La Familia leader sought alliance with ex-rivals

A cult-like drug cartel that challenged a rival gang by rolling five severed heads onto a disco dance floor in western Mexico was so divided and cash-strapped of late that it sought to form an alliance with that gang, police officials said Wednesday.La Familia gang leader Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas was looking for support from the Zetas drug gang to fight splinter cells within his own organization, said Federal Police anti-narcotics chief Ramon Pequeno.Mendez Vargas, alias El Chango, or The Monkey, was arrested Tuesday in the central state of...

Read More

Fear and violence haunt the streets of Managua, Nicaragua's capital,

Fear and violence haunt the streets of Managua, Nicaragua's capital, rife with extreme poverty and inevitable crime. Rather than whole, safe neighborhoods, there are mostly small islands of safety clustered around malls and fancy hotels. A wealthy tourist (nearly all tourists here are relatively rich) happily pays triple the local rate for a taxi that works with the hotels to ensure a safe arrival. The trip is generally a hop from one safe zone to another. In the evening, taxis are even more important because it's unwise to walk around after dark,...

Read More

Project Runway Latin America to move to Miami

Worldwide, the fashion capitals are Paris, New York and Milan. For Latin America, it's increasingly Miami.The latest evidence: The Spanish-language version of the hit TV show, "Project Runway," will begin filming in Miami on July 11, bringing a new roster of burgeoning fashion designers with Latin flair to compete for a top prize against a backdrop of palm trees and Art Deco architecture."Project Runway Latin America "joins other local fashion events, such as Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week Swim, Funkshion Fashion Week Miami Beach and Miami Beach International...

Read More

Thousands Poised to Enter Deportation Process After Mass ICE Arrest

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that federal agents swept up 2,400 illegal immigrants in a nationwide raid last month, starting what will likely be a months-long process of figuring out what to do with them. The sweep, the product of a seven-day enforcement operation called "Cross Check," was described as the largest of its kind. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, in coordination with other federal agencies and local officials, tracked down illegal immigrant criminals in all 50 states and are now housing them in...

Read More

Mexican Drug Cartels Bringing Heroin to St. Louis

The dramatic increase in heroin use and heroin overdose deaths in the St. Louis metro area is a direct result of the expanding operations of Mexican drug cartels in the region, according to a new book written by a St. Louisan who is a retired Air Force special investigations agent and who specialized in operations against Latin American drug traffickers.In 2010, there were over 200 heroin overdose deaths in the metro region, and law enforcement and drug treatment specialists expect that number to climb this year. At the same time, heroin use has...

Read More

Sources outside of law enforcement have confirmed that Heriberto “El Lazca” Lazcano , the leader of the Zetas, was killed Friday in a firefight with rival Gulf Cartel.

The Mexico Defense Ministry has disputed the claim.Born on Christmas Day 1974, Lazcano was one of the founding members of the Zetas, founded by elite Mexican army soldiers who defected to side with the Gulf Cartel.The Gulf Cartel employed the Zetas as their mercenary enforcement arm for years.The latter group gradually gained power, and the friends turned foes in February 2010, when the alliance dissolved. The split sent much of Northeast Mexico into disarray as the two drug trafficking organizations struggled to control territory, including prized...

Read More

Mexico finds $2.4 million hidden in phone cable

Mexican customs inspectors say they've found more than $2.4 million in cash rolled up and stuffed into spools of telephone cable headed for Venezuela.The customs service says the cash was taped up into 6,000 small rolls. The rolls were inserted into about 500 meters (yards) of thick phone cable, and the cable was coiled onto four spools.The customs service added that a trained dog alerted his handler to the suspicious contents of the spools at the Mexico City airport.A man listed as the owner of the shipment was detained.Authorities say Venezuela...

Read More