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Four taxi drivers were murdered in the Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco in a period of just 24 hours this week.
Three of the murders occurred on Monday, while the fourth killing came shortly after taxi drivers participated in a protest on Tuesday during which they called on authorities to put an end to violence in Guerrero state’s largest city.
On Monday, armed men opened fire from a vehicle and killed three taxi drivers at a taxi stand in the Las Cruces neighborhood of Acapulco.
On Tuesday, another taxi driver was gunned down while walking in the beachside Hornos residential district. He reportedly fell into the El Camarón River after he was shot.
Three other taxi drivers were wounded in a separate armed attack at a taxi stand in an inland neighborhood of Acapulco.
Authorities have not arrested or identified any of the perpetrators of the attacks, or speculated on their motives.
🗣️#Acapulco | Taxistas de la ruta de Las Cruces bloquearon los dos sentidos del bulevar Vicente Guerrero para exigir justicia y seguridad luego del asesinato de tres de sus compañeros en un ataque al sitio.
📲https://t.co/PIYBhoXqek pic.twitter.com/rxMBBeyAwT— Meganoticias IXT (@MeganoticiasIXT) October 15, 2024
The fourth murder occurred after a Tuesday protest against insecurity organized by taxi drivers after three of their colleagues were killed on Monday.
The attacks on Tuesday came after taxi drivers blocked the Vicente Guerrero boulevard to protest insecurity in Acapulco.
According to the Reforma newspaper, protesters complained that Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado hasn’t met with them and presented a security plan for Acapulco.
“We need more reliable security,” one taxi driver told the Milenio newspaper.
“…We’ve seen the security that the urban [transport] vans have. … We need that security [as well],” he said.
In addition to calling on the state government to do more to combat violence in Acapulco, taxi drivers urged the army and National Guard to take action against crime groups.
They held up signs with messages such as “We’re taxi drivers, we demand security” and “We don’t want any more taxi drivers murdered.”
Acapulco has been identified as a priority municipality for the new federal government as it seeks to reduce homicides in Mexico’s most violent cities via the implementation of a new national security security.
In addition to violence, the city has been severely affected by two hurricanes in less than a year. Hurricane Otis devastated Acapulco in late October 2023, while Hurricane John claimed lives and caused major flooding in the city last month.
With reports from Reforma, Milenio, Animal Político and La Jornada