drug cartels

Forensic personnel load the corpse of a man into a van, after he was executed at a shopping mall in Acapulco, Mexico, on April 24, 2018. A new report recorded more than 33,000 homicides in 2018, making it the country's deadliest on record.

World News

Mexico Reports Highest Ever Homicide Rate In 2018, Tops 33,000 Investigations

7:30am January 23, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

The grim news was expected as the number of open homicide cases continued to climb month after month, making the last 12 months the deadliest on record — an average of 91 deaths per day.

Mexican navy members and federal police take part in an operation in Acapulco in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, on Tuesday to disarm local police.

World News

Mexican Authorities Disarm Acapulco Police, Fearing Infiltration By Drug Gangs

10:07am September 26, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Mexican soldiers, as well as federal and state police, moved in Tuesday to strip the force of their guns, radios and bulletproof vests.

Mexican journalist Javier Valdez speaks at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. He was killed by a gunman on Monday.

World News

Mexican Journalist Who Covered Drug Trade Gunned Down In Sinaloa

6:36pm May 15, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Javier Valdez was one of Mexico's most respected journalists. A correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, he reported on drug trafficking, from a state controlled by cartels.

Nayarit state Attorney General Edgar Veytia was arrested on drug trafficking charges at the U.S.-Mexico border this week. Here, the Nayarit state attorney general's headquarters is seen in Tepic, Mexico.

U.S. Arrests Mexican State Prosecutor, Says He's Also A Drug Smuggler Named 'Diablo'

2:49pm March 30, 2017

by Bill Chappell

U.S. prosecutors say they'll seek to compel Edgar Veytia to forfeit some $250 million if he's convicted. The attorney general of Nayarit state was arrested this week in San Diego.

Mexican state police stand guard in May 2015 near a shootout between authorities and suspected criminals in Michoacan. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said Thursday that 22 people were arbitrarily killed by federal police during that raid.

World News

Mexican Police Murdered 22 And Manipulated Crime Scene, Review Finds

7:47pm August 19, 2016

by Jason Slotkin

The country's Human Rights Commission accuses federal security forces of nearly two dozen extrajudicial killings during a raid in Michoacan last year. Police are said to have attempted a cover-up.

A Mexican soldier stands guard next to marijuana packages in Tijuana following the discovery of a tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border in 2010.

'Narconomics': How The Drug Cartels Operate Like Wal-Mart And McDonald's

12:47pm February 16, 2016

The cartels' business models are similar to those of big-box stores and franchises, says Tom Wainwright, former Mexico City bureau chief for The Economist. His new book is Narconomics.

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Top Official Says Inside Help Was Likely In 'El Chapo' Escape

2:50pm July 16, 2015

U.S. authorities had wanted Joaquin Guzman extradited, in part over fears that he would get out again. Mexican authorities refused. His escape likely will deepen distrust between the countries.

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World News

Maximum Security Not Enough As Mexican Drug Lord Stages Second Escape

8:12pm July 13, 2015

by Carrie Kahn

One of Mexico's most notorious cartel leaders, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from prison this weekend — for a second time. A manhunt is underway after he fled his cell through a mile-long tunnel.

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Jose Manuel Mireles Valverde, spokesman for the Autodefensas, a militia organized against the Knights Templar mob.

Investigating The Drug Trade In 'Cartel Land'

5:37pm July 03, 2015

by Mark Jenkins

A new documentary tells a riveting story of the way power and violence intersect along the Arizona border and in embattled Michoacan, Mexico.

The alleged leader of the Zetas drug cartel, Omar Trevino Morales, is taken under custody to be presented to the press at the Attorney General Office's hangar at the airport in Mexico City, on March 4. Mexican authorities captured Trevino Wednesday, deali

World News

Mexico Takes Out Cartel Heads, But Crime Continues To Climb

7:56am March 13, 2015

by Carrie Kahn

Mexican authorities have scored some big arrests of major drug cartel leaders in recent weeks. But most experts say that's not enough: Police, legal and judicial institutions need strengthening.

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