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July 8th Badanov's Buzzkill Bulletin

July 8, 2012, 9:00 am
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Post Article 41 Edition

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Mexican Army and naval units since June 26th have seized in several counternarcotics operations a total of 7884.942 kilograms of marijuana, 4.53 kilograms of glass methamphetamine, 171.44 kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of marijuana seeds, according to data provided by official Mexican news sources.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 4th Military Zone located a vehicle containing guns and munitions June 25th near the village of Maycoba in Yecora municipality in Sonora.  Soldiers found three rifles, one 40mm grenade launcher attachment, two 40mm grenades, 16 weapons magazines and 575 rounds of ammunition.
  • On June 30th in Yecora municipality in Sonora, an army unit with the Mexican 4th Military Zone located a vehicle containing drugs and other contraband.  Soldiers found 320 kilograms of marijuana, one handgun, one truck, one trailer, one motorcycle and tactical gear.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 9th Military Zone found a hidden synthetic drug laboratory in Sinaloa state July 3rd.  The find was made near El Rancho La Palma in Sanalona Sindicatura in Culiacan municipality, where soldiers found 1.7 metric tons of solid material among them methamphetamine, caustic soda, sodium acetate and tartaric acid.  A total of 1,341 liters of liquid substances including methamphetamine, mercury, ethanol, acetic anhydride, acetone, hydrochloric acid and methylamine were found.  A total of 11 reactors, 13 burners, 29 tanks of gas and other contraband were seized during the raid as well.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 34 Military Zone detained two unidentified suspects and seized a number of contraband including drugs and guns in Quintana Roo June 26th.  Contraband seized included 1.63 kilograms of marijuana, 60 grams of cocaine, .530 kilograms of glass methamphetamine, five rifles, one handgun, 181 rounds of ammunition, 58 weapons magazines, nine scales, six sealers for nylon bags, 9,800 plastic bags and one vehicle. 
  • On June 29th, an army unit on patrol with the Mexican 34th Military Zone found drugs in Isla Azul colony in Cancun, Quintana Roo, including 1.6 kilograms of cocaine, 50 grams of glass, and 5.5 kilograms of marijuana. 
  • A Mexican Army unit provided support for Procuraduria General de la Republic (PGR) or attorney general agents in Coral del Mar colony on the Rosarito to Ensenada highway in Playas de Rosarita municipality in Baja California July 6th where a small sailing boat was seized containing 502 kilograms of marijuana in 320 packages.
  • A separate Mexican Army patrol in Playa de Rosarito municipality turned up a second small boat and some vehicles.  Seized during the raid were  169.84 kilograms of cocaine in 150 packages, 56 grams of crystal methamphetamine, .442 kilograms of marijuana, two rifles, one handgun, three weapons magazines, 307 rounds of ammunition, one boat with outboard motor and five vehicles.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 8th Military Zone exchanged gunfire with armed suspects July 4th in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.  The unit was on patrol in the area when it came under small arms fire.  Soldiers with the unit returned fire and ended the firefight.  Three armed suspects were detained.  Four rifles, 24 weapons magazines, 1,325 rounds of ammunition and one vehicles were also seized.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone killed four armed suspects when soldiers came under small arms fire in San Miguel Villas colony in Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas.  Seized in the aftermath were three rifles, one 40mm grenade launcher, three 40mm grenades, 24 .223 caliber weapons magazines, 530 .223 caliber rounds of ammunition, and one stolen vehicle.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 41st Military Zone located a hidden drug laboratory in Jalisco state July 5th.  The find was made in Autlan de Navarro municipality where soldiers found nine reactors, 12 metal and plastic containers, 67 200 liter drums, 3,000 liters of toluene in 15 containers, 2,500 kilograms of caustic soda in 100 bags, one generator and five kilograms of marijuana seeds.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone located more than two metric tons of marijuana in Tamaulipas state July 7th.  The unit was on patrol in Miguel Aleman municipality when it found 2.197 metric tons of marijuana in 500 packages hidden in the bush.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 43rd Military Zone detained one unidentified individual and seized drugs at a military checkpoint in Michoacan state July 4th.  The location of the checkpoint was on the Morelia- to Lazaro Cardenas highway near Mugica municipality where a passenger bus was stopped and searched.  Soldiers turned up four kilograms of glass methamphetamine in seven packages.  The bus had a terminus in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 27th Military Zone located a camp in Guerrero state July 5th seizing guns and drugs.  The camp was located near the village if La Joya in Acapulco municipality where soldiers found undisclosed quantities of marijuana and cocaine, 10 rifles, 34 weapons magazines, 1,915 rounds of ammunition, three stolen vehicles and tactical gear.
  • Mexican naval units with the 4th Naval Region based in Guayamas, Sonora intercepted suspects aboard two boats sailing northward which had aboard what turned out to be almost five metric tons of marijuana.  Suspects aboard the boats were observed tossing contraband overboard.  The captains of the boats then attempted to flee the scene. Four Mexican Navy boats and two aircraft in the area were used to intercept the contraband and the suspects.  A total of 4.86 metric tons of marijuana were seized and five suspects were detained.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
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PGR's DNA testing capability deficient

July 8, 2012, 2:35 pm
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Marcos Muedano

El Universal. 7-8-2012.  The lack of coordination between the state prosecutorial agencies and the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR; Office of Attorney General), added to the lack of specialized equipment for DNA testing, has resulted in the fact that, out of 410 bodies that have been exhumed from clandestine graves, there have only been 24 bodies identified through their relatives.

According to a PGR report, SIEDO, the PGR unit specialized in organized crime investigations, has taken part in investigations in 10 states where the bodies were found and have been successful in only one state.

The document, of which El Universal has a copy, mentions that of the 410 bodies that "were exhumed from graves found from December 1 to March 31, 2012, in Campeche, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Veracruz, only in Guerrero was it possible for PGR personnel to use DNA tests for identification."

The report details that in some cases, because only body parts were found or because the state of decomposition of the body was too advanced, it wasn't possible to determine whether it was male or female, or the age.

The agency points out that in some cases, like Chihuahua, it could not take part (in the identification process) because the state is in charge of the investigations. Meanwhile, it's not known how far the investigations have advanced in Sinaloa because the local authorities are drafting a report.

According to the PGR document, there have been five burials found in Campeche, where the investigation was turned over to the PGR. In Chihuahua, there were 10 found, and the local authorities are in charge of  the investigations.

In Coahuila, there were 9 reported. The local authorities made the find, but despite that, states the report, the investigations were turned over to the PGR due to "incompetence."

In Durango, local authorities reported 10 burial pits. The investigations were carried out by the local prosecutorial authority and the PGR simply "collaborated." In Guerrero, there was one grave reported. When it was discovered, the local authorities carried out the investigation and turned it over to the PGR.

It's known that there is one grave in Jalisco, which local authorities are investigating, which is why the PGR is "waiting for the local jurisdiction to submit (a report of) its official investigations to date." 
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Drug cartels are fighting over the Tehuantepec isthmus, warns Solalinde

July 14, 2012, 2:29 pm
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The defender of migrants' rights believes that this zone has become a strategic bridge for human and weapons trafficking. "I'm returning to one of the most dangerous areas," he says.

El Universal. 07-14-2012.

OAXACA. Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra asserts that the dispute over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec between the Gulf and the Zetas cartels, plus the political fiefdoms in this part of the country, are behind the death threats made against him.  The defender of migrants' rights believes that the area has become a strategic bridge for weapons and human trafficking. "I'm returning to one of the most dangerous areas," he says.

"The Zetas and the Gulf (cartels), along with other cartels, are fighting to get control of the Isthmus," said the cleric, who, two months after he was forced to leave the country, returns today to the (migrant) shelter Hermanos en el Camino (Brothers on the Road), in Ciudad Ixtepec. This is after receiving six death threats, which he believes were made by organized crime and the PRI administration of former governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

He states that, to date, state and federal authorities have issued 40 arrest warrants against the authors of the death threats that he received because he defended the rights of migrants. He also said that some of them are already in prison, however, he did not offer more details so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigations.

The cleric acknowledges that he is facing a difficult situation, given that the derailment of the train know as "La Bestia" (the Beast) has left thousands of  immigrants stranded. "Today we are going to the shelter to meet with the people I love. Oaxaca deserves a change, the PRI needs to renew itself if it wants to recover the public trust," insisting that this political party should not "ring the bells" because it did not win the election in a transparent fashion.

