An ongoing cartel turf war in Central Mexico led to a weekend shooting at a bar where gunmen are believed to have fired into the crowd, killing eleven. The incident comes as criminal organizations fight for control of the region’s drug distribution routes and underground fuel theft market.
The narco-terrorist criminal organization known as Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) is now operating in the border states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. To keep a low profile, CJNG delved into business fronts and money laundering while keeping their paramilitary forces in other parts of the country.
Un presunto narcotraficante mexicano logró operar bajo el radar durante años trabajando de manera independiente y estableciendo una relación de trabajo con la mayoría de los principales cárteles de la droga. Su caída está relacionada con el asesinato de un político mexicano que ayudó a provocar una guerra territorial en la parte sur y este del país.
An alleged Mexican drug lord managed to operate for years by working independently with most major cartels. His downfall was the murder of a politician that sparked a turf war in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
La policía local y tránsito en la ciudad fronteriza de Matamoros fueron quitados de su puestos por las autoridades del estado de Tamaulipas. La medida se produce pocos días después de que el Cartel del Golfo ordenara una serie de bloqueos y protestas donde los policías locales y de tránsito simplemente se quedaron al margen.
Police and transit officers in the border city of Matamoros were removed from their posts by Tamaulipas authorities days after the Gulf Cartel ordered blockades and protests. The individuals in question never moved to intervene.
MCALLEN, Texas – Federal authorities are investigating letters addressed to a Texas border county sheriff’s office filled with what is believed to be ricin. The incident follows days after a letter also containing a similar poison was sent to the White House.
A Mexican border state mayor called for the government to take a hard line against drug lords. He suggested having them shot rather than taking a soft approach like the one that current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been widely criticized for.
News reports about a killed newborn girl whose partially dismembered remains were found near a dumpster sparked terror in the Mexican border city of Matamoros–a community that has seen a separate spike in murders and Gulf Cartel blockades. The newborn was reportedly dismembered by wild dogs.
At least 163 journalists have been murdered in Mexico in the last 20 years, Mexico’s Human Rights Commission stated this week. The NGO blamed lacking protection for journalists and limited prosecution for murders.
A former Louisiana narcotics detective faces federal drug trafficking charges following a sting operation where authorities found eight kilos of cocaine. The former investigator previously served one year and nine months in prison on separate drug charges while being assigned to a federal task force with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Gunmen in the Mexican state of Veracruz beheaded a local journalist and left his remains near railroad tracks to stage the murder as an accident.
MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas – Una redada policial dirigida a un narco-rancho provocó una serie de protestas y bloqueos masivos en toda la ciudad fronteriza de Matamoros. Las protestas fueron ordenadas por el líder local del Cartel del Golfo que envió a cientos de taxistas y sexo-servidoras para bloquear los puentes internacionales y las principales avenidas de la ciudad. Las autoridades federales de México no tomaron ninguna medida durante los bloqueos dejando que autoridades del estado y locales se ocuparan del problema.
MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas – A police raid targeting a narco-ranch led to protests and mass blockades this week. The protests were ordered by the local leader of the Gulf Cartel, who sent out hundreds of taxi drivers and prostitutes to block international ports of entry and major city streets. Federal authorities did not intervene.
Authorities confirmed that the bodies of a retired couple from San Diego were found in a pit in Baja California. The potential double murder comes as authorities still search for a firefighter from Los Angeles who was also kidnapped during a trip to Mexico.
Un temible jefe del Cartel del Golfo de México ha estado trabajando para establecer nuevas alianzas en el estado fronterizo mexicano de Nuevo León, donde busca aumentar su control sobre el robo de combustible a gran escala y el lucrativo narcomenudeo en la región.
A fearsome boss for the Gulf Cartel is working to establish new alliances in Nuevo Leon to solidify control over regional fuel theft schemes and street-level drug sales. All of his activities are reportedly done in the open despite the fact that he is under a second round of house arrest.
A firefighter from Los Angeles is believed to have been kidnapped in the beach resort of Rosarito in Mexico. The firefighter has been missing since late August when authorities found his home ransacked.
Mexican Gulf Cartel members kidnapped two men in Texas and took them to Mexico where they tortured them for days while they forced their relatives to pay for a seized drug load. The case is just one of numerous similar cases in recent years where a Mexican drug cartel carried out kidnapping operations on American soil in South Texas.
