MEXICO CITY — Tourists have barely started trickling back into the Mexican resort of Acapulco after deadly storm damage last year, but the gangland killings on the beaches have already returned.
Late Friday, the government of the Pacific coast state of Guerrero said it was deploying 60 gun-toting detectives to patrol the beaches ''in light of the violent events that have occurred recently.''
At least three people were shot dead on beaches in Acapulco last week, one by gunmen who arrived — and escaped — aboard a boat.
The violence continues despite the presence of thousands of soldiers and National Guard officers deployed to the city after Category 5 Hurricane Otis in late October.
The storm killed 52 people and left 32 missing. It also caused severe damage to almost all Acapulco's hotels. Only a fraction of the city's hotel rooms — about 5,000 — have been repaired.
The government has pledged to build about three dozen barracks for the quasi-military National Guard in Acapulco. But even with throngs of troops now on the streets, the gang violence that has beset the resort for almost two decades appears to have continued.
In January, the main Acapulco chamber of commerce reported that gang threats and attacks caused about 90% of the city's passenger vans to stop running, affecting the resort's main form of transport.
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.
