Juarez, Mexico, killings reach new high

The number of drug-related killings in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, so far this year has reached 1,647, surpassing the death toll for all of 2008, a city spokesman told CNN. A spate of killings since the weekend, including 12 on Tuesday, pushed this year’s death toll higher than the 1,607 recorded murders for last year, spokesman Sergio Belmonte told CNN.

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Drug cartel allegedly plotted to kill Mexican leader

A suspected drug cartel lieutenant was in charge of a plot to kill Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Mexican government officials said. Dimas Diaz Ramos, known as “El Dimas,” also is accused of being a top drug exporter to the United States, hiding the contraband in the tires of trucks taking produce across the border.

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Son of drug cartel chief arrested in Mexico

The Mexican military has arrested the son of a top drug cartel lieutenant, the government said Thursday. Vicente Zambada Niebla, known as “El Vicentillo,” was arrested Wednesday along with five subordinates, Mexico’s defense department and attorney general’s office said in a joint release. The men were acting suspiciously and had military-grade weapons, officials said.

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Pig liver dish in China sickens 14

A dish of stir-fried pig’s liver served at a dinner party in Guangzhou, China, poisoned 14 people with what authorities think was an animal feed additive, a Chinese state-run news agency reported. Investigators made 52 arrests in overnight raids in California, Minnesota and Maryland, increasing to more than 750 the number of suspects detained in the coast-to-coast operation to disrupt the Sinaloa cartel, Holder said.

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