John and Wanda Casias moved to their home just to the north of the industrial city of Monterrey, Mexico in 1979 where they acted as missionaries until Wednesday when they were slain in their home.

According to eldest child Valerie Alirez the couple were found by one of her brothers in their Santiago, Nuevo Leon home.

Originally from Amarillo, Texas they moved to Mexico so John Casias could serve as a Baptist preacher. John and Wanda founded the First Fundamentalist Independent Baptist Church in Santiago.

Brother Shawn Casias who still lives in Monterrey said he went to his parents’ home at approximately 4 p.m. and when he entered the home Wanda Casias was lying on the floor with an electrical cord around her neck and a gash on her head.

The murders appear to have been part of a robbery with several computers missing along with a plasma TV and a safe that was chiseled out of the wall.  Also missing was the couple’s Chevrolet Suburban.

The body of John Casias was found several hours after investigators began examining the property. John’s body was discovered inside a small building on the property.

Violence in the area has grown to astronomical levels in the last several years as the Zetas and Gulf drug cartels battle for territory in the region.

According to Shawn it’s likely that the criminals saw him coming from the families winding road because they chose to leave behind three TV sets and other items of potential value.

This wasn’t the first time the family has had trouble in the area, their home was burglarized two years ago when the couple were visiting the United States to talk with other churches about their work in Mexico.

An official investigation is ongoing at this time.

Texas Missionary Couple Killed In Mexico is a post from: The Inquisitr

Swine Flu is making a comeback in Mexico the international media is reporting.  Fears of three years ago when the deadly virus shut down airports amid fears of a global pandemic are still fresh in people’s minds.  the Mexican government is saying there is no cause for alarm as federal and state health officials say the increase in cases in still within the normal range for a typical flu season.

The Mexican Health Ministry has not put the increase numbers on its page nor has it confirmed the increase to the Associated Press despite many inquiries.

The Unite States Centers for Disease Control have said even if there are a notcible increase in cases they are not seeing one in the United States.  There are other strains where the U.S. is noticing an increase but those strains as well as Swine flu are included in the yearly flu shot given across the country.

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in an email,

“We are not aware of any unusual changes in the virus in Mexico that would be concerning,”

The Mexican Health Ministry reported 637 cases of confirmed flu cases so far in 2012 along with 10 deaths.  573 of those reported cases were of the Swine Flu (H1N1) and 9 of the 10 deaths were associated with the strain.

On Jan. 15, it reported far lower numbers: 181 confirmed cases for all strains of flu and five deaths for 2012, meaning cases would have increased 250 percent in just one week.

Three years ago the World Health Organization issued a Global Pandemic warning as the cases of swine flu spread throughout the world. there were reports that the strain was killing one out of every fifteen cases.  This would be a higher death rate than the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-19 which lasted for 2 years and killed between 50 and 100 million people around the world.

Do you think the Swine Flu is something to worry about this year?

Learn more about the Swine Flu by watching this video.

Additional Cases of Swine Flu in Mexico [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Officials at the United Nations offices in New York City were shocked recently when 35.5 pounds of cocaine was accidentally shipped to their office by Mexican drug traffickers who failed to properly fill out shipping labels for their counterfeit UN bag packages.

With a street value of nearly $2 million the cocaine was concealed inside fake UN bags which were sent to the organizations New York headquarters after the carrier DHL saw the UN logo at their Cincinnati, Ohio center while the packages contained no actual shipping address or return to sender information.

 Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne of the New York Police Department told Yahoo News:

“It is my understanding that because there was no addressee, the DHL just thought well that’s the UN symbol so we should ship it on to UN headquarters and let them figure out who it was supposed to go to.”

The moment the bags arrived at the UN security staff recognize them as “obvious fakes” and inspected them on January 16. Inside the bags contained 14 hard cover books which had been hollowed out to make space for the cocaine.

In the meantime officials said the bags looked nothing like official UN carrier bags but instead were made out of flour sacks or something of that nature.

The drugs have been confiscated but with no return address it’s likely the culprits will get away with their crime, although I would suspect that someone within the cartel has been killed given their inability to place a simple shipping label on an illegal $2 million package.

35 Pounds Worth Of Cocaine Accidentally Shipped To United Nations In New York City is a post from: The Inquisitr

Mexico’s Zeta cartel is a multi-billion dollar high tech operation and that fact has recently been revealed more openly with the realization that hidden on rooftops and in bushes the cartel has managed to create their own national public radio station where orders are given and plans carried out.

