Cancún summit creates new hemispheric group

The Latin America and Caribbean Unity Summit in Cancún ended with an agreement to form a provisionally named “Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.”

Mexico: two Otomí women sentenced for “kidnapping”

A Mexican judge upheld a 21-year prison term for two indigenous women charged with “kidnapping” six federal agents. Amnesty International says the women were “framed.”

Mexico: violent evictions in Chiapas rainforest clear land for biofuels?

Forced displacements by federal police of peasant settlements in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve follow a new initiative to establish biofuel production in Chiapas.

US closes Reynosa consular office as Mexican narco-violence spirals

The US closed its consular office in the border city of Reynosa citing local narco-violence, as killings, abductions, torture and beaheadings were reported across Mexico.

Mexico: activist accused in Brad Will murder free at last

Juan Manuel Martínez, accused of killing New York independent journalist Brad Will, was released from prison in Oaxaca after a judge found there was no evidence against him.

Mexico: massacre in Oaxaca village

Hooded gunmen stormed the pueblo of San Vicente Camalote in southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state and killed 13 people in attacks on a ranch and a police checkpoint.

Mexican government tilts to Sinaloa Cartel?

Critics of Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s so-called Drug War charge he is favoring the Sinaloa Cartel, cracking down on its rivals and allowing it to consolidate power.

Mexico: unions threaten general strike

Mexican unions announced their intention to hold a general strike in 25 of the country’s 32 states if the government attempts to remove striking workers from the Cananea copper mine.

Ciudad Juárez marches against narco violence, militarization

Hundreds of Ciudad Juárez residents held a “March of Anger” against President Felipe Calderón’s army crackdown that has failed to curb rampant gang killings in the border city.

Mexico: massacres in Mazatlán, Michoacán

Gunmen killed six at a nightclub in the Mexican beach resort of Mazatlán, as six more decapitated bodies were found in an SUV in a town in Michoacán state.

White House asks Congress for $410 million under Merida Initiative

The White House asked Congress for $410 million in Merida Initiative drug war aid to Mexico and Central America for FY 2011, despite ongoing concerns about human rights.

Mexican politicos urge drastic drug war measures

Sharp debate over the direction of Mexico’s narco war has broken out in the country’s Congress in the wake of twin massacres in Ciudad Juárez and Torreón last weekend.