Sergio “El Grande” Villarreal Barragan, said to be a top lieutenant in the Beltran Leyva cartel, has been captured in the eastern city of Puebla, Mexican authorities say. He was pulled in 12 September by Marines without a shot being fired. His capture comes just two weeks after US-born Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal was detained by Federal Police.
It is the third major strike against the Beltran Leyva cartel since the killing in a shootout of its leader Arturo Beltran Leyva in December 2009.
The city of Puebla, 120 km east of Mexico City, has inaugurated a taxi service for women by women who drive pink cars. In Puebla the drivers undertake 160 hours of first aid and self-defense training before they can drive a pink taxi. Their passengers can preen themselves in two mirrors in the back seat and drive in the knowledge that their whereabouts are tracked by GPS, reports Le Monde. Fares are about 10 percent higher than usual.
Other cities in addition to Mexico City are studying the concept with a view to copying it. Dubai and Moscow already have women-only taxis, reports the Korea Times, which says that Seoul is to introduce the concept in December 2009.
In 2008, 87 women reported being raped in taxis in Mexico City and a woman is murdered every six hours country-wide.
