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America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 10-05-2009 Previous Emails (Narco News) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------this is what I was working on----------------------------------- "Ranch one location: (GPS hand held location) N 31 46' 49.96 W 107 01' 59.94 MX Ranch 1/2 mile south of new border fence. (3.5 miles south from NM hiway # 9 at mile marker #125 going to the south to new border fence ( #20 thru # 27 fence markers) Be careful its a very dangerous place. note; S/E of this ranch about two or three miles is the place know as the "Crater". Its a volcanic mountain and on the north side is the crater. On the other side of the mountain (south) is another ranch in question... it could be the 'compond' you asked about. It would be inside Mexico about four miles south of border ( at fence marker approx #17 on border road): Before you get to the crater going S/E from ranch one, there is a fork in the road... the east fork goes to the crater and the other goes south around the mountain to the ranch.., from the ranch the south road goes to MX hiway # 2. At the fork in the road (north side of mountain) is where the Mexican Army is using two backholes and ground radar looking for bodies. I was told they found two last week. ... their cover story is they are digging a pipeline in that area. However, sensitive Mexican Army Task Force Intel reports they think aprox 200 bodies could be buried in this are from a shoot out south of Juarez a few weeks ago (or month perhaps 21 killed) They are going back into the area next week. ...". 3 Images | View Slideshow | Download Selected | Download All 1 Mexico Ranch gravesite area.JPG (4898KB) Mexico Ranch at Border 4-06-09 021.JPG (2338KB) Mexico Ranch Communications at Border 4-06-09 009.JPG (2681KB) 3 Images | View Slideshow | Download Selected | Download All 1 Mexico Ranch gravesite area.JPG (4898KB) Mexico Ranch at Border 4-06-09 021.JPG (2338KB) Mexico Ranch Communications at Border 4-06-09 009.JPG (2681KB) America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 11-05-2009 For those who may be interested in this subject matter. New release:
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THE BORDER REPORT
I expect the Homeland Security Department to engage in paranoid fantasies; it’s good for budgets, great for morale, and delineates a nice, clear boundary between friend and foe. That’s the game.
The latest fantasy is somewhat astounding in that the Feds attribute the new threat to their successes on the border. I guess I expect that, too. What I don’t expect is a newspaper the stature of the Los Angeles Times to allow itself to be used as a tool for those fantastic delusions. But that’s exactly what the paper did yesterday when it published a story about an internal law enforcement report that Joaquín Shorty Guzmán had lain down the order to kill any Fed that gets in the way. The report itself exists; no question there. The only problem is, it wasn’t Chapo who wrote it. It was issued in February after Chapo visited Trincheras, near Sonoyta, Sonora. It’s been discounted as not credible, say sources in the FBI whom I asked this morning. Lending to the belief that it’s not credible, here is a similar and more recent one from the Chihuahua/Texas border, warning U.S. law enforcement that the Zetas are also planning to kill U.S. agents. Either the Feds need a wider variety of snitches or Sinaloa and Tamaulipas are holding a contest. This one from New Mexico actually holds a little more water than the Chapo alert because it gives some specifics about how the Zetas have been seen practicing with paintball guns on traffic stops. Going back to the LA Times for a moment, I knew I’d read this quote correctly yesterday but I still had to read it a few times over because it was incredible in its sheer audacity: Here’s Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector chief Robert Gilbert expounding to the Times on the attacks on his agents: “The tactics, the aggressiveness. We’re victims of our own success.” Now, he said, “they’ll fight us.” I’d love to know which successes the Border Patrol would like to point to. The agency can point to apprehensions all it wants, gotaways are the only number that matters and I know for a fact that narcotic street prices are as stable as ever, perhaps he meant job security. Then they happily filled in the reporter with all the conjecture he needed for his piece:
A crew of bajadores took out another crew on the highway to Phoenix (happens about twice a month going back to 2003). Agents in Tucson Sector were assaulted 113 times between October and March. True. One of those was cracked in the head with a cinderblock. Unless Chapo has issued orders to lay siege Donkey Kong-style, I’m fairly certain that was an attack by some angst-filled slob on the southside. There was a suppressive fire incident in Douglas three weeks ago. That was fairly impressive with Customs helicopters and floodlights – but also old hat in southeastern Arizona. Agua Prieta cowboys pinning down the Feds until their load trucks can slip back into Sonora is a story as old as Pancho Villa. Again with the “barrages of rocks,” a little above that. Does the Times believe that the Sinaloa Federation, the dominant supplier of a $58 billion a year cocaine addiction industry in the U.S. alone is hucking rocks at Border Patrol agents? The Chihuahua bulletin gives a better level of detail about what may be expected in New Mexico and Texas. The bulletin was issued April 23 alleging that the Zetas have issued orders that if you lose a load to a U.S. agent, you die. The orders came with an example of a recently murdered drug smuggler who had lost a load of narcotics a few days before, the intel report notes. One particular detail that caught my eye was this one: “Los Zetas members have been training for confrontations with law enforcement by practicing traffic stops using paintball guns.” The underscoring difference between the Zetas and the Sinaloans is that the Zetas may actually be stupid enough to pull a stunt like this. Their public relations has always been horrible; nobody’s going to forget what they did to Nuevo Laredo anytime soon. So maybe it’s true, and maybe it’s Sinaloans blaming Zetas who are blaming Sinaloans, no sé. But this we do know; the last time shooting incident involving a Border Patrol agent in Tucson Sector was January 2008; the agent opened fire on the driver after the guy tried driving off with the agent trapped by the door. The last time someone hunted a Border Patrol agent in Tucson Sector was summer 2005 when Los Numeros took down two agents with high-powered rifles near Nogales. Of course, there was that minor incident a few weeks ago when one Border Patrol agent shot another in the back here in Tucson, but apparently nobody wants to talk about that … America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 11-05-2009 Interview with a hitman Todd Bensman interviews a former Mexican soldier who changed sides, joining a drug cartel. By Todd Bensman Published: May 8, 2009 07:39 ET Updated: May 9, 2009 09:20 ET -A +A SAN ANTONIO , Texas — Through Department of Homeland Security contacts, Texas journalist Todd Bensman arranged in November 2008 to interview a former Mexican special forces soldier who went AWOL and joined the Gulf Cartel's notoriously brutal The Zetas enforcement gang. The Zetas are responsible for thousands of murders and for operating houses of torture all along the Mexican side of the Texas border. The cartel foot soldier had left the organization several years prior to the interview, and had become a cooperating witness for the U.S. government in the upcoming trial of extradited Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen in Houston . The former gunman was produced for Bensman to interview on strict condition that his name and other revealing details not be publicly disclosed, for his protection. Bensman questioned the Zeta about how his gang procured American weapons. How long were you in the military? Seven years. Then in the cartel, what was your job? What did you do? Basically, I was a hitman. Your job was to do what? Bodyguard and things like that. Kill people, kidnap, all kind of stuff like that. That's an interesting change from the military. Yeah. It's almost the same, but without permission. What does it pay? How much did you make? About $500 per week. You would be an expert from your military training. Were you ever involved in the procurement of weapons? Not directly, but I saw little things of how they introduced the weapons in the country, into Mexico . How did it work? The same person that works for the organization here in the United States, they get the weapons and they carry them to Mexico ... They never had any problems to cross them into Mexico at the border. Sometimes they use secret compartments to hide the weapons, but not all the time. The principal way was crossing the river or by the international bridges. Who would buy the weapons? I'm not sure about that because I never was there. But the same people that work for the organization here in the U.S. , I don't know how to explain in English, they have to be U.S. citizens to buy the weapons. They get some people to buy the weapons, every kind of them, and then pay them for it ... . The people who was working here in U.S. selling the drugs, they were the same that get the weapons. It was people who was working directly for my boss, so he said "don't bring me money, bring me weapons." What kinds of weapons did you have, did you carry? When I was in the organization, we asked for them to bring weapons like Heckler and Koch, MP5, and M-16 or something like that, AR-15, but the most we wanted Heckler and Koch and Colt AR-15 'cuz they were the better weapons. We knew about weapons, so we ask them for the best weapons we could use for that work. <!--pagebreak--> Who would you ask? The leader of the escort. He was a nearby person, close person. We ask them to bring us Barrett rifles, .50 caliber, 'cuz we have them in the military, so we knew about them. Grenades and all kinds of stuff. You knew how to use the weapons? Actually, the escort leader, he had been a sniper in the army, in the military, so he knew exactly what he wants. When you would receive an AR-15, would you convert it to automatic? Sometimes, yeah. There was a person in Mexico that could do that change. Just adding a little piece of metal. In Spanish is the safety thing. Don't know it in English. So you always had American weapons? Yeah, actually, the MP5s we got were made in Germany , but they brought them from the U.S. Always automatic? Yes sir. What do you do now? Manual job. I'm a craftsman or something like that. How long did you work for the organization? Three years. When you received these weapons, did you take away the serial numbers? No sir. It isn't necessary ... Most of the times, the local authorities, the state police or the municipal police, they protect us all the time, so we don't need to erase nothing. We don't cover the parts or nothing. Did you keep your weapon, the same one, all the time, or was there a central warehouse, where were these weapons kept? When we were in service, because we had days off too, we kept the weapons all the time with us. But when we were tourists, there were safety houses, each small group have their own safety houses to keep the weapons and vehicles and every kind of stuff. So before you go to the home, you have to pass through the safety house, leave all your equipment, weapons and everything, and then you go to the home. It's interesting to me because there was a ban on these kind of guns, you couldn't buy these guns very easily, how did you get these assault weapons? I don't have no idea. Where did you get the military weapons? We received hand grenades all the time. From the U.S. , we don't know where they came from. One time we got some oldie machine guns, this one with three-foot stand, it was brought. There were two of them. They were Browning, I guess. Caliber 7.62. And some grenade launchers, Just the grenade launcher, that you can put on the guard-hand to the rifle. That kind of grenade launcher. <!--pagebreak--> How did you get ammunition? When we need some ammo, just cross somebody who can come here to the United States legally. They would go to the store and buy some ammo. Whatever the caliber because you don't need an ID or be a citizen or resident or nothing. How much ammunition did you see? Buckets filled with it. You could enter into the safety houses and see buckets full of ammunition. So you could go and see whatever caliber do I need and take your own ammunition, magazines and everything. There's no restriction for buying. There weren't, but I don't know if there is already. What did you use these weapons for? Oh, (to) kill people, or hurt people. Use them as a tool for kidnap and for escort drugs. After you hurt or killed somebody, did you keep the weapons or throw them? Yes sir. The same gun to kill persons in different events. If you are caught with the weapons, they never noted that the weapon was used in so many crimes. They don't do the investigation, how do you say the CSI things, tests for the weapons to match the crimes. They don't do that in Mexico , so it was no problem to keep the same weapon. How many people in your group? In my escort group, about 40 persons. Was everybody armed better than the local police or the military? Yeah, but a lot of, for the first thing, we got uniforms. The local police didn't have uniforms. Many times, they couldn't afford them. We had better vehicles. Better radio communications, and much better weapons because we had automatic and the same weapons and we had ammo in it. Sometimes we cuff some cops and take their weapons and they don't have ammo. I remember one time we took a pistol from a guy who tried to stop us, so when we take the weapon, I show it to my boss and I told him, he has no ammo and he tried to stop us. What is he thinking about? The most times, we were better armed than the local police. Not the army, just the local police. Why is all this happening, all this shooting and killing, decapitations? It's a big war. Many organizations started war in two or three different fronts at the same time, so they are making alliances with another group who has money to get weapons and to get supplies for keep the war. I mean there are groups who has the training because all the members are military, but there are groups that have the money because they are working more often with drugs here to the U.S. so they are receiving more money. These groups are working together to fight their enemies. Why not just stay in the military? I told you, I had a problem in the military, so I left the military. About a couple of months then I met him and he offered me the work ... .. It was a legal problem. I was working on a special commission and I had a legal problem over there. Were there a lot of military people like you who were going to the cartel? Yeah. What were their reasons? Many reasons. Some for the money. Some for they have nothing to do ... .. As your work, you know a lot of people. As you go to one part, you say, I know this guy and I know this guy. And that guy knows another two. It's a long chain. <!