Renowned journalist murdered by gunmen in Mexico

Javier Valdez, an award-winning journalist known for his investigatory reporting on cartels and drug trafficking inside Mexico, was gunned down yesterday in Sinaloa, near where he lived and worked. “Even though you may have bullet-proofing and bodyguards, [the gangs] will decide what day they are going to kill you.” Valdez had once said, referring to […]

Mexico appears to be turning up the heat on ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s embattled empire

In the months since former Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was turned over to US authorities, Mexico has seen spiraling violence in the territory controlled by his cartel, as rivals, underlings, and siblings compete to assume control — a battle that started in the months after Guzman’s January 2016 arrest. In response to […]

Mexico second only to Syria as deadliest country in 2016

Despite ongoing international crises in war zones like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Mexico quietly climbed to the top of the world’s deadliest countries for 2016. In its annual report on armed conflict, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) showed that 23,000 people were killed in Mexico in 2016, the highest number of any country in the […]

Mexican activist known for investigating cartels killed in her home

Miriam Rodríguez Martínez, an activist on behalf of the thousands of Mexican citizens who go missing every year in Mexico, was murdered in her home by gunmen this week. Martinez had been known for personally investigating the circumstances of her daughter’s death. Karen Alejandra was kidnapped and murdered by criminals from the Zetas cartel in […]

Mexico captures protégé, turned enemy, of drug lord Chapo Guzman

Mexican security forces on Tuesday arrested accused drug kingpin Damaso Lopez, believed to be locked in a bloody struggle for control of the Sinaloa Cartel against the sons of its captured leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The attorney general’s office announced that its agents with the help of the army had captured Lopez, 51, one […]

Killings in Mexico near record levels as drug cartel violence spreads

Violence in Mexico is up near record levels after 35 people were killed this weekend, as officials point to a worsening of gang and cartel violence across the country. The month of March saw over 2,000 homicides, the highest body count since 2011 when Mexico was coping with massive cartel violence. Now, unlike previous spikes […]

Man’s body, seen tossed from plane, found on roof of Mexican hospital

The body of a man, who witnesses said was tossed from a plane, landed on a hospital roof in Mexico’s northern Sinaloa state on Wednesday, according to a public health service official in the region, which is home to notorious drug traffickers. The body landed on the roof of an IMSS hospital in the town […]

Cartel Violence: 250 human skulls found in mass grave in Mexico

A mass grave was recently discovered in the Mexican state of Veracruz containing more than 250 human skulls that all appear to have been the victims of cartel violence in recent years. “For many years, the drug cartels disappeared people and the authorities were complacent,” Jorge Winckler, the state attorney general, said in a television […]

Mexican official: 250 skulls found in clandestine graves

MEXICO CITY — More than 250 skulls have been found over the last several months in what appears to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz, prosecutors said Tuesday. Veracruz state’s top prosecutor, Jorge Winckler, said the clandestine pits appeared to contain remains of cartel victims killed […]