Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Mexican marines streamed into a powerful drug cartel's stronghold in President Felipe Calderon's home state on Friday as the government hunted for kingpins and said one suspected gang leader may have been killed.
Some 300 heavily armed marines moved into remote, marijuana-growing areas around the town of Apatzingan in the western state of Michoacan while helicopters flew overhead, two federal police sources said.
The navy was not immediately available for comment in Mexico City, but Mexican media said the elite naval troops were now patrolling the area following two days of clashes between gunmen and federal police.
Michoacan's state governor called for calm as police towed charred vehicles away from blocked roads around the state capital Morelia after suspected members of the La Familia (The Family) cartel set fire to buses and trucks and briefly shutdown the city on Thursday in a brutal response to the crackdown.
But newspaper Excelsior reported more blockades by drug gangs on Friday outside Morelia.
La Familia's suspected leader Nazario Moreno, known as "The Craziest One," may have died late on Thursday in a shootout with security forces near Apatzingan, national security chief Alejandro Poire said on Thursday night. Poire is due to hold a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Moreno is one of the leaders of the cult-like La Familia that is defying Calderon's four-year drug war with a menacing mix of violence and pseudo-religion.
The gang uses self-help slogans to inspire gang members and promotes a mystique unique among Mexican gangs by actively claiming to protect the local population.
Some 33,000 people have been killed since Calderon launched his military campaign against drug cartels when he took office in 2006, worrying Washington and some companies who are freezing investments just as Mexico pulls out of recession.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: postchronicle.com
Author: Reporting by Miguel Garcia; writing by Robin Emmott
Copyright: 2010 Post Chronicle Corp.
Contact: News - The Post Chronicle
Website: Mexican Marines Hunt For La Familia Cartel Leaders
Some 300 heavily armed marines moved into remote, marijuana-growing areas around the town of Apatzingan in the western state of Michoacan while helicopters flew overhead, two federal police sources said.
The navy was not immediately available for comment in Mexico City, but Mexican media said the elite naval troops were now patrolling the area following two days of clashes between gunmen and federal police.
Michoacan's state governor called for calm as police towed charred vehicles away from blocked roads around the state capital Morelia after suspected members of the La Familia (The Family) cartel set fire to buses and trucks and briefly shutdown the city on Thursday in a brutal response to the crackdown.
But newspaper Excelsior reported more blockades by drug gangs on Friday outside Morelia.
La Familia's suspected leader Nazario Moreno, known as "The Craziest One," may have died late on Thursday in a shootout with security forces near Apatzingan, national security chief Alejandro Poire said on Thursday night. Poire is due to hold a news conference on Friday afternoon.
Moreno is one of the leaders of the cult-like La Familia that is defying Calderon's four-year drug war with a menacing mix of violence and pseudo-religion.
The gang uses self-help slogans to inspire gang members and promotes a mystique unique among Mexican gangs by actively claiming to protect the local population.
Some 33,000 people have been killed since Calderon launched his military campaign against drug cartels when he took office in 2006, worrying Washington and some companies who are freezing investments just as Mexico pulls out of recession.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: postchronicle.com
Author: Reporting by Miguel Garcia; writing by Robin Emmott
Copyright: 2010 Post Chronicle Corp.
Contact: News - The Post Chronicle
Website: Mexican Marines Hunt For La Familia Cartel Leaders
