University of British Columbia student, boyfriend found murdered in Oaxaca state

Gruesome murder details disclosed in CBC interview with victim's former husband, who discovered both bodies buried on an isolated Oaxaca beach; area is frequented by Latin drug runners and human traffickers, he says

According to the British Columbia tabloid The Province, "Ximena Osegueda Magana, 39, and her boyfriend Alejandro Honorio Santamaria, 38, went missing on December 14. Their bodies were found on a beach in Huatulco, Oaxaca, later that month." Osegueda Magana was a Mexico City native. She was Ph.D candidate at UBC in the department of French, Spanish and Italian studies, and was focusing on colonial Latin American literature. She had earned both undergraduate and master's degrees at McGill University in Montreal.

Despite narco violence, Quintana Roo resorts boom - the most popular Mexican and Latin American destinations

MGRR regularly reports on organized crime violence in Mexico's Riviera Maya, also known as the Caribbean Gold Coast. There was plenty to report last year, in all the major tourist hot spots -- places like Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Isla de Mujeres. But crime concerns evidently haven't had much impact on foreign travelers. While many local businesses are feeling the pinch, mainly due to rampant extortion of commercial enterprises, it appears that most tourists know or care little of the powerful drug cartels and gangs like Los Zetas and Los Pelones.

Mérida celebrates its 470th birthday

Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, is 470 years young. It was founded January 6, 1542 by Francisco de Montejo. A brief history and overview is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9rida,_Yucat%C3%A1n. The city will host a marathon Sunday (Jan. 8), which supposedly will feature several well-known Kenyan professionals. Organizers hope for up to 2,500 runners, many of whom will opt for the far less demanding 10K. The cool mornings we're having should make for perfect conditions at race time.

Casino attack boss arrested in Nuevo León

The boss of a local Los Zetas cell said to have orchestrated last year's arson attack against the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico has been arrested.

Authorities in Nuevo León state took Baltazar Saucedo Estrada, 48, known as "Los Mataperros," into custody yesterday afternoon. Fifty-two persons, most of them women, died in the brazen August 25 attack, which was launched in broad daylight on a busy Monterrey street. Many of the victims ran to interior rooms of the casino to escape what they thought would be gunfire, and were trapped by heavy black smoke which prevented them from finding their way to exits. Police say the motive was the owners' refusal to pay extortion demands. http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/monterrey-casino-attack-leaves-53-dead.html.

In Mérida speech, Peña Nieto co-opts López Obrador theme and promises jobs for Mexico's idle "ninis"

PRI and PRD both promise supporters a "chicken in every pot"

Preaching to the choir last night in Mérida, PRI presidential nominee Enrique Peña Nieto promised jobs for Mexico's "ninis," the eight million or so young people, aged 12-29, who neither work nor go to school. The Mexican government says that 78% of them, or about six million, are girls and young women. Thousands of PRI regulars who turned out to hear their candidate speak at a baseball park in the city's outskirts roared their approval and waved red, white and green flags, known as the PRI tri-color.

Josefina Mota promises "full force of the law" against crooked Mexican politicians

Candidate supports up to life in prison in public corruption cases

In a CNN interview with the PAN pre-candidate, published today, Mexico's only female presidential hopeful came out swinging against deeply-rooted political corruption which many believe is endemic here. Josefina Vázquez Mota acknowledged that there are politicians with illicit ties who "sell territory and conduct business" with organized crime.

Armored clothing may prove to be fashion rage with Mexican office seekers in 2012

Dressed in these duds, any politician will be able to say, "come on, make my day"

Armored vehicles and private security details have been popular in Mexico's larger cities and crime-ridden areas for some time, provided a prospective client is wealthy enough to afford them. Interested parties commonly are rich business executives and politicians. Now "armored clothing" has become a hot item as well, and one establishment is betting that business will soar in this election year.

Mexico City is home to a unique specialty store known as Miguel Caballero (Michael the Gentleman), which manufactures and sells bullet-proof clothing for the "discerning" political candidate - and for his or her escoltas, or bodyguards, as well. Fashion options include sweaters, jackets, undershirts and vests. They come in two grades of protection: "soft" and "hard."

Cuba urges world-wide communications blitz of White House Jan. 5, for Miami 5

In an effort to free the Miami Five -- who are known in Havana as the Five Heroes -- the Cuban government is asking persons all over the world to call, fax or e-mail president Barack Obama this Thursday, January 5. The announcement was made yesterday (Jan. 2) on the website Cubadebate, a government controlled news service. A list of White House telephone and fax numbers is included, as is a URL link for sending an e-mail to Obama.

