On Monday, The New York Times reported on American money moving in Brazilian bibles. But the dirty money story of the week comes from Mexico, where in a walled mansion in swanky D.F. district Lomas de Chapultepec over the weekend, authorities found $200 U.S. million -- in cash. The money was tied to a methamphetamine ring and resulted in seven arrests, including two Chinese nationals, displaying the growing sophistication and internationalization of Mexican drug cartels, as this article notes. Also at Mexidata, Sergio Aguayo Quezada discusses the dark clouds of drugs and organized crime that hang over Mexico, and how the state has responded with repression and militarization. ** ADDITION: The L.A. Times also just went this story about how cocaine comes in to Mexico via Venezuela, where traffickers pay a "tax" to Venezuelan security forces to move the U.S.-bound blow.
In L.A. last week, police busted the Fifth and Hill gang, the guys who've managed for years to make Fifth Street a vibrant market for heroin -- thanks to the ingenious/insidious use of kids as drug pushers. Over at The Nation, Roberto Lovato offers his take on the ongoing racial gang violence melodrama in Harbor Gateway, one of the most comprehensive I've seen.
* Most recent post in "This week in gangs." Photo above with L.A. Times story, by EPA.