Mexican Drug War

Felipe Calderon attending security conference

Mexican Presidents Talk Drug Legalization

After Mexican President Calderon toyed briefly with the notion of legalization last week, his predecessor, Vicente Fox, has jumped in with a forthright call for legalization. Calderon didn't bite this week, but did show signs of recognizing he's created a disaster.

military drone planes

Congress Approves $600 Million for More Cops, Drones on Mexico Border [UPDATED]

Congress has just okayed spending $600 million for more drones, more ICE, more Border Patrol, more FBI, more DEA, more BATF, and more to "secure the border."

Mexican Prison Doubles as a Hotel for Cartel Hit Men

Mexico's prisons are infested with internal crime, drug use, bad treatment and corruption. At some prisons, inmates are allowed to leave, provided with weapons, and loaned police vehicles to carry out their dirty work. Essentially, they use the prison itself as a safe house.

Mexican journalists seek more protection

Thousands of Mexican journalists demonstrated during the weekend as part of protests across Mexico asking authorities to do more to safeguard members of the news media from drug prohibition-fueled violence. Aggression against journalists has increased from both law enforcement agents and drug trafficking organizations.

Ex-Mexico President Calls for Legalizing Drugs

It looks like the Mexicans are finally understanding the folly of drug prohibition. Last week, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon agreed to open the door to discussions about the legalization of drugs. Now, Mexico's former president, Vicente Fox, is joining with those urging Calderon to legalize drugs in Mexico, saying that legalization could break the economic power of the country's brutal drug trafficking organizations.

Chronicle Reviews: Two Books on Mexican Drug War, One on Border

Here we look at a journalistic account of the "secret life" of the border, an academic treatise on Mexico and its drug cartels, and a polemic against Mexico's drug war by one of its leading political figures.

2012 Mexican Elections May Yield New Approach To Drug Cartels

From the 1960s through the â80s, organized crime was intertwined with the government, according to Diego Enrique Osorno, a Mexican journalist and author of the recently published history, The Sinaloa Cartel. Whoever wins the 2012 elections is expected to take a new approach toward the cartels. Many voters may hope for a return to the days when the PRI let organized crime run drugs unfettered up to the U.S. border, but kept the violence off the streets.

Calderon: Mexico drug gangs seeking to replace state

Drug prohibition can even lead to governments being overthrown. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has warned that drug gangs are seeking to replace the state and impose their own law in parts of the country. The gangs were imposing fees like taxes in areas they dominated and trying to impose their own laws by force of arms, said Calderon.

better late than never: Pres. Calderon now supports discussing legalization

Mexico Drug War Update

After a presidency most notable for the ever-rising death toll in his war with the cartels, Mexican President Calderon is starting to sing a different tune.

Amid Mexico's Drug War, A Rush For Bulletproof Cars

Drug prohibition violence usually tends to negatively affect business, but that's not the case with businesses involving bulletproofing cars. Fourteen armoring companies are certified by Mexico's federal government, and business is getting better by the day.

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