Drugs Linked to Boy's Kidnapping

Cole picked up alive after grandpa crossed Mexican drug cartel

(NEWSER) - A 6-year-old Nevada boy kidnapped by men believed linked to a Mexican drug cartel has been found in “extremely good condition” walking on a Las Vegas street. Some 100 detectives had been working 12-hour shifts to find Cole Puffinburger, who was abducted from his Las Vegas home Wednesday by men claiming to be police, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. More»

'Twitteros' avoid drunk-driving checkpoints, feared to aid drug gangs

(NEWSER) - There's a new public enemy in Mexico: los Twitteros. Twitter users who warn one another about roadside drunk-driving checkpoints have so angered authorities that the Mexican government is considering restricting and monitoring social networking sites. But in a country in the grips of a violent battle against drug cartels, the fear of Twitteros is about much more than drunk driving, Global Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Mexican drug cartels have evolved into mafia empires, charging protection fees to businesses and providing social services and jobs where government cannot, the AP reports. Behind it lurks the threat of violence or kidnapping, which drug lords carry out with near impunity. "Today, the traffickers have big companies, education, careers," one lawmaker says. "They're businessman of the year." More»

(NEWSER) - Mexican drug gangs are increasingly targeting Americans, kidnapping them in border towns and, even more disturbingly, US cities like Las Vegas and even Atlanta, Mary A. Fischer writes in Men’s Journal. Ironically, higher post-9/11 border security and Mexico's crackdown on drug cartels has hurt drug sales, forcing competing bands of drug dealers to turn to ransoms for money. “It’s open season on just about anyone," said a former FBI agent. More»

Politicians consider reinstating capital punishment to stave off tide of violence

(NEWSER) - Mexican lawmakers are considering bringing back the death penalty in the wake of an overwhelming tide of murders and kidnappings linked to drug cartels, reports the BBC. The Green Party, usually a staunch foe of capital punishment, is leading the campaign to reinstate it. Surveys show 70% of Mexicans want murderers executed. More»