Rodolfo Torre Cantu Gunned Down

More trouble in Mexico: In the highest-profile assassination of a Mexican leader in 14 years, Rodolfo Torre Cantu, a leading candidate for governor in the state of Tamaulipas, was gunned down in his campaign van on Monday. The shooting came just days before the election, and according to the Christian Science Monitor, it's a rare instance of drug cartels setting their sights on electoral officials. President Felipe Calderon said in a televised address, "Today has proven that organized crime is a permanent threat and that we should close ranks to confront it and prevent it from repeating acts such as the cowardly assassination that shocked the country today." Just one month earlier, a mayoral candidate was murdered in the same state. Experts on the region speculate that the murder may have been a warning to all candidates that they will be forced to comply with the demands of drug traffickers or they'll be killed.