--pagebreak--> And they only paid you $500 a week? That's a lot of money to you? It wasn't too much for me, but it was enough in that moment. When I started to work for him. Then some of us got a raise $1,000 per week. Did you ever get bonuses? Sometimes, yeah. What were your favorite weapons you always got in America ? M-16, AR-15 and HK. How were they kept or stored? We get them in safety houses. We have a little storage for the weapons. They were not a main storage, but each group had their own safehouse. There were a lot of little storage of weapons around the cities where we were working at. The same way the ammo. You could find buckets full of ammo, divided by calibers. For rifles or for hand weapons. They never told you to go easy on ammunition? No, 'cuz it's a tool for that work. You can't limit the use of that 'cuz it's a tool. It's a tool for the job. You were always more powerful? The police in most of the cities of Mexico are bad armed, so we had better power of fire than them. They are getting stuff, even the grenades, on the Internet and asking them to be sent to Mexico City . They bring it to your house, there's no inspection, theres; nothing, cuz in Mexico , nothing happens. Read more about Mexico 's drug war: Clash of the cartels: a guide Meet the drug lords Investigation: US retailers fuel Mexico 's drug wars Source URL (retrieved on May 11, 2009 12:14 ): http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/090506/interview-hitman America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 12-05-2009 What the Hell is going on down here? The media will not even look at what is hapening this is the Mexican epidemic. how do we stop the killings?... how do we let the American people know what we just found?... Two of these bodies have been ID as missing America's..., Washington DC and Homeland just told this Task Force crew... 'We are looking into this".., same thing they told them in March before the Swine flu outbreak... that is what they Told us last month when we received a phone from the Gov of NM. That is what Senator John Kerry told the media when he was down here in March. We were in Columbus New Mexico across from Palomas Mexico yesterday (Sunday May 10 09.., and the town people told us they are scared to even talk about what is going on in Columbus... they said they have begged Homeland Security to come down so they can show them... The only respond they have received to date is "We are looking into it and we have a plan". A fricking forum letter. People die and its not from the flu. boy what a can of worms our elected officials are. note: Released today Palomas Mexico/Columbus NM 3:57 P.M. to be media release review: ........ 10 BODIES FOUND UP TO NOW IN TWO GRAVES - SOME OF THE BODIES ARE INTACT - COYOTES AND OTHER SCANVENGERS SPREAD REMAINS THROUGHOUT THE DESERT AREA (IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THOSE REMAINS) - THE CLOTHING ON SOME OF THE BODIES IS STILL INTACT (MEANING THEY MAY HAVE RECENTLY BEEN BURIED) - PIECES OF DETERIORATING CLOTHING, DUCT TAPE AND BULLET SHELL HAVE BEEN FOUND AT THE SITE - THE HEAD OF ONE OF THE BODIES WAS COMPLETELY WRAPPED WITH DUCT TAPE - POLICE LOOKING INTO MISSING PERSON CASES IN PALOMAS AND NEARBY AREA TO SEE IF THEY MAY BE SOME OF THE BODIES FOUND AT THE SITE America's Mexican Border Wars - Linda Minor - 12-05-2009 Tosh Plumlee Wrote:[image posted mentioned that Los Zetas was comprised of ex-military men in Mexico that makes up enforcement arm of the Gulf drug cartel. http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f85a9ff12311fcc1895e0801f6df8d2f
Mexico’s Drug War: Soldiers versus Narco-Soldiers
La Prensa San Diego, News Analysis, Alex Sánchez, Posted: Jun 04, 2007 ... Los Zetas More mysterious and less transparent than the regular Mexican military are Los Zetas. Little is known about the members of the “military wing” of various drug cartels, in part to spare the Mexican military the embarrassment that scores of former special forces have been lured into being criminals for much higher wages. It is known that Los Zetas are often former members of the Mexican Special Air Mobile Group. In the late 1990s, this unit was sent to the Mexican state of Michoacán, where it is believed that the unit’s command made its initial contacts with the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. Over the next several years, the desertion level within the elite group began to mount. It is now known that most of these former soldiers were hired by the Gulf Cartel, becoming essentially hit men and contract killers. It is unclear how many Zetas are currently under the control of the Gulf Cartel, but various reports put the number at no more than several hundred.... Zeta operations are not directed solely at fighting the Mexican security forces. The different drug cartels operating in the country are in a constant struggle for territory and greater control of the drug flow. The Zetas therefore also fight the security wings of other drug cartels. Some of these groups include “Los Negros” of the Sinaloa cartel and “Los Chachos” of the Juarez cartel. It is unknown whether the other cartels are also employing former soldiers as hit men, but if they are not yet, it seems only a matter of time until they do. Finally, the Mexican military will essentially be fighting the various cartels without the help of the police. It is well known that many members of the Mexican police are on the drug-traffickers’ payroll, which explains their ineffectiveness in tackling organized crime. http://www.elandar.com/bush/amigos.html George W. Bush Jr.
