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MANZANILLO, Mexico — Mexico tried to send a pointed message to the world Wednesday that it took its fight against drug trafficking seriously. Officials burned one of the largest shipments of narcotics ever seized, sending about 23 tons of cocaine into the tropical sky in a black plume.
The shipment, seized Oct. 31, was destroyed as the U.S. Congress considers a plan to give Mexico $1 billion in aid over the next two years to help curb drug trafficking.
The cocaine powder, with a street value of $2.7 billion, according to U.S. estimates, was found in containers on a ship that arrived in late October from Colombia.
