cartels
The gangland-style murders of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in this border city have confirmed for many people what residents here already knew: President Felipe Calderón's strategy of sending in the troops to corral drug gangs has failed. full story
60 percent of the profits reaped by Mexican drug lords are derived from the exportation and sale of cannabis to the American market. full story
Suspected drug gang hit men separately ambushed two cars carrying families with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an American couple and a Mexican man. Three young children survived, although two suffered wounds. full story
A powerful drug cartel is buying off journalists in northern Mexico to work as spies and smother coverage of a spike in killings on the U.S. border in the latest attack on the media in Mexico. full story
The United States and Mexico should both legalize marijuana in an attempt to break the power of the Mexican drug cartels and end the spiraling violence south of the border, a former Mexican foreign minister said Tuesday. full story
As an increasingly violent and costly drugs war clogs up prisons with small-time users, some Latin American countries are abandoning hardline U.S. policies on consumption to intensify the fight against major traffickers. full story
For every gruesome news photo of a hacked-up corpse or severed human head there is at least one woman, often several, left with her life in pieces. full story
Interviews, files and court records trace a syndicate's growth from small-time pot smuggling to a mega-empire with a hub in Houston full story
Assailants on Tuesday gunned down the mother, aunt and siblings of a marine killed in a raid that took out one of Mexico's most powerful cartel leaders — sending a chilling message to troops battling the drug war: You go after us, we wipe out your families. full story
Did Bush/Cheney rebuild Reagan's "Iran Contra" drug gang? full story
To weaken the cartels, some argue the U.S. should legalize marijuana, let cocaine pass through the Caribbean and take the profit motive out of the drug trade. full story
The bold theft of $1 billion in oil by drug cartels, resold in the US, has dealt a major blow to the Mexican treasury. full story
A retired high-ranking U.S. immigration officer pleaded guilty Thursday in a Miami federal court to conspiracy to obstruct justice for helping members of a Mexican drug-trafficking organization evade arrest. full story
A government study has found that Washington has been far behind in implementing the Merida Initiative, a USD 1.3 billion anti-drug security aid appropriated for Mexico. full story
Albert Einstein declared, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” He wasn’t describing the federal government’s nearly century-long war on drugs but he might as well have been. full story
Mexican women increasingly become active members or victims of drug cartels. full story
Mexico City prosecutors say corpse of Hector 'Black' Saldaña not discovered until three hours after Mauricio Fernandez declared him dead. full story
Many residents of some of Rio de Janeiro's worst slums are fleeing their homes to escape a drug war that has left part of the Brazilian city in ruins, and killed a dozen people. full story
Attitude shift with Mexico's choice to decriminalize pot, but only legalization will end the violence of drug cartels. full story
Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers. full story- For years, the ridiculous War On Drugs in Mexico has been creating and feeding an out-of-control monster, but until now I didn't realize just how large that monster really is. full story
Add to the ever-growing list of arguments in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana this: Legalizing pot may save one of our most precious natural treasures - our national forests. full story
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday that Canada will train Mexican police officers to assist Mexico in its brutal war against rival drug cartels. full story
A key US senator has delayed the release of a report needed to free some $100m to help Mexico battle drug gangs, citing human rights concerns. full story- Very interesting column about two young men who have been subjected to the risk of kidnapping in Mexico because the parents are law enforcement. full story