A former US Army colonel told the Associated Press this week:

“They’re doing what any sensible military unit would do, They’re branching out into as many forms of communications as possible.”

Confirmation of that communication was revealed when Jose Luis del Toro Estrada, nickname “Tecnico”, testified that he used legally-available parts to build the system which he says now spans across most of Mexico’s states.

In fact the network has become so robust that the cartel has allegedly hired communications specialists to run that part of their operations.

How technological is the network? Apparently it runs off a computer network that can direct signals to various radios with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring that messages are only received by the parties involved in the cartel’s various crimes.

In the meantime the Mexican government is disputing U.S. claims of a national network, saying the Zeta’s are only running a series of local systems that are not connected to a single base of operations in the country.

Regardless of the radio networks size one official sums it up best, “By going after command and communications you disrupt control.”

Do you think the Mexican government has allowed drug cartels in the country to extend further then they should be allowed?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Zeta Cartel Uses National Radio Network To Coordinate Illegal Business is a post from: The Inquisitr

As officials in Arizona continue to discuss a new border fence to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants a silent victim continues to roam through the areas forested areas. The Black Bears has recently been called out as one of the possible biggest victims of the border patrols efforts.

Using pieces of barbed wire to catch fur samples experts say that black bears in Arizona’s border area have close relatives living in northern Mexico. The researches also told the New York Times that the bear population near the border is less dense than up north.

According to the study northern black bears have a bigger habitat that is less affected by development which has led to more migration into the area making it a key spot for the animals.

Researchers also note that the border line is the northern limit for South American black bears.

While bear advocates are not asking the Arizona Border patrol to stop a fence project they would like them to consider border solutions that would still allow the bears to co-exist with efforts to protect the U.S-Mexico border. No solutions have been offered at this time but advocate groups are now hoping their research will lead to some novel ideas.

When asked to comment about immigration the research revealed: “We’re not weighing into that debate.”

Do you think special consideration should now be given at the Arizona border project locations based on the migratory of the black bear populations in both the south and north?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Black Bears Are The Real Victims Of An Arizona Border Fence [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Car and industrial battery recycling from US providers is starting to get a bad reputation in Mexico where the practice has caused chronic lead poisoning in children.

In a report by the New York Times officials have revealed that crude methods used to extract lead from the batteries along with low or nonexistent safety standards has led to ground water and other contamination around battery recycling plants.

During one soil sample test researchers found lead levels near a Mexico City schoolyard that were five times over the generally accepted level in the United States.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Mexico lead imports to China have more than tripled in the last three years to 150 million tons. In comparison U.S. battery recycling plants have had to lay off staff because strict environmental controls have led to a shortage of old batteries.

According to the director of Occupation Knowledge International:

“If we export, we should only be sending batteries to countries with standards as strict as ours, and in Mexico that is not the case.”

Do you believe that the U.S. should stop exporting batteries to Mexico until such a time that their factories are properly regulated and in order to keep the U.S. recycling industry free of layoffs caused by the cheaper and less safe Mexico recycling plants?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

US Battery Recycling Is Poisoning Children In Mexico is a post from: The Inquisitr

With all the talk about border fences, increased border patrol and other means for keeping out illegal immigrants fleeing into the country from Mexico one thing border supporters didn’t take into account was their good friend, the bad economy.

According to a recent release the US Border Patrol has arrested far less people in the last 11 months then they did at the turn of the century. The study found that just 305,755 border patrol arrests have been made in 2011, down from nearly 1.6 million arrests in 2000 (the peak of the illegal immigrant move).

The lower number of arrests come at a time when border patrol has a far further reach then they did in 2000 which shows exactly how few illegal immigrants are trying to enter the United States.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times one Princeton immigration scholar said of the news:

“We are at a new point in the history of migration between Mexico and the United States.”

That same scholar says his own studies have shown that almost none of the illegal immigrants coming into the country are doing so for the first time.

Among their reasons for not attempting the trip? Increased border control officers (who ironically now have less people to arrest) and the decreasing chance for economic prosperity.

In it’s most basic of terms the “migrant network” is simply telling Mexicans that their are no jobs in the United States and the risk of attempting to enter the country is simply too great to make the trek.

