Deadly prison breakout in Mexico

16 July 2011 Last updated at 02:09 GMT More than 400 inmates have escaped from jails in northern Mexico since January 2010 Seven prisoners have been killed and 59 others have escaped after a riot at a jail in northern Mexico near the US border, officials say.

Five guards are also missing and are believed to have aided the mass prison breakout in Nuevo Laredo town.

Mexican police say the majority of those on the run are drug traffickers and members of armed gangs.

The prison system is struggling to cope with an influx of offenders arrested in a campaign against drugs cartels.

Correspondents say prison breakouts are not uncommon in northern Mexico, where more than 400 inmates have escaped since January 2010.

Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state, lies just across the border from Laredo, Texas.

The largest jail break so far was last December when more than 140 prisoners escaped from the same prison.

According to a statement from the Tamaulipas state government, the riot began on Friday morning in Nuevo Laredo's Sanctions Enforcement Centre, which houses an estimated 1,200 prisoners.

After the breakout, soldiers surrounded the jail and calm was restored, the authorities said.

The northern border region is the scene of rising lawlessness as the cartels fight the security forces and each other for control of smuggling routes into the US.

The main battle in Tamaulipas is between the Zetas and the Gulf cartels, the AFP news agency reports.

Their capacity for violence and ability to pay huge bribes gives them considerable power to subvert the prison system and get their people out.

President Felipe Calderon came to power in 2006 promising a war on drugs.

More than 35,000 people have died in drug violence since he began his campaign, which has involved launching an army assault on drug gangs.

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Civilian trials for Mexico troops

13 July 2011 Last updated at 08:48 GMT Soldiers have increasingly taken on policing duties in parts of Mexico Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that soldiers accused of human rights abuses against civilians should be tried in civilian - not military - courts.

Rights groups say violations by army personnel have risen sharply since troops were deployed against the drug gangs in late 2006.

Until now, soldiers have been tried by military tribunals.

Activists hailed the decision but highlighted shortcomings in Mexico's civilian courts.

The Supreme Court set out restrictions on the extent of the military code of justice in Mexico.

"Whenever a civilian's human rights have been violated by the armed forces, jurisdiction will be in civil courts," said Supreme Court Justice Arturo Zaldivar.

The justices ruled that "Mexican judges should apply the criteria of restricting military justice in future cases", a court statement said.

Over the last few years, allegations of abuses by soldiers have become more frequent. In many cities in Mexico, the army has policing powers and direct contact with the population.

Soldiers have been accused of opening fire on civilians at checkpoints in areas where drug gangs operate, and of carrying out illegal arrests and searches.

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We can transfer all the cases currently in military courts to civilian courts, but if civilian justice doesn't function, this won't amount to much”

End Quote Alberto Herrera Amnesty International The National Human Rights Commission says it has received more than 5,000 complaints about alleged abuses by the military since President Felipe Calderon launched his offensive against the drug gangs in December 2006.

Activists say few soldiers have been prosecuted for abuses and even fewer convicted by the military courts.

Impunity

Human rights groups broadly welcomed Tuesday's decision, while saying they would watch to see how it is implemented.

"We like it, and we hope that it begins to be applied soon," human rights lawyer Andres Diaz told the Associated Press.

Alberto Herrera, head of Amnesty International in Mexico, said that this was a first step but that "scandalous impunity" was not only found in the military but the civilian judiciary.

"We can transfer all the cases currently in military courts to civilian courts, but if civilian justice doesn't function, this won't amount to much," he told Mexican media.

The government said it would work to implement the Supreme Court's findings.

A statement said efforts would continue to strengthen military courts and thereby military discipline, "an indispensable element to allow the armed forces to fulfil the duties assigned to them".

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights called last year for Mexico to reform its military justice system.

This was based on the case of a left-wing activist, Rosendo Radilla, who was detained in the 1970s by the army and never seen again.

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Mexico detains massacre suspect

1 July 2011 Last updated at 00:37 GMT Authorities say Caporal confessed his role in the massacre

The Mexican army says a man arrested two days ago has confessed to involvement in the murder in Tamaulipas state of 72 migrants last year.

Officials say Abraham Barrios Caporal told them he and other alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel killed the migrants because they suspected them of belonging to a rival cartel.

Soldiers arrested Mr Barrios Caporal in the southern city of Coatzacoalcos.

He said he had moved there from northern Tamaulipas to evade capture.

The Mexican army said they had arrested Mr Barrios Caporal, also known as Erasmo, on 28 June along with at least two other alleged members of the Zetas cartel.

