MEXICO UNDER SIEGE

Mexico’s drug war disappearances leave families in anguish

Thousands of people have vanished without a trace – some caught up in violence, others for no reason anyone can fathom. Relatives remain in agonized limbo

Central American migrants attend a prayer service at a shelter in Lecheria, Mexico. Migrants are particularly vulnerable to kidnappings. (Alexandre Meneghini, AP / March 7, 2011)

By Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Mexico City —

They had scraped together money for a vacation in the port city of Veracruz. Four couples, owners of small fruit and taco shops, from the quiet state of Guanajuato.

MEXICO – FIGHTING THE DRUG WARS

Whistleblower Alleges that U.S. Gun Agency Purposely

Allowed Weapons to be Smuggled to Mexico

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

In an effort to catch Mexican drug lords, the federal agency responsible for regulating the gun industry and cracking down on gun crimeallowed thousands of weapons to pass into Mexico and fall into the hands of criminals, according to a report by CBS News and other outlets this week.

DOLLARS FOR DOCS

Drug Firms Say They’ll Take Closer Look at the Docs They

Pay

 

(Kate Kunath/Getty Images)

by Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Nicholas Kusnetz, ProPublica

Several of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies said they plan to tighten screening of physicians who promote their drugs after ProPublica reported last month that more than 250 of them had been sanctioned for misconduct.

Eli Lilly and Co. said that next year, for the first time, it would hire an outside firm to search for state disciplinary actions against its hired speakers and advisers. Lilly, the seventh-largest company by U.S. prescription sales, did not previously conduct such screening and was unaware of the dozens of actions ProPublica found against its speakers.