Gangland murder spree jolts Mexico ahead of local elections
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A 24-hour wave of gang violence across Mexico has left more than 20 people dead, some found with their bodies dismembered and stuffed in plastic bags, local officials said yesterday.
The gruesome violence cast a shadow on elections in four states today, including a tight governor’s race in Mexico’s most populous state seen as a bellwether for next year’s presidential vote.
In the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where voters will choose local officials today, the bodies of five men and one women were found cut into pieces, thrown in plastic bags and left on a street in the town of Omealca, about 200 miles (322 km) east of Mexico City, a source in the state prospector’s office said.
In northern Nuevo Leon state, another four dismembered bodies were found, while next door in Chihuahua state a masked man opened fire in a bar in the town of Cuauhtemoc killing six people, according to local officials.
Meanwhile, in southern Guerrero state, where various gangs fight over lucrative poppy plantations used to produce heroin, at least five people were killed in Chilpancingo, the state capital.
Some of the remains were discovered in the city center while others were found scattered on the major highway that connects Mexico City with the beach resort city of Acapulco, according to local media reports.
Last year, some 23,000 people were killed in violent incidents in Mexico, the deadliest year since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in late 2012.
The violence has grown as the country’s powerful drug cartels have splintered and consolidated while fighting ruthlessly for control of lucrative smuggling routes in the United States.
MOSCOW
(Reuters) - American hackers could have planted false evidence that Russia interfered in the US presidential election, President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying by NBC News yesterday.
US intelligence officials have said Russia tried to interfere in the US election by hacking the Democratic Party to sway the vote in favour of Donald Trump, a charge the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
In an interview with NBC News’ Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly, a preview of which was released to media, Putin said hackers in the United States could have made it look like Russia was behind the hack for political reasons.
“Hackers can be anywhere. They can be in Russia, in Asia ... even in America, Latin America,” Putin said. “They can even be hackers, by the way, in the United States, who very skilfully and professionally, shifted the blame, as we say, on to Russia.”
“Can you imagine something like that? In the midst of a political battle. By some calculations it was convenient for them to release this information, so they released it, citing Russia. Could you imagine something like that? I can.”
Speaking at Russia’s flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said the hacking accusations were no more than “harmful gossip” and any evidence cited by US intelligence could easily have been faked.