War Along the Borderline by Ed Vulliamy All this takes place in the shadow of the bridges at Laredo, vibrant symbols of the success of globalised trade. This once modest border crossing now has 10,000 trucks crossing every day, making them some of the busiest bridges in the world. Symbolically, the recent cartel wars really began for control of this corridor, as this is the principal crossing point for drugs. While 97% of the cargo [...]

Soldiers stand guard next to narcotics wrapped in silver packages with stickers of Bart Simpson and the writing in Mexican slang “I’m going as a wetback bro,” in Tijuana October 18, 2010. Mexican soldiers seized 105 tonnes of marijuana with a U.S. street value of more than $340 million on Monday in Mexico’s biggest-ever pot haul, the army said. Heavily armed soldiers raided a series of homes in a poor suburb of Tijuana, across the [...]

Potheads in America More Than 100 Tons of Marijuana Seized in Mexico , Mexican Police Seize Pot Worth $340 Million In Tijuana Raids. Soldiers and police guard detainees and packages of seized marijuana during a presentation for the media at Morelos Army Base in Tijuana. eleven people were arrested yesterday in the city of Tijuana after a pre-dawn gun battle between members of the drug cartel and police and soldiers.

Mexico’s most famous drug lords said in a rare interview published Sunday that he lives in fear of getting caught and believes the military has closed in on him four times. “I’m terrified of being incarcerated,” Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada told the Mexican news magazine, Proceso, adding that he would even contemplate suicide if he was about to be caught. “I’d like to think that yes, I would kill myself.” http://www.mexico.vg/tag/mexicos-drug-cartels Zambada and Joaquin “El [...]

The navy said it captured the chief drug cartel operator linked to the Beltran Leyva Cartel and others in Monterrey. The suspect is known as Alberto “Bad Boy” Mendoza. Marines seized five rifles, ammunition and money in that raid. And local authorities said suspected cartel gunmen stole vehicles and used them to blockade two roads leading out of Monterrey on Thursday, in an apparent attempt to impede police or military patrols.

“Right now it appears there is an internal dispute for control of the organization,” Pequeno said. “On one side is `La Barbie’ and on the other side is Hector Beltran, the natural heir of the organization.” Pequeno said the battle was unleashed when cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva died in a shootout with Mexican marines in December. Both men are apparently carrying out killings in bids to take control of the gang, one of Mexico’s [...]

Edgar Valdez Villarreal Authorities say a U.S.-born hitman is fighting the brother of a deceased drug lord for control of the Beltran-Leyva cartel, marking what may be the first time an American has risen to the very top ranks of the Mexican Cartel. Ramon Pequeno, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal police, said Tuesday that Texas-born Edgar Valdez Villarreal, nicknamed “La Barbie,” is battling Hector Beltran Leyva for control of the Beltran Leyva [...]

Cartels of Mexico One of Mexico’s most violent drug Cartels “The Gulf Cartel” has turned against its former armed wing in the latest outburst of killings on the U.S. border to test President Felipe Calderon’s overstretched army crackdown. Banners were hung across Reynosa on Wednesday telling the army to leave and vowing the Gulf cartel and its allies will defeat the Zetas. “You fight poison with the same poison,” read the banners, signed “Cartels of [...]

Mexican Federal Police confirmed the arrest of José Vázquez Villagrana, known by his alias “El jabalí ‘and identified as an important member of the Sinaloa cartel, responsible for moving the drugs from Nicaragua to Colombia and destined for the United States. The head of Mexico’s Drug Enforcement Division, Small Ramon Eduardo Garcia, has stated in a press conference that the arrest occurred in the town of Santana in the state of Sonora, without making a [...]

The Zetas, once the armed wing of the Gulf cartel, have increasingly branched out on their own and are seen by Mexican authorities as one of the country’s most brutal crime groups, known for gruesome tactics such as beheading victims. In addition to drug trafficking, authorities say, the Zetas are involved in extortion, kidnapping, producing pirated CDs and DVDs, sales of alcohol and migrant smuggling.- The gang has been locked in a bloody turf war [...]