Pres. Calderon, whose crackdown helped spark the multi-year wave of violence
Mexico Drug War Update
Two mayors were among the dead in Mexico's prohibition-related violence this past week. That makes five this year.
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Mexican Drug War: Mayors Forced to Live in US
Mexican mayors have been forced to move to the US for safety in the face of threats from drug traffickers. Five mayors have been murdered in the past six weeks, with a total of 10 killed this year. About 15 mayors have been killed since President Felipe Calderon declared war on Mexico's drug traffickers shortly after taking office in December 2006.
Mexico Paper Seeks Ciudad Juarez Drug Gang Guidance
A Mexican newspaper in the heartland of the country's drug prohibition war has asked traffickers for guidance on whether it should publish stories on the conflict. The killing of a 21-year-old photographer last week prompted the newspaper to run a front-page editorial asking: "What do you want from us?"
News Photographer Killed in Mexican Border City
Gunmen attacked two newspaper photographers Thursday in the drug prohibition-torn border city of Ciudad Juarez, killing one and seriously wounding the other. Mexican journalists are increasingly under siege from drug traffickers seeking to control the flow of information. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based watchdog group, said in a recent report that at least 22 Mexican journalists have been killed since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon intensified a crackdown on drug traffickers by deploying tens of thousands of troops and federal police across the country.
Drug Spotters Living in Arizona Caves
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau said illegal immigrants have been living in caves and operating as drug spotters. Residents are afraid to leave their homes because spotters watch their every move, Babeau said.
Mexican Drug Smugglers Fire at Border Patrol Agents Along Banks of Rio Grande
Border Patrol agents in Texas were fired upon after chasing a suspected drug smuggler back to the banks of the Rio Grande close to Anzalduas Park. Though rarely reported by the mainstream press, armed conflicts along the border with Mexican drug smugglers are becoming a rather common event.
Border Factories Caught in Drug War's Crossfire
The head of an association of border factory owners said the sector is in crisis mode as unrelenting drug prohibition violence in northern Mexico has spooked investors into curtailing operations at some plants and rethinking expansion at others.
Boy Shot Dead by Drug War Troops
Soldiers opened fire on a family car at a checkpoint in northern Mexico, killing a 15-year-old boy and another person. It is at least the second time this year that a family has been caught up in a shooting involving Mexico's military, which has come under intense criticism for human rights abuses as soldiers fight drug traffickers.
Latin America: Human Rights a Casualty in Chihuahua's Drug War
The Mexican army undertook Operation Join Together Chihuahua in March, as thousands of troops poured into the Mexican border state. As has been the case elsewhere in Mexico, the arrival of the troops has been followed by a growing chorus of human rights complaints.
Mexican Women Work, Die for Gangs in Drug War City
More women are working and dying for powerful, unregulated drug traffickers in Mexico's most violent city as high unemployment along the U.S. border sucks desperate families into the lethal, prohibition-driven trade. A record 179 women have been killed by rival hitmen so far this year in Ciudad Juarez, the notorious city across from El Paso, Texas, as teenage girls and even mothers with small children sign up with the drug trafficking organizations.