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Students start the so-called “Mexican Spring” through the movement “#YoSoy132”
05/29/12 – On May 11, Enrique Peña Nieto, the presidential candidate from the Revolutionary Institutional Party (Partido Revolucionario Institutional, PRI) attended a forum at the Iberoamericana University (Universidad Iberoamericana, Ibero) in Mexico City. A large group of students gathered to rally against Peña Nieto and the anticipated return of his party in the upcoming July … Read more
TBI presents at first international forum on Statistics of Government, Crime, Victimization, and Justice
05/25/12 – From May 22 to 25, the Mexican National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía, e Informatica, INEGI) co-hosted its first international forum on “Statistics of Government, Crime, Victimization, and Justice” in collaboration with the United Nations, the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Relations, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Center … Read more
U.S. State Department signals Mexican military abuses in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2011
05/27/12 (written by cmolzahn) – In its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011, the U.S. State Department pointed to a pattern of complaints of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Mexican Army (Secretaría de Defensa Nacional, Sedena) and Navy (Secretaría de Marina, Semar) within the context of the fight against what it … Read more
“El Grande” Extradited to United States
05/25/12 – Sergio Villarreal Barragán, known as “El Grande” because he stands over six and a half feet tall, was extradited to the United States on Tuesday May 22. Villarreal Barragán was an alleged former leader and lieutenant of the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO) from 2007 to 2010 where he was heavily involved in the drug … Read more
Another journalist killed in Mexico makes six in one-month span
05/22/12 – On Friday, May 18, journalist Marco Antonio Ávila García became the sixth member of the media killed in the past month in Mexico, a staggeringly high number in such a short period of time. Ávila García’s body was found in a plastic bag just outside the city of Empalme, Sonora, a day after witnesses … Read more
Two found guilty in cartel-related killings in San Diego
05/22/12 – Two members of the San Diego-based drug gang known as Los Palillos, or the Toothpicks, were convicted last week for crimes of kidnapping and first degree murder. The defendants, José Olivera Beritán (38) and David Valencia (42), were found guilty of killing two people in San Diego County in 2007, allegedly kidnapping and … Read more
PGR detains four military officials for possible connections to Beltrán Leyva Organization
05/20/12 – Authorities have detained four military officials within the past week for possible ties to drug trafficking and organized crime, specifically related to the Beltrán Leyva Organization. The men were detained after officials received orders from the federal Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) to apprehend the suspects. Of the four, … Read more
Three Mexicans sentenced to death abroad for drug trafficking
05/20/12 – Despite pressure from the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, CNDH) to call attention to and stop the sentencing of Mexicans abroad to the death penalty, the Villarreal case in Malaysia is ending in capital punishment for the three Mexican brothers. Luis Alfonso (47), José Regino (36), and … Read more
Journalist murdered in Morelos, five total in three-week span in Mexico
05/17/12 – Adding to what seems to be a quickly growing number of journalists killed in Mexico, journalist René Orta Salgado was found dead inside his car in Morelos on Sunday, May 13. The body showed signs of having been beaten, most notably with blows to the abdomen, core, and head, and with markings of … Read more
Zetas call on authorities to investigate NL massacre, deny responsibility
05/17/12 – The 49-person massacre in Nuevo León earlier this week seemed to be claimed by the Zetas, given the narco-banners left at the scene and graffiti tag that read “Z 100%” on a nearby wall. However, the Zetas have since tried to distance themselves from the killings by calling on the government to thoroughly … Read more
