10 bodies found scattered around Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco

Ten bodies were found scattered around Mexico’s once-glamorous resort city of Acapulco, which has been engulfed by violence linked to cartels, local security officials said.

The bodies of two women and four men were left Monday night on an avenue near a market, said the public security office. Local media reported the bodies had been thrown from a car.

A shooting in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood left three men dead and another three wounded, officials added.

Authorities found another man shot dead in the tourist part of the city.

Acapulco was once a playground for the rich and famous, but it has lost its luster in the last decade as foreign tourists have been spooked by bloodshed that has made it one of the world’s most violent cities.  The city is also still struggling to recover after being hit by Category 5 Hurricane Otis in October. Otis left at least 52 dead and destroyed or damaged most hotels.

Acapulco is part of the state of Guerrero, one of the worst affected by drug trafficking in the country. It is among six states in Mexico that the U.S. State Department advises Americans to completely avoid, citing crime and violence. Disputes between cartels led to 1,890 murders in the state in 2023.

Acapulco has been bloodied by turf battles between gangs since at least 2006. The gangs are fighting over drug sales and income from extorting protection payments from businesses, bars, bus and taxi drivers.

Deadly trend continues in Acapulco 

Acapulco has seen a spate of violence already this year. Just last month, the head of traffic police was shot to death when assailants opened fire on him on a street relatively far away from the resort’s beaches.

In February, the strangled bodies of two men were found on the popular Condesa beach in Acapulco. Prosecutors said the men’s bodies bore signs of “torture by ligature” with “signs of torture around the neck.”

That same month, the state government deployed 60 gun-toting detectives to patrol the beaches “in light of the violent events that have occurred recently.”

Around that same time, at least three people were shot dead on beaches in Acapulco, one by gunmen who arrived – and escaped – aboard a boat.

In April 2023, three people were killed in a shooting and a subsequent chase by police officers at a beachside restaurant in Acapulco. Officials said police chased the attackers down the beach as they were “escaping towards the sea.” 

Spiraling criminal violence has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since the government of then-president Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against drug cartels in 2006.

Mexico has been recently plagued by a wave of political violence ahead of the June 2 elections. More than two dozen politicians have been killed since September last year, according to the NGO Data Civica — including one mayoral hopeful who was shot dead last month just as she began campaigning.