Shootout Kills 17 In Acapulco Resort

13 Gunmen, 2 Bystanders, 2 Soldier Dead, Civilians Injured; Police Found Handcuffed Claim They Were Hostages

(AP)  Attackers used grenades and guns in near-simultaneous attacks on two police stations in Acapulco Monday, killing two officers and wounding two others in the Pacific coast resort city plagued by drug violence.

The bold pre-dawn attacks follow a spectacular four-hour gunbattle that killed 17 people — 13 suspected hit men, two innocent bystanders and two soldiers — said Daniel Velasco, an army commander in Acapulco. Another bystander was wounded in Saturday's shootout.

The Defense Department initially said 18 people had died.

Gunmen fatally shot two officers sitting in a patrol car parked outside one of the police stations shortly before 5:30 a.m Monday. A few minutes later, assailants attacked a second station, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away, wounding two officers, according to the Guerrero state police department.

Soldiers set up roadblocks in search of the suspects, who shot up at least eight patrol cars.

A state police official, who was not authorized to give his name, said investigators are looking into whether the attacks were retaliation for Saturday's gunbattle.

Thousands of shots were fired and 50 explosions marked Saturday's battle, which erupted after soldiers received a tip that armed men were gathered at a gated house less than 100 yards (meters) from the Los Flamingos Hotel that was once a private club for Hollywood stars like John Wayne and "Tarzan" star Johnny Weissmuller.

Velasco said Monday that the dead include a hit man known as "Commander Magana" with the Beltran Leyva drug cartel.

Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, has long suffered violence from drug cartels fighting for turf and the Beltran Leyva cartel has a strong presence in Acapulco. Last month, soldiers arrested a suspected cartel lieutenant as he stepped off a private plane in the northern city of Monterrey on his way back from Acapulco, where he said he'd met with cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva at a baptism party.

President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of soldiers to Acapulco as part of his nationwide crackdown on organized crime launched in 2006. Since then, more than 10,800 people have been killed by drug violence nationwide.

[peguesplace]

Why is the only choice between legalizing all drugs, or keep the status quo??
It would seem reasonable to legalize marijuana, and keep the hard drug laws as they are now.. Taking their marijuana income away would certainly cut the cash flow to the "Mexican Mafias", and allow US Customs and Border Patrol to concentrate on stopping the hard drugs at the border.
Our drug laws and the demand for drugs are making some of the worst people in the world "Lousy Rich" and they are able to sway the courts and law enforcement with their bankrolls of American dollars..
Cut their income and they will have to do like JFK's father, who got out of rum running and into legitimate business. They might even have a son who's "El Presidente" someday...

[MEXpatriate]

....another setback episode on Calderon's valiant war he took on, which clearly lacks a strategy as to how to deal with the consequences of getting tough against a well armed and wide-spread enemy. In this case, Acapulco will be dropped from many vacation plans, national and foreign.
This is demonstrated by using a military force that looks impressive patrolling the streets but certainly is not prepared nor trained to counter a foe that is aided by corruption and shielded by impunity. But it was his whim, Felipe The Daring, with NO plan B whatsoever. Oh, but he is trying to revitalize tourism with the Vive Mexico campaign.
My dear Mexico...one step forward, two steps back. Story of our life and history.
Short sighted leader and no "what if ?" contemplated. For starters, still fighting against a plant that archaic U.S. laws say its evil. Por favor.....

[king-diamond]

and we continue to allow the mass importation of criminals from Mexico. Every day in our local paper, there is news of some murder or murders, and every day before reading the article I try to guess the Mexican sir-name of the criminals...I never get it right but the name IS Mexican (or Latino) 80% of the time.
Posted by frets3 ....


move out of the trailer park,
read something besides Greensheet...

[frets3]

...and we continue to allow the mass importation of criminals from Mexico. Every day in our local paper, there is news of some murder or murders, and every day before reading the article I try to guess the Mexican sir-name of the criminals...I never get it right but the name IS Mexican (or Latino) 80% of the time.

[tommynutz]

We need to annex Mexico!

[scyouth]

The majority of the guns in Mexico that come from the U S are those sold to the Mexican government, the majority of guns supplied to the cartels are sold by europeans, asians and south americans.
So much for the myth Hillary started.
Posted by Aldymac

That's BS - and Hillary wasn't making it up - you ditwad, it was the Mexican police, army and president who all told her. It's a known fact to anyone other than those guilty of the crime.

[Aldymac]

The majority of the guns in Mexico that come from the U S are those sold to the Mexican government, the majority of guns supplied to the cartels are sold by europeans, asians and south americans.
So much for the myth Hillary started.

[scyouth]

Legalise drugs AND jail any American gun-dealer found guilty of supplying arms to the cartels. Remember 90% of the guns used by the cartels come from the US.

[legacyabq]

Legalizing drugs won't really solve that problem.
Posted by aChangeOfIdeas at 5:55 PM

Exactly, and KEEPING THEM ILLEGAL MAKES IT EVEN WORSE, which is the point of the original poster!! Look at prohibition, look at al capone! Hello? AL CAPONE, the legendary mobster, made a lot of money running liqour BECAUSE IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE SINCE IT WAS ILLEGAL

Dont ya get it? The shootouts in chicago? The speakeasys where people went blind from bad alcohol?? ALL FROM BEING ILLEGAL??

