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Mexican politician shot dead in Acapulco

September 29, 2014

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a prominent local politician in Acapulco, with their motives currently unclear. During Mexico's military crackdown on drug cartels, several officials have been targeted.

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Sechs Frauen in Strandhotel in Acapulco vergewaltigt
Image: dan talson - Fotolia.com

Braulio Zaragoza was shot dead by unidentified assailants at the beach resort of Acapulco on Sunday. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that he was in a meeting with other politicians at the El Mirador hotel when he was shot multiple times in the back.

Three gunmen were involved, according to the statement. Their identity, or any possible motive, was not immediately clear.

Zaragoza was the local secretary general of the conservative opposition National Action Party in the southern state of Guerrero.

Several politicians and officials have been targeted by drug cartels since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December 2012 and launched a military campaign to stamp out gang violence in Mexico.

On Wednesday, a state prosecutor said the most prominent victim, former federal congressman Gabriel Gomez, was most likely killed by a criminal gang, calling his kidnapping and subsequent killing "a classic organized crime execution." Gomez was kidnapped with an aide in Guadalajara on Monday (22.09.2014), andfound dead in a burned-out vehicle the following day. However, that investigation is also ongoing. Gomez was a member of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Mexiko Militärpolizei Militär Soldaten
Mexico's security forces are seeking to stamp out the gangs and drug cartelsImage: picture alliance/dpa/Jesus Espinosa

At least 18 dead around country

In northern Mexico on Sunday, authorities announced that eleven men had died in a gunfight between rival gangs. State prosecutors in the northern border state of Chihuahua said that the dead were suspected gang members, saying they were found on Friday night near the town of Guachochi.

The area is hotly disputed among rival gangs seeking control of smuggling routes into the US.

Back in Guerrero state, the government said that at least six people were killed in a series of clashes extending from Friday into Saturday. Students, police and armed men were said to have been involved in the southwestern town of Iguala, officials said that around 20 people were injured.

Although Mexico's runaway murder rate has fallen since President Pena Nieto's crackdown on gang violence, parts of the country are still plagued by violent turf wars.

msh/av (AFP, Reuters)