Last updated Feb. 16, 2011  RSS Feeds

Mexico Under Siege   The drug war at our doorstep

A team of Los Angeles Times reporters has been covering Mexico's drug war from both sides of the border since June, 2008.

Credits

Complete series

Use the list below to sort and view all Los Angeles Times coverage of Mexico Under Siege

Date Dateline Byline Type Headline
Feb. 16, 2011 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story U.S. agent slain, second wounded in ambush
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, assigned to the Mexico City office at the U.S. Embassy, were driving toward the northern city of Monterrey when attacked at a blockade, U.S. officials say.
Jan. 26, 2011 Dallas Associated Press Story U.S. missionary fatally wounded by gunmen
Missionary Nancy Davis is rushed back across the border by her husband but dies in a hospital in McAllen. He says gunmen tried to stop the couple and shot at them when they sped up.
Jan. 18, 2011 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Officials say Zetas drug gang figure arrested
Flavio Mendez Santiago allegedly was in charge of smuggling drugs and migrants in the south.
Jan. 15, 2011 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 14 killed in army raid in Mexico's Veracruz state
The shooting, in which 12 suspects and two soldiers were killed, spanned at least two neighborhoods in the normally quiet Veracruz state capital of Xalapa, Mexico news reports say.
Jan. 14, 2011 Acapulco Ken Ellingwood Story Amid drug violence, Acapulco watches tourism recede
Although officials insist tourism remains robust in Acapulco, merchants say months of carnage have scared away visitors. The rising death toll has prompted many Mexicans to skip the resort.
Jan. 9, 2011 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 25 bodies found in Acapulco, 15 decapitated
Messages attached to some of the bodies reportedly claim responsibility on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel and accuse the dead men of being extortionists.
Jan. 6, 2011 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico has arrested a leader of Santa Muerte 'church'
La Santa Muerte is cherished by the marginalized, impoverished and sometimes-criminal sector. David Romo, a self-appointed bishop of the church, is accused of kidnapping and money laundering.
Jan. 4, 2011 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Out of prison and into mortal danger in Mexico
Female kidnapping suspect 'The Redhead' was found tortured and hanging from an overpass after being sprung from prison. Observers wonder if it was a gang hit or even vigilante 'justice.'
Dec. 31, 2010 El Paso Hector Tobar Story Mexican exiles in El Paso can see their pasts across the river
They come from Ciudad Juarez, fleeing the drug violence that has claimed 3,000 lives this year. But their new lives, though far safer, are marked by loneliness, hardship and psychological torment.
Dec. 30, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico army's failures hamper drug war
The army often relies on numbers over intelligence and falls back on time-worn tactics, such as highway checkpoints, of limited use against drug traffickers. The shortcomings alarm U.S. officials.
Dec. 23, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico investigating kidnapping of 50 Central American migrants
Mexico's announcement comes a day after it declared that no such incident occurred. Migrants arrested during a roundup allege that gunmen seized the group on Dec. 16 in Chiapas.
Dec. 20, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Kidnapped Mexican politician released after seven months
Wealthy lawyer and former presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, who appears healthy, declines to talk about his ordeal in detail.
Dec. 19, 2010 Jiutepec Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexican drug cartels find youths to be easy prey
Faced with a poor education system and dismal job prospects, boys and girls as young as 11 are lured into acting as mules, peddlers, lookouts — even executioners — for drug cartels offering easy money.
Dec. 18, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mother shot dead at anti-crime vigil in Chihuahua
Video shows the brazen killing outside the Chihuahua governor's office of a woman who had been protesting the freeing of the confessed killer in her daughter's 2008 slaying.
Dec. 18, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story At least 140 escape prison in Nuevo Laredo
Officials give no details of the mass breakout in the border city, the latest in a string of escapes sometimes aided by corrupt prison guards. The inmates appeared to have fled through service entrances.
Dec. 17, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story More than 12,000 killed in Mexican drug war this year, officials say
The overall death toll in the 4-year-old war is said to be 30,196, but it could be higher. A top official says recent operations against cartels have weakened them.
Dec. 12, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Corruption sweep in Mexico's Michoacan unravels in the courts
An examination of the sealed case file shows prosecutors relied on evidence that didn't hold up under judicial scrutiny and on three anonymous paid informants whose testimony was largely hearsay.
Dec. 11, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story La Familia cartel leader believed killed in Michoacan violence
Mexican authorities believe Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, a.k.a. "El Mas Loco," died in the fighting that raged between drug traffickers and federal troops this week.
Dec. 4, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Youth sought in Mexico killings arrested
Edgar Jimenez Lugo, who authorities said was born in San Diego, was wanted on suspicion of killing rivals — allegedly beheading some — as part of his work for a violent drug-trafficking cartel.
Dec. 3, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story WikiLeaks cables reveal unease over Mexican drug war
The secret cables give a much starker U.S. view of the pitfalls facing Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his campaign against drug cartels.
Nov. 29, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Gang leader blamed in Ciudad Juarez violence arrested
Arturo Gallegos Castrellon is described as the main leader of the Aztecas street gang. Mexican authorities say he confessed to numerous killings, including that of a U.S. consular employee that was previously blamed on a different Aztecas leader.
Nov. 27, 2010 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Another marijuana tunnel and two more warehouses found
20 tons of pot seized, eight arrested in San Diego and Tijuana.
Nov. 24, 2010 Mexico City Daniel Hernandez Story Mexican expats warned on holiday travel home
The Mexican government advises them to travel in convoys and only in daylight because of the drug war.
Nov. 10, 2010 Washington Richard Serrano Story U.S. effort to slow flow of guns into Mexico failing
A U.S. inspector general's review finds that a once-praised federal program is too narrowly focused, fails to share information with law enforcement agencies and does not adequately trace U.S. guns in Mexico.
Nov. 9, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Dismembered bodies, warped minds
The extreme violence produced by the drug war is seen as a form of social disfigurement in which Mexican values get more distorted each time a mutilated body is found.
Nov. 8, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Associated Press Story 20 slain over weekend in Ciudad Juarez
Seven are slain outside a home where people attended a party, Chihuahua state officials say. Eleven others were killed Saturday, and two police officers were shot to death Sunday.
Nov. 7, 2010 Reynosa Tracy Wilkinson Story Reynosa: Caught behind enemy lines
Reynosa, on the Texas border, is a city under the control of cartels. Traffickers brazenly patrol the streets, set up roadblocks, gun down enemies and censor the news. Those who can, have fled. Others find ways to cope.
Nov. 6, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug kingpin slain in fierce gun battle with military
Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, alias Tony Tormenta, was a top leader of the Gulf cartel. He is said to have tortured and beheaded victims. The U.S. had offered a $5-million reward for his capture.
Nov. 6, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Kidnapped Chihuahua attorney found dead
Gunmen said to be with the Sinaloa cartel had made Mario Gonzalez accuse his sister, the former state attorney general, of ties to the rival Juarez drug gang in a video later posted on YouTube. Eight suspects are held.
Nov. 5, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mystery of missing 20 may be solved
Eighteen bodies found in a mass grave south of Acapulco may belong to members of a vacationing group of men who vanished Sept. 30. Relatives will attempt to identify the corpses while authorities continue to search for more bodies.
Nov. 2, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Violence casts shadow over Day of the Dead
Residents can't forget victims of the drug war during a holiday that celebrates death.
Oct. 28, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Gunmen kill 15 at carwash, in latest Mexico massacre
The attack took place at a carwash in the Nayarit state capital, Tepic. State authorities said 13 of the victims, who were all men, worked at the carwash and most were clients of a drug rehab center.
Oct. 27, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Kidnapped Mexican names names, including his sister's
In a 'narco-video' with rifles pointed at his head, the brother of the former attorney general of Chihuahua says she took bribes and ordered killings. She says her brother was coerced to lie.
Oct. 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 13 executed at Tijuana drug treatment center
The assault may have been carried out in retaliation for the seizure of 134 tons of marijuana in the city last week.
Oct. 25, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Times Wire Services Story Ciudad Juarez cries for its slain youths
The toll in Friday's shooting rises to 14. In nearby Coahuila state, six people are killed in two incidents.
Oct. 23, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story A top Salvadoran ex-guerrilla commander advises Mexico's conservative president
Joaquin Villalobos, whom U.S. officials once called 'the baby-faced killer,' has emerged as one of the key advisors behind Mexican President Felipe Calderon's military crackdown on drug cartels.
Oct. 22, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests man alleged to have directed fatal Juarez car bomb attack
A man identified as a regional boss of an armed gang was arrested in Chihuahua city, federal police say. He is accused of overseeing the July blast that killed four people, including a police officer.
Oct. 21, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Mexican army destroys 134 tons of marijuana
The stash was found Monday after a shootout with traffickers near Tijuana. Officials believe the seizure cost the Sinaloa drug cartel nearly $200 million.
