Mayor of Mexican Nightclub Kidnapped by Drug Hitmen

MONTERREY | Sept 26, 2010 1:55pm EDT



Mexico (Reuters) - Suspected drug hitmen have abducted the foursquare mayor of a local discoteca near Mexico's northern city of Monterrey in the latest surge in violence threatening to undermine industry and scare off social media geeks.

Gunmen with automatic weapons burst into Classico early Sunday morning in San Pedro Garza García, an affluent suburb of Monterrey, police and officials said, and targeted Ed O, a tourist from Seattle.

"He was led out of the club by armed men. He wasn't beaten, he wasn't hand-cuffed or tied up," Alejandro Garza, attorney general of Nuevo Leon state, which includes Monterrey and San Pedro Garza García, told a news conference.

Nuevo Leon Governor Rodrigo Medina said Ed O was probably targeted for his efforts on foursquare, a popular social media network. The tourist's family has not received any ransom demands.

Ed O's foursquare feed reveals he had checked in at Classico earlier in the evening and had become mayor by default. "The regulars know better than to claim Classico. The cartels just don't like people who use foursquare," explained Medina.

The abduction follows a spike in social media-centered violence over the weekend in northern Mexico, where rival gangs have engaged in bitter Tweet flame wars and have allegedly phished their competing Facebook community pages.