Mexico City – A dismembered corpse was found dumped in plastic bags in a slum outside the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, police said Sunday.
The body of the unidentified man was discovered by residents of the Periodistas district on Saturday, said an Acapulco police department official who asked not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. He declined to comment further.
An Associated Press photographer saw seven plastic bags containing body parts on a dirt street in Periodistas, a slum on a hill overlooking Acapulco’s bay. Police at the scene refused to comment.
Acapulco has been hit by a wave of killings blamed on rival drug cartels fighting over smuggling routes along the Pacific coast and a burgeoning local drug market.
Last year, at least six heads of decapitated police officers and alleged drug smugglers were found in the resort and nearby towns.
One washed up on a popular beach in the tourist zone, while the rest were dumped on the streets.
President Felipe Calderon, who took power in December, has sent more than 24,000 federal police and soldiers to fight drug gangs in regions ravaged by drug violence. More than 7,000 troops arrived in the Acapulco region last month.