He described how, after arranging a meeting between the three levels of government, along with international organizations, three agreements were signed that include, among other things, the creation of a work group to monitor and follow up on the safety and defense of the cleric and of the migrants. The group will get together every month and its first meeting will take place August 13 in Oaxaca. The European Community delegate, Arturo Rodriguez, Governor Gabino Cue and members of the Peace Brigades and Amnesty International participated in the meeting. 

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Galloping corruption

July 14, 2012, 4:55 pm
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Ana Maria Salazar

El Universal. 07-13-2012.

Another case of government officials' corruption came to light in the U.S.: the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) revealed Tuesday that the medical equipment company Orthofix International, based in Lewisville, violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The SEC added that the bribes included cash, laptop computers and television sets, which resulted in illegal profits of $5 million. Orthofix agreed to pay a fine of $5.2 million in exchange for dropping criminal charges and commercial sanctions against the company. In addition, they sought dismissal of charges in the U.S. against their affiliate in Mexico, Promeca, who had bribed officials of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) (Mexico's social security administration) to sell orthopedic medical equipment.

The big question is why these accusations come to light in Europe or in the United States and not in Mexico. Also, why are there mechanisms in place in other countries to prosecute this kind of corruption, but in Mexico, where these acts of bribery took place and where the damage to the public resources and institutions' image actually happened, corrupt officials are not punished? Finally, why has no effort been made to recover compensation for damages from these foreign companies?

Let's look at other recent cases: Siemens entered into agreements with the United States and the European Union to pay approximately $1.6 billion in fines for bribes it paid to government officials all over the world, including bribes paid to Pemex officials. Walmart's Mexican affiliate paid up to $24 million in bribes to obtain licenses and construction permits to maintain its market dominance.

ABB paid more than $50 million in fines for bribes it paid Nestor Felix Moreno, operations director of the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), to obtain contracts that made ABB more than $81 million dollars. Lindsey Corporation was convicted with ABB of conspiracy to pay bribes, also to the FCE, and is appealing the conviction in a U.S. Federal Court.

Early this year, Tyson foods admitted it had paid bribes to Mexican veterinaries for the past ten years and agreed to pay $5.2 million in fines.

Another case is that of Paradigm Geotechnology, which paid a million dollars in fines for paying bribes to a Pemex official.

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed a network of corruption that involves Bizjet and several Mexican government officials, who had received more than $20 million in bribes.

These cases represent more than one billion dollars in fines. Yet, in Mexico, the public agencies charged with obtaining compensation for damages have not received even one peso. Is this a legal problem or (a lack of) will? I would say it's both.

How is it possible that, in every case, the companies admitted publicly that they violated the law in Mexico, and --to reach a settlement-- had to identify the government officials that received the bribes. Furthermore, these fines benefit the U.S. Treasury and not the citizens of our country, who are the real victims of these corrupt practices.

The problem is that this information is located in another country. To be able to prosecute these companies, the Mexican government would have to create mechanisms to allow it to obtain evidence against these companies and prosecute them criminally. On the other hand, Mexico's public institutions must have the political will to prosecute these cases, despite how this may affect the public image of the actual officials involved. And, there is probably a serious problem if one opens this Pandora's box, because it is not known who else, and at what level, could be involved in (public)corruption.

In Mexico, according to Coparmex (Confederacion Patronal de la Republica Mexicana; an industry association), businesses allocate up to 10% of the  Gross Domestic Product (PIB; Producto Interno Bruto) for the payment of bribes. In an interview with Contralinea, Gerardo Gutierrez Candiani, president of Coparmex, pointed out that many businesses "believe, mistakenly, that they have to engage in some issue like this [the payment of bribes], because if they do not, they will not have access, they will not be given an opportunity".

For the new administration, this will be one of the great challenges, because these cases severely impact the international image of Mexican public institutions. But in addition, while it develops international mechanisms to facilitate, prosecute and punish these corrupt companies, this should also be one of the easiest ways to clean up those institutions that are most susceptible to greater corruption in this country.  

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Feds target $20M No. Cal Medical Marijuana Dispensary

July 14, 2012, 7:37 pm
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Borderland Beat
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal prosecutors have filed civil forfeiture actions against an Oakland medical marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the world's largest, as part of a crackdown by U.S. authorities on California's massive cannabis trade.
The lawsuits, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seek forfeiture of two properties where Harborside Health Center operates, said Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California.
The action against Harborside is the latest in a crackdown on what federal prosecutors say is a flourishing network of illegal cannabis suppliers operating across California under the cover of the state's medical marijuana law.
The possession or sale of marijuana is illegal under federal law, which does not have an exemption for medical purposes.
Harborside says it is the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the world, serving more than 100,000 patients in a "beautiful waterfront location,"
and is subject of the Discovery Channel reality TV show "Weed Wars."
"The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state's medical marijuana laws and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need," Haag said in a statement on Wednesday announcing the actions.
The filing of the civil forfeiture complaints against the two Harborside properties is part of our measured effort to address the proliferation of illegal marijuana businesses in the Northern District of California," she said.
Dani Geen holds 'care packages' of medical marijuana at the Harborside Health Center in a 2010 file photo.
Dispensary vows to contest action
In a statement on its website, the clinic said, "Harborside has nothing to be ashamed of, and will contest the Federal actions openly and publicly, with every legal means at our disposal."
"We look forward to our day in court, and are confident that justice is on our side. Come what may, we shall continue to care for our patients unless we are physically prevented from doing so," the statement said.
"People are not going to stop using cannabis, they're just going to buy it in the illegal marketplace … on the streets," Harborsider co-founder and marijuana activist Steve DeAngelo told the Los Angeles Times in an interview.  
Why are federal prosecutors using their discretion to do something so profoundly destructive?" he asked, according to the newspaper.
Harborside also announced a news conference for Thursday morning to respond to the "federal attack," saying that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and other city, state and union officials would attend.
Federal crackdown
The federal crackdown has angered medical marijuana activists.
"This is the most obvious and significant step by the federal government in attacking completely law-abiding dispensaries," the Los Angeles Times quoted Kris Hermes, spokesman for the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, as saying. "It becomes more untenable for them to say they are just going after certain facilities and not just undermining the state's marijuana laws."
The drive by federal prosecutors to shut down dispensaries has caused friction between the U.S. government and California, which in 1996 became the first state to decriminalize medical marijuana. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have followed suit.
Harborside serves about 100,000 medical marijuana users a year, sells about $20 million worth of pot and marijuana products, and pays $3 million in federal, state and local taxes annually.
Dispensaries deliver between $58 million to $105 million in annual sales tax to California state coffers, according to state Board of Equalization figures cited in the Los Angeles Times.
Earlier this year, federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service raided Oaksterdam University, a medical marijuana trade school in Oakland, and forced its founder to step aside.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris, in a November interview with The New York Times, said the federal campaign had "only increased uncertainty about how Californians can legitimately comply with state law."
Harris also said federal authorities were "ill equipped to be the decision makers as to which providers are violating the law."
Federal prosecutors say the dispensaries operate outside of California law, which permits only primary caregivers to dispense marijuana and bans sale of the drug for profit.
Sources: Reuters, MSNBC, AP
Wow, this video induced a tear-what wonderful  humanitarian work (sarcasm)

Harborside’s “Dos Centavos”

