ACAPULCO, Mexico — More than 1,000 troops massed in this Pacific resort city and two other cities in the western state of Guerrero Wednesday in preparation for a crackdown on drugs and crime, state officials said.
The mobilization follows the movement of more than 10,000 troops to two other states since President Felipe Calderón took office on Dec. 1, promising a tough response to organized crime.
Calderón sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana — across the border from San Diego — last week to hunt down drug gangs.
The soldiers swept police stations and took officers' guns for inspection in response to allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers trafficking drugs into the United States.
The soldiers have not said when they will return the guns, and Tijuana police say they have received a wave of death threats since they were stripped of their weapons.
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In Acapulco, Guerrero Gov. Zeferino Torreblanca has requested that troops refrain from patrolling the beachside avenue Costera Miguel Aleman, which runs past many luxury hotels, because business owners fear it will scare away tourists.
Calderón ordered the first federal operation last month, sending in 7,000 troops to his home state of Michoacan, which has been plagued by execution-style killings as rival gangs fight over marijuana plantations and smuggling routes.
Acapulco Mayor Felix Salgado has criticized the joint operations in other states as ineffective.
Salgado and Calderón are from rival political parties.
However, in a news conference on Wednesday, Salgado said he was not against such an operation in Guerrero but needed more information on the benefits of army troops patrolling in the resort city versus the costs.
"The only thing that the mayor knows right now is that these are operations by the federal government and the state government," said a spokes-man for Salgado. "He is obviously aware that this could have repercussions for tourism."
On Monday, Gov. Natividad Gonzalez of the border state of Nuevo Leon, across from Texas, said he would undertake his own crackdown against drug traffickers, but without military help.
The fight against organized crime in Nuevo Leon will involve better coordination between federal and state police agencies and rooting out corrupt law enforcement officials, he said.
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