What do you think is keeping illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Illegal Immigrants Don’t Find U.S. Worth The Trip Any Longer [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Earlier in the week the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency boasted that they are now deporting more convicted criminals then ever before, most of whom are being sent back to Mexico. In response to the agencies message Mexico President Felipe Calderon delivered a scathing speech in response to the U.S. practice of criminal deportation.

In his speech Calderon said:

“The American authorities have gotten into the habit of simply deporting 60 (thousand) or 70,000 migrants per year to cities like Ciudad Juarez or Tijuana.”

Calderon then added:

“There are many who really are criminals … and it is cheaper to leave them on the Mexican side of the border than to prosecute them.”

According to Felipe because of this practice violence has escalated in Mexico.

US officials say they are attempting to come up with a better system that would warn Mexico officials if a potentially dangerous criminal is about to be released. At this time there is no system that tells Mexican officials about why certain individuals are being deported.

In response to Calderon’s speech it should be pointed out that deported individuals are typically in the United States illegally, if Mexico’s own border patrol officials did a better job of stopping border crossings in the first place those violent criminals would have already been committing crimes in their own country.

Essentially Calderon expects the U.S. court system to pay for his citizens criminal mistakes and if found guilt he expects the U.S. prison system to pay for the housing of those criminals who shouldn’t be in the United States in the first place.

Do you think the U.S. has the right to deport violent criminals back to their own country when they weren’t welcomed into the United States in the first place?

Felipe Calderon Upset Over U.S. Practice Of Deporting Criminals Back To Mexico is a post from: The Inquisitr

In yet another gruesome example of Mexican drug cartel control five severed heads were found outside of an elementary school in Acapulco this week.

At this time victims of the crime have not been identified. The “message” left by a powerful drug cartel comes at a time when teachers have went on strike rather than give up half of their salaries to local drug gangs who have threatened to harm them.

Conditions in the once popular tourist location have continued to worsen however one veteran educator believes the strike could be a pivotal turning point for the area, telling NPR:

“I believe that this fight that the teachers are making is a defining moment, because … I’m convinced that teachers have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening in every house, every neighborhood, every street, every family.”

Just last week I reported on another decapitation, in that case a female in a Mexico/Texas border town spoke out online against the deadly Zeta’s gang only to have her body and head put on display next to one another with a warning note to other social media users.

Mexican officials have addressed ways to deal with the problems drug cartels are inflicting on their country, unfortunately deep rooted corruption and a lack of a focused government has allowed local drug gangs to over run cities all the way to the U.S. border.

Mexican Drug Cartel Leaves Five Severed Heads Outside School is a post from: The Inquisitr

A female in Mexico was decapitated over the weekend when she chose to use a local social networking website to speak out about the Zetas drug cartel, a deadly group that occupies the Texas-Mexico border.

Marisol Macias Castaneda is believed to be the third person killed this month by the cartel for posting negative comments about the group online.

According to the Associated Press the head of Castaneda was discovered on a large stone near her body and the blood thirsty cartel posted a message alongside her corpse.

“Nuevo Laredo en Vivo and social networking sites, I’m The Laredo Girl, and I’m here because of my reports, and yours,” says the note. “For those who don’t want to believe, this happened to me because of my actions, for believing in the army and the navy. Thank you for your attention, respectfully, Laredo Girl…ZZZZ.”

The Z’s at the end of the letter are the signature of the Zetas Cartel.

Cartel killings are a huge problem in Mexico that is helped along by corrupt governmental officials and the guerrilla like approach the groups use to stay hidden and in control of their territories.

Mexican Drug Cartel Decapitates Woman Who Speaks Out Using Social Media is a post from: The Inquisitr

Mexico on Tuesday accidentally invaded the United States when four Humvees carrying 33 Mexican soldiers strayed into US territory, crossing the boundary line on a bridge across the Rio Grande, then continuing as far as the inspection area.

According to reports, it’s the largest “invasion” since the Japanese invasion of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Obviously Mexico wasn’t attempting to actually invade the United States, however it does show how easily crossing the border into U.S. can be accomplished.

According to a Customs and Border Protection rep speaking with Reuters:

“They were processed according to protocols, and they were released and returned to Mexico without incident or charges.”

According to Mexican officials, their soldiers were carrying out reconnaissance on the border when they accidentally crossed into United States territory, it apparently happens on a regular basis and after processing the troops no charges are given and the soldiers return home.

Perhaps it’s time for the Mexican army to invest in some Smartphones with Google Maps or maybe even ask Garmin to create a border map for those in-between areas.

