There's lots of spotlights. To come home and have
:40:53. > :40:57.to steal electricity just so your kids can see at night is just very,
:40:58. > :41:24.very different. How do you deal with that?
:41:25. > :41:35.Muchas, muchas gracias. Gracias Muchas gracias! Ciao, ciao.
:41:36. > :41:39.It's tough, that, isn't it? Some people watching this will say the
:41:40. > :41:42.hotels aren't doing enough. The hotels should be paying more. The
:41:43. > :41:48.hotels should be looking after their staff more than they are. And
:41:49. > :41:55.perhaps they've got a point to a certain extent. But the crazy
:41:56. > :41:58.thought is, if we look at these people and think they're in an awful
:41:59. > :42:02.position, we've actually got to remember they're not in the worst
:42:03. > :42:07.position. They're actually lucky in the sense that they've got a job. So
:42:08. > :42:11.what do you do? Ideally, in an ideal world, of course you want them to
:42:12. > :42:15.earn more. Of course you want them to not be panicking about money But
:42:16. > :42:20.the reality is, they're so made up and they're so grateful that they've
:42:21. > :42:22.got this job in tourism. And if tourism left Cancun, if tourism
:42:23. > :42:27.wasn't big here... What you see now would be ten times worse, no
:42:28. > :42:30.question. Rosa's story is a familiar one for
:42:31. > :42:36.those starting out in the Hotel Zone. But there are ways out of the
:42:37. > :42:40.slums. I'm meeting up with Teresita, the cleaner I work with from my
:42:41. > :42:52.hotel. She's invited me back to her home.
:42:53. > :43:00.After working at Oasis for eight years, the hotel gave her a mortgage
:43:01. > :43:07.and she moved into a housing estate. Ola! Como estas?
:43:08. > :43:14.It's your babies! They're so similar!
:43:15. > :43:20.Like Rosa, Teresita's basic pay is ?3 a day. She lives with her three
:43:21. > :43:22.kids in this two-bedroomed flat and repaying her loan takes up half her
:43:23. > :43:45.salary Even living with a solid roof over
:43:46. > :43:50.her head, I want to know if Teresita feels safe living downtown.
:43:51. > :43:55.It's a very different side to Cancun that the tourists are not familiar
:43:56. > :43:59.with. So there's lots of people who are involved in organised crime here
:44:00. > :44:01.and there's lots of cartels. Is that a concern for lots of mums living in
:44:02. > :44:28.areas like this? Oh, don't get upset. What are you
:44:29. > :45:10.crying for? I look at her and think, "You've got
:45:11. > :45:15.it tough." She lives in a part of Mexico where rapes do occur. Young
:45:16. > :45:22.girls do get raped. It is a dangerous place. At night, they
:45:23. > :45:26.don't tend to go out. The little lad's always asking for money and it
:45:27. > :45:27.only takes a cartel to pick up on that. "Oh, you
:45:28. > :45:34.really happen, and... That's tough and she knows that and I think she
:45:35. > :45:45.worries about that a lot. It's not surprising that Teresita's
:45:46. > :45:46.worried. In Mexico there are up to 30,000 children forced to work as
:45:47. > :45:54.prostitutes or drug dealers. I've managed to track down one of
:45:55. > :46:01.the kids who's been involved in crime in Cancun.
:46:02. > :46:05.Ola! Como estas? I'm Stacey. He now bakes bread for hotels but
:46:06. > :46:09.just three months ago was working for a dangerous drug cartel. He then
:46:10. > :46:13.confessed to the police but because of his age, he wasn't prosecuted.
:46:14. > :46:17.We're still hiding his face to protect his identity.
:46:18. > :46:19.To me, you're very, very young. You're only 16. How do you find
:46:20. > :46:48.yourself in this kind of situation? What age did you start? He started
:46:49. > :46:56.out selling drugs to tourists but soon moved on to more serious
:46:57. > :47:06.crimes. How long were you selling drugs for?
:47:07. > :47:08.Wow! OK. So six months actually selling the gear and then six months
:47:09. > :47:34.killing people. No,
:47:35. > :47:50.people, were they kids? Were they a similar age to you?
:47:51. > :47:57.How easy is it for a 15-year-old to get involved in this... Horrific
:47:58. > :47:58.world of killing and murders and drugs and organised crime and
:47:59. > :48:12.cartels? He tells me many kids get trapped
:48:13. > :48:55.into dealing because they've become addicts themselves.
