Gunmen kill seven in Acapulco

[oblivious]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as soldiers killed seven people at two police stations in the troubled Mexican resort of Acapulco on Tuesday, despite a military crackdown against violent drug gangs.

The state prosecutor's office said men dressed in khaki uniforms and wearing red berets tricked their way into the stations by posing as soldiers on a visit to check police weapons.

Accompanied by men filming the attacks, the group opened fire with assault rifles at one station, killing three policemen.

At the second station, the attackers stripped several agents of their guns and started shooting, killing a secretary, two police officers and a public prosecutor.

"They pretended to check police guns. That's how they disarmed the guys and once they were disarmed, took their lives," a spokesman at the prosecutors office said.

...Calderon, who took office on December 1, has sent thousands of troops to violent regions of Mexico to tackle drug gangs who killed 2,000 people in a feud last year.

As part of the clampdown, soldiers have been investigating local police forces for connections with the drug cartels. In the rowdy border city of Tijuana, just south of San Diego, the army confiscated all the city police's guns.

...

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-02-06T235244Z_01_N06298672_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEXICO-DRUGS.xml&WTmodLoc=IntNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-5


Edit for the following comparison comment: Do you get the feeling these assassins have learned something from the Iraqi insurgents?

Gunmen who killed 5 GIs were disguised
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The gunmen who killed five U.S. troops in the Shiite holy city of Karbala wore military uniforms and used vehicles commonly driven by foreign dignitaries — an apparent attempt to impersonate Americans, Iraqi officials said Sunday.

The local governor said the gunmen stormed into the provincial headquarters building during a U.S.-Iraqi meeting to discuss security measures ahead of the Shiite Ashoura festival.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2697779

Military: Four held in sneak attack on U.S. in Iraq
...About 30 gunmen -- wearing uniforms and driving vehicles similar to those the U.S. military uses -- flashed fake badges and passed easily through three checkpoints before reaching the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center, al-Mishawi said.

He said it is standard procedure for American soldiers to insist on passing checkpoints without submitting to a security screening.

Once in the compound, the assailants opened fire, shooting only U.S. soldiers, al-Mishawi said. (Full story)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2701249

[Leftisalwaysright]

1. Troubled?

"The troubled Mexican resort town"

Troubled? I know lots of people who vacation there and I had no idea it was troubled. This can't be good for tourism.

[oblivious]

2. That "2,000 people killed in a feud last year" statement kind of blew me away.

[High Plains]

3. It's an ongoing battle between various drug trafficking organizations,

the so-called cartels. These happen when there is a shakeup in the existing arrangement. Ironically, it was President Fox's attacks on the cartels, decapitating some of them, that led to the current round of fighting among them. They're competing for "la plaza," the franchise, the right to deal/traffic drugs in specified locations. They get that from corrupt law enforcement.

They have a saying about cops and drugs down there: Plata o plomo. Silver or lead. The bribe or the bullet.

The 2,000 dead are the casualties in the Mexican front of America's war on drugs it loves.

[brook]

4. When I lived in Mexico, I spent

lots of time in Acapulco. I couldn't feel safe there now. A dear friend ( a member of a well-known Mexican family) was kidnapped and murdered there 10 years ago. It's not unusual for the bad guys to be dressed as cops. They often are cops.