Its not hard to figure this out.. Making drugs illegal makes them profitable.. VERY profitable.
PROFIT in the BLACK MARKET ===== B I G C R I M E

Why are people so unwilling to look unflinchingly at the truth?

[legacyabq]

dude check out what someone posted:

The majority of drug problems in US schools does not have anything to do with Mexico. Elementary school children as young as 8 are cooking up drugs in straw candy using their parents legal drugs that they steal, and then sell. They're mixing valium with Nestle's Quick, and combinations of uppers and downers in Kool-Aid, or sometimes just selling a group of pills in a cocktail...the young don't get into wackie weed and crack until they're in high school with the big allowances, or with their summer job earnings.

LMAO,, Wow I've heard of victims of propaganda, buddy, but truly truly YOU take the cake!! Are you freaking retarded??

[legacyabq]

wow the mexicans have military soldiers in ski masks acting as their police force...


Nice place to live, eh?

[stn_sage]

Well, if American tourists were not detoured from vacationing in Acapulco, this latest gun battle ought to seriously cause them to reconsider their plans! But, seriously---

I agree with Analyst333---there are good, decent Mexicans who want to live the same type of life style most Americans want to live; one of peace, prosperity, and progressivism! But, their system(s) are mostly corrupt and hence, severely dysfunctional! Which, leads me to two points!

First, those decent Mexicans need to organize and 'take back' their nation; or, leave it!

Second, it is absolutely NECESSARY for the U.S. to instigate protection of its' southern border with Mexico! The primary reason this 'common sense' procedure wasn't enacted years ago, was because all the corrupt politicians in Congress wouldn't allow it!

Well, it's way past time that they 'wise up' and listen to the public---or the chattle, as they like to think of us---and DO THEIR JOBS and PROTECT AMERICA by securing our southern border!

[aChangeOfIdeas]

Remember prohibition and all the criminal activity. We legalized booze and it all stopped! It blew their empire apart. We should legalize drugs and teach our children in schools from kindergarten on, the horrors of drugs (the younger the better), then watch this whole drug industry fall apart.and of course it will because there will be no big money and the mystique of these crap drugs will be gone.
Posted by goodusa at 10:54 AM : Jun 7, 2009

Sure, that will work... because since alcohol is legal, no teenagers abuse it? We've been teaching our kids the "horrors of drugs" along with telling them not to smoke, drink, and please try not to get pregnant and guess what? A lot of them still end up doing these things (not all... there's a lot of good kids out there too). Legalizing drugs won't really solve that problem.

[YrSoWrong]

The laughter of the lunatic isn't really funny.

[kamsack50]

Sean58z
How are these drugs you mention related to psychosis, pedophilia and forcible rape?

[Analyst333]

I live and worked in Mexico for thirty years and have traveled every inch of the country from Tijuana to Oaxaca. I love Mexico, and I love the Mexican people so much that I married one of them. But that being said, their political and criminal justice system is rotten to the core. Yes, there are good people in Mexico with integrity who are trying to do the right thing. But they are vastly outnumbered by a devastatingly corrupt system that transcends every level of government.
-
Like East Germany, they are going to have to tear down the entire infrastructure and rebuild the place from scratch. Iraq was never our national security problem. Mexico is.

[ustaxpayer]

The problem is, that what is going on in Mexico is now coming across the border and these violent activities are in L.A., Phoenix, Laredo and the list goes on. These people are violent and our government has done little to stop the influx. Why would anyone go to Mexico these days with all the negative publicity every day? The last time I was down there as a scout master with 15 kids, the police charged me fifty dollars for a turn that an officer directed me to do. When I got down the street this "officer" stepped out from between two cars and told me I would go to jail if I didn't up the cash for an illegal turn. It was a set up deal and the police are just as corrupt as as the drug lords. I will never go back.

[YrSoWrong]

CBS bloggers should consider vacationing in Lebanon. It has everything they could want: power-sharing with Hezbollah, a crumbling national identity vis-a-vis the Syrian one-family crime regime, back-alleys for illegal activities (both drug-related and for sex of the third-world variety) as well as the occasional mortar-round into Israel. For CBS bloggers who are tired of waking-up in a Mexican barnyard, Lebanon has it all.

[sean58z]

Narcotics Traffickers can be violent and desperate. They sell methamphetamine, MDMA, PCP, LSD, heroin, potent mushrooms (lab), sinemilla, and strong whippets (nitrous oxide). Drug Dealers cater to craven tastes of pedophile Junkies. The Police eliminate these substances to end psychosis, child pornography, and forcible sexual rape. Criminal syndicates destroy the morality of the world community.

[rushlimpdrug]

Want to stop this? There's only one way, legalize all drugs.
Posted by m8rt at 10:25 AM

Do you really think the drug lords want drugs legalized?

I'd like to hear your thougth on this.