WELCOME TO HARBORSIDE :Message to Harborside Patients

On Tuesday, July 10th, DEA agents taped a notice of property forfeiture to the doors of our facilities in Oakland and San Jose. These notices threaten to seize the properties we are located in from our landlords.
Harborside has nothing to be ashamed of, and will contest the Federal actions openly and publicly, with every legal means at our disposal. We look forward to our day in court, and are confident that justice is on our side. Come what may, we shall continue to care for our patients unless we are physically prevented from doing so.
Harborside is not in imminent danger of closing. We intend to keep the commitment we made six years ago to provide our patients with safe access to the medicine their doctors have recommended, for as long as we possibly can. We will never abandon you.
Our patients can help by providing their e-mail addresses, which will enable HHC to send you updates, and if necessary action alerts. We are also looking for patients who would like to participate in further activist efforts to keep the doors of Harborside open. Please speak to a receptionist or intake staff if you are would like to volunteer.
Steve and Andrew DeAngelo, Dave Wedding Dress, and the management and staff of Harborside Health Center look forward to working with our patients, other dispensaries, activist organizations, and political allies to confront and stop this latest effort by the federal government to frustrate the will of the voters, and deny medicine to those in need. Our fight may be long, but it is just, and in the end we shall be victorious. We look forward to being there with you when that great day comes.
 MEDIA ALERT!  For Immediate Release: July 11. 2012   11 AM
Thousands of Patients Threatened to Lose Safe Access
U.S. Attorney & DEA Threaten
Harborside Health Center Landlords
Property Forfeiture Filed in District Court of San Francisco
Invitation to Attend Press Conference
Oakland, California - Thursday July 12th at 9 AM -  Oakland City Hall
With Appearances and Statements by Patients, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, State Board of Equalization & City Officials, Union Officials, Arturo Sanchez, LEAP Officers, Rebecca Kaplan and Other Statewide Officials.
July 12, 2012 – Oakland, California - The federal attack on safe access for medical cannabis patients continues. Yesterday morning, taped to the front doors of the nation’s model medical cannabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland and San Jose, was an official 'Complaint for Forfeiture of Property.' The complaint is signed by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvan Perteet, and DEA Agent David White, filed on July 6, 2012, in the District Court San Francisco Division and received by the court on Sunday, July 9. The complaint seeks forfeiture of real estate and improvements on the grounds that cannabis is being distributed on the premises, in violation of federal law.
This latest federal action to seize property flies in the face of promises made by Haag to exclusively target dispensaries less than 1000 feet from a school, and recent statements from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who stated that only those dispensaries out of compliance with state law would be subject to Federal enforcement actions. Harborside Health Center is neither close to a school, nor out of compliance with state law. The location at 1840 Embarcadero is more than 1000 feet from the closest school, and Harborside is widely recognized as the most legally compliant dispensary in the state, and renowned nationwide.
“Harborside has nothing to hide or be ashamed of," said Steve DeAngelo, Executive Director of Harborside Health Center. "We will contest the DOJ action openly and in public, and through all legal means at our disposal. We look forward to our day in court, and are confident that justice is on our side.”
Harborside Health Center employs over 100 people, and is Oakland’s second largest retail tax payer. Last year, HHC paid combined taxes in excess of $3 million, over a million dollars of which went directly to the City of Oakland. Should Harborside be forced to close:
Ø  Our 100,000 patients will return to the illegal marketplace
Ø  Street drug sales and law enforcement costs will both rise
Ø  Over $3,000,000 in tax revenue will be destroyed
Ø  Our more than 100 current employees will become jobless
“This is a policy that hurts not only those who depend on cannabis for medicine. It will destroy tax revenue, endanger patients, increase unemployment, and empower criminals. Whoever thinks this is a good idea must be smoking something a lot more powerful than cannabis,” said DeAngelo.
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Sinaloa Cartel, the Threat to Arizona

July 15, 2012, 9:04 am
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The Sinaloa cartel is the largest drug trafficking criminal organization that threatens more counties in Arizona that traditionally has large problems with drug trafficking. This has been the case through their continued dominance in and through the region, according to a Justice Department report of the United States.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) estimated that drug trafficking organizations that have allied with the "Sinaloa Cartel" belonging to cells of "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, and "EL Mayo" Zambada Garcia, are currently responsible for approximately 90% of all drugs crossing the border into Arizona and recently there have been a series of arrests in that state that have connections to the powerful cartel.

On Friday July 6 Arizona authorities dismantled a network that was smuggling different types of drugs from Temple, Arizona, to the rest of America, and the operation arrested 20 people, some of whom had many years working within the US for the Sinaloa cartel.

Some of those arrested were responsible for the coordination and distribution of drug shipments coming into Arizona from Mexico through hidden compartments in commercial trailers," said Ramona Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the DEA.

In contrast, she added, the organization used aircrafts to send currency of proceeds from profits of drug sales in the United States to Mexico, Central and South America, some of the property seized in raids was a Cessna 421 that was found in a hangar located south of Tucson.

In addition to the 20 people arrested and the Cessna, Arizona authorities executed search warrants in several safe houses in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson and Tempe where they confiscated about $2.4 million in US currency, three tons of marijuana, methamphetamine, 14 weapons, 10 vehicles and large amounts of cocaine.

The Sinaloa cartel uses the control of brokers on both sides of the US-Mexico border to extend their dominance in Arizona, and controls most of the illicit money and weapons that are trafficked across the border and areas of high level of drug trafficking in that state.

Throughout 2011 the Sinaloa Cartel dominated the trafficking routes of drug trafficking in Sonora in northern Mexico, and have controlled the drugs routes that are connected to the Arizona and Sonora border. "The numerous organizations that make up the Sinaloa cartel control most of the corridor that includes the Indian Reservation of Tohono O'odgam and the Nogales port of entry," she went on to say.

Source: El Universal
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Knights Templar Dismembered by CJNG in Guerrero

July 15, 2012, 9:29 am
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Note: This is an old video that has been seen before, but recently translated from unknown source in the site "Best of Gore" and posted in the Borderland Beat forum by user Kaddafi.  We are posting it for historical and revelant value to set the record for the archives:

From the site Best of Gore:
Newly released video from Mexico shows interrogation and dismemberment of two members of Los Caballero Templarios (Knights Templar) drug cartel by sicarios for CJNG (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación aka The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, formerly known as Matazetas or Los Meta Zetas). CJNG are a relatively new cartel, having only entered the big drug trafficking game in 2009 in a response to atrocities committed on civilians by Los Zetas (hence their original name of Los Meta Zetas – the Zeta Killers), however they quickly grew into a powerful and formidable force and are considered to be the fastest growing new drug cartel in Mexico.

Los Zetas, as we all well know, is a feroucious criminal organizations lead by deserters from the special forces. They are well trained and considered to be the best equipped and the most technologically advanced criminal group in the world. But they pissed the boss of all cartel bosses – El Chapo Guzman so the offensive against them has been vicious as of late.

As their name would suggest, the CJNG‘s foremost interest was control of the state of Jalisco however they’ve experienced rapid growth and are now in control of much more than just one state. As a matter of fact, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has a very solid grip on Nayarit, Michoacán, Guanajuato and Colima.

CJNG was believed to have been started by young Mexicans who got sick and tired of watching their families and friends get massacred by narco sicarios. So they created a force of their own to counter the narcos. But as it goes, once you get the taste of power and money, you won’t stop at just being a presumed do gooder. CJNG now appear to be closely affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel and focus on exterminating members of Los Zetas, La Resistencia and the Knights Templar Cartels.

In this video, it’s two members of the Knights Templar who got a taste of brutal treatment ala CJNG. The video starts with two men with hands bound behind their backs being interrogated as they’re seated on a floor with their backs against a wall.

The first half of the video is all about interrogation. The cut then shows a Viva Mexico picture and the camera then cuts straight to an extremely graphic pictures of one of the Knights Templar with duct tape over his mouth as he chokes on his own blood sitting next to a toilet seat. His throat was sliced just enough to have his life expire slowly and painfully. The CJNG left him there to twitch in agony as they watched from behind the camera.

The camera then cuts to the images of a decapitated body being slowly dismembered with a knife. That catchy Mexican music plays in the background while all the gory stuff takes place. Much of the graphic content appears to have been filmed by a… retard with an Iphone. Could all Apple retards fucking die already and rid us of their idiocy, for fuck’s sake? Please, you fucking dimwits???

The video is extremely graphic, discretion is advised. Link to video.


The execution and the dismemberment are said to have been carried out in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. At the beginning of the video the caption shows which reads:

CJNG EN ZIHUATANEJO INTERROGANDO Y DESCUARTIZANDO SICARIOS DE LOS TEMPLARIOS

According to Google Translate the meaning in English is:

CJNG from Zihuatanejo interrogating and dismembering the sicarios for the Templars



