Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Border War

Amidst a savage ongoing war between Mexico's government & drug cartels
(which has claimed the lives of 28,000 since 2006)
191 soldiers (43 of which were officers) & 2,076 police were killed fighting drug cartels since December of 2006.
503 military personnel killed in the 30 years since the army started its anti-drug efforts (1976-2006)

3,200 Mexican police officers have been fired, nearly a 10th of the police force
in an effort to ween out crooked cops and modernize law enforcement.
465 federales have been charged with breaking the law,
and 1,020 face disciplinary action after failing screening tests which included criminal ties & medical problems.

Authorities have confiscated 84,000 weapons and
seized $411 million in U.S. currency & $26 million worth of pesos (330 million pesos)

Violence has come to a full boil in Mexico and has taken a toll on the countries politics.
Many mayors have become corrupt or subjective targets of assassination:
-Mayor of Hidalgo Marco Antonio Leal shot dead in front of his 4 yr. old daughter (8/29/10)
Hidalgo City Hall had been subject to a grenade attack earlier in the year

-Santiago Mayor Eldemiro Cavazos abducted by 15 armed men in 7 vehicles with police patrol lights,
found dead near waterfall hands bound & head wrapped in tape (8/18/10)

-Mayor of San Pedro Totolapan kills a man & injures another
for making fun of his political party loss (8/31/10)

-Vista Hermosa Mayor Octavio Manuel Carrillo killed on Mexican Flag Day
pulling up to his home (2/25/09)

-Mexican Mayor upon being sworn in announces his rivals death
hours before the body is found (11/05/09)

-Candidate for governor murdered a week before elections (6/28/10)

-Mexican singer "El Shaka" shot & killed hours after denying rumors he was dead (6/28/10)

-Gunfight 12 miles from Arizona border kills 21 (6/2/10)

-Gun battle on Acapulco beach resort kills 18 (6/8/9)

-2,600 killed across the border in Juarez last year, on road to top 3,000 this year

-51 bodies found at Mexico dumping ground (7/24/10)

-Mexican prison guards release killers,
lending them guns & vehicles to massacre 17 people (7/25/10)

-3 men shot & hung from overpass (7/14/10)

-Trio of Mexican drug cartels join to oust fourth (4/13/10)

-Mexican gang dressed as police free 53 prisoners (5/17/9)

-Mexican gang La Familia Michoacana creates its own bible

-Woman arrested guarding arsenal
including grenade launchers & anti-aircraft gun (4/15/09)

-Grenade attacks injure 15 in middle of Reynosa (8/29/2010)

-2 car bombs explode, bringing car bomb total to 4 since July (8/27/10)

-Mexico's Narco Museum info complete with video(sorry, video espanol only)

-Bizarre border patrol bust photos

-Police find 31 diamond-studded guns belonging to drug cartel boss in basement.

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