Quintana Roo prosecutor confirms: expanding Gulf Cartel likely behind three recent Riviera Maya atrocities

Los Zeta defections show that endlessly shifting alliances are the only constant in Mexico's drug war


*Updated Mar. 25*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
The state motto of this tropical Caribbean paradise is the "Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo."

And while the words may conjure up patriotic sentiments, some might argue that the name bears little relationship to the reality of daily life in the gateway to Mexico's Riviera Maya.

On May 9, 2012, a 26 year old waitress - a single mom trying to make her way in life - was killed instantly by deadly .9 mm rounds when AK-47 wielding assassins arrived at the Sports Bar Harem 95 at 2:30 a.m. The target of the attack was Graham Anguiano Interián, a Los Zetas drug wholesaler who delivered narcotics to the bar almost every day. There is some evidence that local police might have had advance knowledge of the event. Attack on Cancún sports bar leaves young waitress dead.

Mexico's Tourism Dept. expects drop in 2012 rankings

Guadalajara -
Mexico's chief tourism official announced today that her country will likely drop at least one or two places in popularity rankings maintained by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Claudia Ruiz Massieu said she didn't have final figures yet, but that Mexico would probably fall from tenth position, which it held in the last travel year reported by WTO. Ruiz attributed the drop to visitor security concerns.

Drug war, common crime are killing off Mexico's future

Both victims and perpetrators are overwhelmingly under 30, study finds

Guadalajara -
In October 2011 a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime study reported that in Mexico and Latin America, youth itself is the primary risk factor for homicide. Last week the World Bank seconded that conclusion.

Between 2000 and 2010, 38% of murder victims in this nation were 10-29 years old, according to the Bank's report entitled "Juvenile Violence in Mexico."

And in the 24 month period between 2008 and 2010, the homicide rate for the group tripled. For every 100,000 people in that age range, 25.5 end up being another murder statistic.

Venezuelan president warns Barack Obama of U.S. plot to assassinate opposition candidate

Nicolás Maduro promises to protect his political opponent from "ultra right" Washington conspiracy

*Updated Mar. 19*
Guadalajara - Less than two weeks after the death of Hugo Chávez, interim Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro says he is warning Barack Obama of a U.S. backed plot to assassinate an opposition candidate in the nation's upcoming April 14 election.

Chávez succumbed to cancer on Mar. 5 after a two year fight with the illness. Hugo Chávez is dead, Venezuela reports. Maduro, the country's vice president and long time lieutenant of Chávez, was hand picked by the firey leftist leader to succeed him and to continue the "Bolivarian socialist revolution."

The opposition candidate on the right is 40 year old attorney Henrique Capriles Radonski, who ran against Chávez in Venezuela's Oct. 7 presidential election. Chávez won handily with 55% of the vote. As Venezuelans head to the polls, Hugo Chávez proves all the prophets wrong.

Quintana Roo governor admits: many Cancún taxi drivers are on cartel payrolls

Roberto Borge also acknowledges that corrupt municipal police may be part of the problem

*Updated Mar. 25*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
Quintana Roo governor Roberto Borge Angulo has acknowledged something that MGR and the local Spanish press in this state have long reported: taxi drivers in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and other tourist centers often work as salesmen for vicious drug cartels locked in a brutal war for markets.

The 33 year old Institutional Revolutionary Party governor admitted yesterday that many Cancún drivers are in the service of the powerful cartels as street peddlers. He said the state would open a formal investigation. Borge's remarks came less than 24 hours after unknown gunmen launched a bloody attack against a bar where several drivers were gathered Thursday evening, including a syndicate boss. Press sources have reported that the victims had links to the Los Zetas drug cartel. Machine gun attack on Cancún tavern kills seven.

Huge cost of consumer credit in Mexico is going up again

Guadalajara -
It costs a lot to borrow money for ordinary consumer purchases in Mexico. And it will cost even more in the year ahead, according to a study released this week by Banxico, the nation's central bank.

In 2012 the total annual cost of credit, known here as CAT, increased an average one to five percent on most bank cards. Annual interest rates now range from a low of 41.6% to high of 88.3%.

The Mexican CAT is the direct equivalent of the U.S. APR (annual percentage rate). At a 65% CAT or APR - with minimum required monthly payments - consumer debt can double in less than two years.

Those rates, as Banixco pointed out, are for card holders with a very low credit limit of 4,500 pesos - about $360 USD at today's exchange rate.

Among Mexico's largest banks, the Bancomer Blue card carries a 52.9% annual interest rate; the HSBC Classic, 62%; the Santander Light, 41.6%; the Banamex card, 57% and the Banorte card, 52.5%.

Cancún woes: city manager and Google sign $90K contract to promote tourism; and another U.S. coed alleges bar rape, but refuses to swear out complaint

*Updated Mar. 17*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
The city of Cancún, whose public image has been adversely affected by daily drug war violence and worrisome security reports by respected U.S. consultants, has just signed a six month, $90,000 contract with search engine giant Google.

