Killed for Tweeting: Mexico's Drug War Has Two More Casualties

Blogs that report on Mexico's drug war have been threatened in the past, but this is the first time a person has been murdered over a tweet in the country.

The Mexican government has begun to take Twitter very seriously, especially after an Aug. 25 prank-gone-awry. Two users posted false reports that a drug cartel was attacking an elementary school in Veracruz, sparking a very real panic, as well as 24 car accidents, in the city. The pair has been arrested and charged with terrorism and sabotage, and they could face up to 30 years in prison.

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Traditional media outlets are as frightened of drug gang retaliations as many citizens, and often censure their own reports to downplay cartel crimes. This places the reporting burden on bloggers, and now, Twitter users.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon himself uses Twitter as a means of communication, and often tweets congratulations and official statements after state police make important drug busts.

Nuevo Laredo sits on the Mexico-Texas border in the state of Tamaulipas. Border towns such as Tijuana and Juarez are particularly dangerous, as they provide an important stopping point for drug traffickers on their way to the U.S.

The notes on the bodies were signed with the letter "Z," a likely reference to the Zetas, a power cartel that operates in the area.

Drug-related violence in Mexico exploded in 2006 when Calderon launched a war against organized crime. Since then, more than 41,000 people have been killed, including civilians, tourists, government officials and soldiers.

Since October 2010, about 50 police officers have been killed, the most recent two weeks ago in Ciudad Juarez, a city near El Paso, Texas that has become one of Mexico's most terrifying areas. The murder of Jose Eduviges Nava Altamirano in Zucuaplan in August brought the number of mayors killed by drug cartels since 2010 up to 19.

But Calderon is insisting that his crackdown isn't responsible for the violence. He claims that cartel expansion, as well as the U.S.' insatiable appetite for illegal narcotics, are to blame, and that retaliation has nothing to do with it.

"The armed forces are not part of the problem, but part of the solution," said Calderon. "If we hadn't done anything, instead of the utopian country some think we would live in, we'd be overtaken by the cartels."

Despite the relentless stream of violence, government forces have made a number of high-profile arrests recently.