boys with face paint walking down the street during Dia de Los Muertos in Mexico
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How the U.S. Triggered a Massacre in Mexico

The inside story of a cartel’s deadly assault on a Mexican town near the Texas border—and the American drug operation that sparked it.

In 2011, the Zetas cartel, seeking revenge against members believed to be informants, rampaged through Allende and neighboring towns, killing dozens, and possibly hundreds. For this stricken community, the Day of the Dead holiday, when Mexicans honor their ancestors, has taken on extra poignancy.

ByGinger Thompson
Photographs byKirsten Luce
National Geographic partnered with ProPublica on this story.