College students soon will pack for the time-honored ritual of spring-break partying under the sunny skies that hover above postcard vistas of Mexican beaches.

But this year, an ominous cloud of illegal drugs trafficked by Mexican cartels is overshadowing peaceful, civil life in Mexican towns. Residents and tourists alike are threatened by escalating violence that is destroying lives on both sides of the international border.

Mexican border cities have become literal battlegroun ...

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