Mob action in Mexico City concerns interior secretary

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/24/mexico.mob/index.html

A recent mob action left several citizens and police officers injured. An angry mob in the neighborhood of San Pedro Atocpan in Mexico City clashed with police and left at least 62 officers injured. The injuries resulted when several police officers tried to rescue three of their colleagues from the mob that had surrounded them. The officers were responding to a report that several suspects were forcibly taking a person inside a home and that shouting could be heard from inside. While in the process of detaining two people the mob surrounded the officers and attempted to lynch them. Reinforcements arrived but were unable to break up the crowd. An official investigation has begun to discover why the officers were targeted. Government officials have stated that they want to establish a peaceful relationship between police officers and citizens.

Nicholas Sarkozy fights to free Florence 'the monster’ Cassez from Mexican jail

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article7026362.ece

A French woman named Florence Cassez has been jailed for life in Mexico for being accused of belonging to a kidnap gang called the Zodiacs. This incident has filled her fellow Frenchmen with indignation and has made the relationship tense between the two countries. Cassez has been in prison since 2005 writes in a book of her despair at the thought of spending the rest of her life in prison. President Nicolas Sarkozy believes she has committed no crime and has said that the Mexican authorities are "making fun of us." Sarkozy has written letters so President Felipe Calderon, which seemed to have hardened Mexico against them. It seems as if tensions are high between these countries, and this is definitely not a good thing in the long run.

Pirated Goods Pose Huge Problems In Mexico

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123769365&ft=1&f=1001

Mexico's multi billion-dollar pirated goods market is a large problem. Government tax revenues and foreign investment are economically hurt by the loss of money from pirated goods and those funds then help organized crime. According to law enforcement officials the black market in Mexico is dominated by the drug cartels. A study conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, that represents U.S. business interest in Mexico, suggests that Mexicans by about $75 billion worth of pirated DVDs, CDs, clothing, computer software, food, whiskey, and other items. This amount far exceeds the amount of revenue generated by Mexico's largest source of revenue which is petroleum which only generates about $25 billion a year. Most Mexican consumers seem to be aware of the problem, but they don't stop buying pirated goods. Mexico could really use all that money which is being stolen from the governments revenue and instead being used to further strengthen the power of organized crime. This is not only an economic problem, but also a social one.

Mexican Politicians call for Drastic Measures after Mass Killings

Mexico has seen their fair share of violence over the years but nothing as bad as the past couple of months. Drug cartels have taken charge and will fight and kill anything that gets in their way, whether it be priests or politicians. Well policy makers are getting sick of it and have decided that action needs to be taken. The only problem is that action being taken will put their life at risk. The most recent proposed policy is about putting a curfew on Ciudad Juarez which is the center of the violence. How much this will help or will this even pass? We will have to wait and see.

http://www.mexidata.info/id2550.html

Mexico Flooding Kills At Least 33

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/08/mexico.flooding/index.html

Mexico, like Santa Barbara, has been experiencing much rain. The rain in Mexico has been so heavy that there has been flooding, killing at least 33 people and leaving thousands homeless. In Mexico's Michoacan state alone, the flooding killed at least 22 people and left more than 3,500 homeles. Mudslides have also been the cause of deaths, such as one that occurred in the small town of Temascaltepec. This rain is very uncharacteristic of Mexico, and it has been reported that up to 35,000 people could be affected. Many schools have been closed due to flooding, and there is no doubt that sickness will be easily spread as well.
These seem to be very dark times for Mexico. It is amazing to me that Santa Barbara had a lot of rain, but nothing to this factor happened here. People in Mexico must think that we are so lucky, and I wish that we could understand that more. Hopefully the rain will stop soon, and there will not be any more deaths.

For Mexico's journalists, story assignment can be a date with death

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/04/mexico.journalists.violence/index.html

So far, this year three Mexican journalists have been killed. Journalists now have to think twice before writing their stories. The drug violence has generated fear among journalists even if they won't admit it. Journalists are targeted when they report on the criminal activities of the drug cartels. They know what they are getting into when they choose to report. Self-censorship has been adopted by many media outlets in Mexico as a way to protect themselves. There are times when cartels pressure the media to report or not report on certain incidents.

7 suspects, 1 policeman die in Mexico shootout

A shootout that began in a shopping center and that spilled into the highway caused the death of seven drug cartel gunmen and one federal police officer. Two kidnapped victims were also freed during the shootout. The police acted on a report of a kidnapping in the city of Torreon where they met gunfire. The main part of the shootout took place on the highway. According to the authorities members of the Zetas drug gang were involved. They have recently spread from drug trafficking to kidnapping and extortion. This particular drug gang has been involved in some of the bloodiest confrontations in the last three years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100202/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico_15

Japan To Help With Security in Mexico

http://thenews.com.mx/articulo/japan-to-help-with-security-in-mexico-1022
Japan is able to help Mexico's security by providing training for public security officials. The Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama awarded Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa for his work in helping the Mexican political system to get better. The prime minister also said how willing he was to work with Mexico in this particular topic. Both nations are willing to work together on issues such as climate change, disarment, and the earthquake disaster in Haiti. I think that it is very important for other countries of the world to interact with each other and to try to make the world a better place. Japan is in a better state than Mexico, and it is admirable how the governments of both of these countries are able to get along and get things done.

Gunmen in Mexico Kill 16 in Attack on a Teenagers’ Party

The city of Juarez has had yet another mass murder. Seven SUVs pulled up in front of a teenager's house during his birthday party. Masked gunmen ran out of SUVs and into the building opening fire on the teenagers. It is suspected that many of these "innocent" teenagers were members of a gang that had been selling drugs to the United States.
Juarez city has had more than its far share of murders recently. This city has had roughly 2,000 drug-related murders within the past year. Juarez's proximity to Texas makes it an ideal location to store drugs for shipment to the United States; this makes Juarez home to many drug cartels. The intense competition for turf in Juarez undoubtedly played a key part in the violence last weekend.


www.nytime.com/2010/02/02/world/americas/02juarez.html