Drug Cartel Bloodbath as Mexican Elections Draw Closer

The dismembered bodies of 43 men and 6 women were found along a stretch of highway in northeastern Mexico on May 13, 2012. The bodies, some with heads, hands, and feet chopped off, were discovered by local authorities on the edge of the town of San Juan on a road that connects Monterrey to the Texas border. The bodies were believed dumped by the Zetas drug cartel since an arched welcome sign near the killing field had graffiti reading, "100% Zeta."

Jorge Domene, a state security spokesman said, “This is not an attack against the civilian population." But others disagree. On April 17, the mutilated bodies of 14 men were left in a minivan in downtown Nuevo Laredo. On May 5, the bodies of 23 people were found, some hanging from a bridge and others decapitated and dumped near city hall. On May 9, eighteen dismembered bodies were discovered outside Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey are considered Zetas territory, while Guadalajara has been controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel. The Zetas and Sinaloa Cartel are now the two biggest cartels in the country. Tourism, a major driver of the Mexican economy, has taken a hit due in large part to the cartel killings which are a daily occurrence.

In September, a Sinaloa drug gang dumped 35 bodies in Veracruz, Mexico. In August, a Zetas attack on a Monterrey casino left 52 dead. Since 2006, when Mexico's President Felipe Calderon announced a crackdown on cartels, more than 47,500 people have been killed in drug-related violence. Massacres have increased around Mexico in the last six months of escalating fighting between the Zetas and Sinaloa, which is led by fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada versus Zetas' leaders Heriberto “Z-3” Lazacano and Miguel “Z-40” Trevino. The Zetas were started by renegade Mexican Army special forces who used radio call signs, Z-1, Z-2, etc., pronounced “Zeta” in Spanish.

Under President Felipe Calderon's nearly six-year offensive, the two cartels have emerged as Mexico's two most powerful gangs and are battling over strategic transport routes and territory, including along the northern border with the U.S. and in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

Mexico is now in the midst of presidential race to replace Calderon, who by law can't run for re-election. The election will be held in July 1^st, 2012. Drug violence seems to be escalating, but none of the major candidates has referred directly to mass killings. All say they will stop the violence and make Mexico a more secure place, but offer few details on how their plans would differ from Calderon's administration.

Do you think the wave of violence has anything to do with the presidential election?

What do you think it will take to stop the violence in Mexico?

How does it affect citizens here in the United States?

Also see: http://www.insightcrime.org/criminal-groups/mexico/sinaloa-cartel

http://narcoguerratimes.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/zetas-everywhere-on-everything/