U.S. splits over marijuana, but Kansas says it's still illegal in Sunflower State

MGR Legal Analysis -
A defendant who found out he was not in Colorado anymore

Guadalajara -
As Mexico's brutal, 75 month old drug war continues on unabated, political leaders in this country always keep an eye on drug related legislation north of the border, where 90% of the product is shipped every month. The drug trafficking industry which is tearing this country apart exists because of U.S. demand, not Mexican. Former president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa correctly analyzed the problem when he remarked (quite frequently) that living next door to the U.S. is like living in the same apartment building with the biggest drug addict in town.

Vatican already defending Pope Francis, as accusations of his support for Argentine military dictatorship swirl

Critics say Cardinal Bergoglio failed to stand up to military junta during Argentina's "Dirty War"


Guadalajara -
Less than two days after the Roman College of Cardinals elected him the first Latin American pope in the history of the Catholic Church, the Vatican found itself forced to defend Pope Francis from growing accusations of silent acquiescence, if not active support, for the brutal right wing military dictatorship which ran Argentina in the 1970s.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit priest and former archbishop of Buenos Aires, was chosen Wednesday to be the spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. Bergoglio is the first member of the prestigious Society of Jesus, one of the Church's many distinct religious orders, ever to be named pope.

Machine gun attack on Cancún tavern leaves seven dead

A "bloody adjustment of accounts," say authorities, with Los Zetas affiliates the target

*Updated Mar. 17*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
As this gateway city to Mexico's Riviera Maya prepares for the annual pilgrimage of spring breakers, authorities reported six persons were killed in a machine gun assault against a local bar this evening.

Another half dozen or more were seriously wounded during the attack on an establishment known as La Sirenita.

Drug war terror muzzles much of Mexican press

Some newspapers abandon coverage of organized crime violence to protect staff members

Guadalajara -
No one enjoys immunity from organized crime violence in this country, even if they wear a press ID. In fact, especially if they wear a press ID. And though Mexico made crimes against journalists a federal offense almost a year ago, it hasn't deterred the drug cartels in the least.

On Monday the Mexican news group Zócalo, which owns media outlets in several northern states, announced that it would immediately cease publishing drug war news and stories dealing with organized crime, since "there's no guarantee of protection for the robust exercise of journalism." The decision was made by its editorial board, for the "safety of 1,000 employees and their families."

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, elected first Latin American pope

Jorge Bergoglio, S.J., will be first non-European to lead Roman Catholic Church


Guadalajara -
The Roman Catholic College of Cardinals today chose Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the next pope. He succeeds Benedict XVI, who resigned and retired Feb. 28.

Bergoglio, 76, is an ordained priest of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. The Jesuits are perhaps the most prestigious of all the Roman Catholic orders. They serve principally as educators around the world, at the preparatory, college and university levels. (The Ugly American - and the Jesuits).

Huge cancellations in Acapulco, as spring breakers go elsewhere and Spain issues new warning for Mexico

Regional violence exacts worrisome economic toll on local commerce

*Updated Mar. 13*
Guadalajara -
Spring Break 2013 in Acapulco is over before it started.

The Guerrero state secretary of tourism said today that based upon information obtained from innkeepers, 80% of spring breakers have canceled their reservations, most of which were for later this month.

Officials reported that at least 4,000 confirmed reservations have been canceled. Another 700 unconfirmed but expected student visitors failed to secure their places in recent weeks. Three hundred spring breakers still plan to visit the world famous resort, which has been besieged by security issues in the past six weeks.

Mexicans divided on drug war effort of new government

Forty percent say organized crime violence has increased since Enrique Peña Nieto took office

*Updated Mar. 21*
Guadalajara -
In a domestic security survey conducted last month by the influential Mexico City newspaper El Universal, 51% of respondents said the new Institutional Revolutionary Party government should continue its struggle against drug cartels and organized crime. But 26% said the effort should be abandoned or reduced, in order "to avoid more violence."

Enrique Peña Nieto's three smart decisions

MGR News Analysis -
At 100 days, new president says PRI is "not going just to administrate Mexico, but to transform it"

*Updated Mar. 21*
Guadalajara -
Shortly before midnight on Friday, Nov. 30, in the first stage of an orderly change of national authority, Felipe Calderón presided over a brief ceremony which transferred control of Mexico's fuerzas armadas to Enrique Peña Nieto. From that moment on, the new president was in charge of all military authority in this country of 112 million. It was a courtesy which Calderón's own predecessor, Vicente Fox, had extended to him exactly six years before.

About 12 hours later, Peña Nieto took the formal oath of office before senators, deputies and others in the lower legislative chamber, the Cámara de Diputados, and the passing of the baton was complete.