Friend and ally of Ernesto Ancira Jr. Roy Barrera Sr. Ernesto Ancira Jr., Friend of George and Laura Bush, co-chair Adelante con Bush, Bushes (Jr. and Sr.) campaigned for him in 1992 State Senate run. On board of The Dominion. Friend and/or associate of: Guillermo Ávila; Gus García; Roy Barrera, Jr.; Cousin of Alonso Ancira Roy Barrera Jr. Head of San Antonio Republican party, Adelante con Bush (Sr.), Bush Team 100, campaigning for W, said to be cabinet contender. Enrique Fuentes León, lawyer for Gulf Cartel, linked to Ruiz Massieu and Colosio assassinations, CONVICTED of bribery, now imprisoned in Mexico in connection with murder of Nellie Campobello. Has OUTSTANDING WARRANT in U.S. on attempted bribery charges. ... Lawyer for Gulf cartel CONVICTED of bribery, partner in Planeta Mexico with Rogelio Gasca Jr. Bought large tract of Dominion property, sold part of it to Image Homes Ltd, which sold it to Crescent Real Estate, a company George W. Bush invested in. (more under Roy Barrera, Jr.) Linked to assassination of José Francisco Ruiz Massieu (below). Manuel Muñoz Rocha FUGITIVE wanted in connection with assassination of PRI politician José Francisco Ruiz Massieu. Was paid $500,000 by check issued from Bank Audi, Geneva. Last seen in San Antonio with Enrique Fuentes León. Manuel Pacheco Admitted money launderer CONVICTED, partner in Planeta Mexico with Enrique Fuentes León. Gary Jacobs President of Laredo National Bank, owned and run by Carlos Hank Rhon and Carlos Hank Gonzalez. Donated $61,000 to George W. Bush. In another case, was fined last spring by FEC for violating campaign finance laws. Carlos Hank González Known as the PRI king-maker, the “Dinosaur” of the party, his family has been investigated for cartel links, murder and money laundering, NOT CHARGED. ... Quote:by Julie Reynolds America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 12-05-2009 We don't hear much about this flu epidemic... everday many die of this type of the border flu from the Mexican cartels... Its already here in the USA Columbus New Mexico is a good example; six dead two Americans died last week. Mexican Drug Trafficking by Air in Costa Rica Authorities in Costa Rica released information this past week regarding the investigation of a May 1 helicopter crash in which nearly 900 pounds of cocaine were recovered. The cause of the crash is still undetermined, but government officials have identified the two bodies found at the scene as a Mexican passenger reportedly from Sinaloa state and the Costa Rican pilot, who flew for Costa Rica’s Public Security Ministry for 15 years before reportedly working as a private pilot for various hotels and businesses. At the crash scene, investigators recovered three cellular phones, a briefcase, documents and the cocaine. Noticeably absent were the aircraft’s global positioning system and a small amount of cocaine, which led investigators to suspect that a third passenger may have been on board and survived the crash. Officials said that the removal of the navigational equipment has made it very difficult to trace the aircraft’s path before the crash, although there are reports that it took off from San Isidro and was headed to Turrialba, a town some 50 miles away, where the pilot was expected at a hotel. Authorities have also said that they suspect the drug shipment was intended for the Sinaloa cartel, though it is unclear what evidence is being used as the basis for that assessment. Costa Rican immigration authorities have confirmed that three weeks before the crash, the pilot had spent a week in Mexico, though it is not known where he went or whom he met with. However, there are reports that several Mexican nationals — described as “investment partners” of the pilot — had been waiting at the hotel for the helicopter’s arrival. While this appears to be the first documented case of Central American drug trafficking involving a helicopter, it matches many of the other characteristics of narcotics trafficking in the region. More specifically, the smuggling route appears to be composed of several short legs that employ a variety of vehicles and are apparently managed or coordinated by a Mexican national who has secured logistical support from locals. As more information is uncovered during this investigation, it may ultimately be possible to trace more closely the helicopter’s point of origin and ultimate destination, as well as the various actors involved along the way. Such information will be key to better understanding the new role that Central America is playing in the Western Hemisphere drug trade. [URL="http://www1.stratfor.com/images/interactive/Mexico_Weekly_05_11_09.htm"] [/URL] May 4
