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Subscribe to RSSMEXCO CITY -- The bodies of 23 people were found hanging from a bridge or dismembered in ice boxes and garbage bags in northeastern Mexico on Friday, in an escalation of brutal violence involving rival drug gangs on the U.S. border.
In a first incident, the bodies of five men and four women were found hanging from a bridge in Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state just across the border from the Texas city of Laredo, police said.
Police could not confirm who was responsible for the murders but a message seen with the bodies indicated it may have been an attack by the Zetas cartel against the rival Gulf cartel.
Hours later, police found the dismembered corpses of 14 people in garbage bags and ice boxes dumped near the police station of Nuevo Laredo, police investigators said.
They said the second massacre could have been an act of revenge for the earlier killings, police said.
More than 50,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on traffickers after taking office in late 2006 and deployed tens of thousands of federal police and soldiers across Mexico.
The Zeta cartel was founded by deserters from the Mexican special forces who became Gulf cartel enforcers and later split from their employers.
The two gangs are now fighting for control of local drug trafficking routes.
Last month the dismembered remains of 14 men were found stuffed inside a minivan left near Nuevo Laredo's town hall.
Days later a car exploded outside police headquarters and police said the explosion was caused by a grenade.
Discontent over the bloody attacks is helping fuel support for the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, ahead of Mexico's July 1 presidential election.
Opinion polls make the PRI the favorite to regain the presidency they held for most of the past century.
Turf wars
The Zetas have also been engaged in hostilities with the powerful Sinaloa cartel, named after the state in northwestern Mexico where violence has surged over the past week.
Sinaloa is the home turf of Mexico's most wanted drug trafficker, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa cartel, and analysts say his killing or capture would boost Calderon's embattled conservatives ahead of the presidential vote.
Calderon cannot seek a second term in office.
At least 20 suspected drug gang members, one police officer and a soldier have been killed in six confrontations in Sinaloa since April 28, a spokesman for local state prosecutors said.
He was unable to specify which gangs were thought to be behind the latest violence in Sinaloa.
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I don't see why people upset the cartels down there. If they would just leave them alone, no one would get hurt. So simple.
What a stupid comment! Go away and don't pollute the gene pool.
Mexican culture is a criminal culture. Not much we can do about it. We should have let them work it out on their side of the border but big industry decided that their greed trumped our need for national security. There are now over 20 million Mexicans here in the US illegally. They have laced themselves into even our smallest communities. LaRaza has promised them that they have a right to rule the entire western US. If you have hired them to work in your factory beware; they are preparing to take it over. If you picked up day laborers to work around your house they know where you live and what you own. You have placed yourself at the top of their list for home invasion or even worse. Learn to say hola' to your new neighbors. Looks like they are here to stay.
Dood,, you are a sadly uniformed bigotted excuse for a human. I've traveled in Latin countries for many, many years. Just returned from six months in Mexico.. Safe, affordable, high quality food.. great beaches, abundant water and friendly, competent people working hard to make a living.. and fairly prosperous too.. unknown to the likes of you, there is a lively and happy Mexican middle class, education is virtually free and of high quality.. yes, there is poverty, mostly in the deep south, (ever been to Mississippi?) but not every Mexican has interest in being a ladrone or a drug dealer. And news for you.. NOT every Mexican yearns to live in the USA!! Their life in Mexico is way freer, less costly and much safer than most US metropolitan centers.
For what we northerner and Europeans have done to Latin America for hundreds of years (and still do ) my surprise is that anyone looking like a foreigner is not shot on sight. I made many good friends, enjoyed the friendly smiles when I shopped and never got the feeling I was being 'taken'. I had many long conversations with locals, many of whom did go to work in US.. but returned home to enjoy a more abundant and in many cases safer existence, cheaper food, fewer 'regalamentos', great weather, beautiful land/sea scapes. You obviously don't know what you are talking about .. and represent the many who for prejudicial reasons continue to repeat these fables to any who'll listen. Good news is.. folks like you don't show up in my favorite places and I do like that.. so, please keep it up!.. and do stay home and watch CNN.. wherever that is.
Canamja. Thank you for that! I couldn't agree with you more. Mexicans have worked hard to support our country; check out how they supported the US working in our factories to keep us going during WWII.
They are the ones that keep us fed by working the fields and harvesting the crops most Americans would consider demeaning work. The fact is, most American wouldn’t last an hour in the hot fields picking fruit or vegetables.
As for the beauty, serenity and safety of Mexico, you’re right on. I moved there for the most part in 1995 and have spend many months every year surrounded by some of the warmest and accepting people I have met and I have traveled to over 50 countries, but always return to the comforts of Mexico.
