MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake was killed in a helicopter crash today, a blow to the government as it fights powerful drug cartels.
Television images showed the scattered wreckage of the helicopter on a hillside south of the capital and the government confirmed Blake and the seven others on board were killed. It gave no reason for the crash.
Mexico is locked in a brutal conflict against drug cartels that has killed 45,000 people in the last five years and Blake was a key member of President Felipe Calderon’s security team.
Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard said bad weather may have been responsible for the crash. Speculation could arise that foul play was involved but there has been no indication of this so far.
He is the second interior minister in Calderon’s presidency to be killed in an aircraft crash. The previous one three years earlier was declared an accident.