Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Monday, February 21, 2011

12 Taxi Drivers, Fares Killed in Mexican Resort


A spate of attacks on taxis in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco has left 12 taxi drivers or passengers dead, police said Sunday, just hours before the Mexican Open tennis tournament is scheduled to start. Acapulco has been the scene of bloody drug cartel turf wars, and taxi drivers have often been targeted for extortion or recruited by the gangs to act as lookouts or transport drugs.
The organizers of the largest tennis tournament in Latin America said in a statement Sunday that the Mexican government has assured them that appropriate security measures have been taken for the event that starts Monday.

Police in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said that four suspects had been detained in relation with some of the attacks. The suspects had guns, a grenade and a machete that police say may have been used to decapitate some of the victims.

The attacks began Friday, when five taxi drivers were found dead in or near their vehicles.
The slaughter continued Saturday, when a driver was found bound and shot to death near his taxi, and two others were found dead of bullet wounds inside their vehicles. One of the drivers had been beheaded.

Gunmen opened fire on yet another taxi, killing the driver and three passengers.

'Responsible measures' being taken
On Sunday, the violence came closer to the city's tourist zone, where the tennis matches are held. Five cars were set afire and a man's body was found hacked to pieces outside an apartment building. Dozens of cars have been set ablaze in Acapulco in recent days, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Tournament organizers at the Association of Tennis Professionals, in a statementvsent to The Associated Press, said the group had received assurances from all levels of the Mexican government.

"Following an independent security assessment and discussions with tournament organizers, we are satisfied that responsible measures are being taken, and that the event has the full support of the authorities of Acapulco, the state of Guerrero, and the Mexican federal government," the statement said.

Players have received e-mails from the ATP about the situation, cautioning them about going out and suggesting they stay near their hotel. It has also been suggested they arrive as late as possible and leave once eliminated. Tournament organizers have played down the security concerns, pointing out that the International Olympic Committee and President Jacques Rogge held their executive board meeting in the coastal resort in October.

'We are a bit scared'  
Argentine player David Nalbandian said Saturday that he was thinking about withdrawing since he already has a groin injury and could use the rest before Argentina's Davis Cup match against Romania March 4-6.
"It's a great and enjoyable tournament to play," said Nalbandian, who was beaten on Saturday by Tommy Robredo in the quarterfinals of the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires.

"But for right now it's a little more difficult because of the security situation. We (players) are a bit scared about this and we're trying to decide what to do."

Tournament director Raul Zurutuza later confirmed Nalbandian's withdrawal. He said the danger was being exaggerated and complained about communications from the ATP and the WTA, which will also play a Mexico tournament.

"It is being blown out of proportion — what is going on, that we are concerned about the violence," Zurutuza said. "We are. But in the context of tennis being played, I believe a great week awaits us."

Spanish player David Ferrer, winner of the last Acapulco tournament, downplayed the danger.

"I think things are being greatly exaggerated," Ferrer said. "We tennis players have all the guarantees" for personal safety.

Graphic Pictures by AgoraGuerrero.com

32 comments:

  1. brutal, cant even tell what half those body parts are. looks like someone might be trying to take out a few "hawks"

    ReplyDelete
  2. I guess these dumbass tennis players have never looked at Borderland Beat............

    ReplyDelete
  3. Calling for a boicot of Mexico as tourist destination. It makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used to vacation in Mexico (including Acapulco)but no more! I don't care if they make Mexico "safe" for tourists, the whole country is contaminated,dirty, and dangerous in my mind. How can you tell if that waiter or Taxi driver is not setting you up? Too creepy-uncomfortable for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How do these murderers know which taxi cab drivers might be lookouts and which ones are not? These thugs usually don't care and it wouldn't surprise me if they killed without knowing for sure.

    Also, if some taxi cabdrivers are working in any capacity for the cartels, are being fired upon and passengers are dying, this would be even more evidence that it is too dangerous to visit Acapulco these days. If I recall correctly, there was an article on BB about 2 months ago about a club visited by foreigner tourists that was fired upon causing severe injuries to patrons...it was suspected that the owner did not pay his extortion fees.

    It's terrible to see Acapulco descend into Hell like this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @panamark, I know! The reality is though that no one covers the border issue to the depth and objectivity as borderlandbeat.com , at least in English, don't know about the Spanish sites. The reality is also that the vast majority of the world outside of the 100 miles on each side of the border know very little and care even less about this issue. They won't until they can't ignore it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I wanted to post this article, but I'm not a "member" yet of BB. It's interesting that Aca is finally getting some coverage because the killing there is astronomical. Look, most of this is outside the tourist area, but in being fair minded and non bias'd, some of it is directly in the tourist area and there are shoot outs often. It's hard to believe because when your there, it's beyond gorgeous and the people really are good people that I've known for many years. This was a long time coming..corruption, greed, turning a blind eye and supporting this has now become the monster they can't control. Honestly my friends who are managers of clubs restaurants etc tell me, they don't even know who to turn to in the Cartel for protection and/or to negotiate to keep the violence outside the tourist zone. I think there's a lot of young drugged up young guys that really have no leadership and could not care less who they kill, how they kill and who gets killed in the crossfire.

