Casino Royale Attack: Los Zetas Firebomb Monterrey Casino — 52 Dead

Nine Los Zetas members storm the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Nuevo León, spray the interior with gasoline, and detonate grenades to ignite it. The blaze kills 52 people — mostly middle-aged women playing bingo — in the deadliest cartel attack on civilians in five years. The casino had refused to pay the Zetas' $10,000 weekly extortion fee. Calderón declares three days of national mourning, calling it 'an act of barbarity.'