Threats to Mexican Lawmakers

Suspected cartel members obtained the private cellphone number of several members of the Mexican Congress. As the members were in session, the phones rang and the members were told their child was in the hands of kidnappers, and that failing a ransom payment, their child would be killed. Children used by the callers imitated the children of the Congressional members, to the point of revealing details only that child would have known. Only members of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's PAN Party were contacted, leading one to speculate that the cartels are trying to get Calderon's supporters in the Mexican Congress to shy away from supporting any anti-narcotics initiatives proposed by Calderon. Calderon has made aggressive confrontation of the cartels a hallmark of his administration.