Here the Mexicans prove yet again that they can not as a culture be civilized. Mass-murder is ingrained into that nation's very being. Our prisons are filled all out of proportion with the population with illegal mexicans.
Illegal Mexicans committe far more rapes, murders, child-molestations,violent robberies and arson per capitala than any other group. We need to bring our soldiers home and put them on the borders. This rediculous notion that we can rebuild afghanistan and it will not bite us in the a$$ later is beyond stupid. Instead we should stop the invation from the south and the north (Canada, that is where the 911 terrorist snuck in.)
Canamjay: Sounds like you just visit the Mexican beaches and tourist zones. Have you REALLY seen the interior of much of Mexico or are you just another ignorant gringo tourista? People talk about how beneficial Mexico has been to the U.S. in the past but Mexico is changing and not for the good of this country.
Enjoy your Mexican vacation!!! I would NOT go their if you paid me...who knows what kind of illegal vicous animals are already here! In the U.S.A.
Of course "it's the fault of Mexican culture" is ridiculous. It is past time though for international human rights intervention and involvement in Mexico. The acts are flagrant, delibarate , un-abated, and as of yet un-accounted for. It's time for Mexico to seek international assistance to protect the innocent.
only supid ppl would say that........
I for one plan to leave all the cartels alone. I have no bone to pick with any of them.
Several years ago Mexico, legalized the possession of many formally ILLEGAL drugs. I'm assuming this has not stopped the involvement of the drug gangs and drug users...
Mexico has some of the strictest gun laws in the WORLD. This seems to not be working for them, either...
Dang,TWO of the most popular Liberal ideas, FAILING...
Now they want the USA to adopt many of the EU policies. Which has produced a productive and stable continent, NOT... Ha! Ha!
Let me just say this in response to AC Robertson. The reason that semi-legalization in Mexico has not slowed the violence is because Mexico isn't the market they're making all the money off of. It's America. All the money comes from us in the states. And as far as the guns go, the majority of the guns, once again, come from US! They send us endless dope, we return the favor with cash & assault rifles. Do a little research, buddy.
I've found that smoking a joint improves my aim. Am I a liberal, or a conservative?
It means you are prohibited from receiving / purchasing a firearm under federal law. Next time you fill out a Form 4473, make sure you check yes concerning your marihuana usage because lying on the form is also a felony.
Good grief! What would it have been if he hadn't "cracked down" on them?!?
Thailand ENFORCED their drug laws, during the early 2000's. Thousands of people disappeared...
In Thailand dealers & traffickers are put to death and users are given FREE medical care...
The results of the ENFORCEMENT;
1. Many are still in Thai jail awaiting execution...
2. The Thai HIV rates dropped from 2.5% to below 1.3%, mainly the infected are in the IDU communities, now...
In the EU, they instituted the HARM programs, giving out FREE needles & somewhere to shoot-up. The results of this approach? Some countries in the EU have HIV infection rates of OVER 80%, in their IDU communities...
Had Calderón not cracked down on the cartels it is very probable that they would have continued to operate as they had under previous administrations, both RPI and PAN. That is to say, a few killings here and there but nothing near what we see today. The question facing Mexican voters in the July election is this; Better to ignore the problem and allow the cartels to have their profit, or should they be confronted even at the expense of all the bloodshed? Look for the PRI to regain the presidency in July.
Let's see....Places to take next vacation...Mexico? Scratch.
Cobra .... I won't be vacationing there either .... piles of dead, headless bodies just make me feel , ill at ease.
The Obama's administrations position on border control is that the situation is better. The reality is that what they tell us as a better situation is not good enough. Young US girls and boys have been kidnapped sent to South America and sold into the sex slavery trade. They are pumped up with the worst possible drugs you can imagine. It won't be long before American citizens are also kidnapped for ransom. Currently in South America, kidnapping is a country wide problem and becoming more serious every day.
Do you want this garbage in your country? Do you want your country burdened with the suffering that illegal immoral and viscous criminal activity brings? Doesn't Americans have enough to deal with without South America's out of control crime spilling into our country. The government likes to say that it would be too expensive to close the border but there are groups right now that have solid plans to build and pay for most of the wall.
Separation has a high success rate for protecting innocent civilians. The message should be get your houses in order if you want easy access to our country. America should also get its houses in order.
Eric Holder not only armed the drug cartels but gave them rope to hang people. Ropes should be outlawed.
Big Jim from Texas,
You need to extend a invitation to Obama, Reno, and Holder, to come visit your fine state...
They can ride around the border areas, with your Governor...
Yes! The same kind of ride as JFK.
@big jim that was cold
Actually Eric Holder should be outlawed before he becomes the Czar of the Police State of Amerika.
We should learn from past successes of wars on drugs, specially the one from Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel.