Oct. 19, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Civilian trials proposed for troops in rights abuse cases
President Felipe Calderon proposes civilian trials for troops accused of serious rights abuses. The move would mark an important concession by the military and meet a key requirement of a U.S. security aid package.
Oct. 19, 2010 San Diego Richard Marosi Story 105 tons of pot seized in Tijuana
It is believed to be one of the largest drug busts in recent Mexican history, authorities say. The marijuana was hidden inside cargo containers stored in a warehouse in an industrial area of Tijuana.
Oct. 18, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story The case of the 20 missing Mexican tourists doesn't add up
Relatives insist they are ordinary guys. The government focuses on their unusual travel arrangements. Police have little to offer, and Acapulco expresses skepticism about what the travelers were up to.
Oct. 17, 2010 Altar Richard Marosi Story Mexico convoy threads its way through strange drug war in Sonora state
A heavily armed convoy heads off to deliver pensions to people caught behind the siege line as one drug cartel tries to starve out another in a sinister battle for trafficking routes into Arizona.
Oct. 16, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana throws festival for a break from drug violence
Days after big names launched the Tijuana Innovadora, grisly slayings provided a reminder of Mexico's drug war. Still, the city is determined to shrug off the violence and enjoy its moment in the sun.
Oct. 9, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Richard Marosi Story Mexico's president opposes marijuana legalization
Prop. 19, the California measure to legalize pot, would undercut Mexico's fight against drug cartels, President Felipe Calderon says. He calls on the Obama administration to oppose the measure.
Oct. 6, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexican president wants to do away with local police
President Felipe Calderon's reform would eliminate Mexico's 2,000 local police departments, seen as tainted by corruption from the drug war. The plan must still be approved by Congress and the states.
Oct. 4, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 14 injured in grenade attack on crowd in Guadalupe
Several witnesses say local police blocked traffic after the explosion to clear the way for the attackers. The mayor agrees to investigate the claim.
Oct. 3, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Gunmen kidnap 22 in Acapulco
The Mexican tourists from a neighboring state were reportedly seized as they looked for lodging.
Oct. 3, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story In Mexico, a dividing line on 'El Infierno'
Its citizens have made Luis Estrada's 'El Infierno' a blockbuster. But the film, which gives a bleak view of the country's raging drug war, has angered government officials.
Sept. 28, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexican mayor killed in a town threatened by drug traffickers
Gustavo Sanchez of Tancitaro in Michoacan state is found beaten to death with rocks, authorities say. He is the fifth mayor in Mexico killed in six weeks.
Sept. 27, 2010 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Determined federal prosecutor targets the Tijuana cartel
U.S. Atty. Laura Duffy gets much of the credit for crippling it, and now she vows to shut it down for good.
Sept. 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Why Mexico is not the new Colombia when it comes to drug cartels
Comparisons took on a new urgency after a statement by Hillary Clinton, but a careful look at tactics, targets and the nature of the foe shows they're apples and oranges.
Sept. 25, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Fourth Mexico mayor killed in under six weeks
Gunmen ambushed Prisciliano Rodriguez Salinas at his ranch home near the industrial center of Monterrey in northern Mexico. Rodriguez was mayor of the nearby town of Doctor Gonzalez.
Sept. 23, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexican lawmaker-elect is sworn in after evading police
Julio Cesar Godoy, accused of ties to traffickers, is now immune from prosecution.
Sept. 17, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Times Wire Services Story Gunmen target 2 news photographers in Ciudad Juarez; 1 slain
The victims worked for Diario de Juarez, a newspaper that has not stopped reporting on drug-gang violence. Elsewhere in Mexico, news reports say troops kill 41 gunmen in two incidents.
Sept. 14, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests key suspect in Beltran Leyva cartel
The capture of Sergio Villarreal Barragan, one of the four most-wanted suspects in the Beltran Leyva gang, is another blow to the cartel, weakened by a security crackdown and infighting.
Sept. 11, 2010 Washington Paul Richter Story Obama rejects Clinton comment on Mexico
Seeking to calm a diplomatic furor, he disputes the secretary of State's assertion that Mexico's drug war has begun to look like the Colombian insurgency.
Sept. 11, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Associated Press Story 25 slain in Ciudad Juarez
Attacks by drug gangs result in the city's worst death toll in two years. Farther east along the border, 85 inmates escape.
Sept. 9, 2010 Washington Ken Dilanian, Paul Richter Story Clinton says Mexico drug wars starting to look like insurgency
Her comments reflect a striking shift in public comment by the Obama administration about the violence and come as U.S. officials weigh a large increase in aid to Mexico to help fight the cartels
Sept. 6, 2010 Reynosa Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexican drug cartels cripple Pemex operations in basin
The kidnappings of five petroleum company workers along with 30 others have terrorized the oil community, paralyzing segments of the business. Months later, families have still heard nothing.
Sept. 4, 2010 Washington Paul Richter Story U.S. may boost funding for Mexico's drug war
Obama administration officials say they continue to examine their approach toward an issue they consider to be a top priority.
Sept. 3, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Gun battle in northeastern Mexico leaves 25 dead
Troops rescued three hostages and seized drugs and weapons in the clash with purported drug traffickers in Tamaulipas state, the army says. Meanwhile, a former mayor is reported missing.
Sept. 2, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico's crackdown on organized crime is working, Calderon says
In his state of the nation report, President Felipe Calderon notes the arrests or killings of drug kingpins and efforts to clean up police. He also touts job gains and other economic improvements.
Sept. 1, 2010 Mexico City Daniel Hernandez Story U.S. border officer gets 20 years for corruption, smuggling drugs
A former U.S. Customs employee is headed to federal prison for 20 years after being convicted of corruption and smuggling charges in El Paso, Texas.
Aug. 31, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico fires 3,200 federal police officers
Hundreds of others face charges or disciplinary action as the government attempts to modernize the force and eliminate corruption, part of its war against drug cartels.
Aug. 31, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Suspected drug lord captured in Mexico state
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also known as 'La Barbie,' was seized by federal police agents, the government says. He had been battling for control of the Beltran Leyva cartel's business.
Aug. 31, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico's capture of accused drug lord may yield inside cartel information
'He might sing like a canary,' one analyst says the day after the capture of the Texas-born figure known as La Barbie.
Aug. 30, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexican drug traffickers blamed in killing of second mayor
Marco Antonio Leal Garcia, mayor of Hidalgo, is shot dead while with his young daughter, who is injured. He was mayor in a state that's a battleground between vicious rivals the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas.
Aug. 28, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico massacre investigator missing; blasts hit TV and police stations
An official investigating this week's massacre of 72 migrants was missing, while possible car bomb explosions rocked a TV station and police station in the same violence-torn state of Tamaulipas.
Aug. 27, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Successful Tijuana security chief's job at risk
Julian Leyzaola has chased out major drug traffickers, purged his force of corrupt cops, and helped set the stage for the return of investment and tourism. But he may fall victim to partisan politics.
Aug. 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico marines find 72 bodies at ranch, navy says
Authorities would not comment on reports that they may have been Central or South American migrants. The bodies of 58 men and 14 women were found in violence-racked Tamaulipas state.
Aug. 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Calderon proposes steps against money laundering
Mexico President Felipe Calderon says he'll offer legislation limiting big-ticket cash purchases by which drug traffickers launder billions of dollars smuggled south across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Aug. 21, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico arrests 6 police officers in mayor's slaying
A police agent who was Santiago Mayor Edelmiro Cavazos' bodyguard is among the suspects held. A state prosecutor says the detainees 'confessed.' He predicts additional arrests.
Aug. 18, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mayor found dead three days after being kidnapped
Edelmiro Cavazos of Santiago was seized at his home near Monterrey on Sunday. He might have been targeted because of his efforts to purge corrupt local police, the state governor says.
Aug. 16, 2010 Reynosa Tracy Wilkinson Story Under threat from Mexican drug cartels, reporters go silent
Journalists know drug traffickers can easily kidnap or kill them — and get away with it.
Aug. 14, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Gunmen grab Mexico surgeon, later release him
The kidnapping at a high-end clinic in Monterrey suggested a narco kingpin might be forcing a surgeon to alter his looks and help him evade the law. But the doctor's patient was the apparent target.
Aug. 12, 2010 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Narco ballads without a home
Police officials ban Los Tucanes de Tijuana from their hometown over accusations that their music celebrates drug bosses
Aug. 8, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug cartels thrive despite Calderon's offensive
Nearly four years after President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led crackdown, the cartels are smuggling more narcotics into the U.S., amassing bigger fortunes and extending dominion at home.
Aug. 5, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Calderon delivers blunt view of drug cartels' sway in Mexico
He says the government will press its military-led battle against the cartels. But in the unusually bleak portrait he offers, he acknowledges the need to significantly alter the drug war strategy.
July 31, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexican drug lord 'Nacho' was quiet and ruthless
The slain Sinaloa leader was known for methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking, and not much else. His death is seen as a 'harsh blow' to the cartel.
July 30, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Richard Marosi Story Mexican troops kill top Sinaloa cartel figure
Ignacio Coronel Villarreal died in a gunfight in an upscale suburb of Guadalajara, authorities say. Separately, dozens of Tijuana law enforcement officers are arrested in an anti-corruption sweep.
July 29, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Four journalists who covered Mexico prison riot missing
The kidnappings appeared to have been aimed at manipulating news coverage of drug gangs battling in violence-plagued northern states.
July 28, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Photo and letter stir speculation on missing Mexico political figure
The mystery over the whereabouts of a former Mexican presidential candidate deepened when a photograph and letter purportedly written by him showed up on Twitter and then all over the Mexican media.
July 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Freed inmates carried out killings, Mexico police say
Prison guards loaned their own weapons to the killers, who went on to slay 17 at a birthday party in Coahuila state, authorities say. Inmates from the same prison are suspected in other attacks.
July 25, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico grave yields 51 bodies
Forensic workers recover 51 bodies, some burned and mutilated, from a mass grave in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon. They are believed to be linked to Mexico's drug war.
July 24, 2010 San Diego Richard Marosi Story U.S. charges top leaders of Tijuana-based drug cartel
Dozens are accused in racketeering conspiracy case, including a top official in the Baja California attorney general's office and other current or former Mexican law enforcement officers.
July 16, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico cartel kills four in car bombing
An already terrorized Mexico reacts with dismay to traffickers’ latest bloody tactic. Officials say the attack near a federal police headquarters was planned to lure police and emergency workers to the explosives-laden vehicle.
July 13, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico takes different tack on Juarez violence
A shift from military to police control is part of a broadened strategy aimed at curbing violence that has killed more than 5,000 people in Ciudad Juarez since 2008. So far, the results are mixed.
July 13, 2010 Mexico City Daniel Hernandez Story Drug gang hit man narrates assassination of prosecutor in Mexico
In an unusually frank and chilling video confession, a drug gang sicario, or hit man, in Ciudad Juarez narrates his participation in the June 30 assassination of a top official (link in Spanish)
July 3, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Suspicions of drug ties don't hurt candidates
Front-runners in two races in Sinaloa state and Ciudad Juarez brush off questions, and voters seem to care only about what services they'll provide.
July 3, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Suspect held in U.S. consulate worker's killing in Ciudad Juarez
Police say Jesus Ernesto Chavez told them that Lesley A. Enriquez, 35, was shot to death in Ciudad Juarez because his gang thought she was providing visas to rivals.
June 30, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Calderon urges Mexicans to unite against crime
In the wake of the assassination of a gubernatorial candidate, the president urges citizens to join against 'a common enemy that today threatens to destroy not only our tranquility but our democratic institutions.'
June 30, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Ex-police commander held in Michoacan ambush
Mexican officials say Miguel Ortiz Miranda, alias 'El Tyson,' directed operations in Morelia for the Michoacan-based La Familia, including an attack on security chief Minerva Bautista Gomez's convoy
June 29, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story PRI candidate Rodolfo Torre slain in Tamaulipas
Gunmen ambush the gubernatorial candidate on a highway to Matamoros just days before an election he was expected to win.
June 27, 2010 Morelia Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexican state security minister can't trust her own police
Minerva Bautista and her entourage were attacked by gunmen in Michoacan, turf of La Familia drug gang. The chief suspects are well known to her.
June 16, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico official blames army in two child deaths
The military had said the two children were killed at Easter after their van was caught in cross-fire between troops and drug gang gunmen. But the human rights official rejects the account.
June 15, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Shootout leaves 14 dead in Mexico tourist spot
News reports said the shooting broke out when troops went to search a suspected criminal hide-out in Taxco, a picturesque town that draws thousands of visitors. All the dead were said to be gunmen.
June 14, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story At least 10 Mexican police officers killed in shootouts
Gunmen ambush the officers in Michoacan state. An unknown number of the assailants are slain, their bodies whisked away by survivors.
June 10, 2010 Los Angeles Michael Muskal Story More than 2,200 arrested in crackdown on Mexican drug cartels
The United States has arrested more than 400 additional suspects -- for a total of 2,200 over 22 months -- as part of its crackdown on illegal drugs coming from Mexico, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Thursday morning.
June 3, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Cartels smuggle U.S. drug money back to Mexico in cash, study finds
A new U.S.-Mexico government study estimates that $19 billion to $29 billion is shipped south, then laundered through cash purchases of land, luxury hotels, cars and other high-end items.
May 31, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 2 Monterrey officials kidnapped
The kidnapped officials head the transportation department of the affluent city, which has seen drug-trafficking violence rise sharply.
May 27, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Cancun mayor's arrest adds to Mexico worries
The charges against Gregorio Sanchez, on leave to run for governor, add new force to worries organized crime has infiltrated politics at all levels and is undermining moves toward a real democracy.
May 27, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Cancun mayor's arrest adds to Mexico worries
The charges against Gregorio Sanchez, on leave to run for governor, add new force to worries organized crime has infiltrated politics at all levels and is undermining moves toward a real democracy.
May 23, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Cal State system's ban on studying in Tijuana draws protest
University-sponsored activities there are frozen because of drug war violence. Students, faculty and Baja California officials say the policy is based on a distorted perception of the city.
May 20, 2010 Washington Peter Nicholas Story Mexican president urges U.S. to ban assault rifles, overhaul immigration policy
President Felipe Calderon makes an impassioned plea to Congress, saying Mexico is being flooded with smuggled assault weapons and denouncing Arizona's immigration law.
May 18, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Politician's disappearance rivets Mexico
In a country inured to killings and kidnappings, the disappearance of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos has horrified Mexicans — especially the ruling class. It has dominated headlines, talk shows, conversations.
May 17, 2010 Monterrey Tracy Wilkinson Story Monterrey, Mexico, finally feeling the effects of the drug war
The wealthy city is perhaps paying the price for tolerating the presence of drug traffickers for so many years. Now, 'security is collapsing,' an official says.
May 11, 2010 Washington Richard Serrano Story Ex-Cancun mayor extradited to U.S. on drug charges
Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes to help the Juarez cartel ferry cocaine across the border.
May 9, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana club scene revs up as drug-war fears ease
Several months after the capture of cartel boss Teodoro Garcia Simental, this Mexico city is looking more like its old, vibrant self.
May 5, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico army handling of civilian death inquiries questioned
A military-led inquiry and another by the attorney general find the army not responsible in recent cases of civilians being killed amid the war on drug cartels. But their credibility is questioned.
April 25, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Gunmen kill 4, wound top security official in Michoacan
The state public security minister had just left ceremonies launching a state fair in Morelia when her armored SUV and bodyguard escort came under fire.
April 24, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 8 killed in ambush in Ciudad Juarez
A 17-year-old passerby and at least seven officers are slain as two police cars are attacked. Officials say the midday assault may have been retaliation for recent arrests targeting drug gangs.
April 21, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Drug war ensnares Morelos state
Violence has increased recently in Morelos due to a battle for control of a drug cartel. Nearly 50 people have been killed in the state this year, newspapers say.
April 16, 2010 Bridgetown Julian Barnes Story Caribbean countries seek anti-drug assistance from U.S.
Officials say in a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates that a Washington-based crackdown in Mexico has pushed traffickers into their region.
April 15, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Deadly street shootout strikes fear in Acapulco
In the Mexican resort city, gunmen fire at two men in a car and federal police officers. They also shoot at other vehicles, leaving behind casings from AK-47s, which are favored by drug hit men.
April 14, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico death toll in drug war higher than previously reported
More than 22,000 have died since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on drug trafficking gangs, according to news reports citing confidential government figures.
April 5, 2010 El Paso Richard Serrano Story Key figure in Juarez violence eludes capture
Eduardo Ravelo is believed to have helped turn Ciudad Juarez into Mexico's homicide capital, with more than 600 slain there this year. Now he's linked to the recent U.S. Consulate slayings.
April 2, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug gangs turn weapons on army
In northern states this week, gunmen fought troops and sought to confine some to their bases by cutting off access and blocking roads. The aggression shows they are not afraid to challenge the army.
March 31, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Suspect details U.S. Consulate-related shootings, officials say
An Aztecs drug gang member says a consulate official's husband, an El Paso corrections officer, was the target of the Ciudad Juarez attack that left three dead.
March 30, 2010 Mexico City Cecilia Sanchez, Tracy Wilkinson Story 10 youths slain in Mexico
The students, ages 8 to 21, were on their way to pick up scholarships when apparent drug gang members opened fire and threw grenades when their vehicle didn't stop at a checkpoint.
March 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests alleged major heroin trafficker
Jose Antonio Medina, called 'the king of heroin,' was arrested in the state of Michoacan. He is suspected of heading a smuggling network that brought the drug to Southern California.
March 24, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Clinton pledges more U.S. help in Mexico war on drug violence
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton leads a large U.S. delegation to Mexico City, reaffirming that the battle against violent gangs is one shared by both countries.
March 23, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico military faces political risks over drug war
As the death toll keeps climbing in Calderon’s crackdown on the drug trade, there is a growing feeling that the army has been less than effective as a police force.
March 18, 2010 Nuevo Laredo Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico border city relives nightmare of violence
Renewed feuding in Nuevo Laredo between drug gangs spurs old fears amid dozens of deaths.
March 17, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Tracy Wilkinson Story President Calderon visits an angry Ciudad Juarez
In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s president faces citizen outrage amid new signs his war on drug gangs is failing.
March 17, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Tracy Wilkinson Story Consular slayings spotlight Mexico’s failures in fighting drug gangs
On a visit to Ciudad Juarez in the wake of the killings of an American couple and a Mexican, President Calderon is confronted by angry demonstrations and a tense, frustrated citizenry.
March 16, 2010 Ciudad Juarez Tracy Wilkinson Story Attack on a U.S. official is rare in Mexico
If drug traffickers in Ciudad Juarez deliberately targeted diplomatic personnel, it would mark a significant departure in tactics.
March 15, 2010 Mexico City Richard Serrano, Tracy Wilkinson Story 2 Americans and a third victim are killed in Mexico shootings
Two of the victims worked for the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez. Gunmen targeted the two cars involved as the people left a child’s birthday party.
Feb. 26, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico puts its drug suspects on parade
Critics of the media events say human rights are also on the line, along with the country's efforts to establish the rule of law. But Mexico wants to show victories in its drug war.
Feb. 26, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico president says all cartels are pursued equally
President Felipe Calderon confronts an allegation long circulated that his government has gone easier on the Sinaloa cartel. 'It is absolutely false,' he says.
Feb. 25, 2010 Oaxaca Associated Press Story U.S. warns Americans to avoid Nuevo Laredo
Nineteen killings in three days in the region prompt the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey to issue the warning.
Feb. 20, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Juarez massacre may mark a turning for Mexico
The January killing of 15 young people has created a furor and left some wondering whether it’s a tipping point, a moment when Mexicans overcame their fear and fatalism to confront the violence.
Feb. 14, 2010 Los Angeles Sam Quinones Story A lethal business model targets Middle America
Sugar cane farmers from a tiny Mexican county use savvy marketing and low prices to push black-tar heroin in the United States.
Feb. 12, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Calderon visits Ciudad Juarez
In the traumatized border city, he talks of social programs aimed at boosting the fight against drug cartels.
Feb. 9, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story 2 suspected drug gang leaders held in Tijuana
Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental are believed to be top lieutenants in a cartel blamed for a string of massacres, police killings, beheadings and kidnappings in Tijuana.
Feb. 5, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico massacre response fails to convince
Officials’ suggestions that slain Ciudad Juarez teens had drug ties anger relatives.
Feb. 3, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico kidnapping attempt leaves 8 dead
A Mexico federal police officer and seven gunmen are killed after a kidnapping at a mall in Torreon. The two kidnapping victims are freed. Officials blame the Zetas drug gang.
Feb. 3, 2010 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Telephoned abduction claims bedeviling Mexico
A cottage industry has exploded alongside the skyrocketing kidnapping rate: telephoned shakedowns that play on fears, in which the perpetrators scamming for pesos make random, scattershot calls.
Feb. 3, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests suspect in Ciudad Juarez shooting attack on party
The man tells reporters that assailants targeted the high-school party because members of a rival trafficking group were said to be in attendance.
Feb. 1, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Ciudad Juarez police baffled by shooting of teens
The attack on a party attended by mostly high school and college students has 'no apparent motive,' the mayor says. The death toll rises to 16.
Feb. 1, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story As Mexican teens celebrate school soccer win, gunmen open fire
Fourteen people are killed in Ciudad Juarez during a party in a private home, the latest victims of the drug war. More than 3,700 people have been slain in two years in this violent area of Mexico.
Jan. 21, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico prison riot leaves at least 23 dead
All of the dead in the Durango prison uprising are inmates. The fighting is said to have been between members of rival drug-trafficking cartels.
Jan. 13, 2010 San Diego Ken Ellingwood, Richard Marosi Story Mexican drug lord Teodoro Garcia Simental, known for his savagery, is captured
The crime boss 'El Teo,' who authorities say is responsible for massacres and beheadings, is quietly arrested in Baja California. Hundreds fled Tijuana to avoid being kidnapped.
Jan. 11, 2010 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story New years see Tijuana slip into cycle of violence
After some gains in Mexico’s drug war in 2009, Tijuana has had a bloody turn of events in the new year. More than a dozen people, four of them students, were reported slain in the last week.
Jan. 5, 2010 Los Angeles Times staff Story Mexico's drug violence respects no borders
The slaying of an El Monte educator visiting Mexico's Durango state brings the drug war toll home to Southern California.
Jan. 3, 2010 Durango Tracy Wilkinson Story Wife of slain El Monte civic leader didn't think drug war would touch her family
Betzy Salcedo knew of the drug violence in her home town of Gomez Palacio, but like many in Mexico, she was sure she could steer clear of it. The kidnapping and execution of her husband, Augustin Roberto "Bobby" Salcedo changed everything.
Jan. 1, 2010 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Book takes Mexico drug war to task
The book by two former Mexican government officials criticizes President Felipe Calderon’s campaign against the drug cartels. The authors say the focus should be on smaller-bore crimes.
Dec. 30, 2009 Nuevo Laredo Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico's public is missing in action in the drug battle
Faced with drug-cartel violence and signs of vigilantism against the gangs, ordinary people would argue that it doesn’t pay to get involved.
Dec. 29, 2009 Durango Tracy Wilkinson Story Crime reporters face deadly perils
As many as 12 reporters and media workers have been slain this year. The steady intimidation of journalists has caused many of them to pull their punches and refrain from writing the whole truth.
Dec. 23, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug raid hero’s family slaughtered
Hours after the burial of a marine who died in a raid that killed drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, gunmen burst into his home and killed family members.
Dec. 22, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Staged photos of slain drug lord stir controversy
Images of Arturo Beltran Leyva's corpse covered with blood-stained peso and dollar bills and jewelry raise concerns that law enforcement is adopting the tactics of hit men. An inquiry is underway.
Dec. 20, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana's security chief need all of it he can get
Julian Leyzaola lives with threats and worse, plus the accusations.
Dec. 18, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Josh Meyer, Tracy Wilkinson Story Cartel chief is dead, but now what?
Officials herald the killing of Arturo Beltran Leyva as a coup. Still, the drug violence could grow.
Dec. 14, 2009 Rosarito Beach Richard Marosi Story One man's war zone is another's paradise
From the insulated safety of Baja's luxurious seaside gated communities, American expatriates say reports of kidnappings and violent drug cartels seem a world away.
Dec. 9, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Rights group faults Mexico over alleged army abuse
Amnesty International, citing cases of alleged slayings by the military in the drug war, criticizes civilian officials, saying they fail to properly investigate or prosecute crimes by the army.
Nov. 25, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Mexico tightens security at U.S. border crossings
The new infrastructure -- including gates, cameras and vehicle scales -- aims to hamper the smuggling of drug money and weapons to Mexican cartels. Businesses are protesting the increased wait times.
Nov. 17, 2009 San Luis Potosi Ken Ellingwood Story Fixing Mexico police becomes a priority
Reversing police corruption that has tainted whole departments, shattered faith in law enforcement and compromised one of society's most basic institutions is proving difficult, but not impossible.
Nov. 9, 2009 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story Women play growing role in Mexico's drug war
Addiction, the economy and the lure of living well have sucked many into the narcotics underworld. The trend threatens the foundations of Mexican society.
Oct. 29, 2009 Mexico City Cecilia Sanchez, Tracy Wilkinson Story Song banned, band pulls out
Los Tigres del Norte are initially barred from playing their latest drug-trade lyrics.
Oct. 28, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Grim glossary of the narco-world
Average words aren't sufficient for the over-the-top violence of Mexico's drug war, so new ones have been invented.
Oct. 23, 2009 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story In drug-trafficking hub, artist is in demand
Between mansions for the living and mausoleums for the dead, there is work to be had in the Sinaloa capital for painter and sculptor Jose Espinoza, who says of his patrons: 'I don't probe.'
Oct. 17, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Gruesome slayings add to Guerrero’s toll
The mutilated corpses of nine people were found in plastic bags in the bed of a pickup, authorities said. The area where they were discovered is known for its drug trafficking.
