Relative Calm in Acapulco, in Spite of News Stories

(Acapulco, NA 20 May) One of the local papers led its current edition with the headline “Violence causes ten deaths.” However, on inspection, four occurred in outlying pueblos in the mountains outside of Acapulco, and six within the band of poor neighborhoods and industrial suburbs surrounding Acapulco city proper. The only violence reported in or near the tourist zone was a “drug deal gone bad” in a hotel room in a seedy section near downtown. No one was killed. Three persons were arrested. One person was wounded, a soldier, who shot himself in the foot by accident. Those arrested were found in possession of 17 plastic bags of what seemed to be marijuana, 78 bags thought to be crack and 7 of a cocaine-like substance. Weapons, handcuffs and other materials were also confiscated. The event involved gunfire and caused quite a local commotion, but no innocent bystanders were affected. In another incident, federal police arrested eight persons in the subdivision known as Joyas del Marqués, on the Diamante side of Acapulco. Five men, a woman and two minors were taken into custody for pursuing three other men in what the police described as “a suspicious manner.”