America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 16-05-2009 WHO CARES? AMERICANS DON'T .... WE"RE TO LAZY TO CARE! KILL UM ALL AND LET GOD SORT UM' OUT! Killings of 4 Americans in Tijuana sow fear AP – A man walks through an empty Pasaje Gomez, a commercial corridor in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, May 15, … By GUILLERMO ARIAS and AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Writers Guillermo Arias And Amy Taxin, Associated Press Writers – 48 mins ago TIJUANA, Mexico – The slayings of four young Americans in Tijuana sowed fear in Southern California on Friday as Mexican prosecutors tried to determine whether the youths were involved in the country's violent drug trade or innocent victims of a brutal crime. The victims, two men and two women in their teens and early 20s, said they were headed for a night of partying across the border only to be found strangled, stabbed and beaten a few days later. Mexican officials are investigating whether any of the four San Diego-area victims had ties to the drug trade, after a toxicology report tested positive for cocaine on the body of Brianna Hernandez, who was either 18 or 19. Another victim, Oscar Jorge Garcia, 23, was apprehended in the San Diego area in January 2008 with six illegal immigrants in the car, but never charged in the case, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. The parents of 20-year-old victim Carmen Jimena Ramos Chavez on Friday described a vibrant Chula Vista High graduate who worked at an amusement park for children and planned to become a hair stylist. "She was a happy girl, with a desire to explore the world," said her father, Rogelio Ramos Camano, of Chula Vista. "Young people are like that. They think nothing will happen. I was like that, too." Mexican prosecutors said the victims had been bound and tortured — common tactics by Mexican drug gangs — before being left in a van in a dusty slum on the outskirts of Tijuana. Jose Manuel Yepiz, a spokesman for the Baja California state prosecutor's office, said investigators were examining a threatening letter to one of the victims from a jail inmate in San Diego. Prosecutors said they had ruled out the possibility that the killings were a case of drug gangs targeting tourists. Tijuana, which sits across the border from San Diego, has a reputation as one of Mexico's most violent border cities. Authorities said 843 people were slain there in 2008, many in drug-related violence. Since taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 45,000 soldiers to combat drug cartels in the country whose turf battles have killed more than 10,750 people over the last two-and-a-half years. Violence had diminished in Tijuana in recent months, only to pick up a few weeks ago with seven police officers killed in brazen attacks on one day. Victor Clark, a professor at San Diego State University's Center for Latin American Studies, said criminal ties with any one of the Americans could have spelled disaster for the group. "Maybe they broke the rules, which means death" when dealing with Mexico's drug cartels, said Clark, a Tijuana resident and native. "And they dragged their friends down with them." Relatives said the victims were familiar with both sides of the border and navigating the area's bilingual culture — but may have taken their safety for granted. Ramos said he had often told his daughter, who was born in Tijuana but raised from a young age in the U.S., that Tijuana was too dangerous, and she assured him she was always careful. But Ramos said he didn't offer any warnings as his daughter got ready ready to go out with her friend Brianna on May 7, even as he watched a news program about killings in Tijuana on Mexican television. "I think God put that out there so I would do something, but I didn't dare," he said in Spanish, shaking his head, recalling how they were already primped and ready to go. U.S. tourists, already warned by the U.S. State Department to be cautious in Mexico because foreign bystanders have been killed, now appear even less likely to visit once-popular destinations like Tijuana. "I'm not going to T.J. unless it's absolutely necessary," Amelia Lopez, a friend of a victim told television station San Diego 6. "Before, you know, you go to eat or have a good time or shopping. Nothing like that." ___ Associated Press Writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report. America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 19-05-2009 This will perhaps be my last post on this subject. We have been pulled back from the border and the Task Force has been called back to Ft. Huchuca. The Mexican Army is being slowly pulled back, 1000 to go back to Mexico City next week and 3000 out by Sept.... The cartels have moved back into the old huants and have won this battle along the border. Homeland Security has their head in the sand. Who cares? It does not effect us Americans. Right? Fm,..TF 7 Intel Report... one of the last for me... disgusted at apathy... same ole' same ole'.. in Juarez this weekend: classified Task Force field report and recap xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx Compare this to the flu outbreak..... ".... A very violent weekend across the border with at least 2 dozen homicides reported. [size=12]O[/SIZE]ur Juarez media partner Channel 44 tells us there were 13 homicides across the river on Friday alone , two of those murders involved beheadings, police say the bodies of two men were found handcuffed , their heads laying