Mitt Romney will win no Hispanic support for his Dream Act stance

Republican front runner emphasizes his stern opposition to pending legislation

A few days ago I posted on a recent Pew presidential preference poll conducted among likely U.S. voters of Hispanic origin (see link at bottom). Not surprisingly, it showed Barack Obama crushing both Mitt Romney and Texas gov. Rick Perry by a solid 3-1 margin. Some experts say that no candidate can win the White House without capturing at least 40% of the total Hispanic vote cast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010 there were about 50.5 million Hispanics living in the United States, including almost 32 million persons of Mexican ancestry. Not all are registered voters, but many are. Four out of five Mexicans are legally documented, or they are U.S. citizens.

Los Zetas behind more than half of cartel kidnappings, says government agency

Mexico's Secretary of Public Security (SPS) reports that 52.8% of all drug cartel kidnappings in recent years have been the work of Los Zetas. Another cartel, La Familia Michoacana, was responsible for 32.5%, according to SPS in a report published yesterday.

Organized crime kidnappings, often for ransom, are a major problem in Mexico, exceeded only by extortion. Total kidnappings in 2011 were 115% greater than in 2010, and 300% greater than in 2009. SSP estimates that at least 30% of them were directly associated with narcotics trafficking and related cartel crimes.

SSP said that since the drug war began in December 2006, military and police forces have managed to free 1,587 kidnapping victims.

Kidnapping may be punished by up to life in prison under Mexican law.

Five year drug war death toll is 46,969, claims MILENIO

Mexico's Milenio news network reported today that 46,969 people have died in the country's five year old drug war, launched in December 2006 by president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. The network cited no source for the calculation, apart from its own tally. The government has not officially reported an estimated death count since Jan. 2011.

[Update: Mexican government releases official drug war death tally January 11: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/47515-have-died-in-mexicos-five-year.html].

Milenio also reported that 12,284 persons were killed in 2011, 398 less than in 2010. In the month of December alone, 905 people died, including 41 women, 19 police officers and 14 children -- all of them at the hands of drug traffickers and organized crime. In 2011, a total of 578 police officers, 633 women, 237 children and 42 government functionaries of differing ranks were murdered in events related to narco violence, according to Milenio.

President Calderón's term ends in November. Mexico will elect a new president on July 1.

2011 Veracruz drug war executions surge a staggering 960% in the "City of Cadavers"

Government reports indicate that in 2010, there were 51 organized crime executions in Veracruz state. In the year just ended, that number rose to 490. The 960% increase was by far the largest recorded in any of the 32 Mexican states in 2011. The stats were reported today by Mexico's Milenio network.

Papal visit to Mexico confirmed for March 23; then on to Cuba March 26-28

Pope's trip will coincide with 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's excommunication

Vatican City - The Holy See and the Mexican and Cuban Conferences of Catholic Bishops have confirmed the Latin America itinerary of Pope Benedict XVI, who will make his first trip to Mexico and Cuba this spring. In a departure from normal practice, the papal party will bypass the Mexican capital completely, focusing instead on another region of the country. He will visit the Cuban capital during the last 24 hours of his trip.

Josefina Mota calls for second phase in drug war, with focus on local police, courts

Josefina Vázquez Mota is one of three PAN presidential pre-candidates vying for the party's 2012 nomination (http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/josefina-vazquez-mota-most-popular-for.html). She is the only female candidate, and if elected would be Mexico's first woman president. PAN will select its nominee next month.

Mota has made her position clear on dealing with drug cartels and organized crime: no deals, no truces, no cessation of the Calderon government's full court press (http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/no-deals-with-criminals-says-pan.html). In short, Mota says there will be no respite for narco terrorists.

Mota has also said that the armed forces will not be withdrawn from the battle until Mexico's security situation greatly improves. In this respect she differs significantly from PRI nominee Enrique Peña Nieto and PRD nominee Andrés Manuel López Obrador, both of whom claim they will "return troops to their quarters" if elected.

Yucatán - and half of Mexico - belong to Los Zetas, says deputy attorney general

Some member of Los Zetas likely received special forces training in the U.S.

Mérida, Yucatán -
Mexico's SEIDO, or Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada (Office for Special Investigations of Organized Crime), is a division of the Attorney General's office. Cuitláhuac Salinas, a deputy attorney general and SEIDO's chief, says that the Los Zetas cartel dominates organized crime in about half of the country. The findings were reported today by news services here.