Crime-ridden state poses acid test for Mexican oil reform

An aerial view of the Mexican Gulf port of Tampico June 11, 2014. REUTERS/Dave Graham

TAMPICO Mexico (Reuters) - During Mexico's first oil boom, Tampico was such a magnet for foreign capital that it became the biggest oil-exporting port in the Americas and home to grandiose architecture that inspired comparisons to Venice and New Orleans.

A century on, Tampico is the country's kidnap capital, racked by fear, murder and extortion that threaten to choke off its bid to make a comeback as Mexico, the world's No. 10 crude oil producer, opens up its oil and gas industry.