Oscar Balderas
My seven years as a sex slave in Mexican drug cartels
Central American women are regularly kidnapped by Mexican gangs to work in brothels and serve drug lords. Most never make it out. One did, and this is her story.
Mexico's President Wants to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
President Enrique Peña Nieto said he wants to reform the constitution to guarantee marriage equality throughout the country. Normally shy of social issues, the president’s Twitter photo appeared with a rainbow photo filter.
El Chapo Has Been Moved to a Prison on the Border With the United States
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's predawn transfer to the border comes amid reports of imminent extradition that have been refuted by his lawyer.
Mexican Authorities Say They Don't Exist: Meet the Vigilantes Standing Up to the Zetas
The state governor claims there are no vigilante groups in Veracruz, but the armed men who say they are defending their community against the Zetas drug cartel beg to differ.
Some Mexicans Have Been Living in Limbo for Years After Fleeing Cartel Violence
The residents of Santa María Sur, in the violence-torn state of Guerrero, fled their tiny village in the middle of the night when warring cartels demanded they join the fight. Today they are living in a scruffy hotel, with little hope of returning home.
Drug Cartels Are Taking Over the Tortilla Business in Mexico
The tortilla industry in the beleaguered state of Guerrero is under attack from local cartels that are kidnapping and killing business owners and workers, as well as using tortilla shops as drug distribution points and lookout posts.
Another Reporter Was Murdered in Veracruz, Mexico — And Journalists Are Terrified
Anabel Flores Salazar’s tortured body was found a day after she was kidnapped from her home. Local reporters say her murder may have been retaliation for her stories on the presence of the Zeta drug cartel in Veracruz.
Another Reporter Just Got Kidnapped in Mexico's Most Dangerous State for Journalists
Anabel Flores Salazar, who was bundled out of her home by an armed commando at around 2am this Monday, covered the police beat for a local newspaper in Veracruz that in recent years has become the deadliest state for Mexican reporters.