State Dept. Cites 'Large Firefights' in Travel Alert on Mexico - William Booth, Washington Post
The latest travel advisory for Mexico from the US State Department will certainly not please the tourist board. Rather than a glossy brochure advertising the country's many delights, the travel alert issued Friday reads like the plot of a crime thriller.
"Recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the advisory reads. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. During some of these incidents, US citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area."
More at The Washington Post.
The Perilous State of Mexico - David Luhnow and José de Cordoba, Wall Street Journal
Detective Ramon Jasso was heading to work in this bustling city (Monterrey) a few days ago when an SUV pulled alongside and slowed ominously. Within seconds, gunmen fired 97 bullets at the 37-year-old policeman, killing him instantly.
Mr. Jasso had been warned. The day before, someone called his cellphone and said he would be killed if he didn't immediately release a young man who had been arrested for organizing a violent protest in support of the city's drug gangs. The demonstrators were demanding that the Mexican army withdraw from the drug war. The protests have since spread from Monterrey -- once a model of order and industry - to five other cities.
Much as Pakistan is fighting for survival against Islamic radicals, Mexico is waging a do-or-die battle with the world's most powerful drug cartels. Last year, some 6,000 people died in drug-related violence here, more than twice the number killed the previous year. The dead included several dozen who were beheaded, a chilling echo of the scare tactics used by Islamic radicals. Mexican drug gangs even have an unofficial religion: They worship La Santa Muerte, a Mexican version of the Grim Reaper.
More at The Wall Street Journal and:
Mexico Travel Alert - US Department of State
Juarez Police Chief Quits After Killings of Officers, Threats - Los Angeles Times
Mexican Cop Killed as Chief Pressured to Quit - Associated Press
Mexican President: Gov't Does Not Control Areas on US Border - Threats Watch
Undercover Cop in Middle American City - Global Guerrillas