Two more busted gun trafficking to Mexico
Two more men were arrested in Arizona, part of an ongoing investigation of a gun trafficking operation selling arms in Mexico, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
The arrests of Antonio Moran, 20, and Francisco Coronado, 28, bring the number of detainees to seven in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation.
ATF agents in Arizona said some 84 assault rifles were sold to Mexican nationals over the last few weeks. Officials said they thought the weapons were being used by Mexican drug smugglers or those helping illegal aliens enter the United States.
The arrests came one month after ATF and Mexican officials met to discuss stepping up efforts to halt weapons trafficking across the border.
More: sciencedaily.com
Mexico warns church on drug-tainted money
A spokesman for President Vicente Fox on Tuesday warned that no one may accept illegal funds, responding to a Roman Catholic bishop's statement that the church has no obligation to investigate whether donations come from drug trafficking.
The exchange between church and state officials came the week after Pope Benedict XVI lamented that Mexican society was troubled by corruption, drug trafficking and organized crime, during a meeting with bishops from northern and central Mexico at the Vatican.
"At no time, under no condition, may anyone receive illegal money," said Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar. "No one may
Mexico says drug trafficking DVD won't cost federal investigators their jobs
Mexico's top anti-drug prosecutor will not lose his job despite doubts about whether federal agents were involved in the videotaped beating and torture of four drug hit men, a government spokesman said Monday.
Ruben Aguilar, chief spokesman for President Vicente Fox, said that no federal investigator was in danger of being fired in the wake of the recording, which has sent shock waves through Mexico's anti-narcotics efforts.
"It doesn't put anyone at risk" of losing their jobs, Aguilar said during his daily briefing with reporters.
But he refused to comment
Old Mexico
Rain + five hours to spare until my flight leaves = wandering around downtown again. Figured I could clock in some valuable shopping time, maybe replace my busted heels, even though the conference is over. (My husband wouldn't know when I bought them, and it's hard to let slide this valid excuse to spend money.)
Except nearly every store was closed.
I had to check my agenda. Yep, it was Saturday. At 2 p.m. But here I was, in the heart of this rather large city, meeting only locked doors.
Except for Hale's Shoes. A man who I took
Violence linked to drug trafficking no threat to Mexico's national security: spokesman
Violence linked to drug trafficking puts public security at risk in some cities and regions in Mexico, but it has never threatened national security, a spokesman for Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday.
"There are red flags in some areas and cities, but not in the Mexican state as a whole," said Ruben Aguilar, the presidential spokesman.
Last July, 11 local governments launched the "Mexico Seguro" (Safe Mexico) operation in an effort to restore peace and security in the most
Eight people kidnapped by armed group in Mexico
Eight people, including a five-member family, were kidnapped Friday by an armed group in the city of Nuevo Laredo, in northeastern Mexico where drug-trafficking-related violence has been increasing.
According to the police, the 25-to-30-member-strong armed group moving in a five-pick-up-truck convoy kidnapped the family in a violent way.
The attackers, armed with assault rifles and wearing ski-masks,also abducted three other people named Roberto Guerrero Salas, Alejandro Jaime Trejo and Jose Antonio Vara.
The kidnap took place against the backdrop of
PHOENIX, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The governor of Arizona and her counterpart in Sonora, Mexico, plan to coordinate efforts to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration on the border.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has been voicing frustration with federal officials in helping with U.S.-Mexico border issues, the Arizona Republic reported Friday. She and Sonora Gov. Eduardo Bours said they were setting up plans to combat "coyotes" who smuggle people across the border and the smugglers who take drugs across.
Napolitano said she was ordering 12 Department of Public Safety officers to an auto-theft task force. Stolen cars are often used in border
Mexico now doubts detaineees were members of elite force
Mexican officials are continuing to investigate seven Guatemalans detained while carrying prohibited firearms.
But Mexican authorities today said they now do -NOT- believe the men are former members of an elite Guatemalan counterinsurgency unit.The men, who face charges of weapons trafficking, were caught near the Guatemalan border on September tenth.Officials say the men had six large-caliber rifles and about 16-hundred rounds of ammunition.Authorities earlier said the men might be former "Kaibiles," an elite Guatemalan paratrooper unit, and that they had arrived to work with Mexican drug traffickers. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All
7 killed in new wave of violence in Mexico
Seven people were killed and 19 others arrested in a new wave of violence affecting several regions of Mexico over the past 24 hours, police said Sunday.
Among the victims were three guards of a prison near the city of Monterrey in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, police said.
The guards were thought to be killed in a revenge by drug-traffickers operating on the Mexican-US border.
So far this year, a total of 25 people have been killed in
Steroid crackdown results in indictments in U.S. and Mexico
Federal officials on Thursday announced the indictments of 23 people and eight Mexico-based manufacturers of anabolic steroids on federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
The indictments are the result of a two-year investigation, dubbed "Operation Gear Grinder," that targeted Mexican companies that prosecutors say are responsible for more than 80 percent of the performance-enhancing anabolic steroids that are illegally smuggled into the United States.
John S. Fernandes, the top Drug Enforcement Administration agent in San Diego, said the operation was the largest steroid enforcement operation in U.S. history and that it should
Stop guns going to Mexico
Assault weapons purchased in the United States are flooding into high-violence areas along the Mexican border and contributing to the wave of crime across the border. A large amount of violence has been centered in and near Nuevo Laredo, where about 128 murders have been recorded this year.
Many of the slayings are believed to be related to the fierce battle between rival drug cartels fighting for control of drug trafficking routes into the United States. A unified effort by law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border is needed to reduce the flow of
