Rosarito: Trouble in paradise

Rosarito Beach’s main drag, Benito Juarez Boulevard — the scene of two shootings since September — is all lit up but nearly deserted.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Sergio Quiroz’s horses snooze on the beach in front of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. Quiroz says this was his slowest summer in 30 years renting horses for seaside rides. On this day, he said, he had two customers take half-hour rides, and the $20 he earned didn’t cover the day’s expenses.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Maria deJesus and her 3-year-old granddaughter watch a late-night soap opera in the Terrazas Restaurant. The enclave of Puerto Nuevo was once a wildly popular neighborhood of lobster eateries a little south of Rosarito Beach. DeJesus and her husband had only two customers on this November day.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Mexican soldiers patrol in Rosarito Beach, passing a sign for one of the town’s most popular destinations. The drug war has scared many foreign revelers away, leaving the Papas & Beer club nearly deserted.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Local teens and younger children cavort on the Rosarito Beach Hotel fishing pier, which in better days was jammed with tourists.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

With some of his staff and bodyguards keeping a close eye on things, Mayor Hugo Torres listens to a resident’s concerns at a weekly neighborhood meeting on the outskirts of Rosarito Beach.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)