Purged Police Return to Mexico Streets
Police officers returned to the streets of this violent city on the U.S.-Mexico border, almost six weeks after the entire force was pulled off the beat for drug testing and background checks in an effort to weed out corruption.
About a third of Nuevo Laredo’s 700 police officers were fired in the anti-corruption drive, most for failing to take drug tests, said Daniel Pena, the mayor of this city across the border from Laredo, Texas, that has become battleground for gangs vying to control cocaine and marijuana smuggling routes.
Pena gave a symbolic order for police to retake the streets shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and 44 officers drove off in new patrol cars. They wore new black-and-white uniforms, replacing their formally blue outfits.
The rest of the new force of 460 officers will go back to work as soon as Wednesday, Pena said.
Before the mass suspensions, Nuevo Laredo had more than 700 police officers, but about 250 officers were dismissed, the mayor said. Federal agents and soldiers patrolled the city after the entire force was pulled off the streets 41 days ago.
About 100 people have been killed here since January in violence sparked by two powerful drug gangs locked in a battle to control key drug smuggling corridors around Nuevo Laredo.
More: newsday.com
One female police officer has been killed and another badly hurt in a drive-by shooting in the northern Mexican town of Nuevo Laredo.
The killing takes the number of police murdered in the town this year to 15, with about 110 killed during 2005.
The assassination took place close to the border with the US state of Texas.
Violence in Nuevo Laredo is the result of a vicious turf war being fought between two powerful drug cartels for control of the lucrative drug trade.
This brazen assassination, in the middle of the afternoon, took place in central Nuevo Laredo, just
Body Is That of Model; Lover May Be in Mexico
A decomposing body found at a storage facility was identified Friday as that of a 21-year-old aspiring model whose millionaire lover has vanished.
Iryna Singerman's body and purse were found in the bed of a pickup owned by her lover, Brian Joseph Cullen, 59, authorities said. Police believe Cullen has gone to Mexico.
A cause of death had not been determined, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. David Smith said.
More: latimes.com
Mexican troops joined police and civil defense workers in the rescue effort in Aguililla, roughly 410 kilometers (245 miles) southwest of Mexico City.
Local news media reported at least one person had died. Mary Cortez of the Michoacan state civil defense agency said no confirmed deaths had been reported to the state headquarters, but she said people were missing and 200 houses were damaged.
About 10,000 people live in the town of Aguililla, the county seat of an area that has strong family ties, due to emigration, to Redwood City, California.
The flooding came a day after President Vicente Fox toured parts of
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. ambassador to Mexico now says he should have used "different phrasing" rather than saying he closed a border town consulate partly to punish the Mexican government for not stopping violence there, according to the State Department.
Spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday that Ambassador Tony Garza's real reason for closing it was to protect Americans working there.
Garza closed the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas, during the first week of August following dozens of drug-related killings, the assassination of the police chief and a city councilman, and a machine-gun, grenade and rocket
Mexico police storm steel plant, 2 shot dead
Hundreds of Mexican police stormed a major steel plant on Thursday to force out striking workers in a violent clash that spilled onto the streets and left at least two workers dead.
Steel workers and police with riot gear and shields fought a pitched battle at the Sicartsa complex, which has been closed for three weeks by workers defending a union boss whom the government accuses of graft.
Dozens were injured when some 600 police moved in firing tear gas canisters early in the morning at the plant in the western state of
Police dumbfounded as serial killer stalks Mexico
This much they know: Someone has been murdering older women in Mexico City, strangling them in their homes, pocketing a keepsake and vanishing into the city's streets.
But investigators do not know whether the killer is a man or a woman, whether there is an accomplice or how the victims are chosen.
After two years and at least 24 unsolved murders, they have one fingerprint that matches partial prints from five other cases, a modus operandi and a police sketch of what appears to be a man made up as a woman.
Investigators pieced together much of
Mexico teachers clash with police in historic city
Mexican police forced out thousands of striking teachers camped in the heart of this historic city on Wednesday in the latest clash between protesters and government forces ahead of July elections.
Local radio said two people were killed and one was injured, although the report was not confirmed. Witnesses and press reports said shots were fired.
Before dawn, police on foot and in helicopters used tear gas to disperse the teachers, who have occupied Oaxaca Citys main plaza and surrounding streets for 20 days to press their demand for higher wages. Colonial, highland
Mexico confuses its traffic violators
A nonprofit group promoting civic-minded behavior in this tumultuous metropolis is channeling bin Laden, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Mother Teresa and US President George W. Bush to convince unruly drivers to change their ways.
The campaign by Muevete por Tu Ciudad -- roughly translated as "Do Something for Your City" -- was designed to improve everyday behavior on the streets of Mexico City, where cars drift through red lights and some police can be paid to look the other way.
Founders say their billboards and radio spots are designed to jolt the city's jaded commuters, police and
Jeff Jarrett Causes Near-Riot In Mexico City On Sunday Night
NEAR-RIOT ERUPTS IN MEXICO CITY DURING APPEARANCE BY NWA WORLD CHAMPION JEFF JARRETT
Security and police called in to escort Jarrett out of arena
The El Toreo arena in Mexico City nearly erupted in a full-scale riot on Sunday night during an appearance by NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.
During the main event of the huge AAA “Verano de Escandalo†show in front of over 20,000 spectators, police and extra security had to be called in after fans rushed the ring and threw hundreds of projectiles at Jarrett.
In a total show of disrespect,
Mexico: Plainclothes police gunned down
Four plainclothes police officers were shot and killed in the notoriously violent border town Nuevo Laredo by unknown gunmen, El Universal reported Friday.
The officers -- members of the intelligence branch of the Mexican Federal Preventative Police -- had their vehicle sprayed with gunfire, said witnesses.
Nuevo Laredo, along the U.S. border, is a known crossroads for drug smuggling from Mexico into the United States and has been the scene of several police killings in recent months.
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