Police seize huge arsenal as extreme violence continues in Acapulco, Mexico

By Kelsey Bradshaw
Updated 10:26 am, Thursday, September 1, 2016



Photo: PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images

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Soldiers display weapons seized during military operations to fight crime in Acapulco, Guerrero State, Mexico, on August 22, 2016. Guerrero is one of Mexico's poorest and most violent states, where a lucrative drug trade has flourished. / AFP / Pedro PARDO (Photo credit should read PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images)
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Dozens of weapons lay flat, categorically itemized by the military who seized the arsenal while fighting crime in Acapulco, Mexico — a former tourist haven ranked as one of the most violent cities in the world.

With a population of 810,000, Acapulco saw 1,170 killings in 2015 with a murder rate of 111 per 100,000 people. In 2012, the city was dubbed “Guerrero’s Iraq” due to the extreme violence that takes place day-to-day.

Graphic warning: Images show blood-filled streets of Acapulco, Mexico



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As cartels duke it out in turf wars, residents carry small bags harboring weapons for their protection on the beach.

The upsurge in killings has made the city one of Mexico's most violent places, scaring away what international tourism remained and recently prompted the U.S. government to bar its employees from traveling to Acapulco for any reason.

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One photo shows a man carrying a human head in a plastic bag from the beach. Another shows a slain man’s body motionless on Papagayo Beach outside of a tourist gift shop.

Click through the photos to see what daily life in Acapulco is like.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

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