Mexico Security Memo: March 17, 2008
March 17, 2008 | 2150 GMT
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Tracking Mexico’s Drug Cartels
Jalisco Takes Center Stage
In response to Mexico’s widespread drug-related violence, federal forces oversaw several small security operations in various parts of the country. Police in Chiapas state began a security clampdown in several cities to search for suspects in a narcotics-tied murder in that southern state. In Veracruz state to the north, military forces disarmed the local police in three small towns, presumably to investigate the department’s officers for links to organized crime.

But it was Jalisco state that really stood out for drug violence this week. Being a prime transshipment point for western drug routes, the state is accustomed to occasional killings and kidnappings. Two incidents this week, however, served as a reminder that no place in Mexico is immune to spectacular acts of drug-related violence. In the first incident, a group of gunmen entered a law firm in Guadalajara where they shot and killed seven attorneys inside. At least two lawyers at the firm once represented the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin â€