Wave of Murders Cuts Down Mexican Musicians

K-Paz frontman second slain in wave of border violence

(NEWSER) - Sergio Gomez, lead singer of popular Mexican band K-Paz, was found dead beside a highway yesterday. The killing is the latest in a string of south-of-the-border music slayings, the LA Times reports. Gomez was abducted late Saturday after a concert, and his body appeared to have been tortured. He is the ninth Mexican musician slain in 18 months. 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»

La Familia dissolved, banners say

(NEWSER) - Banners have appeared in the heartland of Mexico's La Familia drug cartel claiming that the criminal organization has been dissolved but authorities are understandably skeptical. The cartel, one of Mexico's most brutal, declared a month-long truce earlier this month and authorities believe that it is weakened and in disarray but by no means out of business, AP reports. More»

Agents tortured, killed in revenge for drug trafficker's arrest

(NEWSER) - Twelve people tortured, murdered, and dumped along a highway in the Mexican state of Michoacan Monday were Mexican federal agents, the AP reports. The off-duty agents—11 men and one woman—were caught in an ambush by members of a drug cartel, officials said. The murders are believed to be revenge for the recent capture of a La Familia kingpin in MIchoacan, the home state of Mexican President Felipe Calderon and a center of his crackdown on drug traffickers. More»

(NEWSER) - The bodies of 11 men and a woman were found by the side of a remote highway in Mexico's Michoacan state yesterday, Reuters reports. The victims had been tortured before being executed, police said. Officials believe the killings are linked to an ongoing feud for control of the state between the Gulf drug cartel and a group of smugglers known as "the Family." Four bodies were found in the same place last week. More»