A hardened criminal from the streets of Memphis. One of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico. The corruption, cash, and demand for drugs that fuels an illegal, deadly trade -- and the consequences, for Mexicans and Americans alike.
Mexico: Civilian Casualties of the War on Drugs
Published July 9, 2010
Note: I wrote these entries in December, as I traveled to Mexico to report on the Craig Petties story. Now that we are ready to publish our articles on the case, we are posting the entries.
Wednesday, Dec. 23 - This morning I opened up a copy of The Commercial Appeal and read the story of how gunmen had slaughtered the entire family of Melquisedet Angulo.
He's the Mexican marine who died in the firefight last week that led to the death of drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva. The AP reports that hours after the Marine's funeral, gunmen broke down the door of the grieving family's home and killed Angulo's mother, his aunt, his sister and his brother. Another sister was in the hospital. This hits close to home. We just left Mexico a few days ago. And Craig Petties, the person whose life I've been researching for months, is alleged to have worked closely with the Beltran Leyva organization.
I went through a roil of emotions upon reading this. What I'm left with is absolute horror and disgust over what people will do to hold onto money and power. The brutality is nearly beyond imagination.
A federal trial in Memphis connects a local crime to the international drug trade.
The money that drug users spend in your community may be helping Mexican cartels pay their employees, bribe officials, buy weapons, and hire people to torture and kill rivals.
Grantee
Daniel Connolly is a staff reporter for The Commercial Appeal, the leading daily newspaper in Memphis.
A Memphis native, Connolly was a Fulbright fellow in Germany in 2001-2002 and completed...
