A gang of suspected kidnappers arrested by Mexican marines had detailed plans of security arrangements for next week's U.N. climate change talks in Cancun, Milenio newspaper reported Sunday.

The heavily armed men had maps, photographs of the Moon Palace hotel scheduled to host the event, as well as the location of police and army security checkpoints, the paper said on its website.

reuters.com

At least three gangs have struck deals to fly drugs to West Africa and from there to Europe, according to US prosecutors.

"The sky's the limit," one Sierra Leone trafficker boasted to a Drug Enforcement Administration informant, according to court documents.

Most of the cocaine flown to Africa is bound for Europe, where demand has been rising over the last decade. South American gangs are turning to aircraft because European navies have been intercepting more boat shipments along the African coast, trafficking experts say.

telegraph.co.uk
corkman.ie

On Sunday, masked gunmen executed 13 people in a drug rehabilitation center in Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border from San Diego.

Authorities now think these grisly murders may have been in retaliation for the massive marijuana bust that occurred there last week.

opposingviews.com

We have heard over the last two weeks about Mexican nationals getting arrested in B.C. accused of being part of massive cocaine smuggling rings. And the new head of the Gang Task Force, Supt. Tom McCluskie has commented that the Mexicans coming north to get involved in the B.C. drug trade is a problem.

canada.com

Stashing cash in spare tires, engine transmissions and truckloads of baby diapers, couriers for Mexican drug cartels are moving tens of billions of dollars in profits south across the border each year, a river of dirty money that has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican customs agents.

Officials said stemming the flow of this cash is essential if Mexico and the United States hope to disrupt powerful transnational criminal organizations that are using their wealth to corrupt, terrorize and kill.

washingtonpost.com

Police in Mexico say members of a drug cartel blocked off at least 13 major roads in Monterrey on Saturday.

Drivers were dragged out of their vehicles by armed men and their cars used to cut off the roads in the north-eastern city.

The blockade happened after a shootout between the Mexican army and alleged members of a drug cartel, in which four people were killed.

bbc.co.uk

I’ve just listened to NPR’s series reporting on the drug war in Mexico and I was left completely stunned by the final part which explains how the current upsurge in violence was triggered.

It turns out that it stems from a change in government, when the Institutional Revolutionary Party or the PRI were voted out after 71 years in power.

mindhacksblog.wordpress.com

He's been at the center of the discussions and controversies surrounding illegal immigration enforcement in Arizona for quite a while.

On the day parts of Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, went into effect, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the news for another reason: there's a price on his head - allegedly offered by a Mexican drug cartel.

The audio message in Spanish is a bit garbled, but the text is clear.

It's offering $1 million for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's head and $10,000 for anyone who wants to join the Mexican cartel.

myfoxphoenix.com