Un mando del Cártel del Golfo que anteriormente había estado dirigiendo su organización criminal a pesar de estar bajo arresto domiciliario, vuelve a operar como de costumbre afuera, luego de que otro juez estatal le otorgó una segunda orden de arresto domiciliario permitiéndole operar con impunidad mientras enfrenta su caso en las cortes.
A leading Gulf Cartel member who was previously caught running his criminal organization under house arrest is back in business after a second border state judge granted him a new order to remain home.
At least 24 Mexican soldiers are under investigation in the border city of Nuevo Laredo amid allegations they killed a cartel gunman after a shootout had ended. The probe, pushed by Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, reignited criticism that his administration continues to be soft on cartels.
Una líder de alto rango de una facción de Los Zetas enfrenta ahora cargos de homicidio calificado luego de su arresto a principios de este mes a manos del ejército mexicano. La narco-líder ha sido acusado en una corte estatal del asesinato de mando regional de la fiscalia y varios de sus oficiales en la ciudad fronteriza de Nuevo Laredo; ella también enfrenta cargos federales por armas.
A top faction leader of Los Zetas faces murder charges following her arrest earlier this month. She stands accused of killing a Nuevo Laredo area prosecutor and several aides.
The number of coronavirus fatalities in Mexico reached 60,000 last week. Top health officials previously described this milestone as a worst-case scenario or “catastrophic” level when they first began to talk about the pandemic and the potential death toll at the start of the year.
Un hombre previamente condenado en Texas por varios cargos de agredir sexualmente a menores, fue arrestado en México en relación con el cruento asesinato de su hijastra de Texas en la ciudad fronteriza de Matamoros. El asesinato estaba relacionado con un falso secuestro que, según las autoridades, era parte de un plan para asaltarla y hacer que el crimen pareciera una ejecución de cartel.
A man previously convicted in Texas for sexually assaulting children was arrested in Mexico for the murder of a Texas woman in Matamoros. The murder involved a fake kidnapping that, according to authorities, was part of a scheme to rob the victim while making the crime look like a cartel execution.
More than a dozen Texas police officers took down a man who went into a border-area Walmart store dressed in black and carrying multiple weapons he allegedly utilized to threaten shoppers. Officers shot the suspect several times after he fired at them during the confrontation. The alleged gunman died at the scene.
Comments made by a Mexican judge in Jalisco as he dismissed several sex assault charges against a man accused of abusing a 10-year-old are sparking outrage. The suspect, who remains in jail on another charge, is a top police official in Puerto Vallarta.
The governor of Coahuila, Mexico, is providing more firepower to his police officers to them battle the weapons employed by cartel gunmen. State police officers will be the only ones legally outfitted with the higher caliber weapons as the public’ possession of these types of guns in Mexico is prohibited by law.
A former Mexican president and one of his cabinet members were named in a large-scale corruption investigation involving the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, plus alleged bribes to buy votes and fund political campaigns.
Federal authorities in Arizona arrested a U.S. Border Patrol agent in connection with an alleged drug smuggling attempt involving more than 350,000 fentanyl pills, cocaine, and heroin. Prosecutors charged the agent with multiple counts of possession and one count of drug conspiracy.
The Mexican border state of Tamaulipas announced the rollout of a special forces police unit equipped with air surveillance and armored vehicles. The move by the state police is aimed at securing key parts of the state as cartel violence continues to be one of the main concerns in the region.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) granted Mexico $3 million to help with the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), carry out research, and help migrants along the border. The money comes at a time when Mexico surpassed 51,000 coronavirus-related deaths and climbed to number three on the list of nations with the most fatalities.
Gunmen killed a long-time photographer and college professor in Michoacán. The murder is the second of its kind in three days.
Unidentified gunmen killed a Mexican journalist in Guerrero. He previously received death threats and even survived an attempt on his life. The journalist’s bodyguard also died.
Mexican authorities arrested the top leader of a hyperviolent fuel-theft cartel that been waging a fierce turf war for control of key areas in Central Mexico. The organization known as Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) is linked not only to gruesome mass killings but also to the use of improvised explosive devices and car bombs.
Two former top-ranking Mexican federal police officers face drug trafficking charges in the U.S. for allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexican state police and military forces performed rescues in the border city of Reynosa over the weekend as emergency crews evacuated residents affected by Hurricane Hanna. Locals in some neighborhoods were also faced with the dangers of the Rio Grande overflowing.
News outlets, pundits, politicians, and other social media blue checkmarks pushed a viral video with claims that Hurricane Hanna had knocked down part of a border wall in Texas. The claim was debunked by U.S. authorities and the Mexican public official who first published the video has deleted it from her account.
