The US Treasury Department has placed an alleged Zetas drug trafficker on its "Kingpin List," increasing the pressure on the financial side of the Mexican cartel's criminal operations. 

Statistics show that for the first time since 2009, homicides have begun to climb at a steady pace in Guatemala, raising the question of what could be behind the rise in killings.

A Mexican newspaper has denied officials' claims that one of its photographers, killed this week, was targeted because of his ties to the drug trade, while another newspaper revealed evidence that suggests the authorities are covering up the facts of the case.

Two of Mexico’s biggest political parties have been trading allegations of ties to drug cartels, hinting at the murky connections between organized crime and politics in Mexico.

The Zetas are not the only extremely violent, military-style criminal organization from Mexico. Yet, they are the only one that operates in 350 Mexican municipalities, as well as numerous others in Guatemala and Central America. Why have they been able to expand faster than their rivals?

The Gulf Cartel has reportedly driven rival organization the Zetas out of the state of Quintana Roo and tourist hotspot Cancun, potentially leaving the resurgent cartel with control of a popular trafficking route along Mexico's Caribbean coastline.

The US Treasury has added an aspiring congressman in Honduras to its "Kingpin" list in what is likely an attempt to increase the pressure not only on his criminal organization but also the Honduran authorities.

A Facebook page known as "Valor x Tamaulipas" and its Twitter account, both of which tracked crime in the embattled state by the same name, have been taken down following threats against the administrators, raising concerns over the ability of citizen journalists to continue to fill the gap left by a cowed mainstream media.

Authorities captured an alleged link between Colombia trafficking organization the Rastrojos and Mexico drug cartels in Panama. The suspect had been granted political asylum in Panama, underscoring the diverse networks and reach maintained by the Rastrojos and their Mexican counterparts.

State authorities in Mexico say they have arrested eight people, including three municipal police officers, involved in the assassination of a former mayor in Veracruz state last February.