Interior Minister Killed in Mexico City Plane Crash

Gay rights battle raging across Latin America

(NEWSER) - The same-sex Mexican wedding will be born tomorrow as a new law puts Mexico City on the front lines of the gay marriage battle raging across Latin America. But even as gay couples line up to tie the knot, the Catholic Church and President Felipe Calderon's conservative party are gearing up to fight the law, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A single hijacker took control of a jet out of Cancun with more than 100 people aboard before forcing it to land in Mexico City and freeing the passengers, CNN reports. Mexican authorities have detained the Bolivian hijacker, who falsely claimed to have a bomb and demanded to see Mexican President Felipe Calderon. No casualties were reported, and no details were immediately available about his motivation. More»

Tide of kidnappings and murders linked to drug gangs and corrupt cops

(NEWSER) - Thousands of protesters marched in various Mexican cities yesterday, demanding the government crack down on the nation's mounting crime. Mexico has been rocked by kidnappings and murders connected to drug-trafficking gangs and corrupt police, with an estimated 12,000 drug-related deaths so far this year, reports the Los Angeles Times. "We don't want promises—we want security," said a march organizer. More»

City leaders defy bitter opposition from government and church

(NEWSER) - Mexico City has passed a law legalizing first-trimester abortions and offering them virtually free. The move by the city's predominantly leftist leadership was bitterly opposed by the Catholic Church and Mexico's conservative government, CNN reports. More»

Country sees increasing torture, beheadings, violence against women

(NEWSER) - The sixth year of Mexico's murderous war against drug cartels claimed a staggering 12,000 lives, according to bleak tallies being reported in the Mexican press that show upticks in beheadings, torture, and violence against women and children. There is no official number from Felipe Calderon's government, which the Washington Post notes has backed off promises to keep figures updated; Calderon's party faces elections this summer. More than 50,000 have now died since Calderon declared war on the cartels in 2006. A breakdown of the numbers: More»