This happened during Obama and also during Trump. Crime and corruption in Mexico have been ever-present for decades. Kidnapping is so common there that people are regularly scammed by criminals that pretend to be hostage takers without actually taking hostages (just knowing someone took a boat ride for a few hours or lost their phone is enough to get the process going). If you go to Cancun: fly, don't drive.
This happened during Obama and also during Trump. Crime and corruption in Mexico have been ever-present for decades. Kidnapping is so common there that people are regularly scammed by criminals that pretend to be hostage takers without actually taking hostages (just knowing someone took a boat ride for a few hours or lost their phone is enough to get the process going). If you go to Cancun: fly, don't drive.