drug cartel

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Thugs in Cop Uniforms Free 59 Mexican Drug Prisoners

(Newser) - Some 15 vehicles packed with criminals wearing police uniforms arrived at a Mexico prison yesterday to free as many as 59 inmates linked to a drug cartel, reports the BBC. The men convinced guards they were members of the federal police there to conduct an inspection. Once inside, they overpowered...

Pot Farms Sprout in National Parks

Rangers warn that illicit, cartel-run plantations are on the rise

(Newser) - America's park rangers are battling a growing number of marijuana plantations taking root in national parks, NPR reports. Marijuana farms have been found in at least six national parks on the West Coast, where rangers say growers camp in the woods all summer, tending hidden plantations that can't be spotted...

Watchdog: Mexican Army's Abuse of Civilians Unchecked

Desperate to fight the cartels, government turns a blind eye to military crimes

(Newser) - The Mexican army, enlisted by President Felipe Calderón in the battle against drug cartels, is abusing civilians with de facto immunity from the government, a watchdog group says. The army was supposed to be a temporary replacement for corrupt or incompetent police forces. But some soldiers, unaccustomed to the...

Forget the Flu: Guns Cause Far More Deaths
Forget the Flu: Guns Cause Far More Deaths
OPINION
Apr 29, 2009 8:56 AM CDT

Forget the Flu: Guns Cause Far More Deaths

As Americans load up on Tamiflu, shootings draw little notice

(Newser) - In the US and Mexico, a plague much more widespread than swine flu continues to pick off its victims, regardless of age, health, or hometown. "While federal and state authorities are preoccupied with preventing a swine flu pandemic from overwhelming the United States, the epidemic of gun violence rages...

Violence Plummets as Mexican Army Polices Juárez

But human rights violations said to be rampant

(Newser) - Since Mexico’s army took over for police in the drug haven of Ciudad Juárez, killings have dropped: In 2009’s first two months, there were 434 drug-related murders. In March, 5,000 troops arrived—and murders plummeted to 51, the Washington Post reports. With 10,000 soldiers now...

Obama Moves to Halt 'River' of Guns, Drugs to Mexico

Adds top cartels to 'drug kingpin' list

(Newser) - On the eve of an important meeting with Mexico’s president, President Obama yesterday imposed sanctions against the top Mexican drug cartels in a move intended to slow cross-border drugs and weapons trafficking, the Washington Post reports. After speeding up a process that normally takes a year, he added three...

Obama Lands in Mexico to Press Drug War
 Obama Lands in Mexico 
 to Press Drug War 
UPDATED
Apr 16, 2009 9:10 AM CDT

Obama Lands in Mexico to Press Drug War

(Newser) - President Obama began his first official Latin American tour with a visit to Mexico City today, the New York Times reports. Obama landed this afternoon for the first presidential visit to Mexico’s capital since the Clinton administration. He’ll meet with Felipe Calderón to discuss the economy, trade...

Colombia Nabs Top Drug Lord
 Colombia Nabs Top Drug Lord 
Apr 15, 2009 2:44 PM CDT

Colombia Nabs Top Drug Lord

US will seek to extradite Daniel Rendon

(Newser) - Colombian police nabbed their nation's top drug lord today, and the country's president "is breathing easy," a rep told AFP. Daniel Rendon, 43, alias Don Mario, had a $2 million price on his head after allegedly swapping drugs for weapons from leftist FARC rebels. Now that he's in...

Mexican Cartels Have Little Trouble Getting US Guns

Lax laws, difficult tracing system make smuggling easy

(Newser) - Thanks to lax gun laws that vary from state to state, smugglers providing arms to Mexican drug cartels can move vast quantities of weapons over the border for years without sparking suspicion. The subject may come up when President Obama visits Mexico tomorrow, but the political will to change US ...

Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord
 Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord 
Apr 2, 2009 6:08 PM CDT

Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord

(Newser) - Mexico finally has some good news in its violent drug war. Police arrested the No. 2 leader of one of the nation's largest drug cartels, the Los Angeles Times reports. Vicente Carrillo Leyva, 32, had been one of Mexico's most wanted criminals. He's part of a new wave of youthful,...

Mendes Film Crew Flees Mexican Violence

Death threats kill picture starring Eva Mendes, Josh Hartnett

(Newser) - A Hollywood film crew prepping to shoot in Mexico has high-tailed it back to the US after receiving death threats, the Independent reports. The film, an adaptation of a novel about a cocaine smuggler, was set to star Eva Mendes, Josh Hartnett, and Ben Kingsley on Mexico's northern coast, a...

NRA Wins a Round on Gun Control
NRA Wins
a Round on
Gun Control
ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2009 10:21 AM CDT

NRA Wins a Round on Gun Control

Holder backs off on assault-rifle ban despite Mexico pleas

(Newser) - Attorney General Eric Holder has backed off calls to once again ban assault weapons after a strong blowback from the gun lobby, Newsweek reports. Mexico is pressuring the US to reinstate such a ban, since US assault rifles make up 90% of drug-cartel arsenals. But when Holder floated the idea...

US-Mexican Tensions Escalate
 US-Mexican Tensions Escalate 
Mar 25, 2009 7:57 AM CDT

US-Mexican Tensions Escalate

(Newser) - With the US recession hammering Mexico, the Mexican drug war frightening the US, and a free-trade tiff in the works, relations between the countries have gotten a tad frosty of late, the New York Times reports. In an effort to head off a full-blown crisis, Hillary Clinton is heading to...

Prepare for Worst as Mexico Crumbles
 Prepare for Worst 
 as Mexico Crumbles 
OPINION
Mar 24, 2009 3:38 PM CDT

Prepare for Worst as Mexico Crumbles

(Newser) - Mexico’s disastrous drug war, which threatens to send millions of refugees into the southern US, is a problem of our own making, Mark Krikorian writes in the National Review. But while America’s drug lust—and its burgeoning counterpart in Mexico itself—can’t be fixed, tighter border regulations...

White House Adds Troops to Mexico Border Drug Fight

US will beef up presence on border

(Newser) - The Obama administration says it is sending more agents and equipment to the southwestern US border to combat Mexican drug cartels. Speaking at the White House today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said officials were still considering whether to deploy the National Guard to the border. She plans to meet...

Mexican Drug Violence Seeps Into US

Cartels' reach extends to Canada

(Newser) - Drug violence has killed more than 7,000 in Mexico since January 2008—and now it’s spreading into the US, the New York Times reports. Home-invasion investigators in Arizona have seen 200 cases since their squad formed last year, and violence has reached across the continent: there have been...

US Agents to Aid Mexican Cartel War

Admin could announce plan as early as this week

(Newser) - President Obama is shipping agents and equipment to the border to aid Mexico's war on violent drug cartels, the Washington Post reports. His plan, to be unveiled as early as this week, aims to stop the flow of weapons and cash from the US into Mexico. Law enforcement will also...

Mexico Busts Drug Lord's Son
 Mexico Busts Drug Lord's Son 
Mar 20, 2009 5:12 AM CDT

Mexico Busts Drug Lord's Son

Military says arrest of Sinaloa kingpin's son deals a heavy blow to cartel

(Newser) - The Mexican military has arrested the son of one of the country's most powerful drug barons, reports the Los Angeles Times. Vicente Zambada, 33, whose father is deputy head of the Sinaloa cartel, had risen through the ranks to become one of the cartel's top leaders and had ordered the...

Soccer Offers an Escape in Bloody Juárez

Mexicans fill stadium seats despite threats, drug cartel violence

(Newser) - Even as the drug war claimed nine more lives in Ciudad Juárez last weekend, Mexicans filled the local soccer stadium to cheer on their team, the Indios. It’s perhaps the remaining safe bastion in the ravaged town. In May, when the Indios clinched promotion to the Mexican League’...

Nine Bodies Discovered Near Ciudad Juarez

Troops descend on Juarez in bid to end cartel violence

(Newser) - Mexican police yesterday discovered the bodies of seven men and two women in the desert south of Ciudad Juarez yesterday, CNN reports. The grisly find comes as increasing violence among the country's drug cartels continues to shatter Juarez and other border cities. The conflict has already claimed over 400 lives...

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