Around the Borderland Beat

Two alleged members of Beltran Leyva's drug cartel are presented to press at the headquarters of the Mexican Navy, in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Mexican drug cartels are increasing their dominance in the illegal US drug market through closer ties with street gangs and increased production, according to a US Justice Department report out Thursday.

Motorists head into Mexico at the border in San Ysidro, California. Drug kingpin Jose Antonio Medina hid heroin in secret compartments of vehicles crossing between the Mexican city of Tijuana and the US city of San Diego, one of the world's busiest border crossings.

Seized drugs and packages of marijuana and crystal meth are displayed during a presentation to the press in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, March 24, 2010. According to the State Police working with the army, six suspects busted, allegedly related to the Arellano`s Felix drug cartel, were nabbed with guns and drugs.

Suspects stand behind seized guns during a presentation to the press in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, March 24, 2010. According to the State Police working with the army, six suspects busted allegedly related to the Arellano`s Felix drug cartel, were nabbed with guns and drugs.

Soldiers stand outside the office of a funeral home where four people were killed by hitmen, in Ciudad Juarez March 23, 2010. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised on Tuesday to help Mexico broaden a drug war that has failed to curb traffickers' increasingly deadly power along the U.S.-Mexican border. Mexico's drug violence is a major political test for President Felipe Calderon and a worry for Washington, foreign investors and tourists.

Mexican marines arrest an alleged drug trafficker in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon state. A senior US delegation led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to boost joint efforts to tackle surging violence by Mexico's powerful drug cartels.

Mexican marines look at the body of an alleged hit man killed during a clash between rival drug gangs in Acapulco. A senior US delegation led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to boost joint efforts to tackle surging violence by Mexico's powerful drug cartels.

Mexican soldiers guard 12 tons of seized marijuana displayed in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico in February 2010. A senior US delegation led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday pledged to boost joint efforts to tackle surging violence by Mexico's powerful drug cartels.

Students mourn during the memorial for slain student Jorge Mercado Alonso at the Tecnologico de Monterrey campus in Monterrey March 23, 2010. Mercado Alonso, a student of the Tecnologico de Monterrey, was killed along with another classmate on March 19 during a shooting between soldiers and drug hitmen when soldiers confused them with drug traffickers.

A member of the Mexican Army keeps guard near the site of a recent murder on March 19 in Juarez, Mexico. The border city of Juarez has been racked by violent drug-related crime, making it among the most dangerous cities in the world. Chief US diplomat Hillary Clinton leads a senior delegation to Mexico.

Mexican police stand near a skull discovered with other remains in what is thought to be a large grave in the desert of victims of recent drug violence, on March 19, in the county ofJuarez, Mexico. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led a senior delegation to Mexico Tuesday, barely a week after US consulate-linked killings galvanized attention on the country's surging drug violence.

Soldiers stand near the body of a man lying dead on a street in Acapulco March 21, 2010. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has staked his presidency on crushing drug gangs whose turf wars have killed about 19,000 people since he came to power in 2006. Some 45,000 troops and federal police have been deployed across the country.

Mexican marines stand during the presentation of Alberto Mendoza Contreras alias "The bad kid", a suspected leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel, in Monterrey March 19, 2010. Drug violence has exploded across Mexico since President Felipe Calderon came to power in late 2006 and set the army on smuggling gangs. Turf wars between rival cartels and security forces have killed nearly 19,000 people in three years, with the worst of the bloodshed seen in northern border cities.

A bullet hole is seen on a wall after a gunfight between drug hitmen and soldiers in Monterrey March 19, 2010. Two gunmen were killed in one of the entrances of the Tecnologico de Monterrey campus and three soldiers were slightly wounded by grenades after a gunbattle between hitmen linked to organised crime and federal forces, according to local media.

Categories: around the borderland beat, mexican army