MEXICO CITY Mexico was shaken Monday by what officials described as the strongest aftershock yet from a powerful

l earthquake that killed at least two people and destroyed thousands of homes late last month. Officials said there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries from the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey initially reported as a magnitude of 6.3, but later downgraded to a 6.0. Office towers rocked back and forth for several seconds in the center of Mexico City after the quake at 12:36 p.m. (17:36 GMT) Monday afternoon and workers evacuated their buildings and gathered in the street. The quake was barely perceptible in some other parts of the city. Mexico's seismological service described it as the strongest of at least 280 aftershocks since the March 20 quake. Some were barely noticed, while others shook buildings throughout south and central Mexico. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter that no major damage had been reported by helicopter overflights of the city and public transport and other services were functioning normally. Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire also said on Twitter that he had received no immediate reports of significant damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said Monday's aftershock had its epicenter in southern Mexico near the border of Guerrero and Oaxaca states, very close to the center of the strong quake on March 20. Mexico has been shaken by a series of strong aftershocks since that quake, which killed at least two people and damaged about 13,500 homes near its epicenter. Civil protection officials in both states close to the epicenter said there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. Last month's quake was among the strongest in Mexico since an 8.1-magnitude temblor killed an estimated 10,000 people in Mexico City in 1985. A magnitude-8.0 quake near Manzanillo on Mexico's central Pacific coast killed 51 people in 1995 and a magnitude-7.5 quake killed at least 20 people in the southern state of Oaxaca in 1999.

The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels fighting each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces seeking to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was raging between different rival drug cartels in Mexico before any military intervention was made.[27] In addition, the Mexican government has claimed that their primary focus is on dismantling the powerful drug cartels, rather than on drug trafficking prevention, which is left to U.S. functionaries.[28][29][30]

Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medelln cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.[31] Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.[32][33][34] Analysts estimate that wholesale earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 billion[31] to $49.4 billion annually