Alfonso Chardy writes for the Miami Herald, May 3 (links added):

Militant Cuban exile honored
A beaming Luis Posada Carriles hugged and shook hands with hundreds of supporters late Friday as he arrived at a club in west Miami-Dade fo a dinner in his honor.

Street clashes broke out in the departmental capital of Santa Cruz and towns in the surrounding countryside May 4 as regional authorities declared victory in the autonomy vote. Dozens were injured, including one protester hit by a dynamite blast in the town of Montero. Protesters burned ballot boxes in the town of Yapacani. At least one death was reported—an elderly man affected by tear gas fired by police as protesters clashed with autonomy supporters in Plan Tres Mil, a sprawling poor district of Santa Cruz city where voters were attacked with clubs.

Nine are dead—five agents of the Federal Preventative Police, two municipal police, and two civilians—following three shoot-outs May 2 and 3 in the Mexican city of Culiacán, Sinaloa. Four police agents were also wounded. The confrontations began when police patrols came under attack with AK-47 fire. Two others were killed elsewhere around the city over the weekend. One man was killed with a bullet to the head, while police found an unidentified corpse wrapped in plastic. (La Jornada, Cronica de Hoy, May 4)

In a pre-dawn attack May 1, US missiles destroyed the home of reputed al-Qaeda leader Aden Hashi Ayro in Dusamareeb, Somalia. The attack killed 24 others in the targeted house and nearby homes. "This will not deter us from prosecuting our holy war against Allah's enemy," Sheik Muqtar Robow, a spokesman for Ayro's al-Shabab militia told AP via telephone. "If Ayro is dead, those he trained are still in place and ready to avenge against the enemy of Allah."

One step closer to an October Surprise? From The Telegraph, April 30:

America said it had despatched a second aircraft carrier group to the Gulf on Wednesday, as the State Department branded Iran the world's "most active" state sponsor of terrorism.

On a visit to Mexico City April 29, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Congress to approve the pending $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, telling reporters, "Failure to do so would be a real slap at Mexico and would be very disappointing and it clearly would make it more difficult for us to help Mexican armed forces and their civilian agencies deal with this difficult problem."

On April 25, Mexican federal legislators of the three political parties that make up the Broad Progressive Front (FAP) ended their 16-day occupation of the congressional chambers after a deal was worked out with representatives of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) over proposed legislation to reform the state oil company, Pemex. FAP leaders claimed victory, telling the press that they had prevented the reform package submitted by President Felipe Calderón from being "fast tracked." The new deal allows for 71 days of national debate before lawmakers can resume discussion and move to vote on the measures. Some FAP leaders, however, are insisting on a popular "ratification referendum" following the vote by the legislature.

A series of early-morning gun battles between presumed narco-gangsters in the busy streets of Tijuana—including one outside a hospital—left 15 dead and seven wounded April 26. Authorities are not releasing any of the names of the dead, but the local media are full of speculation. The national daily El Universal reported that the Sinaloa Cartel was to blame. Several newspapers reported that among the dead was Luis Alfonso Velarde (AKA El Muletas or "Crutches"), a reputed local drug lord with a handful of YouTube video tributes to his name. Another, even bigger local cartel operative nicknamed "Mr. Three Letters" might be dead too, along with "La Perra" (said to be a former city cop), reported El Sol de Tijuana. And they may all have been ambushed by another cartel leader known as "El Cholo." (LAT, AP, April 28)