US bars government employees from traveling to Acapulco

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2011 file photo, a cruise ship is docked at the port in Acapulco, Mexico. The U.S. government on Friday, April 15, 2016 barred its employees from traveling to the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, where a rise in homicides attributed to drug gangs has made it one of the world’s deadliest cities in recent years. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini, File) (The Associated Press)

MEXICO CITY – The U.S. government is barring employees from traveling to the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, where a rise in homicides has made it one of the world's deadliest cities in recent years.

The U.S. State Department on Friday extended a travel ban for its personnel that already covered nearly the entire Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located.

American government employees previously could go to Acapulco as long as they traveled by air instead of land. They are still allowed to visit the Guerrero state resorts of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo if they travel by air.

Acapulco, a city of about 700,000 residents, registered 902 homicides last year, according to government statistics.

The violence peaked around summer, but murders continue to be high and even common in tourist zones near the beach.