English Language Translation:
CJNG: “What’s your name?”
Caballero Templarios (right): “Alexander Ramírez Cizaño”
Caballero Templarios (left): “Marco Arturo Hernán González”
CJNG: “What do you do for a living?”
Caballero Templarios (left): “We are hitmen for the Knights Templar”
CJNG: “Are you hitmen of “Knights Templar?”
Caballero Templarios : /They move their heads in an affirmative way/
CJNG: “Who’s the groups’ boss?”
Caballero Templarios : inaudible
CJNG: “Who’s the boss taking part in this?”
Caballero Templarios : “Arcángel and the Tívez”
Caballero Templarios (left): “Well, the Tívez, too”
CJNG: “Who cut the blankets and why? The blanket that the fishermen throw in the soil, who said that we gave 150.000 pesos to the gentlemen”
Caballero Templarios : “El Yuca”
CJNG: “¿El Yuca? The fuck, why did they cut it?”
Caballero Templarios : “Commanders orders”
CJNG: “We use the blanket to heat up or the fishermen don’t work. How many bodyguars does el Arcángel have?”
Caballero Templarios : “Around 14 or 15 people”
CJNG: “14 or 15?”
Caballero Templarios : /They move the head in affirmative way/
CJNG: “What do you want to tell to anyone who’d like to work with the Knights Templar?
Caballero Templarios : “To not believe a thing, they won’t get the control of the situation. They don’t do what they promise”
CJNG: “Why does the family do it?”
Caballero Templarios : “Because of what the family is doing”
CJNG: “Which municipal patrols are working for you?”
Caballero Templarios : “12th and 18th . All the municipals”
CJNG: “How many patrols? Which patrols do you control?”
Caballero Templarios : “The 12th, the 18th ..”
CJNG: “The ones that you incrimate”
Caballero Templarios : “18th and 12th ”
CJNG: “18th and 12th. And 23th?”
Caballero Templarios : “Yes”
CJNG: “How do the Knights Templar earn money?”
Caballero Templarios : “Kidnapping, theft…”
CJNG: “Any kind of stuff?”
Caballero Templarios : “Anything”
CJNG: “Ok. Here’s a message for the municipal police who supports Knights Templar. Commander Moso, of sector 2, this is for you. If you deliver that lot, the one you took from the Pocomo sea, with 4 large weapons, if you deliver it to the Knights Templar, keep an eye open, my friend.”
CJNG (camera-man): “We are from the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and we are here to break the hands of the Knights Templar, fuck it!”
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4 Murdered at Food Stall in Colima - One of CJNG Leaders Dead

July 15, 2012, 9:39 am
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Posted in Borderland Beat forum by Havana

Four people were killed and six others were injured this morning in Cerro de Ortega , part of Tecoman , Colima , when heavily armed stormed a food establishment in the town bordering  Coahuayana, in the State of Michoacan .

The Attorney General of the State of Colima reported that the incident occurred on Saturday morning when a group of people were having breakfast at a barbecue stand located at Calle Miguel Galindo, in the center of Cerro de Ortega, in Tecoman, when a group of armed men came and fired at will against the diners, resulting in four deaths and six injuries, which are reported as serious.

According to preliminary investigations by the Attorney General of the State said the attack was directed against Leopoldo Gonzalez Aviles "N", aka 'Pole", 33 years old, who was identified as one of the leaders of the Colima Cartel also called New Generation Jalisco (CJNG).

The law enforcement agency reported that the incident occurred when several armed men came to the place of reference and without saying a word opened fire with heavy weapons, depriving several persons of life and injuring six more.

The alleged leader of the so-called New Generation Jalisco Cartel arrived at the restaurant in a Mitsubishi van, Endevor line, pearl colored, overlapping plates of the State of Jalisco, which had been reported as stolen in that state since last January.

Similarly were deprived of life on the scene, Paul "N" Major, 52 years old; Elsa "N" 50, and a male person between 35 and 40 years old so far not yet been identified.

After the attack the likely responsible fled to an unknown destination, presumably in the state of Michoacan.

As a result of the same fact, others injured are Candelario ISAGA Rendon, 50 years old, Daniel Novela Juarez, 50, Cesar Alejandro Rosas Radillo, 34; Gaudelia Alcantar Cardenas, 85 years old, and two younger.

At the scene went public ministry, accompanied by the medical examiner and forensic services personnel, to attest to what happened, securing several vehicles and 133 AK-47 caps, and order the transfer of bodies to the Medical Examiner ( Semefo) for the autopsy, and with the help of the Police Law Enforcement investigation has begun to achieve the arrest of the alleged perpetrators.

At present the various corporations of the state's public safety, supported by military elements perform a large operation in the area of ​​Cerro de Ortega and Tecomán to try to locate the alleged murderers.

Note that in this area, there have, in recent months, been a series of clashes between various cells of organized crime, which meant that the Federal Preventive Police installed a base in place.

