Pubdate: Fri, 16 Sep 2005
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2005 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: Ioan Grillo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

GANGLAND VIOLENCE INVADES PARADISE

Drug Warfare Spreads From the Gritty Border to Mexico's Tourist Mecca:
Acapulco

ACAPULCO, MEXICO - After more than half a century in this sun-soaked
Mexican resort, American Ron Lavender thought he had seen it all.

He passed the 1950s drinking margaritas on the bay's paradisiacal
beaches when they were frequented by stars such as John Wayne, Frank
Sinatra and Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller.

He sold real estate through the 1960s and 1970s, as the resort became
a top tourist spot, with hotels climbing up the skyline.

He saw the city's population explode at the close of the 20th century,
shooting up from 100,000 to more than a million.

But Lavender, 79, has been taken aback by the latest chapter in the
resort's colorful history  a series of more than 30 drug-related
killings so far this year, many in the heart of the glitzy disco and
restaurant zone.

"A lot has happened in Acapulco, but never anything like this before,"
said Lavender, a native of Iowa, as he sat in his office wearing
shorts and a short-sleeved shirt on a scorching afternoon.

In the past, this beach resort had been nearly untouched by the kind
of gangland carnage plaguing other parts of Mexico.

The recent Acapulco violence, including three grenade attacks on
police stations and the slayings of several officers, poses one more
headache for President Vicente Fox, whose administration has been
rattled by an appalling year of drug-related bloodshed.

Since Jan. 1, there have been more than 1,000 drug-related killings
across Mexico, mostly near the U.S. border where gangs are fighting a
bloody turf war for billion-dollar smuggling routes into the United
States.

The Acapulco slayings, which investigators believe are linked to the
violence along the border, have raised fears about security in
Mexico's tourist areas, which bring billions of dollars each year into
the economy.

"If they can't stop the murder of a top cop in the center of the
resort, what does that say about safety for the rest of us?" said
Acapulco criminal lawyer Javier Ruiz.

So far, however, the violence has had little impact on Acapulco's
tourist industry. Between June and mid-August, 600,000 people visited
the resort, an increase of 2 percent compared with the same period
last year.

And, according to the U.S. Consulate, no Americans so far have been
victims.

"These hit men are such good shots that they don't get any innocent
bystanders," said Bernadette Feazell, of Waco, who has been living in
a house with a stunning view of Acapulco's bay for the last seven
years. "They normally get the killings out of the way first thing in
the morning, so you can still get to the supermarket untroubled by
lunchtime."

Unlike the violence along the border, the spike in drug-related
killings has not been accompanied by a rise in other crimes, according
to police.

"I don't think this new wave of violence will affect us Americans,"
Lavender said. "It appears to be gangsters killing gangsters."

To bolster security, the Fox government has sent more than 100 federal
paramilitary police to this sunny resort. Soldiers have raided several
luxury houses, finding caches of automatic weapons and bundles of
marijuana and cocaine.

Mexican authorities say Acapulco has been pulled into the drug war
because of its geographic location. The city serves as a major Pacific
port and sits along an important road linking Mexico's southern and
northern borders.

"We have a big chunk of coast, a major north-south highway and an
airport," said Acapulco Mayor Alberto Lpez Rosas. "It's a
strategically important city."

Gangs have long used the mountains near Acapulco to grow marijuana and
opium poppies, the raw material for heroin. Federal agents recently
seized nearly half a ton of marijuana in an Acapulco house, where it
was being packaged into 10-pound bundles. Gangs may also be fighting
for a growing local drug market, authorities say.

"In the last 10 years, there has been a considerable increase in the
use of drugs here  particularly cocaine," said Noem Hernndez, director
of a government anti-drug program.

Investigators say that mobsters fighting here may be linked to the
same gangs that are battling it out on the border with Texas.

"There is a lot of evidence that criminals from the north are getting
their claws into Acapulco," said Javier Lpez Cano, a spokesman for the
Acapulco Police Department.

Despite Acapulco's crime wave, Lavender said he still loves the
city.

"I have had a blessed life here," the longtime real estate agent said,
looking out his window at the calm bay.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake