Asia-Pacific

7 killed at park in besieged Mexican border city

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-01-25 15:02

Gov. Mario Lopez ordered schools in the city closed and warned that gangs could take retaliatory action, according to a government statement. It did not specify how long schools would be closed.

More than 34,600 people have been killed nationwide since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against drug traffickers in December 2006.

Meanwhile, a series of banners appeared Monday in the western states of Michoacan and Guerrero claiming La Familia drug cartel has decided to disband.

"La Familia Michoacana is completely dissolved since it has been unfairly blamed," the banners read. "La Familia Michoacana has exterminated rapists and kidnappers and it's time for Mr. Felipe Calderon to investigate his Cabinet, most essentially (Public Safety Secretary) Genaro Garcia Luna."

The gang has sometimes used banners draped from pedestrian bridges to deny responsibility for crimes or to send messages to authorities, but state officials said they could not immediately verify the authenticity of the new banners.

The federal government said in December that the once-fearsome cartel had been "completely dismembered," breaking down into small groups that commit robberies to pay their members.

The cartel has dominated crime in the western state of Michoacan for several years, making money by trafficking methamphetamine and extorting protection money from businesses. It has also become known for its bloody ambushes of federal police.

La Familia has been thrown into disarray, however by the recent arrest and deaths of top members, including cartel leader Nazario Moreno, nicknamed "The Craziest One," who was killed in a shootout with police on Dec 9.