Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 24, 2008 11:32:02 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Bloody Drug Wars Rock Mexican Town

Posted Apr 16, 08 4:25 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Bloody drug wars are ravaging the Mexican town of Ciudad Juarez—across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas—despite desperate attempts at control by the government. After 210 lives were claimed by the battles between cartels in the first three months of 2008, President Felipe Calderon sent over 2,000 soldiers to the area in late March, the New York Times reports.

But those soldiers are so intimidated by the power of organized crime that they hide their faces with ski masks. Meanwhile, complex webs of alliances make it tough even to keep track of who's fighting whom. “A lot of these lines have been blurred since the first of the year,” says a US special agent in El Paso.

Source New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Mexican Troops Accused in Drug War Deaths

    Jun 29, 08 9:42 PM CDT
    Mexican Troops Accused in Drug War Deaths Mexicans increasingly accuse state troops of beating and murdering innocents on their mission to curb violent drug cartels, Time reports. Since the state assigned 25,000 soldiers to fight drug-runners 2 years ago, troops have killed at least 13 unarmed people—while traffickers have added 1,800 more to the tally. "These soldiers are idiots," a witness to a shooting said. "What protection do they give us?" More »

  • Mexico Overhauls Justice System

    Jun 18, 08 2:30 AM CDT
    Mexico Overhauls Justice System Sweeping reforms of Mexico's criminal justice system were signed into law by President Felipe Calderon yesterday. US-style public trials and presumption of innocence will replace Mexico's slow, closed-door system that proceeds almost exclusively through briefs, reports the Washington Post. The reforms also give investigators power to hold suspects 80 days without charges.      More »

  • Drug Lords to Mexican Cops: Join Us or Die

    May 19, 08 8:13 AM CDT
    Drug Lords to Mexican Cops: Join Us or Die Mexican drug cartels are running a campaign of warnings and death threats to police who won’t join them, the AP reports. Banners across roads, hit lists, and messages on cops' two-way radios work to intimidate “those who still don’t believe” in the cartels’ power. Four top Mexican police officials, including the acting federal police chief, have been killed this month. More »

  • Third Top Cop Executed in Mexico Drug War

    May 11, 08 6:39 AM CDT
    Third Top Cop Executed in Mexico Drug War A third key police officer was assassinated yesterday in the intensifying war between Mexican officials and drug cartels, the BBC reports. The deputy police chief of the border town of Juarez was killed when gunmen peppered his car with bullets as he left home. The head of Mexico's anti-kidnap unit was killed Friday, and the chief of police operations against drug trafficking was shot dead the day before. More »

  • Mexico's Top Drug Cop Assassinated

    May 8, 08 5:10 PM CDT
    Mexico's Top Drug Cop Assassinated The official leading Mexico's anti-drug efforts was gunned down early this morning, the Los Angeles Times, shot eight times after arriving at his Mexico City home from work. Mexican outlets reported that the so-called Sinaloa cartel is behind the death of Edgar Millan Gomez, 42; he's the third high-ranking federal law-enforcement official shot in the capital in the past week. More »

A forensic expert puts together a human skeleton at a cemetery in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday Dec. 5, 2007.   (AP Photo)
Army soldiers take away police agents for further questioning after army personnel arrived at a police station to check for weapons serial numbers and interviews with police officers in Ciudad Juarez.   (AP Photo)
Mexican soldiers disembark a military plane in Ciudad Juarez, northern Mexico, Friday, March 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Raymundo Ruiz)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threads (1 of 4)

Tags

Mexico  • drug cartels  • Ciudad Juarez


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »