Drug violence edges closer to Mexican capital FEATURE 01/31/2011

Drug violence edges closer to Mexican capital

FEATURE

01/31/2011
MEXICO CITY — The deployment of soldiers on the outskirts of Mexico City this month has sparked concern that the country’s drug wars are creeping toward the sprawling capital.
Soldiers began nightly patrols on the streets of Nezahualcoyotl, a working class municipality of Mexico state, on Jan. 18, two days after a shootout in a residential area left eight youths dead.

The poor municipality, which lies barely 15 miles (20 kilometers) east of the capital’s historical center, has long been a port of entry for drug dealers to Mexico City.

Suspected battles between drug traffickers broke out there at the end of 2010.

Local police chief Victor Torres blamed the fighting on a split within La Familia drug gang, which is based in western Mexico, and suggested that the notoriously violent Zetas gang could also be involved..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110131com3.html