Mayor kidnapped, killed in violence-plagued Mexican border town near New Mexico

October 8th, 2009 Deputy mayor slain in Mexican border townCIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Unidentified assailants kidnapped and killed the top official of the border town of Palomas, across from New Mexico, on Thursday. Town Mayor Estanislao Garcia Santelis had long complained about the drug traffickers and migrant smugglers active around Palomas.

October 5th, 2009 5 men killed in shooting in Mexico border barCIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Gunmen burst into a bar in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and shot five men to death on Monday, state prosecutors said. The victims ranged in age from 25 to 30 in the attack at Gabino's, located on a main boulevard of the city across from El Paso, Texas, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutors' office.

September 25th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - Four human heads were found Friday stashed in four coolers in the southern Mexican town of Coyuca de Catalan, where many drug gangs are active, Guerrero state authorities said. Police also found four black bags with the remainder of the bodies, and a message whose content was not made public.

September 16th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - At least 24 people have been killed in separate incidents in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, which has been plagued in a vicious inter-gang drug war in recent times, authorities have said. According to the police, gunmen armed with assault rifles entered a drug rehabilitation center Tuesday night in the Papalote neighborhood and killed 10 people, including a woman, while those inside were celebrating the 199th anniversary of Mexico's independence.

September 3rd, 2009 3 US governors no-show at border conferenceMONTERREY, Mexico — Mexico's interior secretary says escalating violence along the U.S. border is a reaction to the country's crackdown on organized crime.

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.

July 29th, 2009 Detention for Mexican suspect in US border slayingTIJUANA, Mexico — A judge in Mexico has ordered that a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in California be held during the investigation.

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 13th, 2009 Gunmen kill policeman, wound 3 more in TijuanaTIJUANA, Mexico — Gunmen opened fire on a patrol car in the drug-plagued border city of Tijuana, killing one police officer and wounding three more, authorities said Monday. Tijuana police said in a statement that Sunday's attack brings to 18 the number of officers that have been killed this year in the city across from San Diego.

June 12th, 2009 Mexico: Gunmen kill policeman, teen at taco standMORELIA, Mexico — Gunmen opened fire and tossed a grenade at a crowded taco stand in the central Mexican city of Uruapan on Thursday, causing cooking gas tanks to explode and killing a police officer and a 15-year-old boy. A spokesman for the state prosecutor's office in Michoacan state said the policeman was shot while eating with a fellow officer.

June 11th, 2009 Mexico: Attack on taco stand kills officer, workerMORELIA, Mexico — Gunmen tossed a fragmentation grenade and fired on a crowded taco stand Thursday in the central Mexican city of Uruapan, killing a police officer and a 15-year-old worker. Four others were injured.

May 6th, 2009 Gunmen kill Mexican journalist in northern stateMEXICO CITY — Gunmen killed a columnist for a newspaper in a northern Mexican state plagued by kidnappings and drug violence, authorities said Tuesday. A motive hadn't been determined.

May 5th, 2009 Mexican mayor: Army will fight cartels permanentlyNEW YORK — The mayor of one of Mexico's most troubled border towns said Tuesday he expects to keep army troops in place to fight drug violence even after a revamped police department resumes its duties. About 5,000 troops moved into Ciudad Juarez in March and took over police operations in the violence-scarred town across the border from El Paso, Texas.

May 2nd, 2009 Baseball player's father abducted in MexicoTIJUANA, Mexico — Mexican authorities say armed gunmen have kidnapped the father of former major leaguer Oscar Robles. Robles is an infielder with Mexico City's Red Devils and Mexico's national baseball team.

March 5th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - Nineteen inmates died and three were injured Wednesday in a prison riot in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, the police said. The trouble first started with rival gangs of inmates fighting for control of the prison.