    Spring Break this year in Aca will be non existent..tour companies pulled out. That's millions in drug sales gone and tourist dollars. The wealthy from Monterrey, DF, Cuernavaca have pretty much abandoned going to Aca and the locals no longer have the money or risk tolerance to be out at night so I'm not sure how you fix this.

    Personally I love Aca, but I won't go unless it's a holiday weekend otherwise it's too dead. I used to have no fear at all down there, but now if I go to a local's club I'm very nervous that something can happen especially if you get involved with the wrong girl....All the young kids out at night all look capable of doing something stupid...It was not like that in the past.

    Also, this morning a SUV rolled up on a police station in the Garita neighborhood and just opened fire for several minutes on a police station and it's cars....no response....yesterday in the same area, the cartel guys executed someone right in front of the police who stood there and did nothing. It boggles the mind....The federal police seem to be cleaning house there and they keep making arrests...I wonder though how long until these brutal killers are back on the street.

    Aca is in a downward spiral, but miraculously, no American tourists have been kidnapped or killed in all of this.....Kidnapping is getting big there as well....I'd hate to be a local who owns a business in Aca.

    As for the tennis players...it's definitely exaggerated to calls to stay in their hotel. They could go out to some of the nicest restaurants with a view, go to the night club Baby O that's pictured in theBB article with out issue. The management of these clubs have this big promo slogan as you see Habla Bien De Aca...it's all over facebook.....everyone is very desperate from the drop off in tourism...it's beyond sad.

    ReplyDelete
  8. To February 21, 2011 9:58 AM
    Anonymous......I don't know of a club that was fired upon in Aca that's a tourist club, but the Palladium which is an international HUGE club in Aca and world award winning did have someone get shot recently. It was hushed up quickly. They also have metal detection and in all fairness they do try to keep it very safe and clean in there and it is a great place.

    As for the cabbies, I often wonder how rival cartels know who's who. I mean, we can't even find Bin Laden will all the technology and training, but these guys seem to find everyone. I heard extortion of taxi drivers is on the rise...A gf of mine tells me it's estimated that 35% of taxis in Aca somehow work for the cartel whether it be taking patrons to whore houses, selling them drugs or look outs..mostly look outs...what they are looking for I have no clue. The late night taxis that have cb radio are a great source of information

    ReplyDelete
  9. 9:48AM - I've traveled all over Mexico in years past but now will only visit very few places. This upsets me greatly as I loved visiting and hate to read what is happening to too many good people. It really is scary not knowing if a waiter, taxi cab driver, car rental employee or a friendly local might be setting you up.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yeah I can't identify the body parts either, this goes beyong overkill..it is insanity.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 10:11 AM - I read recently that an official from the Aca tourism industry stated business is thriving at the moment. He went on to say that residents from DF still flock to Aca. How can this be when it appears there is mass murder and hideous forms of torture all around? Perhaps he is right or perhaps he was lying so that potential tourists feel at ease? Does anybody on here know for sure?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anon says he wanted to post this article, but not a member of BB yet.

    well yes you are, and many of us post links to stories or add additional informational links right here in the comment section. just talk about what you are posting and link it up.
    Or send to any reporter you think will be interested..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Abuela is right, and if you want to post directly to BB as a contributor, just send us an email request:

    borderlandbeat@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I know for sure!! I spend a lot of time in Aca...The clubs are beyond dead and all of my friends that I've made over the years won't go and when they do, they stay out in the condos by the airport and not in town and rarely come into town. My friends at certain restaurants and hotels tell me business is down 40%.....I think more for many other places. My friends who work in huge lavish nightclubs are seeking new jobs in other areas. I literally went to the most popular club and counted 20 people. On the strip, only on bar stays open very late when back in the day all were packed through 5am. Most big clubs are closed on week days now.

