Former Governor of Colimas Silverio Cavazos Ceballos Killed By Gunmen In Mexico

November 22, 2010 By Staff

Colima, Mexico.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — A group of armed men killed a former governor of the Mexican state of Colima late Sunday morning outside of his home.

The gunmen shot Silverio Cavazos Ceballos, who left office a year ago, outside his home in Colima’s capital city of the same name, before fleeing in a truck.

The state’s economic development secretary, Rafael Gutiérrez Villalobos, was also wounded in the attack, though the authorities did not say how badly. Authorities have not given a motive for the killing.

Drug cartels operating in the region are the top suspects for the murder of Cavazos, as the groups recently began targeting politicians in areas that the gangs call home or that have lucrative smuggling routes. Colima is home to the port of Manzanillo, the scene of many large seizures of drugs and cash believed linked to drug trafficking.

Authorities in August found 200 tons of precursor chemicals for making synthetic drugs at the port and in May the port’s captain was arrested on drug-trafficking charges.

Cavazos took office in 2005 after the previous governor died in plane crash. In 2008 he traveled with Mexican President Felipe Calderón to California to meet with political officials and immigrant groups.

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North America

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Caribbean

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Thousands of people stood in line for hours in a heavy rain Saturday to pay their respects to Freddy Beras Goico, an influential television figure and social activist in the Dominican Republic who was admired for his philanthropy.
A former Cuban political prisoner swore allegiance to the United States in Miami on Friday, a step that will help him restore Social Security benefits.

Central America

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The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he’s conducting preliminary investigations into crimes in Nigeria and Honduras.

Andes

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President Hugo Chávez said Sunday that U.S. officials hoped to use an alleged cocaine kingpin to smear his government with corruption accusations and thanked Colombia’s leader for rejecting Washington’s extradition request.
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Yale University has promised to return thousands of archaeological pieces taken from Machu Picchu nearly a century ago, Peru’s president has said.
Latin American nations need to be cautious with Iran and its motives when negotiating development of their nuclear capacities, the U.S. defense chief Robert Gates warned on Sunday, while speaking a a conference in Bolivia.

Southern Cone

Uruguayan President José Mujica met with the new Argentine ambassador to Uruguay this weekend and emphasized a positive relationship between the two countries after anti-Argentine comments he allegedly made were published in a Uruguayan weekly.
The CEO of the International Air Transport Association criticized Brazilian airports at a conference Thursday, calling the country’s airport infrastructure “a growing disaster.”
The defense ministers of Argentina and South Africa signed a military cooperation agreement onboard the SAS Drakensberg, which was in Argentina to participate in naval exercises.
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