Taxi Drivers Are Being Targetted for Murder in Acapulco

Early Friday morning, heavily armed commandos pulled up to the dispatch center for a local taxi service in colonia Emiliano Zapata and killed a driver who was standing outside the building. The assailants also tossed several black trash bags from their vehicle, they contained the remains of a man who had been dismembered.

At this time, authorities believe that both the execution of the taxi driver and the dismemberment of the second victim were both related to a shooting that occurred earlier in colonia Benito Juárez, on the outskirts of the Acapulco-Zihuatanejo Federal Highway.

On March the 2nd another taxi driver was also murdered outside of his dispatch center on Vicente Guerrero blvd. 

Drug traffickers in Aca often recruit taxi drivers as halcones, and this can lead to rivals targeting these lookouts as a way to disrupt the cash flow of the established group. Without eyes and ears on the street, operators cannot keep their stash houses from being hit by sicarios or the police in general. 

Despite these horrific crimes, there is a movement among the business leaders of Acapulco to shed that cities growing reputation of being an extremely violent place. That need to drive the local economy has manifested itself into a slogan; "Habla Bien De Aca" (Speak Well of Aca). 

This is an understandable reaction to this problem. As talk of the lack of security in Aca becomes prevalent in the national dialogue,  to some extent it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy: the violent image discourages both tourists and investment dollars, thus dooming the area to be sucked into a cycle of economic malaise and death.

Equally important is the opposite slogan that has been carried by AgoraGuerrero.com; "Di La Verdad De Aca" (Tell The Truth About Aca). It goes without saying that if these stories are ignored, it would be ingenuousness to the people and families who suffer and are affected by the violence. 

Each day brings one less visitor to the white sandy beaches, one less room is booked or reserved at the hotel. American politicians warn students not to travel to Mexico for spring break, undoubtedly one of the most important money generating holidays for places such as Aca or Matzatlan. 

Citizens and business leaders are struggling to come up with solutions to the problem, which seems to be that there is no one in charge of Aca, not the police, not the military, and certainly not the narcos.

Guerrero is an open-ended war that desperately requires a winner and it seems for now, anyone will do. As long as the violence is dramatically curbed, that is all that currently matters.

Graphic Pics After The Jump