MEXICO CITY: A judge was shot dead on Wednesday in Mexico’s once-thriving beach city of Acapulco, local media and the state prosecutor’s office said.

Local press identified the slain judge as Edmundo Roman Pinzon, president of the Superior Court of Justice in Guerrero state, saying he was shot at least four times in his car outside an Acapulco courthouse.

The southern state of Guerrero is one the areas hardest hit in Mexico by violence linked to organised crime, and has seen a string of deadly attacks this year. In October, the mayor of the state capital Chilpancingo was killed and decapitated just days after taking office.

Weeks later, armed clashes between alleged gang members and security forces left 19 people dead in the state. Last month, several dismembered bodies were discovered in vehicles in Chilpancingo.

Acapulco, the state’s most populous city, was once a playground for the rich and famous, but has lost its luster over the last decade as foreign tourists have been spooked by bloodshed that has made it one of the world’s most violent cities.

On Wednesday, the Guerrero state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that it was “investigating the crime of aggravated homicide against Edmundo N,” in line with the usual practice of not giving full names.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024