MEXICO CITY (AP) - A public recruitment drive by a Mexican drug cartel using fliers promising high wages and good benefits reflects the expanding power of the gang, experts said Friday. The recruitment fliers advertised jobs as security guards or bodyguards under the name of a fake company, and promised good benefits, a Christmas bonus and "growth in the short term," according to Jesus Eduardo Almaguer, the chief prosecutor in western Jalisco state. Those recruited were, however, employed as street-level drug dealers, not guards. They were sent to the town of Lagos de Moreno for a quick 10-day training course featuring paintball fights. [continues 385 words]
SIERRA MADRE DEL SUR, MEXICO (AP) - Red and purple blossoms with fat, opium-filled bulbs blanket the remote creek sides and gorges of the Filo Mayor mountains in the southern state of Guerrero. The multibillion-dollar Mexican opium trade starts here, with poppy farmers so poor they live in woodplank, tin-roofed shacks with no indoor plumbing. Mexican farmers from three villages interviewed by the Associated Press are feeding a growing addiction in the U.S., where heroin use has spread from back alleys to the cul-de-sacs of suburbia. [continues 741 words]
MEXICO CITY (AP) - After months of tacit cooperation with rural vigilantes trying to drive out a cultlike drug cartel, the Mexican government is seeking to permanently solve one of its toughest security problems with a plan to legalize the growing movement and bring it under the army's control. But the risks are high. To succeed, the government must enforce military discipline and instill respect for human rights and due process among more than 20,000 heavily armed civilians, then eventually disband them and send them back home in the western state of Michoacan. [continues 844 words]
Mexico City, Mexico - After months of tacit co-operation with rural vigilantes trying to drive out a cult-like drug cartel, the Mexican government has moved to permanently solve one of its toughest security problems with a plan to legalize the growing movement and bring it under the army's control. But the risks are high. To succeed, the government must enforce military discipline and instil respect for human rights and due process among more than 20,000 heavily armed civilians before returning them home to the western state of Michoacan. [continues 833 words]
MEXICO CITY-The Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have suffered at least 28 gunfire attacks on helicopters in the five years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels, according to official documents made public Monday. The attacks show the increasing ferocity of Mexico's drug gangs, and also suggest support for what the Mexican government has said in the past: that 2010 may have been the worst year for the upward spiral in violence. In the first two years of the drug war, reporting government agencies such as the air force, navy and Attorney General's Office reported no chopper attacks. But in 2008, four helicopters were hit by gunfire, wounding at least one officer aboard. [continues 512 words]
Mexico City - Mexico's decision to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers, prosecutors say. Prosecutors said the new law enacted Thursday sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check. "This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty," said Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the attorney general's office. [continues 298 words]
MEXICO CITY - Mexico enacted a controversial law Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging free government treatment for drug dependency. The law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer face criminal prosecution when the law goes into effect today. Anyone caught with drug amounts under the personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory - although the law does not specify penalties for noncompliance. [continues 509 words]
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Roman Catholic Church launched an unusually harsh criticism of the former ruling party on Sunday, suggesting the group may be blocking anti-drug efforts. An editorial posted on the Archdiocese of Mexico's Web site did not mention the Institutional Revolutionary Party by its full name, but cited legislators describing the "'revolutionary' party as an obstacle to taking stronger measures to combat drug cartels." No other major party has "revolutionary" in its name. The editorial also alludes to "a party rubbing its hands at returning to power." The party, known as the PRI, held Mexico's presidency without interruption for 71 years, before losing the 2000 elections. Most polls show it leading for July's midterm elections. [continues 268 words]
Soldiers trying to seize control of one Mexico's top drug-producing regions found the countryside teeming with a new hybrid marijuana plant that can be cultivated year-round and cannot be killed with pesticides. Soldiers fanned out across some of the new fields Tuesday, pulling up plants by the root and burning them, as helicopter gunships clattered overhead to give them cover from a raging drug war in the western state of Michoacan. The plants' roots survive if they are doused with herbicide, said army Gen. Manuel Garcia. [continues 592 words]
SASABE, Mexico Weighed down by 50-pound sacks of marijuana, they hike through the desert for days to reach remote drop-off points in the United States, then sneak back across the Mexican border. They are seldom illegal immigrants, but drug runners, physically fit and able to carry heavy loads for long distances. In some cases, it's been the family business for generations. Lately, they're getting caught running more drugs than ever -- often over the same desert routes used by undocumented immigrants -- with the U.S. Border Patrol reporting a sharp increase in the amount of marijuana seized. [continues 614 words]
