A spate of drug-related violence is threatening to disrupt upcoming national elections in Mexico, as drug cartels have stepped up intimidation of election hopefuls deemed to be anti-drug trafficking.
Gang-related hitmen have threatened a number of political candidates and killed at least one, a mayoral candidate for the conservative National Action Party (PAN), in the town of Valle Hermoso in the state of Tamaulipas.
The affected candidates were mostly those aligned with President Felipe Calderon, who recently launched an army-led war against drug cartels.
Calderon has dismissed the violence as merely a blip on his anti-drug radar, claiming that the media frequently embellishes facts and exaggerates the actual extent of the violence.
Separately, hitmen aligned with Mexican drug cartels killed 10 policemen and 17 inmates in a violent prison gun battle on Monday, threatening to disrupt the upcoming elections and throttling federal government’s efforts to curb drug trafficking.
The ambush, which occurred in Sinaloa in the Mexican state of Michoacán, commenced after gunmen blocked a highway with a large truck and opened fire on a police convoy. Michoacán is the home base of he notorious Mexican gang “La Familia.”
The state is one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming elections as gangs vie for local political control. At least 23,000 people have already died from gang- and drug-related violence in the region, according to a Reuters report.
In the most violent state of Chihuahua, drug cartels have already forced several political hopefuls to abandon their bids.
Gang-related hitmen have threatened a number of political candidates and killed at least one, a mayoral candidate for the conservative National Action Party (PAN), in the town of Valle Hermoso in the state of Tamaulipas.
The affected candidates were mostly those aligned with President Felipe Calderon, who recently launched an army-led war against drug cartels.
Calderon has dismissed the violence as merely a blip on his anti-drug radar, claiming that the media frequently embellishes facts and exaggerates the actual extent of the violence.
Separately, hitmen aligned with Mexican drug cartels killed 10 policemen and 17 inmates in a violent prison gun battle on Monday, threatening to disrupt the upcoming elections and throttling federal government’s efforts to curb drug trafficking.
The ambush, which occurred in Sinaloa in the Mexican state of Michoacán, commenced after gunmen blocked a highway with a large truck and opened fire on a police convoy. Michoacán is the home base of he notorious Mexican gang “La Familia.”
The state is one of the key battlegrounds in the upcoming elections as gangs vie for local political control. At least 23,000 people have already died from gang- and drug-related violence in the region, according to a Reuters report.
In the most violent state of Chihuahua, drug cartels have already forced several political hopefuls to abandon their bids.
