Arrest over Mexican drug murders

A senior member of a Mexican drug cartel has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murders of 17 people at a rehab centre, reports say.
Jose Rodolfo Escajeda, a suspected hitman and drug smuggler, was held in connection with the murders in the city of Juarez, near the border with Texas.
He has long been [...]

Mexican gang activity seeping into Houston | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle

Houston has long been a major staging ground for importing illegal drugs from Mexico and shipping them to the rest of the United States, but a recent Department of Justice report notes it is one of 230 cities where cartels maintain distribution networks and supply lines.
via Mexican gang activity seeping into Houston | Houston & [...]

Bogota’s displaced youth turn to street arts instead of crime

Just a short walk from Bogota’s presidential palace lies the city’s most infamous and deprived neighbourhood, known among locals as the Bronx. But its notorious reputation doesn’t deter the Legion of Affection (Legion del Afecto), a grassroots arts project made up mainly of young displaced men and women, who are there for an “intervention”.
via Reuters [...]

Inside Venezuela’s Prisons Humans Have No Rights

It is estimated 23,000 prisoners are crammed into Venezuela’s 32 prisons, built to accommodate just half that number.
via Inside Venezuela’s Prisons: Alleged Drug Smuggle Couple Paul And Laura Makin Remain Locked Up | World News | Sky News.

Mexico morgues crowded with mounting drug-war

Bodies stacked in the morgues of Mexico’s border cities tell the story of an escalating drug war. Drug violence claimed 6,290 people last year, double the previous year, and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009.
via Mexico morgues crowded with mounting drug-war dead – Americas AP – MiamiHerald.com.

UN: Latin America needs help vs. drug traffickers

Central American nations need urgent international help to confront the increasingly dangerous presence of Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, the head of a U.N.-backed commission investigating organized crime in Guatemala said Tuesday.
“Latin America has no time,” U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Carlos Castresana warned. “This is a situation of emergency.”
Mexican drug cartels are increasingly using Central American [...]

2 more resign from troubled Colombia spy agency – Americas AP – MiamiHerald.com

Two more top deputies resigned from Colombia’s domestic spy agency on Tuesday as prosecutors investigate allegations of improper eavesdropping on journalists, Supreme Court judges and opposition members.
The Department of Administrative Security, or DAS, announced in a statement the resignation of its deputy directors of analysis and operations, Gustavo Sierra and Marta Leal, without elaborating on [...]

Hispanics Now Majority of Federal Offenders

A new study reveals Hispanics now make up the majority of federal offenders.
The percentage of Latinos sentenced in federal court more than quadrupled since 1991.
Most of the offenses are immigration related.
The face of America’s new federal offender might take you by surprise.
Nordia, “What race would you think?”
Shuntel Ginn, “Majority probably African Americans.
Nordia, “Really? What if [...]

Gangs Competing Over Cartel Work

A recent spike in gang-related activity has some law enforcement officials concerned that local criminal groups may be jockeying for position with the Gulf Cartel.
Several gangs – including the Tri-City Bombers, the Texas Chicano Brotherhood, the Texas Syndicate and the Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos – are believed to be competing with each other to become the [...]

Economic Bad Times Put Minorities at Higher Crime Risk

When the economy goes sour, certain minority groups suffer at the hands of criminals more than others, a new study finds.
National crime statistics from 1973 to 2005 show an increase in violent, non-lethal crime against blacks and Latinos during and after periods of recession, according to research that was scheduled for presentation Sunday at the [...]