drug cartel

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Mexican Drug Informants Import Violence to US

Intra-cartel murder shocks El Paso; feds gave trafficker visa

(Newser) - The Obama administration and state governments are spending billions to keep Mexico's escalating drug war from spilling over the border. But the feds fighting trafficking have also relied on Mexican cartel members for intelligence—and that, says the Washington Post, has unleashed gangland-style violence in American cities. Drug kingpins living...

Mexican Drug Cartels Turn Into Mafias

(Newser) - Mexican drug cartels have evolved into mafia empires, charging protection fees to businesses and providing social services and jobs where government cannot, the AP reports. Behind it lurks the threat of violence or kidnapping, which drug lords carry out with near impunity. "Today, the traffickers have big companies, education,...

Obama Defends Mexico's Drug War

Cartels are the biggest violators of human rights, president says

(Newser) - President Obama expressed his support for Mexico’s war on drug cartels after today's North American summit, the New York Times reports. Obama defended Felipe Calderón—who some criticize for not holding the Mexican army accountable for reported human rights abuses against the drug traders—saying that the ruthless...

Mexican Cops Busted in 12 Federal Agent Murders

(Newser) - Ten Mexican police officers have been arrested in the torture-murder of a dozen federal agents whose mangled corpses were found along a highway in the western state of Michoacan, reports the BBC. Local police are believed to regularly take payoffs from drug traffickers. Some 5,000 heavily armed troops have...

8th Bust Made in Murder of Fla. Pair; Cartel Link Surfaces

Eighth arrest in slaying of Byrd and Melanie Billings

(Newser) - An eighth arrest was made yesterday in the killing of a Florida couple with 16 kids, the Pensacola News Journal reports. Pamela Long Wiggins, 47, has been charged as an accessory to the crime. She has been linked to two other suspects—she rents an apartment to the man described...

Dozen Mangled Mexican Bodies Were Feds

Agents tortured, killed in revenge for drug trafficker's arrest

(Newser) - Twelve people tortured, murdered, and dumped along a highway  in the Mexican state of Michoacan Monday were Mexican federal agents, the AP reports. The off-duty agents—11 men and one woman—were caught in an ambush by members of a drug cartel, officials said. The murders are believed to be...

12 Mangled Bodies Dumped on Mexican Highway

(Newser) - The bodies of 11 men and a woman were found by the side of a remote highway in Mexico's Michoacan state yesterday, Reuters reports. The victims had been tortured before being executed, police said. Officials believe the killings are linked to an ongoing feud for control of the state between...

Drug Gunmen Attack Mexican Police Bases

Five dead as violence spikes in western state after recent arrests

(Newser) - Gunmen attacked federal police bases in at least six Mexican cities, killing three police officers and two soldiers, the BBC reports. The burst of violence follows arrests and gun battles on Friday in Morelia, where 40 men armed with assault rifles and grenades carried out the raid on the police...

Mourners Hail Two Victims Killed by Mexican Hitmen

(Newser) - More than 1,000 mourners yesterday honored two men who were tortured and murdered in retaliation for helping Mexican authorities nab drug gangsters, reports Reuters . Gunmen broke into Benjamin LeBaron's home in northern Mexico earlier this week, tortured him in front of his family and shot him dead along with...

Mexican Army Slammed for Drug War Torture

US holds up aid until Mexico can 'pass' human rights investigation

(Newser) - A growing body of evidence points to widespread human rights abuses by the Mexican military in its battle against drug cartels, the Washington Post reports. Human rights groups say the army has responded to the traffickers' brutal tactics with equal brutality, carrying out deadly campaigns of "disappearances," forced...

Mexican Cartels Lure US Teens to Kill

Boys as young as 13 become smugglers, assassins

(Newser) - The powerful cartels that control the drug trade in Mexico increasingly have help north of the border—in the form of American teenagers, some as young as 13, who work as smugglers and assassins. The New York Times profiles one boy, who was recruited by the Gulf Cartel to kill...

Mexican Cocaine Hidden in Sharks

(Newser) - The Mexican Navy seized more than a ton of cocaine packed inside the bodies of frozen sharks on a freighter off the Yucatan coast headed for America, reports the BBC. The booty was pinpointed using dogs and x-ray machines, officials said. Drug fighters warned that powerful cartels are using increasingly...

Massive Drug Tunnel Found Under Mexico Border

Elaborate smuggling tunnel to Arizona has electricity, ventilation system

(Newser) - The US Border Patrol has uncovered one of the biggest and most sophisticated smuggling tunnels under the Mexican border it has ever seen, CNN reports. The 83-foot tunnel to Arizona from Nogales, Mexico, was still under construction when it was found after a tipoff from somebody who heard construction sounds....

As Ariz. Housing Heads South, Kidnappers Move In

Failing housing market leaves homes abandoned for kidnappers to use

(Newser) - Gangs of kidnappers preying on illegal Mexicans immigrants or drug rivals are turning Phoenix into the kidnap capital of the US, reports the Wall Street Journal. In one raid, 30 shivering, half-naked smuggled immigrants were discovered in an abandoned home. They had been shaken down for thousands of dollars. The...

17 Dead in Acapulco Shootout
 17 Dead in Acapulco Shootout 
Jun 7, 2009 12:35 PM CDT

17 Dead in Acapulco Shootout

Violence further damages resort's tourism industry

(Newser) - A fierce, 2-hour gun battle between drug agents and Mexican authorities in Acapulco has left 15 gunmen and 2 soldiers dead, the BBC reports. After receiving a tip, troops ambushed a house in the resort town last night, as gunmen hurled grenades and crashed their cars trying to flee. Upon...

11 Mutilated Bodies Found in Arizona Van in Mexico

Bodies left with threatening messages from drug cartels

(Newser) - Mexican police have found the shot and mutilated bodies of 11 men in a stolen van with Arizona plates near the US border, Reuters reports. The arms and legs of most of the bodies had been hacked off. Threatening messages believed to be from a drug cartel were left with...

Mexican Heroin Seeps Into Rural US

Mexican cartels push the drug into the heartland

(Newser) - As the battle between drug cartels and law enforcement rages in Mexico, traffickers are gaining footholds in America's Heartland. Ohio saw heroin-related deaths spread into 18 new counties between 2004 and 2007, just one indication that dealers aren't limited to big cities. "It's like going to pick up beer,...

Mexican Drug Sweep Snares 10 Mayors
Mexican Drug Sweep
Snares 10 Mayors
May 27, 2009 1:47 AM CDT

Mexican Drug Sweep Snares 10 Mayors

Officials provided 'protection net' to deadly drug cartel

(Newser) - Ten mayors and several police chiefs were busted in a major drug raid yesterday in Mexico's Michoacan state. The public officials provided a "protection net" for the deadly Michoacan Family drug cartel, said law enforcement authorities. The cartel is linked to the murder of 7 people and wounding of...

Mexico Captures Drug Suspect on Most-Wanted List

'El Gori' believed to be top lieutenant of the Gulf drug cartel

(Newser) - Soldiers have arrested a suspected member of a powerful drug cartel who is listed among Mexico's 37 most-wanted traffickers. Raymundo Almanza Morales was captured in the northern city of Monterrey after soldiers received an anonymous tip. His brother was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of masterminding the killing of...

Border Tribe's Land a Drug Smuggler's Paradise

(Newser) - Law enforcement expects to seize $1 billion worth of pot along one stretch of southern Arizona this year, and that’s just 20% of the marijuana they believe will be smuggled into the area from Mexico. But there’s little they can do about it, NPR reports; the region is...

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