Small War in Mexico: 2016 onwards

[AdamG]

The U.S. has issued a travel advisory for Mexico after authorities found eight bodies in Cancún this week.
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The Associated Press reports that the eight bodies were found in the Cancún area on Tuesday. Two of the victims were found in an abandoned taxi, while two others were found dismembered in plastic bags at another location, according to the AP. A fifth man was discovered bound and fatally shot on Tuesday, while another was found dead in a hammock. The seventh victim was shot to death and discovered in a plastic bag.

http://time.com/5375156/cancun-eight...avel-advisory/

[AdamG]

Video of what appears to be a column of drug mules on the US side of the border; camouflage uniforms to match the terrain, carrying heavy packs.

Select individuals on horseback armed with rifles/carbines in scabbards.

Use of horses in this type of terrain increases the guards' mobility, ability to react and gives them a height advantage for spotting problems.

Turn off the sound, just watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F21PiHnO0JU

[AdamG]

Mexican authorities have taken control of the entire police force in the southern Mexican city of Acapulco, claiming the department has been infiltrated by drug gangs. Two police commanders have been accused of murder, while the rest of the force officers have been stripped of their guns, radios and bulletproof vests and taken for background checks. Acapulco – a beach resort – was a fashionable location favoured by movie stars in the 1950s and 60s, but has since been plagued by escalating violence due to warring drug gangs.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8555756.html

[AdamG]

Interesting plot twist from last year

A Mexican folk religion involving human sacrifice and devoted to "Holy Death" is growing in popularity among drug traffickers and violent criminals, prompting Texas officials and the Catholic Church to warn about honoring the so-called "Saint Death." Authorities are speaking out about the religion devoted to La Santa Muerte, which translates to “Holy Death” and "Saint Death," that has gained popularity steadily since the late 1980s among Mexican-American Catholics.

The killings of 28 prisoners at the Las Cruces jail in Acapulco included executions "in the middle of a ritual to Santa Muerte" led by drug traffickers, according to documents obtained by the Mexican newspaper Reforma. State authorities refused to comment on the ritual aspect of the massacre, but Roberto Alvarez Heredia, security spokesman for Guerrero state, said in the statement the killings began because of “constant dispute between rival groups inside the prison.”

https://www.foxnews.com/us/mexican-f...mong-criminals

[AdamG]

Guadalajara (Mexico) (AFP) - The US consulate in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, was attacked with explosives hours before a visit to the country by Vice President Mike Pence and first daughter Ivanka Trump, authorities said Saturday. The explosion late Friday night damaged a wall but caused no injuries, they said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/explosive...232111487.html

Jalisco state prosecutors wrote on their Twitter account that federal authorities had taken over the investigation of the incident. The state is the home base of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is considered one of the most powerful gangs in Mexico by U.S. and Mexican authorities.

https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1O1024

[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is taking aim at the finances of the powerful Jalisco cartel in what a top anti-money laundering official said was an opening salvo in the fight to stop criminal gangs from flourishing with impunity

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-m...-idUSKBN1O61L5

[AdamG]

The Sicario’s Tale, Part 1: Pablo Escobar’s Top Hitman Tells ‘How I Blew Up More Than 100 People’
On the 25th anniversary of the cartel chief’s death, his right-hand man reveals the Coke King’s secrets in an exclusive new series for The Daily Beast.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-si...han-100-people