I have this funny image in my head of some racist border patrol volunteer sitting by a border fence with his shotgun in hand when 33 Mexican soldiers come rolling up in four humvees.

Mexico Accidentally Invades U.S., Largest Incursion Since Japanese Invasion is a post from: The Inquisitr

Federal Police in Mexico have rescued 12 migrants in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The migrants had been capatured two months before the resuce and included eight Central Americans, three Brazilians and an Iranian.

The kidnapped migrants who were taken in Chiapas on the Guatemalan border were found in a safe house in Reynosa, a city that borders the McAllen, Texas border.

Police say when found the migrants admitted to being severely beaten.

The kidnapping came after theLos Zetas drug cartel massacred 72 migrants in  San Fernando, Tamaulipas, last August, leading many people to believe the kidnapped migrants had already been killed.

In early 2011 another 200 bodies were found in Tamaulipas graves, escalating concerns that the migrants had been murdered.

More than 40,000 people have been murdered in Mexico over drug-related wars since 2006 and many more people go missing thanks to dangerous roadways that are littered with corrupt politicians, drug cartel members and other dangerous individuals.

According to a recent report, nearly 20,000 Central Americans have been kidnapped by organized crime groups and forced to pay money for their “possible release” while other’s have been asked join drug cartel gangs to spare their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Public Safety Secretariat: Mexico Police Have Rescued 12 Kidnapped Migrants is a post from: The Inquisitr

This, as they say, is where s**t gets real. Spain and Chile today became the final two teams to make it through the group phase of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, despite Chile losing to Spain in the last group game. David Villa (above) and Andres Iniesta scored in Spain’s 2-1 win over the Chileans, who had Marco Estrada sent off.

From tomorrow, the knockout phase begins, with the last 16 teams going up against one another as follows (please note all times are EST +6):

June 26
Uruguay vs South Korea, 15.00
USA vs Ghana, 19.30

June 27
England vs Germany, 15.00
Argentina vs Mexico, 19.30

June 28
Netherlands vs Slovakia, 15.00
Brazil vs Chile, 19.30

June 29
Paraguay vs Japan, 15.00
Spain vs Portugal, 19.30

Highlights of the round include the meeting of old rivals England and Germany, and a really tasty-looking Iberian derby between Spain and Portugal.

I imagine a few of you will also be keeping an eye on USA vs Ghana, especially after the dramatic last-minute Landon Donovan goal that secured USA’s progress from the groups. Should Team America get through, they’ll face either Uruguay or South Korea in the quarter-finals.

Spain, Chile join final 16 teams in World Cup knockout phase is a post from: The Inquisitr

The opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw host nation South Africa share the points with Mexico at a cacophonous Soccer City in Johannesburg. Only a late equalizer from Mexico’s Rafael Marquez ensured the Mexicans gained anything from a match that they dominated for long periods.

With the opening half controlled by Mexico, South Africa took only ten minutes of the second half to score against the run of play. After a thrilling break from defense, Siphiwe Tshabalala was fed a ball through the middle of the Mexican defense, and blasted an unstoppable left-foot strike high into the Mexican net from the left.

Soccer City duly exploded with noise, as Tshabalala led the choreographed celebrations (above).

Mexico were not to be denied, however, and on 78 minutes Marquez controlled an Andres Guardado cross and fired smartly past South Africa’s excellent goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune.

The spoils were duly shared, yet Mexico will feel hard done by after outplaying the South Africans for much of the match. Just before half-time, Guillermo Franco had the ball in the net for the Mexicans, yet the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Elsewhere, there was much profligacy on display from Mexico, with Giovani and Franco wasting gilt-edged chances.

Ironically, it was South Africa who came closest to snatching all three points in the last few moments, with striker Katlego Mphela rolling the ball against a post when it looked easier to score.

The other teams in Group A, France and Uruguay, play later this evening.

South Africa and Mexico kick off World Cup 2010 with a draw is a post from: The Inquisitr

Salvador Cabañas, prolific Club América football player for the Primera División de México, has been shot in the head at a bar in Mexico City, reports claim.

Cabañas, 29, is reportedly in critical condition after the shooting and being treated at a hospital in Mexico City. (Some reports claimed the striker was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Los Angeles.) An official spoke to Mexican newschannel Televisa about the incident:

“He was shot in the head… the first report is that the bullet entered the front of his head and did not exit,” Mexico City prosecutor, Miguel Angel Mancera, told the news channel Televisa.

