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.

The gritty working-class city of 1.5 million has become a litmus test for Mr. Calderón's antidrug strategy and, by extension, his presidency. The conservative leader took power vowing to bring cartels to heel, and chose Mexico's army rather than local police to do the job, sending 45,000 troops to various hot spots, including 7,000 to Juárez.

wsj.com

Two men have been charged after Mounties raided an elaborate multi-million-dollar grow op in Okanagan Falls.

Penticton RCMP raided a McLean Creek Road home near Eastside Road on Tuesday after finding an underground electrical bypass to the house.

The approximately 1,000-square-foot basement of the home had been divided into five rooms to house more than 2,000 mature and seedling pot plants.

theprovince.com

The Pennsylvania home of a woman with ties to Staten Island was the "distribution hub" of a $2.7 million marijuana-trafficking ring, authorities allege.

Tameicina Lynn Johnson, 38, of Plum, a Pittsburgh suburb, was arrested Friday after a yearlong probe by Pennsylvania authorities, according to a published report in the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review.

silive.com

Northern Illinois authorities say they've seized two tons of marijuana worth $6.6 million from two homes.

Authorities say they found 4,400 pounds of pot growing and 500 pounds of dried marijuana that was ready for packaging.

Police collected 2,200 marijuana plants from a Marengo home and 2,100 plants from a house near Woodstock.

qctimes.com
kwwl.com

A woman's failure to pay her water bill in Plum led to the discovery of $2.7 million worth of marijuana stashed in her unit in Holiday Park Apartments.

The home of Tameicina Lynn Johnson, 38, is believed to be the "distribution hub" of a drug-dealing operation extending from Mexico to New York City, said Plum police Detective Mark Focareta. The suspect, who works for an agency that provides assistance to mentally challenged children, also has a home in Staten Island, N.Y., Focareta said.

pittsburghlive.com

A gang that became Britain’s biggest importers of high grade skunk cannabis made so much money that they left tens of thousands of pounds to rot in hidden safes.

The three "directors" of the organised gang made "grotesque profits" of up to £200 million, so much that they were unable to spend it fast enough.

timesonline.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
telegraph.co.uk
video

Part of being a Latino columnist is getting unsolicited travel advice. Disgruntled readers will tell me to "go back to Mexico," even though I was born in the United States, as were my parents, three grandparents, six great-grandparents, etc.

But I would just as soon stay away from some parts of Mexico. They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Yet, south of the border, it's not faring well against automatic weapons. It's open season on Mexican journalists who cover the drug trade and are being murdered.

indystar.com

The latest arrests have resulted in the recovery of 43.5 kilos of cocaine, 5.8 kilos of heroin, as will as a quantity of pills, cash and a top of the range vehicle.

typicallyspanish.com