Mexican President heads to ‘deadly’ city

MEXICAN President Felipe Calderon headed to his country’s most violent city yesterday after deadly attacks on US consular staff and their families upped the ante in his battle against drug gangs.

Calderon’s third visit to Ciudad Juarez this year followed the drive-by murders of an American employee of the US consulate, her husband, and the husband of a Mexican consular employee in a separate attack at the weekend.

US Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual was accompanying Calderon as the latest attacks drew the northern neighbour further into Mexico’s gang war for control of lucrative drug trafficking routes to the United States and beyond.