Oct. 12, 2009 Culiacan Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico's 'narco-lawyers' risk everything
One 'Bulletproof Lawyer' survived four assassination attempts before being gunned down. Such unsolved killings highlight the violence within a judicial system manipulated by powerful drug cartels.
Sept. 16, 2009 Mexicali Richard Marosi Story One Mexico border city is quiet, maybe too quiet
Mexicali seems an oasis from violence, but some U.S. officials suspect that the peace comes at a high price.
Sept. 4, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 18 killed in Juarez clinic for addicts
The systematic execution of clients in one of the many treatment centers for addicts that have sprouted in Ciudad Juarez suggests smuggling gangs may be fighting over local markets.
Aug. 31, 2009 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story 8 killed at street party in Mexico
Four gunmen leap from a pickup truck and fire semiautomatic weapons at the revelers in the town of Navolato in Sinaloa state. The shooters escape.
Aug. 23, 2009 Mexico City Richard Marosi, Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico shifts tactics in the drug battle
Allowing possession of small amounts frees resources for fighting cartels and traffickers, the government says.
Aug. 22, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Actually, violence is down--so say the numbers
The attorney general points to statistics that indicate homicides have declined in the last 15 years. Critics dismiss his argument as so much spin.
Aug. 14, 2009 Los Angeles Richard Marosi Story 17 charged in string of brutal kidnappings and slayings in San Diego suburbs
n a spillover of Tijuana violence, Mexican gang members posing as U.S. law enforcement personnel abducted and killed 9 victims.
July 30, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Police figures slain in separate attacks
An investigator and a commander and his family are killed at their homes as drug crackdown continues.
July 21, 2009 Washington Richard Marosi Story U.S. indictments target Mexico's Gulf cartels
Gulf cartel and a brutal mercenary group are targeted in an effort that could lead to the seizure of U.S.-held assets.
July 18, 2009 Sonora Sacha Feinman Story Drug cartels imperil immigrants
Tighter border enforcement has driven narcotics smugglers to share territory with migrants, adding to the dangers of the journey and possibly contributing to a drop in immigration.
July 17, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Forces hiked to counter drug gang
Mexico is to deploy 5,500 security personnel to the western state of Michoacan, where a series of recent attacks has killed 16 police officers. The La Familia drug gang is suspected in the slayings.
July 16, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Politician is tied to gang targeting police
Congressman-elect Julio Cesar Godoy is suspected of helping protect the La Familia cartel, accused of killing 16 officers in recent days. That has brought pressure on his sibling, Michoacan Gov. Leonel Godoy.
July 15, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 12 slain in Michoacan were federal police officers
The attack continues a spree in Michoacan by the La Familia drug cartel, officials say.
July 13, 2009 Ciudad Juarez Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Drug offensive stirs ‘wasps nest’
The 2 1/2-year offensive has uncovered deep corruption and sparked violent gang wars, presenting a stark reality: The longer and harder the war is fought, the more complex and daunting it becomes.
July 10, 2009 York, Maine Scott Kraft Story Small-town cops in coastal Maine face a big problem
A heroin overdose leads detectives to unravel a growing addiction problem in small New England towns. Maine is now on the drug mainline from Mexico.
July 9, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Protest leader, relative shot to death in Mexico
The attack on Benjamin LeBaron, a U.S. citizen, and his brother-in-law bore the signs of an organized-crime hit. LeBaron had led a demonstration in May against kidnapping.
July 3, 2009 Los Angeles Paul Pringe, Richard Winton Story Bentley driver's slaying in L.A. might have cartel link
The wild pursuit that ended on the 101 freeway may have been the result of a rivalry between alleged members of the Arellano Felix drug-smuggling organization, according to an affidavit obtained by the Times.
June 30, 2009 Abbotsford Kim Murphy Story Drug war on another border: Canada
Pressure on the U.S.-Mexico border makes the Vancouver, Canada market all the more lucrative and dangerous as narcotics traffickers battle for market share.
June 27, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story At least 12 die in Mexico shootout
The deadly clash in the state of Guanajuato is said to have occurred when security forces sought to search a home. Elsewhere, in the state of Sonora, a congressional candidate escapes assassination.
June 21, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story A quiet move to decriminalize minor drug use
President Calderon, who wants to focus on trafficking, is set to sign the law decriminalizing minor drug use. But critics say letting off users caught with limited amounts of cocaine or other substances will increase use and encourage 'drug tourists' from the U.S.
June 19, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story Designated immigration agents authorized to participate in drug enforcement
Homeland Security and Justice departments repair schism with an accord to interchange staff and better share information.
June 12, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story Gun flow south is a crisis for two nations
The U.S. government lacks a coordinated strategy to combat the flow of arms into Mexico, where 90% of the seized weapons that can be traced are linked to U.S. sales, watchdog report says.
June 9, 2009 San Diego Tony Perry Story Mexican national arrested trying to smuggle marijuana ashore on a surfboard
Suspect tosses duffel bag as authorities approach, but the bag washes ashore at Imperial Beach. Officials say it contained 24 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about $74,400.
June 8, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Acapulco shootout leaves 18 dead
The hours-long battle that killed two soldiers and 16 gunmen took place several miles from the main strip of tourist complexes.
June 7, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story At least 18 killed in shootout in Acapulco
An hours-long gun battle erupts when government troops approach a home in a beachfront neighborhood of the Mexican resort. No tourists are reported hurt.
June 4, 2009 Amatitlan Ken Ellingwood Story Drug violence spilling into Guatemala
Mexican drug gangs under pressure at home are moving operations to Guatemala, whose proximity, weak law enforcement and deep-rooted corruption provide fertile ground, officials and analysts say. By Ken Ellingwood
June 4, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 47 police officers questioned in disappearance of Mexican customs official
The customs administrator in Veracruz has not been seen since an apparent traffic collision Monday night. On a security video, several police cars are seen arriving at the scene of the crash.
May 31, 2009 Patzcuaro Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug traffickers corrupt politics
The cult-like La Familia Michoacana has contaminated city halls across one state, federal officials say. It sometimes decides who runs and who doesn't, who lives and who dies.
May 28, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Detention of local officials marks shift in anti-drug efforts
Calderon had been focused on a military offensive targeting drug figures and corrupt police. Now officials are being questioned to see how far the cartels have penetrated 'local political elites.'
May 27, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 10 mayors, other Mexico officials detained
The sweep targets local officials in the state of Michoacan, home to La Familia, a fast-growing group of drug traffickers.
May 21, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico senator takes leave amid scandal
Senator Ricardo Monreal of Zacatecas steps down temporarily to clear his name after an official acknowledges an investigation into a family property where tons of marijuana were found.
May 21, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico jail break video shows "inside job"
Reforma newspaper publishes surveillance video showing guards apparently helping drug suspects escape from a prison in Zacatecas state.
May 20, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Reputed up-and-coming cartel figure held
Rodolfo Lopez Ibarra and 12 other people with him are seized by soldiers when he steps from a plane in Monterrey, where he allegedly was assigned to take over cartel operations.
May 18, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico sees inside job in prison break
An armada of 17 vehicles, backed by a helicopter, sweeps down on a prison holding drug convicts. The warden and two top guards are arrested and another 40 are questioned in what authorities say was an "inside job."
May 15, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 4 Southern California residents slain in Tijuana
The bodies of two men and two women, bearing 'signs of violence,' were found over the weekend in a car. The circumstances are being investigated.
May 12, 2009 Antelope Wells, New Mexico Scott Kraft Story Pursuing smugglers, border agents become trackers
New fencing and high-tech devices make it difficult for drug traffickers to cross the border. So smugglers hoist packs and take to the desert on foot. Agents use century-old tracking skills to follow.
May 11, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story A trip to Mexico's museum of drugs
Mexico displays confiscated guns and gadgets from its struggles against narcotics traffickers. Just don't call it the Narcomuseum.
May 6, 2009 Arizona Josh Meyer Story Sinaloa cartel may resort to deadly force in U.S.
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most wanted man, reportedly meets with his lieutenants near the Mexico-Arizona border and tells them to meet force with force north of the border.
April 30, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Army needs oversight, Human Rights Watch says
Report lists 17 allegations of serious human rights abuse by the Mexican army, including torture and murder.
April 29, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story 7 police officers die in Tijuana attacks
The bold assaults by heavily armed gunmen are said to have been aimed at intimidating the force.
April 21, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Drug cartels keep Catholic officials in fear
In one case, Archbishop Hector Gonzalez calls attention to a drug trafficker in his neighborhood and accuses the government of ignoring the situation. The prelate later apologizes for his comments.
April 18, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story General battles Tijuana drug traffickers
General Alfonso Duarte Mugica is held up as a model in the army effort to stem drug violence and take on the cartels. He says there’s nothing personal in his hunt for one of Mexico’s most wanted.
