Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord

(NEWSER) - Arizona’s three state universities are following the State Department and attempting to dissuade students from spending spring break in Mexican border towns, a traditional pastime, because of drug-associated violence there, the AP reports. One federal official called the warning “sage advice,” noting “documented violence, attacks, killings” and gunfire in public places. “Innocent people have been caught up in that collateral damage,” he said. More»

City has seen 8 deaths per day this year

(NEWSER) - The number is a hefty one even for the crime-ridden town of Ciudad Juarez: 53 dead in one of the deadliest 72-hour periods the Mexican city has recently seen. Police tell CNN that 14 were killed on Thursday; 20 on Friday; and 19 on Saturday, including a police officer shot 10 times after giving a man a driving ticket. Three other police officers were killed in the violence. A police rep says Ciudad Juarez has averaged 8 homicides per day in the first 40 days of this year. Meanwhile, 13 taxi drivers were reported killed in the resort town of Acapulco. More»

Too dangerous to cross the border in El Paso, officials warn

(NEWSER) - Notre Dame and Miami Hurricanes football players have been barred from crossing into Mexico while staying in El Paso for the Sun Bowl. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly even confiscated his team's passports before the Fighting Irish flew to Texas as a precaution, reports AP . Both teams met with police and FBI officials yesterday to learn of the dangers of a quick international foray. El Paso borders Ciudad Jaurez, which is engulfed in a vicious drug war that has claimed 3,000 lives this year alone. Fans have been warned of the dangers, too, leading up to Friday's face-off. More»

Jorge Luis Aguirre got death threat in 2008

(AP) - A Mexican journalist who was the target of death threats like those made by drug cartels says he has been granted asylum in the US in a case believed to be the first of its kind since the country's bloody drug war began. Death threats are at the heart of thousands of Mexican asylum requests received each year by the US, which grants only a fraction of the petitions. Even people who cross the border with fresh bullet wounds or whose family members have been tortured by drug gangs can face long odds. More»

Drug violence overshadows celebrations

(NEWSER) - At midnight, Mexico marked 200 years since the start of the rebellion that won it independence from Spain, but much of the country isn't in the mood for a fiesta. The war between the government and drug cartels has claimed 28,000 lives since 2006, and public festivities have been scaled down or canceled in many places. The Mexican Revolution against the country's oligarchy kicked off in the country's centennial year, analysts note, and Mexico may now be headed for another shake-up that will strengthen the rule of law. More»