Mexican authorities detained the country’s former Drug Czar—officially the Special Investigative Sub-Prosecutor for Organized Delinquency (SIEDO)—NoĂ© RamĂrez Mandujano Nov. 20, a day after he voluntarily spoke to investigators. RamĂrez was named to the post in December 2006 when President Felipe… Read moreMexico’s ex-drug czar busted for cartel collaboration
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador—known by his initials AMLO—will be Mexico's next president, following his victory in the July 1 election. This marks the first time a Mexican presidential candidate of the left has had his victory honored. An obvious question is how AMLO will deal with Donald Trump—who attained office by demonizing Mexicans and pledging to build a wall on the border (and make Mexico pay for it). Last year, AMLO actually filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against Trump's proposed wall. But he also hired Trump's current crony Rudolph Giuliani as anti-crime czar when he was mayor of Mexico City in 2002. As populists and opponents of free-trade economics, there may be unlikely common ground between the two men. (Photo: El Txoro)
A veteran crime reporter in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez was fatally shot as he left his home Nov. 13. The reporter, Armando RodrĂguez Carreon, worked for the newspaper El Diario. He was in a car with his… Read moreMexico: gunmen kill reporter, kidnap farmworkers
Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe predicted that his Mexican counterpart Felipe CalderĂłn’s controversial efforts to combat the drug cartels with the military will be successful. “When you live in a country like Colombia that has already faced that intense fight against… Read moreColombia good model for Mexico: Uribe
Grisly narco-terror continues to escalate in the Mexican border city of Juárez. A beheaded body was left hanging from an overpass on Nov. 7. A banner aimed at rival drug gangs was hung next to the body, and police found… Read moreMexico: narco-Satanism in Ciudad Juárez?
Mexican federal police Nov. 7 apprehended Gulf Cartel kingpin Jaime “the Hummer” González, one of the country’s most-wanted men, in an intelligence operation in the border city of Reynosa. An armed commando tried to rescue González as troops drove to… Read moreMexico: another Gulf Cartel kingpin busted, guns blazing
On the night of Nov. 4, a Learjet carrying Government Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño and JosĂ© Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a former deputy prosecutor general, crashed in the middle of rush-hour traffic in an upscale neighborhood of Mexico City, killing all… Read moreMexico: interior secretary killed in (mysterious?) air crash
Media in South Texas are citing a leaked FBI intelligence report that apparently warns that the Zetas, paramilitary arm of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, are planning attacks on US Border Patrol agents in retaliation against stepped-up interdiction efforts. Law enforcement agencies… Read moreMexico: Zetas planning attacks on US Border Patrol?
The official theme of the 18th Ibero-American Summit, held Oct. 29-31 in San Salvador, El Salvador, was “Youth and Development,” but the global financial crisis was the main topic of discussions by the representatives of Spain, Portugal and 19 Latin… Read moreLatin America: leaders united on crisis?
Mexican federal police Nov. 1 announced the arrest of the leader of the Gulf Cartel for the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, TX. The police statement said Antonio Galarza AKA “El Amarillo” was apprehended in a car stop… Read moreMexico: Gulf Cartel kingpin busted, narco-terror continues
VĂctor Gerardo Garay Cadena, acting commander of Mexico’s Federal Preventative Police (PFP), stepped down Oct. 31 under cloud of scandal, after one of his top lieutenants was arrested on charges of providing protection to the Sinaloa Cartel. “I am resigning… Read moreMexico: federal police chief steps down in narco-scandal
Mexican prosecutors say employees of the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) were secretly working for the Sinaloa Cartel, and even managed to work inside the US embassy with DEA personnel. Two worked with investigators in requesting searches and raids…. Read moreMexico: Sinaloa Cartel spies infiltrated Prosecutor General, US Embassy