SASABE, Mexico - Weighed down by 50-pound sacks of marijuana, they hike through the desert for days to reach remote drop-off points in the United States, then sneak back across the Mexican border. They are seldom illegal immigrants, but drug runners, physically fit and able to carry heavy loads for long distances. In some cases, it's been the family business for generations. Lately, they're getting caught running more drugs than ever - often over the same desert routes used by undocumented migrants - with the U.S. Border Patrol reporting a sharp increase in the amount of marijuana seized. [continues 713 words]
SASABE, Mexico - Weighed down by 50-pound sacks of marijuana, they hike through the desert for days to reach remote drop-off points in the United States, then sneak back across the Mexican border. They are seldom illegal immigrants, but drug runners, physically fit and able to carry heavy loads for long distances. In some cases, it's been the family business for generations. Lately, they're getting caught running more drugs than ever often using the same desert routes as undocumented migrants with the U.S. Border Patrol reporting a sharp increase in the amount of marijuana seized. [continues 707 words]
Measure Will Legalize Small Amounts Of Drugs But Stiffen Penalties For Trafficking MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign into law a measure that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use, his spokesman said Tuesday. Spokesman Ruben Aguilar defended the law, which was approved Friday by Mexico's Senate, despite criticism in the United States that it could increase casual drug use. "The president is going to sign this law," said Aguilar, who called the legislation "a better tool . . . that allows better action and better coordination in the fight against drug dealing." [continues 269 words]
Decriminalization Measure Sent Back To Mexico Lawmakers MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Vicente Fox refused to sign a drug decriminalization bill Wednesday, hours after U.S. officials warned the plan could encourage "drug tourism." Fox sent the measure back to Congress for changes, but his office did not mention the U.S. criticism. "Without underestimating the progress made on the issue, and with sensitivity toward the opinions expressed by various sectors of society, the administration has decided to suggest changes," according to a statement from his office. [continues 294 words]
MEXICO CITY - U.S. officials welcomed Mexican President Vicente Fox's decision not to sign a drug criminalization bill that some had warned could result in "drug tourism" in this country and increased availability of narcotics in American border communities. Fox reversed course and said he was sending the bill back to Congress for changes, just one day after his office had said he would sign into law the measure, which would have dropped criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. [continues 591 words]
Fox's Move Comes After Unusual U.S. Pressure MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Vicente Fox refused to sign a drug decriminalization bill Wednesday, hours after U.S. officials warned the plan could encourage "drug tourism." Fox sent the measure back to Mexico's Congress for changes, but his office did not mention the U.S. criticism. "Without underestimating the progress made on the issue, and with sensitivity toward the opinions expressed by various sectors of society, the administration has decided to suggest changes," a statement from his office said. [continues 389 words]
U.S. Leery of Move to Legalize Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use - including cocaine and even heroin - raising potential questions about joint U.S.-Mexican anti-narcotics operations. Mexican officials hope the move will allow police to focus on large-scale trafficking operations rather than minor drug busts. The bill, passed in the early morning hours by Mexico's Senate on a 53-26 vote with one abstention, has already been approved in the Lower House of Congress and was sent to President Vicente Fox for his signature. [continues 754 words]
Fox Likely To Decriminalize Coke, Heroin MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin for personal use -- a measure sure to raise questions in Washington about Mexico's commitment to the war on drugs. The only step remaining was the signature of the president, whose office indicated he would sign it. Mexican officials hope the law will help police focus on large-scale trafficking operations, rather than minor drug busts. The bill also stiffens penalties for trafficking and possession of drugs -- even small quantities -- by government employees or near schools, and maintains criminal penalties for drug sales. [continues 403 words]
MEXICO CITY - The men dressed in military garb who crossed the border and confronted Texas law officers this week were drug smugglers, not Mexican soldiers, officials said Wednesday, illustrating Mexico's thorny problem with criminals who masquerade as security forces. Photos of what appeared to be Mexican troops in U.S. territory during the incident Monday shocked many Americans, although Mexico quickly denied its military was involved. But to most Mexicans it just offered further proof that drug traffickers run rampant around the border area in military-style vehicles, wearing uniforms and, in some cases, using military firepower. [continues 200 words]
CANCUN, Mexico - Behind the glitzy playgrounds of Cancun is a growing drug war, fueled by widespread police corruption, the partial disruption of once-popular trafficking routes through Haiti, and a sudden turf battle between two of the country's main drug gangs. Three years after authorities thought they broke up the cocaine trade in Cancun, nine people have turned up dead. Investigators found a smuggling ring involving corruption at all levels of government, and it took even federal investigators by surprise. [continues 610 words]
