Arson Fire Kills 40 in a Casino in Mexico

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — Armed men burst into a casino in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on Thursday and set a fire that killed at least 40 people and injured several others, the authorities said.

The attack, shortly after 3 p.m. at the Casino Royale, was the worst massacre, according to tallies by Mexican news organizations, since a crackdown on drug gangs by the authorities and infighting among the gangs exploded more than five years ago.

Monterrey, once a peaceful business and industrial hub in Nuevo Leon State, has been hit hard by the violence as at least two major criminal organizations battle for control. Bodies are regularly found hanging from overpasses, several people have been killed in bars and the American consulate there has moved the younger children of its workers from the city.

Casinos, growing in number across the country, have also emerged lately as targets of extortion, violence and money laundering.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/world/americas/26mexico.html

[jannyk]

1. 53 dead per Reuters. :(

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Drug wars - more of a menace than political or religious terrorism

If everyone legalised all drugs, would society collapse? Would we lose any more in productivity or health costs than we already do?