At least 9 people shot dead while playing pool in Ecuador tourist city

Local media reports said the attackers were armed with automatic rifles, and bullet holes were visible on the pool tables.

• Jul 21

Drug lord pleads not guilty in U.S. court after extradition from Ecuador

José Adolfo Macías Villamar, whose nickname is "Fito," escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and was recaptured June.

• Jul 21

U.S. drug raids net $10 million in crypto linked to cartel, officials say

U.S. drug enforcement agents seized more than $10 million in cryptocurrency linked to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel during raids that also netted massive quantities of fentanyl and other drugs, officials say.

• Jul 16

10 arrested at drug cartel "ranch of horror" found guilty of murder

One recruit who reportedly survived the ranch​ said those who refused orders or tried to escape were beaten, tortured and killed.

• Jul 8

20 bodies, some decapitated, found in drug cartel war zone

Violence has soared in Sinaloa since the capture in the U.S. of cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada almost a year ago.

• Jun 30

Cartel used phone data, cameras to track and kill FBI informants, DOJ says

The Sinaloa cartel used information obtained by the hacker "to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses," the Justice Department said.

• Jun 30

34 bodies unearthed during construction work in Mexico

The remains were found during construction work in Jalisco state, home to one of the country's most powerful drug cartels, officials said.

• Jun 27

11 people killed in mass shooting at religious festival in Mexico

A 17-year-old was among those killed, along with eight adult men and two women, officials said.

• Jun 25

Mexican president defends release of El Chapo's son

Mexico's government is on the defensive after one of the most violent days in the country's long fight against drug cartels. It started with the arrest of a top drug lord. Errol Barnett reports.

• Oct 18, 2019
• 02:01

$10 million reward offered for capture of drug lord's fugitive sons

The United States also imposed sanctions on the two fugitive sons of incarcerated Mexican Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

• Jun 10

4 cartel suspects killed days after 5 officers murdered in ambush

An official who asked not to be identified said the dead were members of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel​.

• Jun 9

Popular band fined $36,000 for glorifying drug cartels

At a Los Tucanes de Tijuana performance, nearly a third of their songs were "narcocorridos" glamorizing drug traffickers, officials said.

• Jun 5

5 police officers killed in Mexico ambush; patrol vehicle set on fire

Officials released an image of the slain officers' charred patrol vehicle after being completely engulfed in flames on a roadway.

• Jun 3

Arrests made, guns seized after 5 musicians found dead near U.S. border

The five members of Fugitivo had been hired for a performance, but arrived to find a vacant lot. Their bodies were found several days later.

• Jun 3

Fire kills 12 people reportedly locked inside drug rehab center

Officials believe cartels sometimes execute rival drug dealers as well as patients who refuse to join their ranks.

• Jun 2

Star musicians cancel California show, saying U.S. suspended visas

The announcement came just two days after the bodies of five Mexican musicians were found in Reynosa along the Texas border.

• May 31

5 musicians found dead near U.S. border, allegedly killed by cartel

Authorities did not say why the musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo were slain, and did not deny reports by local media that the bodies had been burned.

• May 30

6 soldiers killed, 2 wounded by bomb explosion in cartel bastion

President Claudia Sheinbaum described the deaths as "deplorable" and expressed solidarity with the victims.

• May 29

Son of cartel boss "El Chapo" won't face death penalty, U.S. says

Prosecutors allege Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother ran a faction of the cartel that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S.

• May 28

17 bodies found in house amid search for missing persons in Mexico

Ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs were used to locate the bodies in Irapuato in Guanajuato state, officials said.

• May 27

Cartel leader with $1 million U.S. bounty on his head killed in Mexico

The DEA had been offering up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of Jorge Humberto Figueroa, a leader of the infamous Sinaloa cartel.

• May 24

U.S. court orders former "supercop," wife to pay $2.4 billion to Mexico

The ruling is the latest twist in the saga of the former high-flying minister who earned himself the nickname of "supercop" but instead aided and abetted drug traffickers.

• May 23

Clues emerge after officials shot dead on street in Mexico City

The murders of two aides to Mexico City's Mayor Clara Brugada were meticulously planned by experienced gunmen, prosecutors said.

• May 22

6 bystanders killed in crossfire of armed clashes near Acapulco

Acapulco was once a playground of the rich and famous. Today the city is engulfed by violence linked to drug cartels.

• May 21

"Narco pets," circus animals fleeing Mexico city eclipsed by cartel violence

Tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions are among the animals being moved due to the cartel violence​ eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.

• May 20

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