Mexico Mulls Twitter Clampdown

Mexicans live in fear of grotesque killings

(NEWSER) - Mexico kicked off 2010 with a grim record: On Saturday the violence-plagued country tallied 69 murders in a single day. As drug cartels stepped up retaliation against the government's war on trafficking, Saturday's count included 26 murders in the border city of Ciudad Juarez and 13 in Mexico City. Murders are also becoming increasingly grotesque: Last week one victim's face was peeled off and sewn to a soccer ball, and yesterday the remains of a slain police officer were found in two separate ice chests. 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»

Cartels at war again in Michoacan

(NEWSER) - The drug war appears to be heating up again in Mexican President Felipe Calderon's home state. Some 15 semi-naked bodies were found in a pile outside a gas station in Zitacuaro, Michoacan state, the BBC reports. All of the victims were male and three were minors. Police say threatening messages were left next to the bodies, which showed signs of torture. More»

Omar Ortiz allegedly helped gang identify rich targets to kidnap

(NEWSER) - A disgraced Mexican soccer goalkeeper has been arrested for allegedly helping a gang of kidnappers, reports MSNBC . Omar Ortiz, known as "El Gato" ("The Cat"), is accused of helping a gang identify rich targets for kidnapping, earning more than 10% of each victim's $73,000 ransom. Ortiz was goalkeeper for many years for the top division Monterrey team, but he was banned for two years in 2010 for testing positive for steroids. If convicted, Ortiz faces up to 50 years in prison. More»

They aim to gather 'open source' intelligence

(NEWSER) - Somewhere in Virginia, hundreds of CIA analysts are hunched over computers right now, reading Twitter and Facebook posts. This team—affectionately dubbed the “vengeful librarians”—monitors some 5 million social media posts a day, looking for signs of unrest and a general read on the zeitgeist overseas, the AP reports. They predicted the Egyptian revolution, let Barack Obama know how his policies are perceived abroad, and can provide the US with reports during traditional media blackouts, such as during last spring's riots in Bangkok . More»