Decapitation in Cancún, Quintana Roo

We're only nine days into December but the city has already recorded three organized crime executions this month, according to local authorities. The first two were December 5, which I reported earlier this week (http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/two-executed-in-cancun-and-killers-left.html).

In the latest case police found the remains of a a yet unidentified man, estimated age 30-40, in the trunk of an abandoned taxi. The cab was reported stolen yesterday (Dec. 8) about 1:00 p.m., and the vehicle and body were located about 5:00 p.m.

Yucatán gets serious with obesity; free gastric by-pass surgery offered to some

A few weeks ago I reported about the burgeoning problem of obesity in Mexico, where a staggering 70% of the population is overweight. Worse still, 40% of all Mexican women and 33% of all men are clinically obese -- that is, overweight to the extent that they are likely to develop serious medical complications at some point in life. Included in these troubling numbers are four million obese children. http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/obesity-presents-severe-risk-to-mexico.html.

The statistics are particularly dire in this state. About 37% of all children and young adults here (aged 5 to 19) are overweight. And Yucatán leads the nation in obese children age five to nine. The state government has decided to get very proactive about the problem of endemic obesity in a young nation where regular physical exercise is not the norm, but the consumption of rich, high fat content food is.

"We're not talking about alms here," says ambassador as he hands over the keys

The comment was made this morning by U.S. ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne, as his government turned over another new Black Hawk helicopter to Mexico. The $20 million state-of-the-art UH-60M combat aircraft is equipped with the latest technology for night surveillance, and is capable of other special operations as well.

Eric Holder repeats mea culpa to House

U.S. attorney general Eric Holder made another perfunctory appearance today before a House of Representatives committee which is investigating the Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious arms sales scandal. He's been required to do a lot of bowing and apologizing lately.

Cartel hit men execute ambulance crew, 2 patients: another day of madness in Juárez

*See updates to this story below*

The drug cartels and their sicarios, or paid executioners, have curious rules of conduct, which at times don't appear to make a great deal of sense. But they're rules nonetheless and those who even marginally violate them pay the price.

Mexicans dominate marijuana growing in U.S. - including in national parks, forests

Mexican drug cartels raise marijuana in 20 states and some 67 national forests, a Senate committee was told today. They guard their valuable crops with armed patrols and at times, even with homemade landmines.

The testimony came from Gil Kerlikowske, of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in a hearing before the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

Update on Canadian couple who drowned at Progreso - tragic end to dream vacation

Many readers were interested in MGRR's original story about this sad case. The deceased couple, Jim Reimer, 72 and Jan Pridham-Drake, 57, were from Alberta. They were snowbirds who arrived in November and planned to stay until next April. This was their first trip to the area, and unfortunately it ended in tragedy.

"Conspiracy" cardinal resigns; served as archbishop of Guadalajara for 17 years

Appointed after his predecessor was gunned down at Guadalajara airport

*Updated Dec. 15, 2012*
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, the outspoken Roman Catholic leader of Guadalajara who served since his predecessor's tragic death 18 years ago, has resigned. The official announcement was made by the Holy See in Vatican City.

Mexico busts plan by Gaddafi son to enter country; foreign nationals involved in plot

Mexico City -- At an early morning press conference today, Mexico's Department of Governmental Affairs announced the break up of an international plot to smuggle one of the sons of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, together with members of his immediate family, into this country. The conspiracy, which was discovered on September 6, was said to involve several foreign nationals, including a Canadian woman and a Dane. A Mexican woman who lives in the United States is also implicated.

Mérida Summit to U.S.: get the drug usage under control, stop the flow of weapons

Mérida,Yucatán -- Meeting in the City of Peace yesterday, Latin American delegates to the 13th Summit of the Tuxtla Group had a firm message for the United States: get your addiction under control.

The member nations also approved a resolution demanding that the U.S. check the flow of weapons pouring south into Mexico and other conflict zones in Central America and the Caribbean. The joint proclamation at the close of the meeting echoed familiar refrains of president Felipe Calderón, who has frequently referred to his neighbor to the north as "the biggest drug addict in town."

Congress to investigate DEA drug money laundering scheme, as will Mexican senate

As I predicted yesterday (http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/when-does-cop-become-criminal.html), a congressional committee announced today that it will open an immediate investigation into a Drug Enforcement Administration program which has been secretly washing hundreds of millions of dollars of Mexican drug cartel profits for several years. The covert operation was revealed over the weekend by The New York Times http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/us-agents-help-mexican-drug-cartels.html.

Two executed in Cancún - and killers left a holiday greeting; another dead in Playa; police officer and 15 year old son executed in Saltillo hit squad attack - family injured

Cancún, Quintana Roo --The bodies of two men were founded earlier today in this resort city on Mexico's Caribbean coast. A narcomensaje, or executioner's warning, had been placed on the front windshield of a vehicle holding the victims. It said, por extorsionadores y rateros ¡Feliz Navidad!, "for being extortionists and thieves - Merry Christmas!

Police have not yet identified the men, but say the executions are the work of organized crime. The head of each man had been bound in cloth and masking tape.

More bodies are dumped in Veracruz, the "City of Cadavers"

I described Veracruz on September 22 as a city out of control, and one firmly in the pocket of drug traffickers (http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/veracruz-en-la-bolsa-de-los-narcos.html). It was true then, and it remains so today.

Another seven corpses were found on a street about 5:00 a.m. this morning. They were male, bound hand and foot, and showed signs of torture before execution. No identities have been announced, nor has the cause of death for any of the victims.

Canadians found dead on Progreso beach after drowning

Mérida and Yucatán state news

Mérida,Yucatán -- Progreso municipal police report that two bodies were found just feet from the city's malecon, or boardwalk, about 9:00 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 3). The bodies were discovered by people strolling the beach, about 100 meters apart.

When does the cop become the criminal?

Opinion - U.S. agents cross the line by blatantly assisting Mexico's drug cartels

Yesterday's shocking revelation by The New York Times is simply over the top. As if last spring's news of the secret sale of machine guns by federal agents to narcotics traffickers was not enough, now we know that DEA agents routinely launder hundreds of millions of dollars of dirty profits for the cartels, even conveniently flying the cash back to the States on government airplanes, and then dropping it off at the bank. We are left only to wonder if the feds dispatch neat bundles of deposit slips back to this country, perhaps via UPS or FedEx couriers, so that the drug kingpins can keep their books up to date. Then again, the narco accountants probably use Quicken or Excel, just like the rest of us.