The soldiers said they had been alerted to the suspects because they were holding a man at gunpoint.

The man was freed and the suspects were arrested and their weapons seized.

The Mexican defence ministry said Mr Barrios Caporal had confessed to being second-in-command to Martin Omar Estrada Luna, the local leader of the Zetas drug cartel in San Fernando, where the murders happened.

Mr Barrios Caporal reportedly said they had stopped the Central and South American migrants "to find out if they belonged to the Gulf cartel".

The Zetas were originally the armed wing of the Gulf cartel.

But they split from their former allies and have since become bitter rivals fighting for control of the drug smuggling routes to the United States.

The Mexican defence ministry has described the Zetas as "the most formidable death squad to have worked for organised crime in Mexican history".

Analysts say the Zetas have switched their operations from the west coast state of Michoacan to Tamaulipas on the east coast, and down to Cancun in the Yucutan Peninsula.

As the Zetas have tried to take over territory controlled by other gangs, there has been a sharp increase in murders of rival gang members.

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Mexico players suspended for Copa

Barcelona B's Jonathan Dos Santos is the brother of Tottenham's Giovanni Eight players in Mexico's Copa America squad have been suspended for six months for indiscipline, with reports claiming they had female guests in their hotel rooms during training.

The Mexican Football Federation would not disclose the details on Tuesday.

Mexico is fielding a youth team for the tournament, with Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez not playing.

Jonathan Dos Santos - brother of Tottenham winger Giovanni - was one of the eight players suspended and fined.

Israel Jimenez, Nestor Vidrio, David Cabrera, Marco Fabian, Javier Cortes, Jorge Hernandez and Nestor Calderon were the others involved in the incident - reported to have taken place after Saturday's 1-0 win over Ecuador, Mexico's final warm-up match.

Their first match in the tournament in Argentina, which starts on Friday, is on 4 July when they play Chile in Group C.

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The only 2011 Copa America match scheduled to be played in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, is the final on 24 July. But that venue is now under question after recent rioting at River Plate's Monumental Stadium. Eight venues in Argentina are being used - several in smaller cities that are largely unknown outside the country

"The players confessed," said Hector Gonzalez Inarritu, director of Mexico's national teams selection.

"They are very hurt, very sorry and they have said they are sorry to their fans.

"They are assuming the consequences. I am not going into details of what happened. The rules were broken, the code of discipline was broken and I have to act."

The players, who were each fined $4,100 (?2,570), are expected to be replaced.

Earlier this year, in June, five Mexico internationals tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol during the Concacaf Gold Cup.

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Mexico reporter and family killed

21 June 2011 Last updated at 08:03 GMT Notiver called for a swift investigation to catch those behind the murders A Mexican journalist has been shot dead, along with his wife and 21-year-old son, by gunmen who burst into his home.

Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco, who wrote about politics and crime, was killed in his house in the port city of Veracruz.

Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the murders, which they condemned as a "cowardly" attack.

Rights groups rank Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas for journalists.

Armed men broke into Mr Lopez Velasco's house in Veracruz early on Monday morning, killing him, his wife Agustina and his son, Misael.

Mr Lopez Velasco, 55, wrote for the daily newspaper Notiver, where he was also an editor. His columns focussed on crime, drug trafficking and political corruption.

In its coverage, Notiver called for a swift and transparent investigation to find those guilty of the three killings.

Those responsible "should be punished with the full weight of the law", the newspaper said.

In a statement on Monday, Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights said that, since 2000, 70 journalists had been killed and 13 were missing. There have also been 22 attacks on media organisations.

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Mexico unrest displaces villagers

26 May 2011 Last updated at 23:51 GMT Four days of gun battles have turned the streets of Buenavista into no go areas At least 2,000 people have fled their homes in Michoacan state, in western Mexico, amid several days of fighting between gangs.

The worst of the violence is centred on the town of Buenavista.

Streets are deserted in some suburbs but in central areas witnesses reported bursts of automatic weapon fire.

It is believed to be factional infighting within the La Familia cartel.

At least three people are confirmed dead but a local newspaper journalist told the BBC by phone the rival gangs had removed their fallen comrades from the streets.

She said it was some of the worst violence to hit Michoacan state.

A shelter has been set up for the displaced families from Buenavista.

The army and marine units have been despatched to the area and have set up roadblocks.

Meanwhile, the authorities in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit say the death toll after a gun battle between rival gangs has now risen to at least 29.

The gunfight took place on Wednesday at a crossroads near Ruiz, some 800km (500 miles) north-west of Mexico City.

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