Nuevo Leon and its capital and economic hub Monterrey were considered some of the safest areas in Mexico until recent years, when they have seen shootouts and slayings blamed on the Gulf drug gang and its former allies the Zetas.

Some 37,000 people have died in an escalation of drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive on organised crime, according to media tallies.

Source: www.news.com.au