Mexican federal police backed up by the army's elite Airborne Special Forces Group (GAFES) detained at least six municipal police in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, in a surprise pre-dawn raid on their headquarters Jan. 19. Nuevo Laredo mayor Ramón Garza Barrios did not challenge the arrests, saying he would defer to federal authorities until more information is available. (El Universal, Jan. 19)

See our last post on Mexico's narco crisis.