Far from Mexico, investigators fight major cocaine operation in the heartland

WATERTOWN, Wis. — In this Midwestern town 1,500 miles from Mexico, in a place that proudly proclaims itself the birthplace of kindergarten, Coco the cocaine kingpin flourished.

Mexico pours federal police, army into western state after 20 killed in cartel attacks

MEXICO CITY — Mexico on Thursday ordered 5,500 federal police, soldiers and navy personnel to move into a gang-plagued western state following a cartel’s slaying of 20 officers and troops in one of the boldest revenge attacks ever mounted against the government.

Mexico boosts federal police in western state after drug cartel kills 20 federal forces

MEXICO CITY — Mexico on Thursday quadrupled the number of federal police in a gang-plagued western state following a cartel’s slaying of 20 officers and troops in one of the boldest revenge attacks ever mounted against the government.

Mexico says no deal with cartels after man calling himself drug lord calls TV show

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government is vowing never to cut deals with drug traffickers after a man claiming to be the leader of a violent cartel called a television station to suggest a pact.

Mexian drug cartel seeks vengeance against federal forces, escalating violent drug war

MEXICO CITY — It was the boldest, most widespread coordinated offensive ever mounted by drug traffickers against the Mexican government.

Official identifies 12 slain in Western Mexico as off-duty federal agents

MORELIA, Mexico — Twelve people tortured and killed in a cartel-plagued Mexican state were federal agents investigating organized crime, the government said Tuesday, marking one of the boldest attacks on federal forces since President Felipe Calderon launched his war on drugs.

Police find the bound, tortured bodies of 12 men in western Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Prosecutors said they found the bound, blindfolded and tortured bodies of at least a dozen people Monday on a roadside in the western state of Michoacan, which has become a flash point in Mexico’s war on drugs.

Tijuana, Mexico cops under fire: Gunmen kill 1 police officer, wound 3 in latest attack

TIJUANA, Mexico — Gunmen opened fire on a police patrol car, killing one officer and wounding three others amid a brutal drug war in this northern border city that has seen at least 18 policemen slain so far this year.

Mexican police capture suspects in attacks on federal forces in 3 states

MORELIA, Mexico — Federal agents Sunday captured two suspects in connection with a series of attacks on federal forces across western Michoacan state that left five officers and two soldiers dead.

Gunmen attack federal forces across Mexican state, killing 5 officers, 2 soldiers

MORELIA, Mexico — Gunmen boldly attacked federal forces across the western state of Michoacan on Saturday, killing five federal agents and two soldiers after the capture of a suspected drug cartel operative.

Mexico outraged by killing of Mormon anti-crime activist, community pledges to carry on fight

MEXICO CITY — Mexico reacted to the slaying of an anti-crime activist with outrage Wednesday: Congress called for a minute of silence, television commentators demanded justice and activists pledged to step up their fight against crime despite persistent threats.

Leader of anti-kidnapping protest and neighbor slain by suspected hit men in northern Mexico

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — An anti-crime activist and a neighbor were killed in northern Mexico on Tuesday by gunmen believed linked to a drug cartel, a local legislator said.

Police find 5 bodies, severed head in drug-plagued Mexican state

MORELIA, Mexico — Mexican police on Tuesday found the remains of six people tortured and shot to death in a western state that is a focus of the government’s war against drug cartels.

Venezuela deports top Mafia suspect to Italy after capture

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela deported a convicted European drug trafficker dubbed the “Mafia’s foreign minister” to Italy on Tuesday, where he has been wanted on drug smuggling charges since 2001.

Mexico releases 3 mayors detained in sweep of officials suspected of ties to drug cartel

MORELIA, Mexico — Federal prosecutors released three of the 10 Mexican mayors arrested last month in an unprecedented sweep of elected officials accused of protecting a drug cartel, authorities said Monday.

Venezuela to deport Italian Mafia’s ‘foreign minister’ captured in Caracas

CARACAS, Venezuela — A convicted European drug trafficker dubbed the “Mafia’s foreign minister” will be deported to Italy after his capture in Caracas in a joint operation by Venezuelan and Italian police, authorities said Tuesday.

As Mexicans consume more drugs, cartels go to battle with local dealers

TIJUANA, Mexico — Drug dealer Hector Rodriguez Estrada had a feeling he was next.

Once hush-hush, drug war plays big in Mexico’s mid-term elections

MEXICO CITY — When Mario Anguiano successfully ran for mayor of Colima three years ago, no one much cared that his brother and cousin were in prison on drug charges.

Mexico charges 7 mayors, state prosecutor and other officials for allegedly helping cartel

MEXICO CITY — Mexico levied organized crime and drug charges Thursday against seven mayors, the former state attorney general and 19 other officials in the western state of Michoacan for allegedly aiding a drug cartel.

Report: US agencies failed to coordinate efforts against gun smuggling along US-Mexico border

WASHINGTON — Two federal agencies are being faulted for not coordinating their efforts against border gunrunners, a failure one lawmaker says made it easier for Mexican drug cartels to smuggle illegal weapons from the United States.

Report finds flaws in US efforts to stop gun smuggling along US-Mexico border

WASHINGTON — Government efforts to stop the flow of guns from the United States to Mexico have suffered in recent years from having no clear plan to combat gunrunners affiliated with drug cartels, investigators have concluded.

Attorney General Holder says immigration agents will get new powers to fight drug cartels

WASHINGTON — More federal agents will be able to investigate drug cases under a new agreement between government agencies battling Mexican cartels, Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress on Wednesday.

FBI: Philly detective tipped off drug kingpin to raid through ex-NBA player “Pooh” Richardson

PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors want to detain a Philadelphia detective charged with tipping off a drug kingpin about a raid through a mutual friend, former NBA player Jerome “Pooh” Richardson.

Italian police arrest dozen suspects accused of aiding top Mafia fugitive

ROME — Italian police said Tuesday they had arrested 13 people suspected of helping a top Mafia fugitive hide, communicate with other mobsters and conduct his business.

Gunmen kill priest, 2 seminarians in western Mexican state mired in drug violence

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Gunmen ordered a priest and two seminarians out of their vehicle and shot them dead in a drug-plagued region of western Mexico, authorities said Monday.

Mayoral candidate in Mexico’s richest city says drug gangs contact all leading contenders

MEXICO CITY — A ruling party mayoral candidate in Mexico’s richest city told his supporters that drug traffickers have contacted all leading political contenders in the country seeking their loyalty ahead of elections next month.

Human Rights Watch: Mexican failing to investigate increasing military abuses during drug war

MEXICO CITY — Abuses by the Mexican military have surged since the government deployed troops to fight drug cartels more than two years ago, and too little is done to investigate allegations of rapes, killing and torture, a rights group said Thursday.

Mexican soldiers capture drug cartel suspect accused of leading bloody turf battles in Tijuana

MEXICO CITY — Mexican soldiers have captured suspected cartel member accused of leading bloody battles for smuggling turf routes in the northern city of Tijuana.

Drug-plagued Mexican state bans local cops from carrying cell phones, to stop help for gangs

MEXICO CITY — First local police in Monterrey lost their assault rifles after an armed confrontation with federal agents while protesting the arrest of cops for alleged gang ties. Now officers in Mexico’s third-largest city will be stripped of cell phones.

City police pull guns on Mexican federal agents during tense standoff in Monterrey

MEXICO CITY — In a hair-raising standoff that sent motorists scrambling for cover, municipal police pulled their guns on masked federal agents in one of Mexico’s biggest cities — a stark display of the tensions caused by a crackdown on drug corruption among the country’s lawmen.