Two leaders of rival drug cartels have been killed in clashes with federal forces, officials said. Their deaths have caused unrest in a Mexican border town, with cartel supporters blocking roads and torching businesses.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Guzman
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Mexican authorities on Saturday announced that two top drug traffickers had been killed in a shootout with federal forces in the northern border state of Tamaulipas.
"Two key targets were shot down [in separate instances] last night in Reynosa and the state capital. The government of Tamaulipas and federal forces will not relent against crime," the local government said in a tweet.
The deaths of the drug traffickers caused unrest in the border town of Reynosa. Supporters of the suspects' drug cartels blocked off several roads in the Mexican town, engaging in firefights with police and setting fire to local businesses, authorities said.
Julian Loisa Salinas, who went by the name "Comandante Toro" as leader of the Gulf cartel, was shot dead in Reynosa, while rival leader Francisco "Pancho" Carreon of the Zetas cartel was killed in the Tamaulipas state capital of Ciudad Victoria, according to authorities.
'Sophisticated drug networks'
Mexico's bloody drug war has spanned a decade, with estimates placing the death toll of cartel-related violence at approximately 120,000 from 2006 to 2012, not including disappearances.
"Weak judicial and police institutions, as well as proximity to the world's largest consumer economy, have made Mexico the hub of one of the world's most sophisticated drug networks," said the US-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations in a report.
Despite deteriorating diplomatic relations, US President Donald trump has vowed to assist Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration in tackling drug cartels and curbing the flow of narcotics into the US.
ls/jlw (EFE, AP)
Life in the shadow of the wall
Residents in the Mexican city of Tijuana have constructed some quirky architectural structures near the rust-red fence erected by the US. Meanwhile, the authorities last month posted a call to expand the wall.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
The wall exists
The border between the US and Mexico spans about 1,900 miles, of which nearly 700 miles are currently covered by walls and fences. Tijuana is the largest city in Baja California, one of the six Mexican states with a border to the US.
Image: GoogleMaps
Sweeping views
The residents of this house near the US-Mexico border fence enjoy a wider view of the scrublands in the US state of California.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Trump critic
Mexican architect Carlos Torres, 68, has been living in his house near the fence for three decades. He said the proposed wall will not be able to halt immigration. "Trump doesn't know what he's talking about. Here at this fence, people keep crossing every week," Torres explained.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Treehouse
Guatemalan chef Joaquin, 36, builds a bed in a tree, near a section of the border fence. He said he was deported from the United States. At night from his bed, Joaquin tries to look into the heavens through the leaves. "I've tried to cross so many times that the border guards even got to know me, but I never made it back," he said.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Flagship project
A house stands near the US-Mexico fence on the outskirts of Tijuana. Last month, the US authorities posted a call for proposals to expand existing walls along the Mexican border. The US president Donald Trump talked about building a wall several times during his election campaign. This project is being seen as Trump’s flagship anti-immigration project.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Eye-watering costs
The roof of a house made with an advertisement banner is seen next to the fence, extension of which may cost between $12 billion (11.3 billion euros) and $15 billion.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Not easy to cross
This shack standing next to the US-Mexico fence may look as if it can be climbed easily, but the proposed wall is going to be harder to cross. Because according to the tender, the wall should not be scalable, even using sophisticated climbing aids, and should be sunk at least six feet into the ground to avoid tunneling.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Two different kinds of wall
A girl runs outside her home near the US-Mexico fence, which was made of corrugated metal. However, the proposed wall will be of two different kinds of material - solid concrete and a transparent one.