Cabañas is reportedly in the intensive care unit at an unnamed hospital. The incident is said to have been an attempted robbery. There is no word on the player’s prognosis.

Reports: Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabañas shot in the head is a post from: The Inquisitr

Canadian René Wathelet was a successful financial planner who had decided to make the quiet little Mexican island called Isla Mujeres, which lies 10 kilometers off the coast of Cancun, as part of her change in careers. The mother of of three grown children had been intent on building a a new career around social media consulting business and had both a professional blog as well as her personal one – En direct des Îles.

This past Thursday though this dream came crashing down when neighbors reported hearing screams coming from René’s home. Shortly afterwards Mexican police found her dead from a reported 30 stab wounds to her chest and neck.

Police also said that they had arrested a 24-year-old Mexican by the name of Joaquin Palacios Garza as he was trying to flee the scene of the murder.

"She was full of life, she had these eyes that sparkled all the time, she’s the kind of person you want at your party," said Michelle Sullivan, a friend of Wathelet’s in Montreal.

"It’s particularly hard for us to comprehend what’s happened because she was full of life."

Wathelet kept residences in both Montreal and Isla Mujeres for years before moving to the island permanently a few months ago, Sullivan said.

In her final blog entry, dated the day she died, Wathelet wrote about her morning walk along the beach and looking north across the waves toward Montreal.

Source: The Star – Blogger stabbed to death in Mexico

image: Lanry Parra, NOVEDADES DE QUINTANA ROO/AP FILE PHOTO

60-year old woman blogger stabbed to death in Mexico is a post from: The Inquisitr

Reports say that passengers were bussed away from the hjiacked Aeromexico 737 flight this afternoon, but crew remains onboard as government officials held an emergency meeting to assess the situation.

104 people were onboard Aeromexico Flight 576 from Cancun to Mexico City, and witnesses say around 100 people exited the plane. The hijackers, reportedly Bolivian, are in talks with Mexico’s president Felipe Calderon and are threatening to detonate an explosive device if their demands are not met.

We will update as information becomes available.

Update: Reports say seven men have been detained in connection with the hijacking, no word on whether they were the hijackers on board the plane.

[Source: New York Daily News]

Passengers freed, crew still captive in Aeromexico Flight 576 hijacking is a post from: The Inquisitr

At least 8 cities in Mexico were the target of coordinated attacks by drug gangs on Police and the military.

Three Mexican Federal police and two soldiers were killed in the attacks by drug gangs. Another 18 were wounded in the onslaught. It is believed the attacks are in retaliation for the capture of Arnoldo Rueda Medina by police, a high-ranking member of the Michoacan Family drug gang.

Automatic weapons and grenades were used in the attacks of police and the military in the Mexican cities of Morelia, Zitacuaro, Zamora, Lazaro Cardenas, Apatzingan, La Piedad and Huetamo in the Pacific Coast state of Michoacan state. Acapulco was also a target, with gunfire erupting, but no injuries were reported there.

Mexican Drug War Heats Up – 5 Police Killed in Coordinated Attacks is a post from: The Inquisitr

An anti-kidnapping expert has been kidnapped by gunmen in Mexico. Felix Batista, an anti-kidnap specialist who has been credited with ensuring the freedom of hundeds of hostages was abducted as he stepped outside a restaurant to answer a phone call.

It is thought that drug gangs are responsible, and they are blamed for hundreds of kidnappings in Mexico each year.

Mr Batista was in Mexico to offer advice to the state about how to deal with kidnaps for ransom when he was abducted. Now that is ironic, and not in the Alanis Morrisette kind of way.

We hope that he is able to appoint himself as hostage negotiator, and talk himself out of there.

Anti-kidnap expert kidnapped is a post from: The Inquisitr

Mexican-American singer Jenny Rivera continues to be haunted by a sex tape that is being circulated around the internet.

39 year Rivera is a top seller on the Latin charts having sold 20 million albums and is a Latin Grammy Award winner.

People en Español initially reported back in October that Jenny and one of her musicians taped themselves in sex acts using a cell phone camera, that was then stolen.

Rivera confirmed the sex tape, saying that “I ask the media to respect my privacy in this difficult and embarrassing moment. As a mother, I feel super ashamed.”

Our advice: if you don’t want to get caught, don’t film yourself having sex!

Jenny Rivera’s Sex Tape Shame is a post from: The Inquisitr