Category Archives: Crime
The Narco Trafficker Next Door
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Gabriela Navarro, who lives in an exclusive gated community in southern Guadalajara, suspects three locals of having ties to one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels. She bases this belief on their unconventional working hours, unexplained wealth, … Continue reading
Mexico’s drug war as seen through the eyes of children
Guadalajara, Mexico – One image captures a fierce shoot-out between rival drug cartels, with several lifeless bodies slumped on the street in pools of their own blood. Another shows a gang member hurling a grenade at a police officer. A … Continue reading
As Catholic priests are killed in Mexico, questions and tensions rise
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (RNS) Even in a rural Mexican community that has grown accustomed to the news of brutal killings, the abduction and murder of a popular Catholic priest has triggered profound shock and outrage. The bullet-ridden body of the Rev. … Continue reading
Mexican police turn blind eye to murders of transgender women, say activists
MEXICO CITY, August 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Betzy Ballesteros’ brush with death came on a windy night in December, when a man in a black Chevy Suburban pulled up to the street corner in the Mexican city of Guadalajara … Continue reading
Female Throat-slitter accused of provoking panic in the streets, but doubters say police have caught the wrong woman
“She approached from behind and stabbed me,” said Antonio, one of the victims of the “Throat-slitter”, a woman who has been viciously attacking unsuspecting strangers just outside of Mexico City. “She was thin. Between 20 to 23-years-of-age. As it was dark, I … Continue reading
Guadalajara’s Greatest Mysteries
1. The “Black Widow” of Chapala With a string of suspected poisonings, a strangling and an empty coffin, the case of the “Black Widow” is a narrative Raymond Chandler would have been proud of. Yet Maria Socorro Rodriguez, the femme … Continue reading
Notorious drug “queenpin” walks free
Jalisco authorities have released another high-profile criminal on a legal technicality. Sandra Avila Beltran, better known as the “Queen of the Pacific,” has been set free after a judge ruled that she had already served time for the five-year sentence … Continue reading
Femicide in Mexico: Family of murdered woman await justice, demand new legal interpretation
Little has changed in the two years since Imelda Virgen, a 40-year-old Guadalajara psychologist, was beaten to death on the orders of her husband. The suspects remain in custody but have yet to be sentenced. Much to the disappointment of … Continue reading
Hair theft on the rise across Latin America
In June 2011, a 23-year-old woman was walking to a bus stop in the center of Guadalajara when she saw a dark figure approaching, armed with a pair of scissors. The assailant jumped in front of her and shoved her … Continue reading