April 15, 2009 Ixtapan de la Sal Ken Ellingwood Story Mayors on front line of the drug war
Mayors say they are the ones personally confronting the toll of drug violence on the streets. Yet they lack any meaningful role in the federal government's battle against organized crime.
April 3, 2009 Rio Grande City, Texas Scott Kraft Story On the borderline of good and bad
Starr County, Texas had two consecutive sheriffs tied to drug trafficking from neighboring Mexico. The county finds itself wedged between a relentless supply of drugs to the south, and an insatiable appetite for them to the north.
April 3, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests suspected No. 2 in Juarez drug cartel
Vicente Carrillo Leyva, son of the late kingpin Amado Carrillo Fuentes, is arrested in Mexico City. His capture comes as top U.S. law enforcement officials meet in Cuernavaca.
April 2, 2009 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Napolitano promises more agents at San Diego-area checkpoints
The homeland security secretary visits the Southwest border for the first time since the Obama administration announced a new anti-smuggling strategy.
March 31, 2009 El Paso Sam Quinones Story Senators hear testimony on border danger
John Kerry and others on the Foreign Relations Committee are told Mexico is not in danger of becoming a failed state.
March 27, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Hillary Clinton wraps up Mexico visit, calls drug violence 'intolerable'
The secretary of State tours a high-tech police facility in Mexico City and meets with university students in Monterrey.
March 26, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story U.S. shares blame for Mexico drug violence, Clinton says
A voracious appetite for illegal narcotics and liberal gun-sale rules are funding and arming smugglers locked in a drug war south of the border, the secretary of state says on her first visit to Mexico.
March 25, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story White House unveils plan to fight border drug cartels
The $700-million multi-agency plan targets drug and human trafficking and money laundering and aims to curb spillover of violence from Mexico onto the U.S. side of the border.
March 25, 2009 Los Angeles Sam Quinones Story Family members allegedly ran heroin smuggling ring
An extended family of immigrants from Oaxaca is charged with running a heroin empire that relied on an obscure indigenous language and transactions in public places.
March 24, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico offers $2-million rewards for top drug suspects
The rewards are for information leading to the capture of the 24 most-wanted, including Joaquin 'Shorty' Guzman and Ismael Zambada, leaders of the so-called Sinaloa cartel.
March 22, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story Drug cartels raise the stakes on human smuggling
Drug-smuggling gangs appear to be muscling in on the brisk business of smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S. border.
March 21, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Abuse allegations rise against army
Since President Calderon’s deployment of troops in the war against drug trafficking, allegations of illegal searches and arrests, rape and torture have risen, rights groups say.
March 20, 2009 Tijuana Sam Quinones Story In Tijuana, opera offers a refuge from violence
On the streets, drug smugglers and gangs are fighting a war. But inside a modest cafe, the drama is make-believe and accompanied by sweet music.
March 20, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexican drug figure's son is arrested
Vicente Zambada is arrested in a posh area of Mexico City. He is the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a suspected drug kingpin in Sinaloa who is said to be an expert on opium cultivation and heroin smuggling.
March 19, 2009 San Diego Richard Marosi Story U.S. sues Union Pacific over cross-border drug trafficking
Federal officials say Union Pacific failed to keep smugglers off its trains, but railroad casts blame on its Mexican affiliate.
March 18, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story U.S. shares blame for Mexico drug violence, senators say
Decades of drug use in the U.S. and the smuggling of guns and money into Mexico have fueld that nation's spiraling violence, witnesses tell Congress.
March 17, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Killing of Tijuana pizzeria owner leaves family, Mexican authorities at odds
George Norman Harrison, a San Diego County native, was found decapitated. Authorities consider his death drug-related; his family disagrees.
March 15, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Tracy Wilkinson Story Drug cartels' new weaponry means war
Narcotics traffickers are acquiring firepower more appropriate to an army -- including grenade launchers and anti-tank rockets -- and the police are feeling outgunned.
March 13, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story The barrio gets behind the cartels
The Gulf cartel showed its pull in the impoverished neighborhoods around Mexico's richest city, calling them to the streets. Protests spread to border and port cities.
March 13, 2009 Washington Associated Press, Times staff Story U.S. may deploy troops if Mexico border violence escalates
Homeland Security official tells Congress that National Guard may be needed if security deteriorates at U.S.-Mexico border, a day after President Obama makes a similar suggestion about drug-related violence.
March 10, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Dozens arrested in Tijuana raid
A major army-led operation targets organized crime.
March 9, 2009 Rosarito Beach Christopher Reynolds Story Rosarito Beach regulars won't stay away despite Mexico's drug war
U.S. tourists who enjoy escaping to this seaside city are continuing to do so despite the recent travel warnings. 'Drug people are fighting the drug people,' goes the thinking.
March 7, 2009 San Diego Richard Marosi Story U.S. citizen beheaded in apparent drug hit
A former Chula Vista resident is identified as one of three men who were found decapitated this week in Tijuana.
March 6, 2009 Cancun Ken Ellingwood Story Tourists weigh Mexico drug violence
Mexico's rampant drug violence has put the issue of safety front and center for would-be vacationers, and put the country's publicity-sensitive tourism promoters on the defensive.
March 5, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story 20 killed in riot at Ciudad Juarez prison
It takes forces nearly three hours to contain the gang unrest. Bodies are reportedly thrown from windows.
March 4, 2009 Texas Andrew Becker, Patrick J. McDonnell Story Mexico's drug war creates new class of refugees
Business owners, law enforcement officers, journalists and other professionals are among those seeking asylum in the U.S. -- even when it means sitting in jail.
March 3, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico sending more forces to Ciudad Juarez
As violence spirals, Mexico dispatches another 1,000 federal police to the border city of Juarez, where 2,000 additional soldiers arrived earlier this week. More than 1,600 people died last year in drug-related violence in the city, across the border from El Paso, Texas.
March 3, 2009 San Diego Associated Press Story Warning issued on Mexico trips
The Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has taken the unusual step of urging college students to avoid parts of northern Mexico during spring break.
March 2, 2009 Cancun Ken Ellingwood Story Killings uncover seamier side of Cancun
The killing of a newly-hired security official, Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello, and two others raises questions about the drug trade's impact on the popular resort, especially with suspicions falling on then-police chief, Francisco Velasco.
Feb. 26, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico to send up to 5,000 more troops to Ciudad Juarez
The increase would triple the law enforcement presence in the border city, which has been racked by drug violence. Its police chief quit recently and its mayor has received threats.
Feb. 25, 2009 Villanueva Tracy Wilkinson Story Town fed up with violence turns to army
In the state of Zacatecas, residents of Villanueva demanded that the military take over. The soldiers came, but drug war violence got worse.
Feb. 25, 2009 Washington Josh Meyer Story Hundreds arrested in U.S. probe of Mexican drug cartel
Fifty arrests in California and elsewhere are the latest among 730 targeting the Sinaloa cartel in a 21-month crackdown.
Feb. 23, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Governor of Mexico's Chihuahua state downplays attack
Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas says gunmen who fired on his convoy weren't aiming at him.
Feb. 21, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Ciudad Juarez police chief quits after killings of officers, threats
Posted signs say a policeman would be killed every 48 hours unless Roberto Orduña Cruz resigned.
Feb. 19, 2009 New Mexico Scott Kraft Story Border drug war is too close for comfort
A quaint but quirky border town in New Mexico casts a wary glance at its neighbor over the border, fretting over whether drug-related violence will cross over to its streets.
Feb. 16, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Gunmen kill police officer, 10 relatives in Tabasco
Gunmen hit the homes of Carlos Reyes Lopez and his extended family; a 2-year-old nephew and five other children are among the dead. Reyes Lopez was a member of an elite agency tackling police corruption.
Feb. 12, 2009 Phoenix Sam Quinones Story Phoenix, kidnap-for-ransom capital
Juan Francisco Perez-Torres was abducted last month in front of his home and ransom demanded. Hundreds of such incidents occur each year in Phoenix, and Mexican drug-smuggling is usually involved.
Feb. 8, 2009 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Families want answers from man who says he dissolved 300 people
Santiago Meza Lopez, known as El Pozolero (the Stew Maker), says he stuffed bodies into barrels of lye for drug cartels. He may be a good source of information about missing loved ones.
Feb. 6, 2009 Chihuahua Ken Ellingwood Story Openness is the new order in the courts
Closed-door, written trials give way to U.S.-style proceedings in Chihuahua state. The overhaul could help fight corruption and organized crime, analysts say.
Feb. 4, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Ex-general, 2 others found shot to death near Cancun
Mauro Enrique Tello is one of the highest-ranking officials to be killed in the lawlessness fueled by drug trafficking and other gang crime. Elsewhere in Mexico, 14 people are reported killed.
Jan. 29, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico drug bosses may have set truce
According to news reports, trafficking chiefs in the state of Sinaloa agreed last month to curb their bloody rivalry. Killings there have declined sharply.
