LOS ANGELES — Another day brings another funeral in Mexico. The death toll from violence has already passed 2,700 this year Another day brings another funeral in Mexico. The death toll from violence has already passed 2,700 this year Eleven decapitated bodies have been found outside the city of Merida on the Yucatan peninsula, heightening fears that Mexico’s recent descent into violence has reached even heavily protected tourist areas. All the bodies showed signs of torture and were tattooed with star signs and the letter ‘Z’, suggesting that they had fallen victim to the country’s growing drug war, which has left more than 2,700 dead so far this year. Merida is a popular stop-off point for tourists on their way to visit the Mayan pyramids at Chichen Itza. On the other side of the Yucatan peninsula is Cancun, a Las Vegas-style holiday destination popular with US tourists; an hour or so farther south of Cancun is the resort town of Playa del Carmen, where many US hotel chains have built five-star properties. Perhaps inspired by the insurgency in Iraq, Mexican drug gangs have started to use mass beheadings as a macabre public relations tool. […]