Drug Cartels' Latest Ploy: Ultralight Planes

New York Times examines case of border patrol agent

(NEWSER) - Bryan Gonzalez was working as a Border Patrol agent in New Mexico when he made the fatal mistake of musing to a colleague that legalizing marijuana would end Mexico’s violent drug war. He was fired soon afterwards; his termination letter said he held “personal views that were contrary to the core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication and esprit de corps.” He’s not alone either, the New York Times observes. Law enforcement officials nationwide have been fired for questioning drug laws. More»

Softer American laws lead to cross-border flood of weapons

(NEWSER) - More than 6,000 Mexicans died in drug wars last year, and violence has surged recently as gangs battle the police and each other. But because of Mexico's strict gun laws, cartels have to get their weaponry from elsewhere: the United States. Ninety percent of guns recovered in Mexico originated north of the border, the New York Times reports—often from small dealers scattered along the border. More»

(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»

Nationwide initiative a key step in border drug war, authorities say

(NEWSER) - US officials arrested 175 suspected Mexican drug traffickers this week in raids in a dozen states, the LA Times reports. Prosecutors believe the suspects are part of the violent Gulf cartel, considered to be a driving force in Mexico’s escalating drug wars. The raids were part of a 15-month DEA investigation that has netted 507 arrests and the seizure of more than $60 million. More»

Mexico sends in thousands of troops to quell further fighting

(NEWSER) - A gunfight between Tijuana drug cartel rivals left 15 dead and eight wounded near the US border today, Reuters reports. The worst violence in Mexico's 3-year drug war, it filled a city road with bodies and took the lives of two top hit men from the Arellano Felix cartel. "Today shows we are facing a terrible war never seen before on the (U.S.-Mexico) border," said Baja California Attorney General Rommel Moreno. More»