Crime in Mexico | GlobalPost

Mexico drug cartel commander pleads guilty in murder of U.S. official

Thomson ReutersMay 23, 2013 16:30

By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Mexican drug cartel commander known as "Tweety Bird" pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in Washington to ordering the ambush and murder of U.S. immigration agents in 2011, according to U.S. officials. The plea related to a February 2011 incident when two "hit squads" from the Los Zetas drug cartel forced an armored U.S. government vehicle off a highway near Mexico City and surrounded it, federal prosecutors said.

In tense Mexico state, vigilantes refuse to drop guns

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 17:47

Farmers wearing bulletproof jackets and toting assault rifles ride in pick-up trucks emblazoned with the word "self-defense" to protect this rural western Mexico town from the Knights Templar drug cartel. The federal government deployed thousands of troops to the state of Michoacan this week, but in some towns like Coalcoman, population 10,000, vigilantes are refusing to put down their weapons until they feel safe again. "We won't drop our guard until we see results," Antonio Rodriguez, a 37-year-old avocado grower and member of the community force, told AFP.

Gov't deploys army in western Mexico to fight drug traffickers

Agencia EFEMay 22, 2013 12:02

Mexico City, May 22 (EFE).- Army troops are being deployed in Michoacan to restore order in the western Mexican state, which has been rocked by a wave of drug-related violence, federal officials said. The operation, which is being mounted by federal security forces under a unified command, will continue until order is restored in the region and state authorities can take over law enforcement duties from federal forces, Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio said.

Senior Mexican drug cartel member jailed for 35 years

Agence France-PresseMay 13, 2013 18:32

A high-ranking Mexican drug cartel chief was jailed for 35 years on Monday for plotting to smuggle vast quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the United States, justice officials said. Aurelio Cano Flores, described by the Justice Department as a senior member of the Gulf Cartel, was convicted of conspiring to import "multi-ton" shipments of drugs into the US following a trial in February. The 40-year-old was also ordered to forfeit a staggering $15 billion in drug proceeds as part of a financial judgment.

2 Spanish businessmen murdered in northwest Mexico

Agencia EFEMay 12, 2013 13:01

Culiacan, Mexico, May 12 (EFE).- The bullet-riddled bodies of two Spanish businessmen were found inside a vehicle that was pushed into a canal in Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, officials said. Jose Montoya Lozada, 58, and Fernando Carmona Romero, 57, worked as merchants and had their residences in Spain, the Sinaloa Attorney General's Office said. Passersby spotted the vehicle in the Humaya canal around 8:40 a.m. Saturday and notified police, the AG's office said.

Police arrest a suspected Sinaloa cartel member in Ecuador

Agencia EFEMay 8, 2013 14:15

Quito, May 8 (EFE).- A suspected member of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel and eight other people were arrested during an anti-drug operation in Ecuador, the National Police said. Four of the nine suspects detained in the operation are Mexican nationals. The suspects belong to a transnational criminal organization that smuggles drugs by sea from Ecuador to Mexico, the National Police said.

Police arrest 5 suspected gunmen in northern Mexico

Agencia EFEMay 7, 2013 13:07

Mexico City, May 7 (EFE).- Five suspected gunmen, including four Central Americans, were arrested by the Federal Police in the northern state of Zacatecas, the Mexican National Security Commission said. The suspects "hid weapons inside a house" and "presumably worked as hitmen for a criminal organization" that operates in Zacatecas, the commission said in a statement without identifying the gang or releasing the date the arrests were made. The men - a Mexican, two Guatemalans and two Hondurans - range in age from 19 to 36, the commission said.

Treasury sanctions 8 drug bosses working for Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, calls them 'kingpins'

The Canadian PressMay 7, 2013 12:32

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has levied financial sanctions against eight drug gang bosses accused of working for Mexico's powerful and violent Sinaloa Cartel. The government accused the eight regional bosses of managing drug smuggling operations for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the purported head of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday. By declaring the men specially designated narcotics traffickers under the Kingpin Act, Washington has made it illegal for U.S. citizens to do business with them and freezes any assets they may have inside the U.S.

11 dead in Mexico clashes

Agence France-PresseMay 5, 2013 15:30

At least 11 people, including a soldier, were killed in three clashes between armed groups and authorities in northeastern Mexico, a state attorney said Sunday. The deaths "were the result of several shootouts" on Friday in three municipalities, the Tamaulipas attorney general said in a statement. The first, in Gustavo Diaz Ordaz left two armed civilians dead. Four hours later in the border city of Matamoros, six armed civilians were killed. And Friday night, in Guemez, a soldier and two armed civilians were killed.

Emboldened, Mexican cartels put down roots in U.S. heartland

Agencia EFEMay 3, 2013 18:45

Washington, May 3 (EFE).- The Mexican cartels that are the principal source of illicit drugs coming into the United States have managed to extend their tentacles to the U.S. heartland, where they represent a significant threat to public safety, a senior Drug Enforcement Administration agent told Efe Friday. The battle against drug traffickers and organized crime was a major theme of President Barack Obama's just-concluded visit to Mexico. Mexican cartels have a presence in more than 1,000 U.S. cities, according to the Justice Department.