As Kidnappings Rise, Many Are Afraid to Contact Authorities, for Fear They'Re Involved. MEXICO CITY -- When their 14-year-old son was snatched off the street by armed men in early June, the Marti family reportedly did what many wealthy Mexicans do in such a crisis. The founders of a chain of sporting goods stores hired a private negotiator to deal directly with the kidnappers. They said nothing to police or to the press. They paid millions of dollars in ransom money. Then they waited for a signal that the boy had been released. [continues 972 words]
Noe Ramirez Mandujano, a Deputy Attorney General, Had Come Under Pressure Because of Poor Government Results. MEXICO CITY -- A high-ranking official in the Mexican attorney general's office has resigned under pressure amid poor results in the nation's battle against kidnappers and drug traffickers. Noe Ramirez Mandujano had served for 20 months as deputy attorney general in charge of the Office for Special Investigation Into Organized Crime before tendering his resignation Wednesday. Violence has exploded across large swaths of Mexico as drug gangs fight for control of lucrative smuggling routes to the United States. [continues 485 words]
MEXICO CITY -- The nation's drug wars sank to new depths Wednesday as the Mexican navy announced it had seized a submarine that was transporting cocaine off the southern coast. The navy intercepted the 33-foot vessel about 125 miles south of Puerto de Salina Cruz in Oaxaca state. Jose Luis Vergara, a navy spokesman, said in a radio interview that special forces waited until the vessel surfaced before rappelling from helicopters and overpowering the four-man crew. Vergara called the submarine bust unprecedented for the navy. [continues 105 words]
At least 21 people are killed in five days as turf wars between splintered gangs appear to heat up. MEXICO CITY -- At least 21 people, including a 12-year-old girl and other ordinary citizens, have been killed by warring drug gangs since Thursday in the western state of Sinaloa, in one of the worst spasms of violence in memory in a region long conditioned to narcotics-related savagery. The wave of deadly mayhem began with the audacious daytime shooting of a dozen people in the capital, Culiacan, and continued during the weekend and into Monday. The deaths of innocents, including the young girl, who had just left a party, have terrified the public and left many questioning the effectiveness of the federal government's ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking. [continues 850 words]
12 SLAIN IN BRAZEN MEXICO ATTACK In Daylight Near the Center of Sinaloa's Capital, Gunmen Kill Nine at a Shop and Three Pursuing Officers. Mexico City -- Gunmen shot 12 people to death in broad daylight near the center of Culiacan on Thursday, marking one of the more bloody and brazen recent attacks in the capital of a state beset by drug trafficking and violence. The Sinaloa state prosecutor's office said armed men opened fire in an auto repair shop about 11:20 a.m., killing six people inside and three more just outside the doors. Fleeing in sport utility vehicles, the gunmen then traded fire with police officers who gave chase in a busy commercial area filled with stores and fast-food restaurants. [continues 351 words]
A Running Firefight Between Apparent Drug Rivals Leaves a Trail of Bodies and Spent Shell Casings Across the City. TIJUANA -- In one of the most violent eruptions in the ongoing border drug war, suspected traffickers clashed on the streets of Tijuana early Saturday morning in a wild and bloody shootout that left 13 people dead and eight others injured in a series of moving gun battles. Gunmen began firing on each other with rifles and automatic weapons in a light industrial area east of the city, according to authorities, leaving a trail of corpses, spent shell casings and bullet-riddled vehicles across Tijuana as the triggermen gave chase to one another. [continues 859 words]
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- His predecessor was gunned down on his first day on the job. He has three young children and a pregnant wife. But Omar Pimentel on Wednesday pledged to help end a spate of drug-related violence by becoming the police chief of this bloodied border town. After his swearing-in, the 37-year-old Pimentel said he didn't want to dwell on the fate of Alejandro Dominguez Coello, who was assassinated in early June just hours after he took the same oath. But it's clearly on the mind of his employer. The city has assigned four bodyguards to protect its new top cop. [continues 1905 words]
The Reputed Capo Of The Gulf Cartel Is Seized After A Savage Firefight In City On Border With Texas MEXICO CITY -- Soldiers from the Mexican military seized reputed narcotics kingpin Osiel Cardenas in a wild shootout near the Texas border Friday, striking a blow at one of this nation's most brazen drug cartels. At least three soldiers were injured in the firefight that raged for more than an hour on the streets of Matamoros, a gritty industrial city across the border from Brownsville, Texas. Cardenas was taken by plane to an undisclosed location after his capture, the result of a six-month investigation, according to Mexican authorities. [continues 523 words]
