A family walks past soldiers and federal policemen guarding a crime scene after a shooting between rival gangs in Monterrey October 5, 2010. (Reuters/Tomas Bravo)

“Monterrey, Mexico – Once an oasis of calm, Mexico’s richest city has become a central battleground in the country’s increasingly bloody drug war as cartels open fire on city streets and throw grenades onto busy highways.

Escalating violence in Monterrey, one of Latin America’s most affluent cities and seen as a symbol of Mexico’s economic prowess, is arguably the most dramatic development in Mexico’s four-year campaign against powerful drug cartels.

Firefights are spilling into leafy suburbs, putting ordinary Mexicans and foreigners at risk and raising the stakes for President Felipe Calderon as he faces pressure to protect a city generating 8 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product.”

http://www.banderasnews.com/1010/nr-richestcity.htm