GlobalPost Goes Inside Drug War With Obama in Mexico

Boston, MA (PRWEB) April 16, 2009 -- As U.S. President Barack Obama begins his first trip to Latin America and Mexico on Thursday, April 17, dealing with the growing problem of Mexico's drug cartels will be front and center on the agenda. The international news site GlobalPost has delivered some of the most consistent and indepth reporting on the issue and will continue its coverage during the President's trip with fresh reports and analysis.

"Trouble on the US-Mexico border," a directory of GlobalPost's reports of Mexico's drug war can be found at: Trouble on the US-Mexico border (http://cli.gs/6HvNA9)

"Since January we've taken readers on the ground and inside the cartels in a series of reports that are as informative as they are shocking," said GlobalPost Executive Editor Charles M. Sennott. "Along our southern border a violent war is raging that has had a devastating effect on American lives. If I told you the story of a drug cartel hood nicknamed 'The Cook,' who dissolved the bodies of 300 victims in acid, you'd think it was the plot of a Scorsese movie. But read the reports from our correspondents on the ground and the grisly picture they paint is all too real."

GlobalPost correspondents will cover the on-the-ground reaction to President Obama's visit, and GlobalPost's Ioan Grillo (Mexico City), Todd Bensman (on the border) and John Otis (Bogota, Colombia) are available for interviews. Recent coverage of the drug wars from GlobalPost provides indispensible background:

Guides to the Mexican drug war

Meet the drug lords (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/090404/meet-the-drug-lords)

GlobalPost profiles of the four most notorious drug cartel kingpins in Mexico.

Clash of the cartels: a guide

Mexico's ruthless drug lords protect themselves, their territories, and their criminal and drug trades, with horrifying brutality. As Mexico suffers from an onslaught of massacres, decapitations and execution-style hits, GlobalPost provides a comprehensive guide to the six major drug cartels have carved up the country into fiefdoms.

Analysis: Mexico a failing state?

Amid a violent drug war, GlobalPost looks at the reaction to two official U.S. government reports that say the two failing states most worrying to the U.S. defense department are Pakistan and Mexico.

To live or die in Mexico

GlobalPost reports on calls to reinstate the death penalty which are gaining ground in Mexico amid an unprecedented spike in murders and kidnappings.

How Mexico's drug trade works

Investigation: US retailers fuel Mexico's drug wars (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/090401/investigation-us-retailers-fuel-mexicos-drug-wars)

This GlobalPost investigation traces one of the largest seized weapons cache in Mexican history back across the border to licensed Texas dealers.

The cross-border bullet trade

GlobalPost looks at how Mexican drug cartels are loading up on bullets in the U.S.

Drug traffickers move underwater (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/090408/drug-traffickers-move-underwater)

GlobalPost reports on how "Semi-submersibles" have become the transportation of choice for drug smugglers. Most of the vessels move between Colombia and drop-off points in Mexico and Central America.

The real-world impact of Mexico's drug war

The danger of singing about drugs (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/090130/the-danger-singing-about-drugs)

GlobalPost profiles Mexican crooners singing about drug cartels and sometimes finding themselves the victims of violence.

Bringing Laredo's missing home

Amid the escalating drug war, dozens of Americans have gone missing along the border. This report profiles the problem from South Texas, home of the largest cluster of U.S. residents with relatives who have gone missing in Mexico.

A tale of two Laredos

Violence and kidnappings have become almost commonplace in Mexico, as the country's civil drug war rages. GlobalPost reports on how murder and kidnap victims often are American residents of border cities like Laredo, who are involved in the drug trade.

Perspectives on Mexico's drug war

Violence threatens Mexico's soul

From Mexico City, journalist Mort Rosenblum weighs in on what Mexico's drug wars could mean for the future. "Crime pays, and police work doesn't. That part is nothing new here. But the nature of crime is different now, on a far grander scale, with alarming implications."

The American-Mexican drug war (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/090407/the-american-mexican-drug-war)

Veteran journalist Ruben Navarrette Jr. weighs in on the role of the U.S. on what is happening south of the border: "The United States is a major actor in this drama from the opening scene to what will someday -- perhaps many years from now -- be the final curtain. And like it or not, Americans have an enormous investment in the outcome of Calderon's battle against the cartels. The drug war is an ugly baby, but it's America's baby. We might as well claim it."

Mexico's staggering drug wars

GlobalPost Senior Editor for Latin America John Dinges writes that it's time "to wake up and smell the gunpowder" in this analysis of Mexico's drug wars, which includes a shocking bird's eye view of a typical weekend Juarez, the sprawling, once relatively prosperous industrial city just across from El Paso, Texas as it is flooded with 8,000 troops to take on the cartels.

About GlobalPost.com

Based in Boston, GlobalPost.com (http://www.globalpost.com) is the first solely Web-based news organization to provide international news coverage by its own team of experienced correspondents from every corner of the world. GlobalPost.com offers a free, content-rich Web site with articles, photography, video and audio from more than 60 correspondents in 40+ countries. Through its print and online syndication platforms as well as an innovative premium membership model called Passport, GlobalPost.com reports vital international news and provides analysis and context for Americans to measure the impact of international events on their lives in an increasingly interconnected world. GlobalPost.com is the vision of journalist and media entrepreneur Philip S. Balboni and award-winning foreign correspondent Charles M. Sennott.

###