The latest figures on violence in Mexico suggest that the country will not see dramatic security improvements this year. Alejandro Hope says that recent mass killings, like the beheading of 49 people near Monterrey, show that the incentives for violence remain powerful.

The Mexican military has detained eight alleged members of the Gulf Cartel in connection with the dumping of 49 mutilated corpses in Nuevo Leon, a massacre which the Gulf apparently tried to blame on rival group the Zetas.

A third Mexican army general has been detained in a week for alleged ties to the Beltran Leyva Organization, a drug gang which used to work for the Sinaloa Cartel, evidence of that group's ties to the security forces which raises new questions about the military's role in fighting crime.

Mexico’s main presidential candidates have all embraced longstanding proposals to unite municipal police forces under a single command, but such a fix could actually make it harder for police to fight increasingly localized criminal groups.

Two Mexican generals, one of them a former deputy defense minister, have been arrested on suspicion of links to organized crime, in a scandal that could develop into the highest-level case of military corruption under the administration of President Felipe Calderon.

The US Congress has passed a bill to tighten penalties on building illicit tunnels under the border from Mexico, closing a loophole in previous legislation in an attempt to clamp down on this increasingly popular method of smuggling drugs, arms, and people.

Messages signed in the name of the Zetas have appeared in Mexico, denying that the group left 49 mutilated bodies on a roadside in Nuevo Leon, further muddying a case in which no one knows the identity of the victims, who killed them, or why.

A report on child recruitment by Colombia's criminal groups draws attention to the prevalence of the tactic across the region, as gangs exploit a low-cost, low-risk, and highly expendable source of manpower.

A new poll found that just 21 percent of Mexican voters say that the government's anti-crime strategy is working, a sign that Felipe Calderon's administration has failed to clearly articulate its security strategy to the public.

A former top police official, jailed for alleged ties to drug traffickers, was reportedly tortured in prison. This could be linked to the ex-cop's feud with one of the most powerful men in the government: Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna.