In Anti-Drug Move, Mexico Purges Police

Just in time for spring break

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities have arrested Cancun's police chief in the recent torture and murder of a retired general who had just been appointed to a drug-fighting task force, reports CNN. The military has taken over the police force in the beach town popular with college students on spring break. In another sign that the country is spinning dangerously out of control, 21 people were shot dead yesterday in Chihuahua after soldiers battled with a drug gang that had seized nine local hostages. More»

(NEWSER) - During his two years in office, Mexican President Felipe Calderón has made a valiant attempt to expel corruption from his government, but many think his efforts are quixotic at best, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “I don't think there is ever a point that Calderón can claim 'mission accomplished,'” one expert said of the president’s internal probing. During his tenure, 11,500 state employees have been fined for corruption. More»

(NEWSER) - As drug violence soars in Mexico, casualties are spreading to the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist destination and spring break hot spot. Twelve decapitated bodies were found near the popular ruins of Chichen Itza this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. That's because a government crackdown has heightened “a kind of civil war among drug cartels,” said a drug-trafficking expert. And that violence is spilling over from the usual frontlines along the US border. More»

Latest victims in Mexico's spiraling drug violence

(NEWSER) - A gun battle in Mexico's drug capital of Culiacan ended with seven federal police officers and a civilian lying dead, and four officers wounded. Drug dealers opened fire and hurled a grenade as police raided a drug house in the city, where 1,000 people have died in drug-related violence since the beginning of the year, reports CNN. More»

Cartels post death threats, hit lists to threaten police

(NEWSER) - 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»