MEXICO CITY – Mexican interior minister Francisco Blake was killed in a helicopter crash on Friday, a blow to the government as it fights powerful drug cartels.
TV images showed the scattered wreckage of the helicopter on a hillside south of the capital, and the government confirmed that Blake and the seven others on board were killed. President Felipe Calderon said the crash took place in cloudy conditions and could have been an accident.
Mexico is locked in a bloody conflict against drug cartels, which has killed 45,000 people in the last five years. – (Reuters)