Free Republic

MEXICO CITY — A human head was found today outside the state security office in the Gulf state of Tabasco. A state police official who wasn't authorized to give his name told The Associated Press by telephone that the head was found in a plastic bag early today by employees of the office in Villahermosa, 400 miles east of Mexico City. Officials are trying to determine the victim's identity, as well as why he was killed and by whom. In the past year, beheadings have become common among rival drug cartels, and the heads are often left outside security offices,...

NUEVO LAREDO — For all the beefed-up enforcement along the border, the militia-like group of drug cartel enforcers known as the Zetas appears stronger than ever, a result of better training, successful recruiting in Central America and continued desertions from the Mexican military, U.S. intelligence officials say.The Zetas have again become entrenched in Nuevo Laredo, and they practically control the movement of people through an intricate web of spies, checkpoints and skillful use of technology, provoking an extraordinary cross-border human exodus, U.S. and Mexican authorities say. Last year, U.S. and Mexican authorities reported that the number of Zetas was falling...

(CNSNews.Com) - Drug cartels operating along the southwestern U.S. border are a "country unto themselves" with intelligence capabilities, weaponry and communications equipment that far exceed the resources made available to local law enforcement in the U.S., according to sheriffs who have organized a new border security coalition. Sheriff Leo Samaniego of El Paso County, Texas, told Cybercast News Service that the same infrastructure that facilitates illegal immigration from Mexico creates enormous opportunities for heavily armed criminal enterprises like drug cartels and terrorists. "A lot of people make their living transporting illegal aliens," Samaniego said. "The 'coyotes' [as human smugglers are...