drug cartels

Who is 'El Mayo' Zambada, the Sinaloa drug cartel leader now in U.S. custody?

By Anita Snow, Associated Press

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the top leader and co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, eluded the reach of U.S. law enforcement for decades as the criminal organization evolved into the world's biggest manufacturer and smuggler of illicit fentanyl pills and other…

AP report: Powerful Mexican cartel leader was lured onto airplane before U.S. arrest

By Alanna Durkin Richer, María Verza, Christopher Sherman, Associated Press

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada got on an airplane to the U.S. believing he was going somewhere else, said the official, who spoke on the condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Mexico's president says he won't confront cartels on U.S. orders

By Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has laid out various justifications over the years for his “hugs, not bullets” policy of avoiding clashes with the cartels.

Former Honduran president accused of running his country as a 'narco-state' stands trial in New York City

By Philip Marcelo, Associated Press

Federal prosecutors say that for years Hernández received millions of dollars from cartels in exchange for allowing hundreds of thousands of kilos of cocaine destined for the U.S. to pass through his country.

Zapatista indigenous rebel movement marks 30 years since its armed uprising in southern Mexico

By Edgar H. Clemente, Associated Press

Members and supporters of the Zapatista indigenous rebel movement are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their brief armed uprising in southern Mexico.

Authorities receive apology letter after abduction, deaths of U.S. citizens in Mexico

By Alfredo Peña, Associated Press

A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible.

Mexico's former public security chief convicted in U.S. drug case

By Jennifer Peltz, Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press

A U.S. jury has convicted a former Mexican presidential cabinet member of taking massive bribes to protect the drug cartels he was tasked with combating.

AP report: Former DEA agent tells his own story of corruption before jail time

By Jim Mustian, Joshua Goodman, Associated Press

All this revelry was rooted, Irizarry said, in a crushing realization among DEA agents around the world that there's nothing they can do to make a dent in the drug war anyway.

Mexico's president seeks to bypass congress to keep army involved in policing

By María Verza, Associated Press

Mexico’s president has begun exploring plans to sidestep congress to hand formal control of the National Guard to the army, a move that could extend the military’s control over policing in a country with high levels of violence.

Mexico's drug war fought with drones, human shields, gunships

By Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

Residents of the town of Aguililla are fed up with the army's strategy to simply separate competing gangs. They want the army to either fight both cartels, or let the two gangs fight it out.