Mexican Drug War Violence Continues With 5 Massacres, Leaving More Than 50 Dead

October 29, 2010 By Staff

Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — Violence has continued to torment Mexico this week, with five massacres leaving more than 50 people dead.

On Thursday, armed men shot down six men at a convenience store, The Associated Press reported. The shootings in Mexico City, far from the northern states where drug war violence has been concentrated, has prompted new concerns that cartel violence may be spreading.

An episode of violence also occurred on Thursday in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, where four people were killed.

Gunmen also shot down 15 people at a carwash in the Pacific state of Nayarit on Wednesday, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The news of a spike in violence in Mexico comes just as California debates decriminalizing marijuana. While some argue that decriminalizing the popular drug would lead to a reduction in incarceration rates in the United States, Mexican President Felipe Calderón and other Latin American leaders have said that decriminalizing marijuana sends a contradictory message to countries that are battling drug cartels.

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Headlines from the Western Hemisphere

North America

Nearly two-thirds of Latinos in the United States think they are being discriminated against, according to a poll by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Mexican police rescued at least 23 Honduran undocumented migrants, including six children, who were kidnapped for ransom, the Tabasco state prosecutor’s office said.

Caribbean

The cholera outbreak in Haiti is worrying tourism officials in the neighboring Dominican Republic and prompting seaside resorts to beef up sanitation measures, officials said Thursday.
The New York Philharmonic has renewed efforts to obtain approved travel to Cuba.

Central America

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla sent her condolences to Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, whose husband died of a heart attack Wednesday.
Panama suspended free trade talks with Colombia due to an impasse over agricultural issues, market access and customs cooperation, said Francisco Alvarez, Pamana’s deputy trade minister.
Nicaraguan baseball player Huembes Gustavo López, 28, was taken into custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman.

Andes