Homicides jump by a third in Mexico

Homicides

in Mexico jumped by more than a third in January, new figures showed, fuelled by violence in states hit by an internal split in the Sinaloa drug cartel. Murders were up by more than half in the northern states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, according to official figures dated Monday. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the powerful boss of the Sinaloa cartel, was extradited to the US last month and is currently in a New York jail awaiting trial.

That power vacuum has led to a power struggle in the cartel. (Reuters)