GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — The Pan American Games are expected to provide relief from the daily reports of mass killings and kidnappings in Mexico, a country savaged by drug-related violence that has killed more than 35,000 people since late 2006.

The quadrennial event opens tomorrow and could generate a windfall of US$2.7 billion and attract one million visitors, but much depends on guaranteeing security for Mexico’s biggest international event since the 1986

World Cup.

Organisers have pledged that security is a top priority, and they are pumping $10 million into a plan that calls for 10,000 municipal, state and federal police, as well as elements from the Mexican army and navy, patrolling Guadalajara’s streets during the games.

“We’ve spent four years getting ready for this celebration, and we have personnel capable so that it will be this way,” said Luis Carlos Najera, secretary of Public Security for the Mexican state of Jalisco. “Without a doubt, it will be a stern test. But we

are ready.”

Guadalajara, the country’s second city located about 600 kilometres (350 miles) west of Mexico City, has been the scene of some drug-related violence, particularly earlier this year.

Guadalajara and the state of Jalisco have been less affected than many cities in the north of the country, but state government statistics show there were 700 murders in the first seven months of 2011 in Jalisco, which has a population of about seven million. Eighty-four per cent of the murders were linked to organised crime, state government studies show.

In February, grenade attacks at the entrance of a nightclub killed six and rocked a city already shaken from a night of chaos on Feb 1 when suspected drug gangs commandeered cars and buses, set them on fire and used them to block highways. Grenades were thrown at police stations as panic swept the city.

At the time, the United States consulate in the city suggested not driving at night between Guadalajara and the airport on the city’s outskirts.

“We have been working on security in the city forever, not just from Oct 14,” Jalisco state governor Emilio Gonzalez said. “We are confident nothing is going to happen… We don’t want to show the extraordinary security measures, because the best security is when you are not aware of it.”

Pan Am Games visitors can expect to see armed police and soldiers in almost every corner, with frequent document checks. About 6,000 athletes are expected from 42 nations in the Americas.

“This is for the security of everyone,” Gonzalez said. “It is a nuisance for citizens,

but it is for the peace of everyone else.”

On Aug 20, a first-division football match in northern Mexico was suspended after gunmen opened fire on police near the stadium, causing players, fans and referees to run for cover. Last year, a baseball game in northern Mexico was suspended because of a similar incident.

Mexican authorities are pointing out that the country was host earlier this year to the Under-17 World Cup, and a year ago the International Olympic Committee its executive board meetings in the Pacific resort of Acapulco.

Both went off without problems.

“Always before a big event they talk about security,” said Mexican diver Paola Espinosa, a bronze medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

She said the same

thing happened before the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“They said so many things could happen, and nothing happened. They are saying the same in Mexico right now,” Espinosa said. “But we (Mexicans) have shown ourselves to be great hosts, and this will be no exception.”