Judge killed in violence-plagued Mexican city a day after president’s visit

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A senior judge was assassinated in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco on Wednesday a day after the country’s president convened security officials there to address a wave of violence.

Edmundo Roman Pinzon, the former head of the highest court in Mexico’s Guerrero state, home to Acapulco, was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon in his car, according to images of the crime scene shared in local media reports.

Guerrero’s security ministry and attorney general’s offices announced investigations into the murder.

“We will not allow this crime to go unpunished,” Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado wrote on social media.

Acapulco was once one of Mexico’s most popular tourist draws, famed for its sunkissed beaches and cliff divers.

But for years the city has been plagued by cartel violence, driving most international visitors away, while the surrounding state of Guerrero has witnessed a recent surge of mostly gang-related mayhem, including the assassination of politicians and political candidates.

In October, the mayor of the state capital of Chilpancingo was murdered just days after taking office in a killing that sparked outrage due to the especially brutal nature of his assassination.

Just a day before Pinzon’s murder, President Claudia Sheinbaum hosted security officials and governors in Acapulco.

Sheinbaum, who took office in October, has promised to replicate nationally the success she had as mayor of Mexico City in bringing down the sprawling capital’s murder rate.

But her first two months in office have been marked by an outbreak of cartel violence in several hotspots, including in the state of Sinaloa, where homicides have surged despite the deployment of hundreds of soldiers.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Keith Weir)