Spring Break Death Trap

Lest swine flu weren’t enough to keep you away from Mexico: A four-hour gun fight killed 18 people in the popular tourist town of Acapulco over the weekend—evidence that, as The New York Times puts it, “no part of Mexico may be completely immune from the continuing drug war.” The dead were 13 drug traffickers, two soldiers, and two bystanders. The traffickers fired thousands of rounds and threw grenades, and after the battle, police confiscated 49 guns, two rocket launchers, 13 grenades, and over 3,000 bullets. The battle began after traffickers attacked gunmen attempting to free four policemen being held hostage in a hotel.