    I've sat at my hotel and virtually been just one of a handful at the pool....In off season, I've been alone at the pool. Many restaurants have closed as well. It's very hard to believe how fast this is happening, but trust me tourism is down big time...new years and semena santa imo don't count. Also spring break will be nearly non existent.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Also, one more thing to add, I'm well aware of the danger when I go there, but to me it's like getting hit by lighting. For all of the violence, they are not targeting tourists, that's not to say a tourist can't get hit in the crossfire, but it's just not enough to deter me from going at this time. The danger is real, but trust me when you are there, people really bend over backwards to see you have a good time....It's a nightmare to see this happening to the hard working people there and again much of it is nowhere a tourist would ever travel to with in the city. I hear there's close to 2million people in Aca. Some of the most hospitable people I've encountered. I have close friends there. My main concern is that you can't trust as another poster mentioned. You never know when your being set up. An old gf, told me meet me at this restaurant behind the mall a few blocks. I went and the whole time I'm concerned about being set up....then I feel like a piece of crap for thinking the worst of her. My big concern is if a club or restaurant owner has an issue with extortion, I'm worried someone tosses a grenade or shoots up the joint to make a statement.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear: panamark said...
    I guess these dumbass tennis players have never looked at Borderland Beat............
    Almost 8 million people have seen this site but compare that to 350 million people in the U.S. and 124 million from Mexico and you can see that not many people have seen whats really going on in Mexico.

    ReplyDelete
  17. These kind of crimes are committed by sick demented pychopathic common criminals. The mexican goverment would do right for its people to involve the F.B.I and solve killings like this. They have the know how and desire to do the job.They always get thier man- you simply cannot out smart them. They are the best in the world.
    When they are on your tail, your fried toast- your fucked and going to fereral prison.
    Wait and watch for arrests in The American Hero, Jamie Zapatas death. You can bet big money that someone will one day have the cold needle jammed into his arm and posion pumped into thier worthless heart!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. f'cken savages ! How can you decapitate someone for doing their job ?

    ReplyDelete
  19. @February 21, 2011 7:15 PM
    "They always get thier man"

    Just like the FBI did a good job on the lake falcon incident, like the missionary killed earlier this year...where are the killers? Out free thats where...get real DFL and thats only what happen in Mexico, I could go on and on where they don't solve crimes in the U.S. but thats a different story. The FBI is a joke when it comes to organized crime. Stop dreaming in lala land.

    ReplyDelete
  20. @ big smurf

    dont mean to get off the subject but have you seen the photos of (R-1 of CDG) decapitated? do you know if he is really dead?? i saw these photos already and ive heard of him but i was wondering if you knew anything about this?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I think all this killing of taxi drivers is because they are now being charged fees to operate and the ones that havent paid are getting brutally murdered to encourage the rest of them to pay up or die...

    ReplyDelete
  22. @February 21, 2011 9:28 PM

    Ajulio where did you see this? Can you send me a link? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  23. @February 21, 2011 9:45 PM
    Its called halcones...basically lookouts for a cartel. Thats why they are being killed for working for criminal organizations.

    ReplyDelete
  24. It isnt him. They show the head sitting on the coroners table.

    ReplyDelete
  25. i sometimes read the comments in the borderland beat forum and i have to admit, there are some very interesting stories there, especially from R-19, who talked about some of the torture methods that the cartels use on their victims.

    but i read a comment from swanka who talked about UNIT 731, which i never knew about. in the 30's-40's, the japanese used chinese prisoners as experiment subjects of torture. they would infect their victims with diseases and then perform surgery on them without anesthesia. they would hang them upside down until death. or they would inject horse urine into the victim's kidneys or air into their arteries. sometimes they would bury them alive.

    as far as sadistic acts of torture, modern day mexican cartels have got nothing on japan in the 30's and 40's.

    just when you think that this is as worse as it gets......

    ReplyDelete
  26. @ 9:59 pm

    i saw it on mundo narco.

    ReplyDelete
  27. @ 9:58 am

    good point. how do you know if one of these taxi drivers is trying to set you up? one minute you're in a taxi and the next you're bound and gagged in some room getting beat up and kidnapped for money. and the sad thing is, some of these taxi's are the coolest people you could ever meet.

    it's sad that in mexico, you can't really trust anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  28. @ajulio post the link so we could see the photo. Where did you see it?

    ReplyDelete
  29. @ajulio

    Do you know how to even read Spanish? The photo is a victim of R1 not the other way around. I heard R1 is bald or has very little hair left.

    ReplyDelete
  30. @ earnies world

    my bad. je je je. mi necesito aprender better espanol before i give informacion incorrecto.

    i was thinking, they killed el comandante R-1 and BB has'nt said anything about it?

    ReplyDelete
  31. El Comandante R-1??????????
    http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/04/zeta-interrogation-comandante-r1.html

    ReplyDelete
  32. Comandante R1 C.D.G. ( En Vivo)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J55ZxC3kurE

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated, refer to policy for more information.
Envía fotos, vídeos, notas, enlaces o información
Todo 100% Anónimo;

borderlandbeat@gmail.com