In Mexico, 33 persons were killed in drugs related crimes in industrial city of Monterrey in northern state of Nuevo Leon yesterday.

Many of these killings bore the signs of drug gang vendettas, including the discovery of the mutilated corpses of two bodyguards of State Governor Rodrigo Medina.

Parts of Mexico, particularly near the US border, have seen a rise in suspected drug violence, with more than 37,000 deaths blamed on drug gangs since the launch of a military crackdown on organized crime at the end of 2006.