US army high official invokes “insurgency” in Mexico

US Army Undersecretary Joseph Westphal said drug cartels are mounting an “insurgency” in Mexico—sparking a harsh reaction from the Mexican interior secretariat.

Mexico: labor calls for Calderón’s ouster

At a massive march against NAFTA and the government’s neoliberal economic policies, leaders of the Mexican Electrical Workers Union called for driving President Calderón out of office.

Mexico: rights group pins killings on military

There were at least eight killings last year in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León “that evidence indicates were the result of unlawful use of lethal force by army and navy officers.”

Mexico: narcos escalate war on security apparatus

Gunmen assassinated the security chief at a Monterrey prison and the newly appointed police chief in Nuevo Laredo amid a new wave of violence in northern Mexico.

Mexico: US agents have access to detained immigrants, WikiLeaks reveals

The main Mexican intelligence agency “has allowed [US government] officers to interview foreign nationals detained at Mexican immigration detention centers,” says a cable released by WikiLeaks.

Mexico: security operations killed 111 “innocents” in 2010

Hundreds started a fast in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, to mark the first anniversary of the Jan. 30 massacre of 15 youths in the city’s Villas de Salvárcar neighborhood.

Oaxaca meets the new boss —or does it?

The new governor of Mexico’s conflicted Oaxaca state, Gabino Cué, faces continued political violence and corruption scandals, despite the fall of the entrenched political machine.

Mexico: UN calls for inquiry in migrants’ kidnapping

UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay called on Mexico to determine whether there was complicity by authorities in the mass kidnapping of some 40 Central American immigrants.

US pays Colombia to train Mexican soldiers

Some 7,000 Mexicans have participated in a program through which the Colombian government trains Mexican soldiers and police in techniques for fighting drug cartels.

Mexico: Guerrero campesinos reinstate blockade against Parota hydro-dam

Members of the Council of Ejidos and Communities Opposed to La Parota Dam (CECOP) erected a blockade to prevent access of the Federal Electrical Commission to the dam construction site.

Mexico: leader of “Santa Muerte” cult detained on kidnapping charges

Mexican authorities announced the detainment of David Romo Guillén, leader of the “Santa Muerte” cult, on charges of leading a kidnapping gang that impersonated gunmen from Los Zetas.

Mexico: Zapatistas deny link to Fernández de Cevallos kidnapping

Through their civilian wing, Mexico’s Zapatista rebels issued a denial of fraudulent statements claiming credit in their name for the kidnapping of politician Diego Fernández de Cevallos.