on the ground near by, the gruesome discovery was in the small town of Porfirio Parra in the Juarez lower valley across from Fabens, on Saturday six persons were gunned down in Juarez , the six homicides included the shooting death of a 15 yr old Coronado High School student. On Sunday another 5 persons were found shot dead in different parts of Juarez. Big question is what happened to the Mexican army presence being a deterrent? XXXXXXX NOW FOR THE REST OF MEXICO: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEXICO SECURITY MEMO: MAY 18, 2009 Zacatecas Prison Break More than 50 inmates were freed from a prison in Cieneguillas, Zacatecas state, in the early morning of May 16. The inmates reportedly were serving sentences for crimes relating to organized crime, and some of their identities were released as police released public safety bulletins during the ensuing manhunt. Several government officials stated that the group behind the prison break could be linked to the Gulf cartel or Los Zetas, though the basis for that assertion remains unclear. Based on available information, the rescue occurred at 5 a.m. local time, lasted less than 10 minutes and did not involve a single shot being fired. It began when a group of armed men — some reportedly dressed as federal police officers — arrived at the prison in some 15 vehicles. According to one report, a helicopter also was involved in the rescue. Authorities said these and other details of the rescue suggest that prison officials were complicit in the escape, and nearly all prison guards and directors on duty at the time are in custody. That the prison officials appear to have been bought off also raises questions regarding the accuracy of their description of the rescue. Though by no means the first such prison break in Mexico, this particular prison break is certainly noteworthy in terms of the coordination involved and the number of prisoners rescued at one time, as well as the fact that a helicopter may have been involved in the rescue (though it is unclear exactly what role it played). Regardless, prison breaks such as this one are an inevitable symptom of Mexico’s rampant corruption and weak judicial system, and can be expected to continue to play a role in the country’s cartel war. ERPI: A Guerrilla Group's Re-emergence? Reports surfaced this past week about the May 9-10 appearance of Comandante Ramiro (aka Omar Guerrero Solis), leader of the People’s Insurgent Revolutionary Army (ERPI), a left-wing guerrilla group based in Guerrero state. Ramiro appeared with some 30 ERPI comrades in a remote location in Guerrero, where he gave an interview to several journalists brought there by ERPI members to cover his statements and take photographs. It was Ramiro’s first such public appearance since his 2001 escape from prison. In his statements, Ramiro accused the governor of Guerrero and the leader of the state’s cattle ranching union of creating paramilitary organizations to fight insurgents like those of ERPI. He claimed that ERPI for several years has battled these paramilitaries along with organized criminal groups, and he provided details of specific engagements as corroboration. These engagements already were well known, though Ramiro said authorities always described them as involving drug traffickers or organized crime, not insurgents. Ramiro also sought to distance himself from organized criminal groups such as drug-trafficking organizations, and accused President Felipe Calderon of protecting Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera — a common assertion among El Chapo’s enemies. Based on these statements, very little appears to have changed in ERPI’s ideology, especially compared with the online communiques the group often releases. ERPI shares a similar ideology with the more well-known left-wing guerrilla group the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), from which its leaders split in 1998. While both groups carried out small-arms and sniper attacks on police and soldiers in the 1990s, EPR has more recently shifted its tactics to bomb attacks on buildings and infrastructure designed to limit the possibility of casualties. ERPI, on the other hand, claims to have continued using the same tactics to kill its enemies. Even though STRATFOR cannot corroborate Ramiro’s claims that it was ERPI members — and not drug traffickers — involved in the firefights he cited, it is nonetheless significant that Ramiro has resurfaced. This development could suggest, for example, that his organization and support network have grown to the point where he is now able to make such appearances without jeopardizing his security. In this context, ERPI warrants a closer look in the coming weeks and months. May 11 The bodies of two people were found inside a vehicle in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero state, each with several gunshot wounds. Authorities in Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, Guerrero state, removed several banners hanging from highway overpasses directed at President Felipe Calderon and signed by La