:48:56. > :49:01.If you go out looking for drugs on holiday, you can find them in
:49:02. > :49:04.Europe, America, wherever. The difference with Cancun is the
:49:05. > :49:15.effects that buying these drugs are having on the local kids. I mean, I
:49:16. > :49:19.don't know anywhere else in the world where 16-year-olds are
:49:20. > :49:26.assassinating 25 people. Most of them women. And beheadings are
:49:27. > :49:30.standard. And shootings are nearly on a daily basis. And robbery, you
:49:31. > :49:34.know, the crime here is like nowhere else in the world I've ever seen.
:49:35. > :49:36.And in the Hotel Zone, the tourists are completely protected and
:49:37. > :49:38.reality. You know, that's what happens here
:49:39. > :49:45.reality. You know, that's what heard it today. After everything I'd
:49:46. > :49:48.seen and heard, I couldn't leave without speaking to the authorities
:49:49. > :49:52.and asking them what they were going to do to improve things for the
:49:53. > :50:03.locals. Ola! Julian? I'm Stacey. Nice to
:50:04. > :50:06.meet you. So I've come to talk to the President of Tourism for Cancun,
:50:07. > :50:10.Julian Estrada, who had brought along his legal adviser, Tomas.
:50:11. > :50:13.Do you think it's fair that a place like Cancun, that treats tourists so
:50:14. > :50:18.well, and I'm not questioning that, tourists are kept very, very well,
:50:19. > :50:21.here. But that same level of attentiveness and care isn't
:50:22. > :50:28.necessarily shown to the locals and the workers here. It is, because we
:50:29. > :50:35.have our jobs. Not in all Mexico, you can get a real good job and a
:50:36. > :50:38.very well payment job. Do you think the money that is poured into Cancun
:50:39. > :50:41.through tourism attracts the drug cartels and the people that are
:50:42. > :50:48.involved in organised crime? Of course. In Cancun, we have all of
:50:49. > :50:54.the eyes... Eyeses? In the country. The eyes? Yes. You know, checking
:50:55. > :51:00.that the tourist is OK, all the tourist areas are safe. But drugs
:51:01. > :51:05.are still rife. Drugs are still very, very easy to get in Cancun.
:51:06. > :51:10.For me, it's not OK to consume drugs. But the government cannot, we
:51:11. > :51:15.cannot take all...to all the people that consume drugs because... It's a
:51:16. > :51:21.lot of problems. I understand what you're saying. So you're saying if
:51:22. > :51:24.you in Mexico went down to Cancun and arrested everyone that had
:51:25. > :51:26.drugs, that they were going to personally consume themselves, you
:51:27. > :51:28.would end up arresting so many people that you wouldn't be able to
:51:29. > :51:38.deal with that amount? We don't want to say that in Cancun you can do
:51:39. > :51:42.everything. And you can consume a lot of stuff because that
:51:43. > :51:50.everything. And you can consume a to give that... Yeah, I understand.
:51:51. > :51:54.You don't want to give... But the federal law say that for the person
:51:55. > :51:58.that consume, it is OK. Since you've put the Marines on the strip, and
:51:59. > :52:01.you've put more and more... You ve flooded the Hotel Zone with police,
:52:02. > :52:05.do you hope Downtown could ever be as safe as the hotel seems to be?
:52:06. > :52:10.Actually, is the same. It is very safe. Really? Yes. We live in
:52:11. > :52:13.Downtown and I can... Tell me, every day since I've been here, I've read
:52:14. > :52:16.the newspapers and there's been 13-year-olds arrested for dealing
:52:17. > :52:21.coke in Downtown, killings in Downtown, shootings in Downtown Is
:52:22. > :52:29.that not true? Yes, it is true but this is at some places. So it does
:52:30. > :52:32.exist? Yes, it does exist. There is a difference but not the bigger
:52:33. > :52:36.difference. We'll have to agree to disagree on that.
:52:37. > :52:39.Thomas explained very clearly that him and a lot of other Mexicans
:52:40. > :52:43.accept that tourists have to be given this special VIP treatment
:52:44. > :52:46.here in Cancun. You know, they're given the best part of Cancun,
:52:47. > :52:51.they're given the best security they're incredibly well looked after
:52:52. > :52:58.and locals get that. They accept that cos they've got to look after
:52:59. > :53:04.their income. That's the bottom line. And I do believe that them two
:53:05. > :53:08.men want good things for the locals and the workers. But realistically,
:53:09. > :53:10.it's just not on the agenda at the minute. The first priority seemingly
:53:11. > :53:21.always has to be tourists. I've got to ask you to leave the
:53:22. > :53:27.stage right now. It's a beautiful ass, I know, but...
:53:28. > :53:30.This year, nearly two million Spring Breakers have been making the most
:53:31. > :53:36.of Cancun and that figure is only set to rise. While the locals
:53:37. > :53:39.clearly benefit from the money tourists bring in, the
:53:40. > :53:45.danger downtown seem to me a high price