Mexico disarms Acapulco police over alleged gang ties
September 26, 2018
Authorities in Mexico disarmed and took control of the entire police force of the violence-wracked Pacific coast resort town of Acapulco on Tuesday.
Mexican marines alongside state and federal police took part in the operation, which also led to the arrest of two local police commanders on charges of homicide.
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State security officials in Guerrero state took the action "because of suspicion that the force had probably been infiltrated by criminal groups" and "the complete inaction of the municipal police in fighting the crime wave."
All police officers in Acapulco will be put under investigation and evaluated, Guerrero state security officials said. The state security ministry said it would take over policing indefinitely.
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The once popular resort town has fallen victim to violent turf wars between rival drug gangs, with the homicide rate standing at 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, one the highest rates in the world.
Local police in other parts of Mexico have been disbanded in recent years on suspicion of being infiltration by drug cartels, but it is rare for state authorities to take control of security in a city the size of Acapulco, which has a population of 800,000 people.
Since Mexico deployed the army to battle drug gangs in 2006, there have been more than 200,000 murders. Last year, there were 30,000 murders across Mexico, the highest number since 2011.
cw/jm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)