Familia. A group of armed men surrounded and ambushed a patrol, killing three police officers and wounding two in La Huacana, Michoacan state. May 12 Authorities at Mexico City International Airport seized more than 1,300 pounds of cocaine hidden in cargo on a flight from Colombia. Two men died after being shot multiple times while driving in Navolato, Sinaloa state. Soldiers in Ziracuaretiro, Michoacan state, seized more than 8 tons of methamphetamines from a production facility. May 13 An alleged drug trafficker was wounded during a firefight with soldiers that began after an army patrol came across several men hauling a load of marijuana in Apaxtla de Castrejon, Guerrero state. A police officer in Mocorito, Sinaloa state, was abducted from his home and later found dead. Police and soldiers responding to the kidnapping exchanged gunfire with the suspects, killing one. May 14 Several armed men shot and killed a police officer and seven members of his family, including four minors, in Cunduacan, Tabasco state. Police in Tijuana, Baja California state, identified three people killed May 9 as U.S. citizens. The victims were found wrapped in blankets and bearing signs of torture. Several men killed a police commander and his bodyguard after opening fire on the pair in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes state. At least seven people were reported killed in separate organized crime-related violence in Sinaloa state, including a police officer shot dead near Los Mochis. May 16 At least five people were reported dead in separate incidents in Sinaloa state, including a 74-year-old man found shot dead in Badiraguato. A federal police officer was wounded after being shot several times while driving in Tarimbaro, Michoacan state. A high-ranking police official in Tijuana, Baja California state, died after being shot multiple times while driving to work. America's Mexican Border Wars - Tosh Plumlee - 20-05-2009 xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx Tosh..... We will be pulling out June 1st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Well things are getting back to normal in Juarez now tthat the army is pulling out. Also. Another person died in American from the Swine flu I think that makes four? 2 men shot to death, another wounded in south Juarez yesterday, witnesses told police the 3 were shot by a group of heavily armed men , investigators say the suspects fired at least 30 rounds at the victims --counting the guy found in a drum inside a car trunk , thats at least 3 homicides yesterday in Juarez, ---once again Juarez is averaging between 3 and 5 homicides a day, more on weekends-, if last Fridays 13 is any indication--cr Dos hombres ejecutados y uno más herido de gravedad fue el saldo de un ataque perpetrado por un comando armado ayer en La Cuesta. El incidente se registró aproximadamente a las 19:30 horas en las calles Cordillera de los Andes cruce con Sierra de Picacho, donde los tres hombres de entre 20 a 25 años se encontraban en el exterior de una vivienda. De acuerdo a la versión de testigos los agresores viajaban en una camioneta Pathfinder gris y un Stratus blanco desde donde realizaron al menos 30 disparos. Los balazos hicieron blanco en los tres hombres de los cuales dos murieron y uno más resulto herido. Al darse el ataque las víctimas intentaron resguardarse de los disparos por lo que uno de ellos quedo debajo de un automóvil Linconl Town Car. Tras la agresión dos hombres quedaron sin vida, mientras que uno de ellos recibió los impactos en una de las piernas, por lo que familiares lo llevaron de manera inmediata al Hospital Juárez que se encuentra a unos metros del lugar del incidente sobre la Cordillera de los Andes y Oscar Flores. Una de las personas sin vida vestía una playera color naranja, pantaloncillo corto negro y tenis blancos, mientras que el otro una camiseta oscura y pantalón de mezclilla. Después de unos minutos de ingresado al Hospital Juárez, familiares solicitaron el traslado del herido a otro nosocomio. *body {background:#FFF;}body {background:#FFF;} America's Mexican Border Wars - Linda Minor - 21-05-2009 The murder rate in Juarez is about equal to that in Houston, Texas. http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090103_mp_murder-numbers-drop.3513e2ce.html January 3, 2009 HOUSTON -- For the second year in a row, the number of murders in Houston has declined. HPD believes the extra academy classes and overtime has put more of their men and women on the streets, resulting in a safer city. But one veteran homicide detective said there's another reason they are seeing less murders. He said it has to do with Houston’s EMS and their medical skills. “Unfortunately, there is more violence going on. But we have an efficient system between the police department, the fire department, the hospitals and the trauma centers, so we're doing a better job of keeping those folks alive,” said Dr. David Persse, Director of Houston EMS. In 2006, there were 376 homicides within the city limits. In 2007, the number dropped to 347, and in 2008, it dropped again to 292. ... |