Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico, has been in the news lately due to the terrifying attack that took place there recently. The terrifying act came in the form of eight gunmen entering the casino on Thursday, August 26th, 2011, and asked all the occupants to hit the floor. They then proceeded to explode a fire bomb in the casino after drenching the place in gasoline. There followed a massive fire that killed as many as 53 people.
The attack came in the wake of the impending drug wars that were taking place in the city for more than a year. The drug cartels have been demanding money from the casino owners. Casinos that are refusing to pay are attacked. This is cited as the main reason for the Casino Royale attack. Some also state that the attack came in light of the alleged connection between the drug world and the gambling business in Mexico. The attack in Casino Royale was not the first. The casino was targeted in earlier months as well by drug traffickers. Other casinos were also attacked by gunmen in May 2011. The attack was in the form of bullets fired at them. Luckily, there was no injury or life lost in those attacks.
The sight that followed the attack was heart-wrenching. Rescue workers found charred remains of people in places like office spaces, under furniture, and inside toilets. The rescue workers say that it looked like the people were trying to protect themselves from the massive fire and fumes and also from the gunmen. The fire fighters took more than four hours to control the flames and move into the casino to start the rescue operations. By then, many people succumbed to the heavy fumes that arose due to the fire.
The entrance of the casino was completely charred. The death toll from the attack is expected to increase from the now stated 53. From investigations done so far, there were around 80 people inside the building during the attack. Many out of these still remain unaccounted for. Some say that the attack on the casino came at one of its slow times and therefore the number of people in the casino was very few. At peak hours, the casino could hold as many as a thousand people at one time. The video surveillance images of the rescue operations painted a grim picture as fire fighters pulled out charred remains of bodies from the burnt structure of what once was Casino Royale.
The Mexican government is pleading to the United States of America to help curb the illegal drug trading between the United States and Mexico. The attack on the casino has had serious political implications within the Mexican government. The citizens of Mexico are looking upon the government with doubt when it comes to competency as they have failed to control the drug wars and the rise of the drug lords. The lack of a proper security system within the country is stated as one of the major reasons for such an attack on Casino Royale.