Extortion has tripled in Mexico since 2004, and the latest victims are teachers in Acapulco, one of the country's biggest tourist spots. Gang members are plaguing teachers there with threats demanding they give over half their pay by October 1. Hundreds of schools have closed because of the threats, but thousands of teachers are not sitting quietly, and instead are taking to the streets in protest.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico is one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press. More than 30 journalists have been killed or disappeared in the country since President Felipe Calderón was elected in 2006.
Four Mexican journalists are still missing after being kidnapped Monday by alleged members of a drug cartel. Three of the missing journalists are television cameramen, while one is a newspaper reporter. They were were all kidnapped after reportedly photographing a protest at Gómez Palacio prison, in the state of Durango. The protests came on the heels of the arrest of Margarita Rojas, the head of the prison, who is accused of allowing armed prisoners to leave the prison and carry out a mass killing a week earlier.