Remenber "Los Pepes", we should take our gloves off, go on the dark side and do what they are doing to thousands of innocent
people in their countries, take them out, their relative and all that support them, believe me, it works.
This is turning out like WWI,each side trying to bleed the other to death.
50,000 in Mexico! and the UN is bitchin about 9,000 in Syria! Screw the Mideast and get some Tiajuana Brass Balls!
Good point! 50k in 5 years; that's about 10k a year. They will never catch up to us at that rate; in the US we do that in just a couple months.
GOD! This worlds run by Turnips and makin it BEAT RED!
Time the mexicans pull their pants UP,dust off their SomRambo's, and KICK ASS!
COBRA you speak volumes for good Mexican people. I truly hope the the vast majority of Mexico will rise up and throw out the drug dealers and cartels and the corrupt politicians. I also hope that the vast majority of the USA will wake up and take out all these worthless Crack, Coke, heroin, and meth addicts that we have running around.
Good intentions, but the cartels were built from poverty, addictions, and greed. The cartels have control of areas of Mexican government and probably the U.S. government as well and until humans can overcome these three factors, there will be hell to pay. Literally.
GOD! The SealTeams Must Be ITCHIN To Go There! YEABOY! CARTEL TAKEOUT! Better Than Chicken! KFC! KILL FU(KIN CARTELS! with a side order of Spanish Lice!
JUST a matter of TIME! Our DRONES will be HUNTING Dingos, South of DIEGO!
I Don't Know About YOU! BUT IF I Were Mexican, I'd Be Climben The Walls To Get into The United States TOO! with THIS Kinda BUTCHERY Goin ON!
YOU can be SURE, the Mexicans wouldn't be staying HERE, if WE were hanging THEM off our BRIDGES! PoorSouls!
TIME to Get OUR Head OUTTA the SAND in the MIDEAST! and KICKASS for our NEIGHBOR!
Wow! You are an idiot. Why should we get involved in the affairs of Mexico? They have the resources to resolve their own problems. What is needed is more. and better, border security to keep out those that would contaminate and endanger our society, i.e. the cartels.
May the Souls of the Faithful, Departed Rest in Peace. May God give the strength and courage to the families of the deceased to bear with this loss. Dealing or consuming Drugs is a Sin. May Drugs be banished from this World. God Bless Mexico.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Road (Thane)
I'm hoping the volcano will erupt soon and put an end to the nasty little rodents down south of the border.
Can never have enough Mexi-clowns. What would the world do without these pathetic deadbeats?
This is what happens when corrupt governments get to much power.
The citizens have to leave or kill their neighbors to survive.
Mexican government is so corrupt that its tells it citizens, of lower class, to leave before there is a revolt.
The problem is Mexico and it's CULTURE OF CORRUPTION and nothing more.
Screw "Kony2012" what we should do is hunt down these cartel beasts before they extend their claws even further into the US… or it could be from the GoldenGate bridge that they choose hang people next :S
We in the US can stop this if we choose to.
There are two fundamental conditions that our strategy needs to address. One is that the demand for drugs is resistant to change; a drug addict does not think rationally, and consequently is willing to incur substantial risk and hardship in order to acquire drugs. The other condition is that it is impossible to physically prevent the smuggling of drugs into the US to a meaningful extent.
The solution is to deter people from selling or importing drugs. Deterrence can be established by executing several thousand drug traffickers every month. After only a few months of executions, large numbers of drug traffickers would decide to get out of the business.
This number of executions would be horrifying, but the drug problem is much more horrifying; drug abuse in the US kills far more people than this; in the US, hundreds of people get killed every week in disputes over drugs; thousands of people have been killed in Mexico by drug cartels over the past year.
If you know how to count, you will see my logic.
I agree with your premise, but we needn't execute people for drug running. Executions are extreamly expensive and anti commerce. Life without paroll sentences put people to work and exhibit your committment from now on, as a deturence. A young Mexican man hauled twenty six pounds of cocain from Pheonix to here in Louisville several years ago and got four years and three months as a sentence. Does that sound like a sentence that sends a message? Google DEA Most Wanted to see what is going on today. We book them and street them and never see them again by our Keystone Cops DEA.
Mexico was currupt way before the mass killing started. Curruption is a commercial enterprise. Killing is a power enterprise. Mexico needs to start outsourcing from a different country its training of police agencies. I suggest the Isralies or South Africa. Things just keep getting worse the more we help.
Wow, 31 comments and no "we gotta legalize drugs" to make the problem go away comments yet. That has to be a record on this site.
They should turn loose the Hell's Angels, backed up with Navy Seals hit squads. give them unlimited funding too. Their orders would be to clean up the chit in Mexico, and don't care how they do it!
TruthBeTold: Let them start on this side of the border.