On the night of Nov. 4, a Learjet carrying Government Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño and José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a former deputy prosecutor general, crashed in the middle of rush-hour traffic in an upscale neighborhood of Mexico City, killing all eight on board, many on the ground, and injuring dozens of others driving along the busy roadway. Authorities insist the crash was an accident, but rumors persist it was part of the drug cartels' murderous campaign against Mexico's security forces.

Media in South Texas are citing a leaked FBI intelligence report that apparently warns that the Zetas, paramilitary arm of Mexico's Gulf Cartel, are planning attacks on US Border Patrol agents in retaliation against stepped-up interdiction efforts. Law enforcement agencies on the US side of the Rio Grande Valley have reportedly been placed on high alert in response to the threat. (KVEO, Brownsville, Oct. 30)

The official theme of the 18th Ibero-American Summit, held Oct. 29-31 in San Salvador, El Salvador, was "Youth and Development," but the global financial crisis was the main topic of discussions by the representatives of Spain, Portugal and 19 Latin American countries.

Mexican federal police Nov. 1 announced the arrest of the leader of the Gulf Cartel for the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, TX. The police statement said Antonio Galarza AKA "El Amarillo" was apprehended in a car stop in the northern city of Monterrey, and charged with weapons violations and money laundering.

Víctor Gerardo Garay Cadena, acting commander of Mexico's Federal Preventative Police (PFP), stepped down Oct. 31 under cloud of scandal, after one of his top lieutenants was arrested on charges of providing protection to the Sinaloa Cartel. "I am resigning because in the bloody fight against organized crime, it is our duty to strengthen institutions, which means it is essential to eliminate any shadows of doubt regarding me," Garay said.

Mexican prosecutors say employees of the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) were secretly working for the Sinaloa Cartel, and even managed to work inside the US embassy with DEA personnel. Two worked with investigators in requesting searches and raids. Officials call it the worst known case of drug informants infiltrating law enforcement in a decade. In all, five people were arrested.

On Oct. 23 Mexico's 128-member Senate voted almost unanimously to pass legislation that opponents say will open the way to the partial privatization of Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the giant state-owned oil monopoly. The 500-member Chamber of Deputies approved the Senate's version without debate on Oct. 25. The Senate session was held in a downtown skyscraper to avoid protesters at the Senate building; some 1,200 agents from the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) guarded the session, with federal Public Safety Secretary Genaro García Luna leading the force himself.

Mexican authorities say they have dealt a severe blow to the Tijuana Cartel with the arrest of Eduardo Arellano Félix, the last in a ruling clique of five brothers to be captured or killed by authorities in recent years. Arellano opened fire on soldiers and federal agents Oct. 25 as they raided a home in the upscale Tijuana suburb of Fraccionamiento Pedregal. After a shoot-out, Arellano—who had a $5 million US State Department price on his head—was subdued and flown to Mexico City. "He is pretty much the last major player of what was once the powerful Arellano Félix organization," said Eileen Zeidler of the San Diego DEA office. (San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 27)