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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2007 
Brutal Violence Plagues Mexico
 Associated Press
Mexico City - Assailants killed a man and left a note with the body threatening authorities in northern Mexico, the second such case in less than 24 hours.
And the U.S. Embassy issued a warning yesterday about rising violence across Mexico.
The body of the unidentified man who had been tortured and shot in the head was found Wednesday night in the Monterrey suburb of Santa Catarina.
An accompanying note threatened Rogelio Cerda, the top security official in Nuevo Leon state.
The body was found 30 metres from where assailants on Tuesday dumped the body of Gustavo Espindola, his hands and feet tied and his head covered with tape. A message threatening Nuevo Leon state authorities was stuck to Espindola's chest with an ice pick.
Nuevo Leon authorities would not comment on the latest message.
But photos of the note published by newspapers made it sound like the threats were by a drug gang: "Look fool, even with all of your bodyguards you will die - Rogelio Cerda, together with your family, all the officials that are with you, and the Sinaloa Cartel. PS: This will continue until you get it."
Investigators say the Sinaloa cartel is fighting the Gulf cartel for billion-dollar drug smuggling routes into the United States. The battle has led to beheadings, grenade attacks and execution-style killings across Mexico.
Both notes warned the violence - which has left 32 people dead in Nuevo Leon since Jan. 1, including 13 police officers - would continue.
In a statement yesterday, the U.S. Embassy warned against "the rising level of brutal violence in areas of Mexico" and asked its citizens to "use extreme caution when in unfamiliar areas."
Police Deaths in Mexico Jump 50%
Vladimir Hernandez - BBC News
The number of police deaths in Mexico in incidents involving organised crime has jumped 50% this year, according to official statistics.
At least 61 police officers have been killed in Mexico since the year began.
The increase in police deaths follows a crackdown on drug-related violence by the Mexican government.
One of the most violent areas, according to government reports, was the northern Nuevo Leon state, which registered a quarter of the deaths.
Only last Sunday in Monterrey, the main city in the state, three police officers were shot dead after stopping a car for a routine check.
Signs of torture
It is not just the figures that have shocked Mexicans, but also the way many of these security officers have been killed.
Most of the victims had several bullet wounds and were shot with high calibre rifles.
Some of them were even found bearing signs of torture.
For many, it is the brutal nature of the police deaths which reflect the escalation of violence in the country.
Officials believe all 61 policemen died in incidents involving organised crime or drug-related violence.
The government argues that this response from criminal groups shows that the crackdown announced last year by President Felipe Calderon is having an effect. |
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