MARK STEVENSONThe

Nov 12, 2024 | startribune.com | MARK STEVENSONThe |Mark Stevenson

Mexico's top federal security official, Omar García Harfuch, said earlier Tuesday that Arcos —the mayor whose body was found in a pickup truck, with his severed head placed on the roof of the vehicle — was apparently killed by the same gang responsible for killing 11 market vendors, including four boys, last week. The vendors, members of an extended family, were abducted in late October as they traveled to sell their wares.

Nov 7, 2024 | startribune.com | MARK STEVENSONThe |Mark Stevenson

Ibarrola claims the cartels are now using migrants both as human shields, and sometimes as cannon fodder for their squads of hitmen. ''The recruitment of larger batches of foreign fighters is yet another sign of the gradual deepening of Mexico's armed conflicts,'' said Ernst. ''Left unchecked — much like the employment of homemade explosive devices — it's a trend that's been allowed to expand.''Expand is exactly what the cartels did during López Obrador's six-year term from late 2018 to 2024.

Oct 25, 2024 | startribune.com | MARK STEVENSONThe |Mark Stevenson

MEXICO CITY — In just over three weeks in office, President Claudia Sheinbaum has inherited a whirlwind of violence that many say was set up by her predecessor's policy of not confronting drug cartels, and using the army for law-enforcement. Sheinbaum, who took office Oct. 1, would rather be talking about the government's plan to make all judges stand for election.

Oct 16, 2024 | startribune.com | MARK STEVENSONThe |Mark Stevenson

MEXICO CITY — Cellphone chats have become death sentences in the continuing, bloody factional war inside Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel. Cartel gunmen stop youths on the street or in their cars and demand their phones. If they find a contact who's a member of a rival faction, a chat with a wrong word or a photo with the wrong person, the phone owner is dead. Then, they'll go after everyone on that person's contact list, forming a potential chain of kidnapping, torture and death.

Oct 3, 2024 | startribune.com | MARK STEVENSONThe |Mark Stevenson

Local prosecutors confirmed all the victims died of gunshot wounds. The Defense Department did not say whether the migrants died as a result of army fire, and Sheinbaum refused to say whether any weapons were found in the migrants' truck. There were 17 other migrants in the truck who were unharmed. The vehicle was carrying a total of 33 migrants. The area is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks.