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A Judge Was Shot Dead in Mexico’s Beach City of Acapulco
A judge was shot dead Wednesday in Mexico’s once-thriving beach city of Acapulco, local media and the state prosecutor’s office reported. The slain judge, Edmundo Roman Pinzon, was the president of the Superior Court of Justice in Guerrero state. He was shot at least four times in his car outside an Acapulco courthouse.
The southern state of Guerrero is one of the areas hardest hit in Mexico by violence linked to organized crime, and has seen a string of deadly attacks this year. In October, the mayor of the state capital Chilpancingo was killed and decapitated just days after taking office. Days later, four mayors asked federal authorities for protection. Last month, a dozen dismembered bodies were discovered in vehicles in Chilpancingo.
Acapulco, the state’s most populous city, was once a playground for the rich and famous, but has lost its luster over the last decade as foreign tourists have been spooked by bloodshed that has made it one of the world’s most violent cities.
The judge’s murder comes two days after assailants in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz shot to death a federal congressman. Rep. Benito Aguas Atlahua was a member of the Green Party, an ally of the ruling Morena party. Investigators have yet to publicly identify any possible motive in Monday’s slaying.
The killing of the judge comes just over a week after President Claudia Sheinbaum led a meeting of the National Public Security Council in Acapulco, with state governors in attendance. Sheinbaum has ruled out launching a new “war on drugs,” instead pledging to stick to her predecessor’s “hugs not bullets” strategy of using social policy to address the causes of crime. Last year, 1,890 murders were recorded in Guerrero.
Violence in Guerrero reached such unprecedented levels that earlier this year, Roman Catholic bishops announced they had helped arrange a truce in another part of the state between two warring drug cartels. In June, at least three politicians in Guerrero were killed, including Acacio Flores, who represents Malinaltepec.