12 Mexican off-duty federal agents slain in drug-plagued state after arrest of drug boss

September 7th, 2009 Mexico: 4 men gunned down at Ciudad Juarez motelCIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Attackers shot four men to death in a motel parking lot in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's deadliest city. The victims were standing outside a vehicle drinking alcohol Sunday when they were shot multiple times, said Arturo Sandoval, spokesman for the regional North Zone prosecutor's office.

August 20th, 2009 Mexican state lawmaker killedACAPULCO, Mexico — Gunmen have killed the presiding lawmaker of the state legislature in a drug-plagued Mexican state. Guerrero state's public safety department says the body of leftist congressman Armando Chavarria was found early Thursday in the passenger seat of a vehicle in the state capital of Chilpancingo.

August 5th, 2009 Mexico apologizes to Church after raid during MassMEXICO CITY — The Mexican government has apologized to Roman Catholic officials and parishioners after storming a church during Mass to arrest a drug suspect. But the Public Safety Department is standing by the decision to launch the raid, saying it was necessary to avoid a violent confrontation or escape.

August 3rd, 2009 Mexico arrests alleged drug operativeMEXICO CITY — Police raided a church service in western Mexico and arrested a man known as "The Truck" who is suspected of moving a half ton of crystal methamphetamine into the United States each month, federal officials said Monday. Authorities detained Miguel Angel Beraza and another suspect after surrounding a church in Apatzingan in drug-plagued Michoacan state, said Ramon Pequeno, head of the Federal Police's anti-drug unit.

July 22nd, 2009 Mexico nabs 4 accused of slaying federal policeMEXICO CITY — Police have captured four men accused of slaying 12 federal agents and dumping their bloodied bodies along a highway in President Felipe Calderon's home state of Michoacan, federal authorities said Wednesday. The head of the Federal Police's anti-drug unit, Ramon Pequeno, said the suspects belong to the La Familia drug cartel.

July 21st, 2009 Mexican police nab alleged trafficker with $3.6MTIJUANA, Mexico — Mexican soldiers have arrested a suspected drug trafficker in the border city of Tijuana who was carrying jewelry, narcotics and $3.6 million in cash. The Defense Department says Luis Ibarra belongs to a cell in charge of making and trafficking methamphetamine for alleged drug kingpin Teodoro Garcia Simental.

July 20th, 2009 New charges, rewards in drug warWASHINGTON — The US government has filed new charges against top Mexican drug suspects and offered a total of $50 million in rewards for their capture. The Justice Department says an updated indictment made public Monday in Washington adds the names of three alleged lieutenants of the Mexican drug cartel called "The Company" and its offshoot, Los Zetas.

July 19th, 2009 Mexico detains 10 in killings of federal agentsMEXICO CITY — Mexican investigators have detained 10 police officers in the torture and killings of 12 federal agents whose bodies were found dumped along a highway in western Michoacan state. The federal Attorney General's Office says a judge ordered the officers from the town of Arteaga held pending an investigation on suspicion of involvement in the slayings.

July 11th, 2009 Gunmen kill 5 federal officers in central MexicoMORELIA, Mexico — Gunmen carried out attacks against federal police in at least six cities in drug-plagued Michoacan state, killing five officers. The Michoacan state public safety department says gunmen attacked federal police offices and one hotel where agents were staying between 5 a.m.

June 17th, 2009 AG Holder says agents will get new powersWASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder says federal immigration agents will get expanded powers to help fight Mexican drug cartels. Holder says an announcement is imminent on a new agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

June 13th, 2009 5 arrested in killing of Mexican crime reporterMEXICO CITY — Five suspects have been arrested in the killing of a veteran crime reporter in northern Mexico, including one man who told authorities the journalist was slain as a warning against meddling with a powerful drug cartel, authorities said Friday. Eliseo Barron was abducted May 25 by gunmen who barged into his home in Gomez Palacio, a town in the drug-plagued northern state of Durango, and beat the newspaper reporter in front of his wife and two daughters.

June 11th, 2009 Mexican state bans cops from carrying cell phonesMEXICO CITY — First local police in Monterrey lost their assault rifles after an armed confrontation with federal agents while protesting the arrest of cops for alleged gang ties. Now officers in Mexico's third-largest city will be stripped of cell phones.

May 10th, 2009 Gunmen kill 9 in western Mexico, shoot horsesMORELIA, Mexico — Gunmen killed nine people in three separate attacks in the Mexico's drug-plagued western state of Michoacan, authorities said Sunday. The state attorney general's office said gunmen broke into a ranch in a rural area and shot dead five employees, along with four horses and a bull.

April 30th, 2009 Mexico nabs drug gang leader on most-wanted listMEXICO CITY — Mexican police have arrested suspected Zeta gang leader Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa, one of Mexico's 24 most-wanted drug traffickers. Federal police say Sauceda Gamboa was detained in the border city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

April 25th, 2009 9 found dead in and around Mexican resortACAPULCO, Mexico — The bullet-riddled bodies of nine men were found Friday in and around the Mexican resort of Acapulco. Guerrero state police said in a statement that the bodies of five men were found in a sport utility vehicle parked near a highway connecting Acapulco and Zihuatenejo.