MEXICO CITY (AP) — A weekend march for peace in the beach resort of San Jose del Cabo was followed by at least seven killings there and in the state capital of La Paz, authorities said Monday. Police found a
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A weekend march for peace in the beach resort of San Jose del Cabo was followed by at least seven killings there and in the state capital of La Paz, authorities said Monday.
Police found a man shot to death in a vehicle in the resort city after responding to a report of gunshots Monday. In La Paz, three men and a woman were killed early Monday when armed men attacked a house. That followed a Saturday shooting in the capital which killed a man and mortally wounded his 4-month-old son.
While there is a heavy police and military presence in the tourist zones of Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, the area’s working class neighborhoods have grown accustomed to hearing gunshots. On Saturday, residents marched to city hall in San Jose del Cabo demanding the government stop the violence or step down. They released white balloons and held candles.
Baja California Sur state is grappling with increased violence as drug cartel factions fight over turf.
Mexico’s southern state of Guerrero also was wracked by bloodshed over the weekend, with at least 19 people killed in the state that is home to the resort of Acapulco.
Four of the deaths occurred in Acapulco, state security spokesman Roberto Alvarez Heredia said. He said three killings in the city of Atoyac and three others in Tecpan were gang-related, with some victims’ hands tied and some with gunshot wounds to the head.
In addition, Alvarez said, nine more bodies were found at other points across the conflict-ridden state.
Guerrero is home to gangs that grow and distribute drugs and engage in kidnapping and extortion.
Later Monday, Alvarez said a tip from an informer had led investigators to find six corpses buried at an alleged safe house used by a kidnapping gang. He said none had yet been identified.