Jan. 25, 2009 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Calderon seeks to dispel talk of 'failing state'
Two recent U.S. reports paint a dire picture of Mexico as its battle against drug crime grows more bloody, but Mexican officials say that though some cities are in trouble, the state itself is strong.
Jan. 24, 2009 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Mexico army nabs vats-of-lye suspect
The man arrested in Baja California is said to have dissolved hundreds of bodies as part of Tijuana's drug turf war.
Jan. 17, 2009 Los Angeles Evelyn Larrubia Story Parents' quest helps identify remains in barrel
The LaPortes’ search for their son ends when Mexican officials confirm the remains found in Rosarito are of their son Daniel. They also learn that he was apparently smuggling marijuana.
Jan. 15, 2009 Mexico City Denise Dresser Story Reality check for U.S.-Mexico relations
Calderon must face facts in Mexico, and Obama may find the drug war a tough foreign policy issue.
Jan. 13, 2009 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Vatican suggests excommunicating Mexican drug traffickers
Vatican's second-ranking official suggests severe penalty for drug thugs responsible for thousands of deaths in Mexico.
Jan. 13, 2009 Washington Ken Ellingwood, Frank James Story Obama, Calderon meet in Washington
Cooperation in drug war on agenda as Mexican president meets president-elect.
Jan. 8, 2009 Mexico City Associated Press Story More U.S. funds freed for Mexico's drug fight
Washington releases an additional $99 million as part of an aid package to help security forces in their battle with drug cartels.
Jan. 8, 2009 Mexico City Reuters Wire Story Mexico arrests a founder of “Zetas” drug hitmen
Mexico has captured one of the founders of the Gulf drug cartel's brutal "Zetas" squad of hitmen that is behind much of the country's bloodshed, the attorney general's office said.
Jan. 2, 2009 Los Angeles Paul Pringle Story Drug arrests mystify Covina neighborhood
After two Mexican federal agents and two others were arrested in July on drug-related charges, little has emerged about the case and residents are puzzled.
Dec. 31, 2008 Washington Josh Meyer Story Mistrust bedevils war on Mexican drug cartels
The U.S. and Mexico agree that cartels have morphed into crime syndicates that pose an urgent security threat to the region. But working together has not been easy.
Dec. 30, 2008 Los Angeles Times staff Story Strategies for Mexico's drug war
Experts and public figures in the U.S. and Latin America offer a range of views, from stepped-up policing to legalization.
Dec. 28, 2008 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story In Sinaloa, the drug trade has infiltrated 'every corner of life'
'Narcos' have made their way into government, business and culture in this Pacific state, where kids want to grow up to be traffickers.
Dec. 24, 2008 Guadalajara Associated Press Story Mexican beauty queen arrested with suspected drug gang members, guns and bullets
Miss Sinaloa arrested in Zapopan, outside city of Guadalajara, in Jalisco state.
Dec. 22, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Remains of 9 decapitated men found in Mexico
The heads and bodies were found at separate places in the state of Guerrero, a hot spot in the country's drug war. Local media say the victims may be Mexican soldiers.
Dec. 22, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Drug crackdown has little effect on money laundering
The network of money laundering in Mexico reaches from banks and exchange houses in the capital to a small soccer team in the western state of Michoacan.
Dec. 19, 2008 Ciudad Juarez Ken Ellingwood Story Drug violence puts Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on edge
In a harrowing three-day visit, a reporter finds the social fabric badly frayed in Ciudad Juarez, a border city that has suffered the worst of the drug-related violence in Mexico.
Dec. 18, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Mystery man blamed for gruesome Tijuana deaths
Teodoro Garcia Simental is the best known but least identifiable suspects believed to be responsible for Tijuana's raging drug violence. His name alone inspires silence.
Dec. 16, 2008 San Diego Richard Marosi Story Less cocaine on U.S. streets, report says.
Mexican trafficking organizations are expanding their control, but interdiction efforts have affected flow.
Dec. 9, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Death toll in Mexico's drug war surges
Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora says 5,376 people have been killed so far in 2008, more than twice the toll for the first 11 months of 2007.
Dec. 9, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Corruption hurting Mexico's fight against crime, Calderon says
Mexican President Felipe Calderon says his government has made strides in combating graft. But police corruption remains a big problem in the battle against drug trafficking.
Dec. 7, 2008 Monterrey Sam Quinones Story 23 seconds of the Mexican drug war
When four people in a jewelry store were killed by gunmen who took nothing, few doubted it was a message sent in the drug war.
Dec. 5, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Some in Mexico want the death penalty reinstated
The increase in slayings and kidnappings related to the nation's war on drug traffickers has created a climate of fear. Legal experts see too many obstacles to restoring capital punishment.
Dec. 5, 2008 Los Angeles Raoul Ranoa Interactive Graphic Moments before eternity
The slayings of a Mexican police officer, his wife and two others occurred in Monterrey's busy business district.
Dec. 4, 2008 Ciudad Juarez Ken Ellingwood Story Schools become latest targets in violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez
Anonymous threats warn of unspecified harm if teachers don't hand over their year-end bonuses.
Dec. 2, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana drug violence unabated
Despite a recent military offensive, at least 38 people have been killed in the city's drug wars since Saturday, nine of them decapitated.
Nov. 30, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico drug suspects extradited at record pace
The new posture on extradition signals President Felipe Calderon's determination to combat violent smuggling groups through closer collaboration with U.S. authorities, officials and analysts say.
Nov. 27, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story U.S. war on drugs has failed, report says
Former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo calls for a U.S. effort to curb consumption and halt arms trafficking.
Nov. 22, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico traffickers bribed former anti-drug chief, officials say
Noe Ramirez Mandujano, a prosecutor who resigned as head of the SIEDO organized crime unit in July, is arrested on suspicion of passing intelligence to Sinaloa drug gangsters.
Nov. 21, 2008 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story Another bloody night in Sinaloa, Mexico
Five federal and state police agents are killed in an ambush in Culiacan as drug gangs try to fight off a government crackdown. The day's toll is 10.
Nov. 19, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story 500 police officers replaced in Tijuana
Mexican federal agents and army troops are dispatched in a bid to rid the Tijuana police department of cops suspected of having links to drug traffickers.
Nov. 16, 2008 Atlanta Sam Quinones, Richard Serrano Story Mexico drug wars spill across the border
Few regions of the U.S. are immune to drug-trafficking organizations that have left a trail of death, kidnappings and other crimes.
Nov. 12, 2008 Rosarito Beach Richard Marosi Story Rosarito Beach losing tourists to crime fears
The mayor still pushes his seaside city as a cut-rate paradise. 'Tourists are not targeted,' he says. But violence linked to the drug war has made it a harder sell.
Nov. 7, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Citizen suspicion surrounds Mexico plane crash
A citizenry wearied by drug violence appears unwilling to rule out foul play in the crash that killed Mexico's interior minister, a former top anti-drug official and 12 others.
Nov. 4, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Two top state police officers slain in Mexico
One of the killings occurs in Mexico state, where 12 officers have been killed in five days, apparently by gangs seeking a foothold in areas near the capital.
Nov. 3, 2008 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story Most-wanted Mexico drug trafficker is found everywhere
Rumored sightings of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are legion, but Mexico's most-wanted trafficker remains at large.
Oct. 31, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Lions and tigers and drugs
A recent raid in Mexico City turns up a menagerie filled with big cats and a monkey, another case of an alleged cartel boss collecting rare exotic species.
Oct. 28, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Mexico acknowledges drug gang infiltration of police
The arrest of 35 members of Mexico's elite organized-crime squad is another embarrassing setback in President Felipe Calderon's effort to root out drug trafficking.
Oct. 27, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Police capture key drug suspect
Eduardo Arellano Felix, an original member of a notorious cartel, is nabbed after a shootout in Tijuana.
Oct. 25, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story For Tijuana children, drug war gore is part of their school day
The biggest civilian casualty in Tijuana's raging drug war may be the psyche of children exposed to the carnage.
Oct. 25, 2008 Tijuana Don Bartletti Photo Gallery Tijuana violence
Children frequently witness the gruesome aftermath of Tijuana's raging drug battles.
Oct. 23, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico arrests major drug-trafficking suspect
Jesus Zambada Garcia is captured after a gun battle in Mexico City. He commanded one of four branches of the Sinaloa cartel, officials say.
Oct. 21, 2008 Culiacan Tracy Wilkinson Story Culiacan, Mexico, feels the pain of a drug-induced recession
In Mexico's cradle of drug trafficking, residents feel the sting of recession as smugglers and their money become scarce.
Oct. 18, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story U.S. drug czar John Walters reassures, sounds alarm on Mexico drug violence
In Mexico visit, anti-drug chief warns that violent cartels in Mexico "do not respect the border" and pose a threat to the United States.
