Thug Attack Kills 10 on Mexican Ranch

(NEWSER) - Hooded gunmen killed 17 people after storming a Mexican drug and alcohol rehab center in Ciudad Juarez yesterday, Sky News reports. The men, believed to be hitmen from a drug cartel, forced the patients to line up in a corrider before gunning them down. Gangs have targeted rehab clinics in the Mexican border city before, accusing them of sheltering members of rival cartels. More»

Remains believed to be retribution for earlier shootout

(NEWSER) - Mexican police have found 12 headless bodies an hour away from Acapulco in the capital of Guerrero, a popular destination for Americans on holiday. The dead apparently included soldiers and a high-ranking police officer, reports the Los Angeles Times. Nine heads were bundled in plastic bags and dumped at a shopping center. The murders are believed to be retribution for the deaths of three gunmen who were shot by soldiers last week. More»

Body of newspaper editor found as violence continues

(NEWSER) - Mexican gangs battling over drug routes to the US show no signs of easing up on the mayhem, the Los Angeles Times reports. In a spasm of violence over the last 2 days, gunmen raked patrons of a bar in Chihuahua and killed 11; a newspaper publisher was shot to death and dumped on a roadside; two federal agents and two suspected smugglers died in a highway shootout; and 13 people were shot to death in Tijuana. More»

'We have to take back our streets,' prez pleads

(NEWSER) - 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»

Gangs use Web to recruit, plan, and intimidate rivals; cops are clueless

(NEWSER) - Mexican drug cartels are making themselves at home on YouTube, posting music videos that show off the bloodied bodies of their tortured and executed competitors. The gangs have turned to the Internet to recruit members, plan attacks, and intimidate and threaten rival gangs. The result is an al-Qaeda–like virtual network that the tech-lite Mexican police have been slow to tap for information. More»