Over 40 dead in drug violence

Mexico's deadliest city lived up to its tragic reputation this past weekend, with at least 40 people murdered in drug-related violence in less than 72 hours, authorities said.

"These figures are quite high. It is one of the most violent weekends in Ciudad Juarez in years," said a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office.

"On Friday we had 20 murders in Ciudad Juarez, on Saturday 19, and today, Sunday, there was one so far," the spokesman said Sunday, adding that the killings appeared to be related to the city's infamous drug wars, based on the types of weapons used.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez last year, according to official government statistics, in an ongoing massacre that has driven tens of thousands of people to flee and shut down roughly 70 percent of the city's stores.

More than a week ago, gunmen burst into a local bar, killing eight people, six of them waitresses.

"They fired indiscriminately," a spokesman for the state prosecutor's office, Carlos Gonzalez, said.

Officials said 10 others were killed in Ciudad Juarez during a 24-hour period ending February 11, bringing the overall death toll for the single day to 18.

Separately, four people were gunned down this past weekend in the Pacific resort town of Acapulco, also in drug-related killings, authorities said.