El Centro

Mexico essentially legalized the country’s growing “self-defense” groups while also announcing that security forces had captured one of the four top leaders of the Knights Templar drug cartel.

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 17: Civil Self-Defense Groups Have Emerged in 11 Mexican States

One fighter claimed to be a US Army veteran who returned to Mexico specifically to join the militias. There were many like him, he said.

Mexican security forces sent to quell unrest in the western state of Michoacan have started disarming local vigilante groups, state officials say.

Hong Kong Triads Work with Mexican Drug Lords on Methamphetamine by Brian Harris, South China Morning Post.

The authors urge the U.S. to revisit the concept of hemispheric defense and develop and execute a new military strategy that will help maintain stability and prosperity in Latin America.

Drug Traffickers Threaten Central America's Democratic Gains by Elliott Abrams, Washington Post.

U.S. intelligence, GPS bomb kits help Latin American nation cripple rebel forces.

In Honduras, Rival Gangs Keep a Death Grip on San Pedro Sula by Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times.

Helicopter Gunships Used in Mexico Resort Battle - AP via ABC

Univision Video: In Sinaloa, A Cemetery Dominated by Narcos.

Mexico’s Petit Révolution: Justice and Security Implications of Approving a Fully New Code of Judicial Procedures by Viridiana Rios, Wilson Center.

"They aren't just about Mexico or drugs anymore."