Oct. 17, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Two held in Mexico in killings of 24
A municipal police commander is among the accused in connection with the two dozen bodies found in a wooded area outside Mexico City.
Oct. 15, 2008 Huitzila Deborah Bonello Video Recovering addict in Mexico talks about his addiction
Once just a transit nation for narcotics, Mexico now grapples with addiction.
Oct. 15, 2008 Huitzila Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico grapples with drug addiction
Long a corridor for narcotics headed for the U.S., Mexico is now contending with its own addiction problem, as U.S. border controls push traffickers to look elsewhere.
Oct. 8, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Killing of Mexico mayor sends message
The slaying of a rising political star is ascribed to his refusal to have any contact with drug traffickers.
Oct. 6, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana killings may signal fall of Arellano Felix cartel
With dozens of bodies found in the last week, some in law enforcement see 'the tail end' of the organization. But others warn that elements of the ruthless cartel remain very much alive.
Oct. 1, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico's President Calderon has few choices in drug war
Though an attack on civilians in Morelia has tested the public's stomach for the increasingly savage conflict, the president has little room to pull back from his crackdown.
Sept. 30, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story 12 bodies found near Mexico school
The grisly discovery capped four days of violence that has shaken the sprawling Tijuana metropolitan area and forced Baja California state officials to plead for more federal police to help control the city.
Sept. 28, 2008 Mexico City Tracy Wilkinson Story Morelia suspect tells of holding grenade
'I was hiding it in my hands and it made me shudder,' Juan Carlos Castro Galeana tells an interrogator in a videotaped session about the deadly attack in Mexico. 'I was desperate to get rid of it.'
Sept. 27, 2008 Tijuana Evelyn Larrubia Story An American is missing in Mexico, but his other life emerges
Daniel LaPorte went to Mexico and never came back. His parents didn't know of his drug involvement.
Sept. 18, 2008 Morelia Ken Ellingwood Story Mexicans fear they are all targets now
In the wake of the deadly explosions in the capital of Michoacan state, Mexicans are forced to confront a new kind of victim in the drug wars: anyone.
Sept. 18, 2008 Washington Richard Schmitt Story DEA arrests 175 Mexican drug-trafficking suspects
The suspects, believed to have ties to Mexico's Gulf cartel, were arrested in raids this week in a dozen U.S. states.
Sept. 17, 2008 Mexicali Richard Marosi Video Mexicali drug tunnel
Under a simple home in a typical Mexicali neighborhood, traffickers were busy for months excavating a sophisticated tunnel toward the United States, one of seven discovered this year along this part of the U.S. border
Sept. 17, 2008 Mexicali Richard Marosi Story Suspects in border tunnel charged, Mexico officials say
The eight men arrested in the house where the sophisticated tunnel began include a suspected L.A.-area gang member.
Sept. 17, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Organized crime blamed for deadly Mexico blasts
At least seven people are killed by the two explosions in the capital of Michoacan state during Independence Day celebrations.
Sept. 17, 2008 Mexico City Deborah Bonello Video Reaction to Independence Day blast
Mexicans react to a hand-grenade blast during Independence Day celebrations in Michoacan.
Sept. 17, 2008 Morelia Deborah Bonello Video Mexican Independence Day celebration disrupted by grenade attack
Victim recounts deadly blast during Independence Day celebrations in Morelia, Michoacan.
Sept. 15, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico safety chief's tough job: policing the police
Drug money and corruption have long tainted law enforcement. But Genaro Garcia Luna, with President Calderon's backing and the aid of technology, may succeed in reforming the system, analysts say.
Sept. 7, 2008 Tecate Richard Marosi Story In Mexico, a police victory against smuggling brings deadly revenge
Juan Jose Soriano, deputy commander of the Tecate Police Department, helped U.S. authorities find a drug-smuggling tunnel. The next morning, gunmen shot him 45 times in his bedroom.
Sept. 7, 2008 Los Angeles Lorena Iñiguez Elebee Interactive Graphic In Mexico, no police victory goes unpunished
Juan Jose Soriano, the deputy commander of the Tecate Police Department, assisted U.S. authorities in a drug tunnel investigation, and paid with his life.
Sept. 2, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Calderon presents Mexico's annual report in written form
A new law allows President Felipe Calderon to give his state of the nation report without having to appear before Congress, a move that avoids disturbances.
Sept. 1, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Fear of kidnapping grips Mexico
The number is rising, and the rich are not the only ones targeted. Criminals sometimes want as little as $500.
Aug. 31, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Thousands of Mexicans rally to protest rising crime wave
'Enough' they say as they blame officials for failing to curb the rising violence caused by drug gangs.
Aug. 30, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Drug war bodies are piling up in Mexico
The heap of 11 decapitated bodies found in Yucatan shows that the battle to control the multibillion-dollar drug trade knows no boundaries.
Aug. 29, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood, Cecilia Sanchez Story 12 decapitated bodies found in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula
The discovery is the first sign of a major outbreak of drug cartel violence in Yucatan.
Aug. 22, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico moves to curb drug crime wave
President Calderon proposes new anti-kidnapping squads, special prisons, cellphone tracking and aid for local forces.
Aug. 19, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story In Chihuahua, Mexico, governor calls for tougher crackdown on crime
Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza calls on federal authorities to reform their strategy after 13 people are killed in a weekend shooting.
Aug. 17, 2008 El Paso Miguel Bustillo Story Mexico drug war's costs, risks exported to U.S.
Officers and others wounded across the border are increasingly being transferred to an El Paso hospital.
Aug. 14, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story 6 officers in Mexico crime unit arrested
The men are believed to have aided drug smugglers in Sinaloa state, officials say.
Aug. 13, 2008 Mexico City Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico violence claims 6 more police officers
The victims include two top commanders in Michoacan, a senior investigator in Chihuahua and a deputy chief in Quintana Roo.
Aug. 10, 2008 Sierra Vista Richard Serrano Story U.S. guns arm Mexican drug cartels
Licensed weapons dealers are abundant near the border. 'Straw buyers' assist the traffickers.
Aug. 9, 2008 Ensenada Richard Marosi Story Mexico anti-drug general is ousted
Sergio Aponte Polito is relieved of duty in Baja California and Sonora states. He has won public praise for his effectiveness but also criticism from officials for accusations against them.
Aug. 5, 2008 Mexico City Marla Dickerson, Cecilia Sanchez Story Mexican police linked to rising kidnappings
Many are afraid to contact authorities about abductions, fearing officers could be involved. The problem is an awkward one for President Felipe Calderon's drug war.
July 30, 2008 Tijuana Don Bartletti Photo Gallery Narcocorridos
As violence mounts, Mexico tries to mute the music dedicated to drug traffickers.
July 30, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Muting the music of mayhem
As drug-related violence escalates, Tijuana is losing its taste for songs that glorify gangsters.
July 16, 2008 Ciudad Juarez Tracy Wilkinson Story Drug war mayhem instills a new fear
Drug-related killings have taken thousands of lives, but now those uninvolved in the cartel battles are falling victim, even children.
July 15, 2008 Mexico City Marla Dickerson, Cecilia Sanchez Story Sinaloa rocked by soaring drug violence
At least 21 people are killed in five days as turf wars between splintered gangs appear to heat up.
July 11, 2008 Mexico City Marla Dickerson Story 12 slain in brazen Mexico attack
In daylight near the center of Sinaloa's capital, gunmen kill nine at a shop and three pursuing officers.
July 8, 2008 Tijuana Richard Marosi Story Tijuana finds 11 dead in 3 days
The weekend tally pushes the city's death toll to more than 260, compared with about 152 homicides at this time last year, and underscores authorities' difficulties curbing organized crime.
July 6, 2008 Villahermosa Ken Ellingwood Story Reporters covering Mexico drug wars risk their lives
As violence has soared, more than 30 reporters have died or disappeared in Mexico since 2000, the group Reporters Without Borders says.
June 11, 2008 Los Angeles Ken Ellingwood Story Macabre drug cartel messages in Mexico
Part threat and part boast, the hand-written messages left at the scene of drug killings have multiplied. The words are a warning to enemies, and to society at large.
June 7, 2008 Los Angeles Richard Marosi Story U.S. a haven for Tijuana elite
Three years ago, gunmen tried to kidnap chef Javier Plascencia's younger brother. A year later they tried again but, in a case of mistaken identity, snatched the wrong man.
June 3, 2008 Nuevo Laredo Ken Ellingwood Story Army's role in Mexico drug war seen as crucial yet risky
Observers fear the deployment will hurt democracy and civil institutions, but they see no alternative.
June 3, 2008 Tijuana Ken Ellingwood Story Mexico vs. drug gangs: A deadly clash for control
President Felipe Calderon says the violence is one measure of success: It shows that the cartels have been hurt badly and are now lashing out at the government and one another.