MEXICO: Another Copter Goes Down...In Apatzingan, Michoacan.

LAHT/

   For the second time this week, a military helicopter has crashed ... in Apatzingan.
   A small 2-man copter had mechanical problems and landed in a tree.
   Earlier this week, a larger federal police helicopter was forced down outside Apatzingan after it was
fired on by narcos.
   Six police were aboard...and two were hurt...in a" hard landing."

MEXICO: 27 May UPDATE: Narco Gangs Shoot Out Leaves 29 Dead, 3 Wounded In Nayarit State.

LINK CHANGE/ AP/ M. HERALD

   Federal police responding to a kidnapping in Nayarit...found 29 dead and 3 wounded...along with 14 abandoned vehicles...after an apparent battle between rival narco gangs.
  Many of the dead men were dressed in military uniforms.

   Meanwhile in Michoacan state...more than 2000 people fled 2 villages...seeking refuge at church halls, recreation centers and schools...to escape increasing narco violence there.
    Residents reported that gun battles between narco gangs made it too dangerous for them to stay in outlying hamlets. Arsonists were said to be burning avocado farms in Acahuato.
   One observer flatly states that Michoacan state...with its beautiful colonial capital Morelia...is "lost" like
Tamaulipas state...because of the meth manufacturing going on there.

 TO SEE ENGLISH  :59 AP VIDEO REPORT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXPYErRCvZ8&feature=player_embedded

MEXICO: Narcos "Force Down" Police Helicopter In Michoacan.

AP/ M.HERALD/ BREAKING...With Few Details!

   Gunmen shot at and forced a Russian-made MI-17 federal police helicopter to make a "hard landing"...injuring 3 officers...near Apatzingan, Michoacan, the stronghold of the La Familia narcos.

     Last week, federal police captured an abandoned improvised tank (below), a pickup truck fitted with steel and a 360 degree turret in Jalisco.

MEXICO: Indigena Michoacan Residents Defy Narcos.

AP/ M.HERALD/GUSTAVO RUIZ AND ALEXANDRA OLSON /2 screen read combined

    The Purepecha people of Cheran, a mountain town of 16,000 in Michoacan, are defending their way of life against the narcos.
   They have erected blockades of tires and sandbags to stop illegal loggers backed by the violent and dangerous drug thugs.
   "There is no fear here," said one young man. "Here we are fighting a David-and-Goliath battle because we are standing up to organized crime, which is no small adversary."
    It's also one of the first known challenges to Mexico's narco-led reign of blood and terror.

MEXICO: 11 Dec. UPDATE: 11 Dead After Morelia Narco Blockade; "La Familia Michoacana" Leader Moreno Gonzalez Said Dead.

LINK CHANGE/ LA TIMES/ Tracy Wilkinson/
    Federal police claim they killed Nazario Moreno González, a.k.a." El Chayo" or "El Mas Loco," one of two main leaders of La Familia narco terrorist gang in Michoacan during a bloody search.
    The search unleashed narco-blockades in Morelia, the hometown of President Calderon and shootouts that left 11 dead, including 5 federal police and an 8-month-old baby.  Three more officers were injured.
 Police said that La Familia gunmen carried away their dead and injured as they retreated, making an exact accounting of who and how many died impossible.
    Mexico expert George Grayson says “I would say losing "El Chayo" is a thorn in the side, not a dagger in the heart. El Chango is really the top leader.”

MEXICO: Mass Grave Found Near Acapulco; May Be Abducted Michoacan Tourists.

GUARDIAN/
     The relatives of 20 men who disappeared while visiting Acapulco on 30 September will help determine if 18 bodies found in a mass grave are those of the abducted tourists.
    Police were tipped about the fosa clandestina after a video appeared on YouTube where two men admitted killing and burying the men from Michoancan.
    One relative said : "We have been asked to identify whether the bodies are our relatives. We have faith that this is not true and that they are still alive."

MEXICO: 2ND Update: 20 Tourists Kidnapped Near Acapulco Had NO Criminal Records.

LINK CHANGE/ AP / 06 Oct. /
    Police now say that the 20 Mexican nationals men kidnapped last week in Acapulco had no criminal records and may have been targeted by mistake.
    Police confirmed that 19 of the abducted men were mechanics from Morelia vacationing together in an annual ritual.
     There has been NO trace of them to date.

   "The tourists got off their bus to buy some things and armed men intercepted them, got everyone off the bus and then kidnapped them," a newspaper reported.

     A member of the group of visiting auto mechanics from neighboring Michoacan told police that he went into a store and his companions - aged 17 to 47 - were gone when he returned.
    Foreign tourists have been avoiding Acapulco in recent years because of growing violence there but it has remained attractive to Mexicans looking for inexpensive vacation. 
     This mass kidnapping may change that.

MEXICO: Profile of Michoacan's Minister of Security Minerva Bautista.

LATIMES/      Since the 15-minute, 2,700 round fusillade against her convoy in April, Michoacan's minister of security Minerva Bautista has lived in fear trailed by bodyguards but remained on the job. Surprizing because the lead suspects in the attack that killed four and wounded her are the very police she commands. "If I don't do it, another colleague will have to," she said. "It would be a very negative message to the people of Michoacan if authorities, faced with this situation, say, 'Let's get out of here.'"

MEXICO/1ST UPDATE: Gunmen Kill 12 Police, Wound 15 In Ambush; 29 Die In Mazatlan Prison Riot.

LINK CHANGE/BBC/
UPDATE: 15 June/    
Gunmen killed 12 police officers and wounded at least 15 more in an ambush in Michoacan state as the convoy was traveling toward Mexico City. Later in Mazatlan, 29 inmates were killed in a prison riot between two rival gangs and two police officers were wounded.
Monday in a 5,000 word missive posted on his website and in  newspapers, President Calderon explained his crime strategy to a public that has watched the drug war death toll soar to 23,000 since 2006. Calderon blamed gang rivalries for the violence and defended the crackdown as needed to save Mexico from crime syndicates.

MEXICO: Monarch Butterflies Suffer Historic Population Loss.

LATIMES/    Severe winter storms destroyed 50-60% of the monarch butterfly population in their Michoacan winter home, the lowest levels in decades. Austin is a popular stopping-off place for the monarchs migrating north. "I think it is very clear that the butterflies lost more than half of the population," said scientist Chip Taylor. "I'm hoping it wasn't as high as 70% or 80%. We've never seen it this bad before."

MEXICO: U.S. Issues New "Travel Alerts" For 4 States.

LAHT/    The U.S State Department has issued new travel alerts for the states of Michoacan, Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua because of ongoing violence in effect until August 20.

MEXICO: Freak Winter Rainstorms Kill Dozens, Affect Half Of Nation.

AP/NPR/ Unusually heavy winter rains have plagued more than half of Mexico, killing at least 29 and collapsing hillsides. The mountainous state of Michoacan was especially hard-hit where at least 15,000 residents and 2,000 homes were affected. A sewage canal overflowed in Mexico City.

Mexico Boosts Michoacan Forces By... 5,500!

From the LAHT.

Mexicans Reinforce Michoacan Army Troops.

From the LAHT.

One thousand more troops have been sent to Michoacan.

In Mexico, Michoacan Comes Under Attack.

From the NYTimes.

President Calderon's home state is besieged by drug lords looking for revenge after a prominent arrest.