Illegal Drugs, Drug Cartel | featured news

Fifteen drug hit men and two soldiers were killed in a shootout in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco, an army source said on Sunday.

Federal forces detained 10 mayors and 18 other officials Tuesday for allegedly protecting one of Mexico's most violent drug cartels in an unprecedented anti-corruption sweep in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan.

Soldiers and federal agents fanned out across President Felipe Calderon's native state to carry out the operation, which an expert called a blow to politicians tied to traffickers in Michoacan.

President imposes sanctions on drug organizations, threatens U.S. firms that do business with them.

Mexico has launched a war against drugs but it cannot rely on the institutions most needed to carry it out.