Sources:
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/859103.html
http://www.colimapm.com/index.php/noticias/noticia/11743
http://www.expreso.com.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43345:comando-armado-irrumpe-en-restaurante-de-colima-4-muertos&catid=3:nacional&Itemid=72
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The Drug War Beween Los Zetas and Sinaloa Cartel

July 15, 2012, 9:53 am
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The Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas wage a bloody and brutal war in various parts of Mexico, but mainly in the land of nobody (not governed by any singular capo), Tamaulipas.

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Mexican Cartel Structure

July 15, 2012, 10:15 am
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The Mexican drug cartel structure is constantly changing, everything in Mexico is so fluid. Just when one thinks one particular cartel has been dismantled, it emerges out of the ashes. Or new ones sprout like some menacing flowers in spring after a downpour.

No one knows who is who. Plaza bosses get promoted as soon as the old one is executed or captured. Keeping track is a nightmare, and very hard to confirm. 
Alliances among cartels change constantly and cells breakaway or start working independently.
For a while I was attempting to update the current affairs of the Mexican drug war, but just when I have it settle some dispute over authenticity of fact derails any attempt to get the beat of the heart in the cartel structure.  
So I was happy User G]-[057 in the Borderland Beat forum attempted to give it a go. I thought it looked good, although I am sure someone will dispute some or parts of it, but here it goes:
MAIN CARTELS:
CARTEL DE SINALOA
CARTEL DE JUAREZ
CARTEL DEL GOLFO
CARTEL DE TIJUANA
CARTEL DE LOS ZETAS
CARTEL BELTRAN LEYVA
CABALLEROS TEMPLARIOS
CARTEL DE SONORA
CARTEL DE GUADALAJARA
CARTEL DE OAXACA O EL ISTMO
CARTEL DE COLIMA
CARTEL DEL MILENIO
CARTEL DE NEZA

OTHER SMALL CARTELS:
CARTEL JALISCO NUEVA GENERACION
CARTEL DEL CENTRO
CARTEL INDEPENDIENTE DE ACAPULCO
CARTEL DE LA SIERRA
LA FAMILIA
CARTEL PACIFICO SUR
CARTEL LOS PELONES

ARMED GROUPS OPERATING FOR A CARTEL:
LOS TEOS
GUERREROS UNIDOS
COMANDO DEL DIABLO
LA BARREDORA
GUARDIANES DE MORELOS
LOS TEOS
LA REISTENCIA "C.T"
COMANDO NEGRO "CAF"
FUERZAS ESPECIALES MULETAS
FUERZAS ESPECIALES KOREANO "CIDA"
FUERZAS ESPECIALES ZETAS
GRUPO OPERATIVO ZETAS
LA COMPANIA
LA MA~A

SINALOA FEDERATION BEGINING- TO NOW:
LOS LINCES "JUAREZ"
LOS M's "C.D.S OR JUAREZ" ???
LA LINIA "JUAREZ"
LOS TEJAS "C.D.S OR JUAREZ" ???
LOS CHACHOS "C.D.S OR JUAREZ" ???
LA GENTE NUEVA "C.D.S"
LOS ANTRAX "C.D.S"
NUEVA GENERACION DEL CHAPO "C.D.S"
LOS AZTECAS "JUAREZ"
COMANDO X "C.D.S" mixture of G.N and Antrax i guess


BELTRANES FACTIONS SINCE BEGINING TO NOW:
LOS MAZATLECOS "BELTRANES"
LOS NEGROS "C.D.S AND BELTRANES"
LOS PELONES "BELTRANES"
LOS TARASCOS "BELTRANES OR FAMILIA"
LOS NUMEROS "BELTRANES"
LA MANO CON OJOS "BELTRANES"
LOS CHARRITOS "BELTRANES"
LOS GUEROS "BELTRANES"
LOS ROJOS "BELTRANES" they also had a group
FUERZAS ESPECIALES DE ARTURO "BELTRANES"
LOS SULTANES "BELTRANES" 
     

Old school CDG 2003-2008 era some still exist. Back in the Day every border town had their own Nick Name of each CDG faction. I Just dont remember who was who. After the Separation of Zs and CDG, everyone scattered joing one side. Then the CDG internal war, seperated them again. All them groups have songs, either by the Cartel rap singers or Beto Quintanilla and his Brother Chuy.

LOS ARFILES "CDG"
LOS LOBOS "CDG"
LOS ESCORPIOS "CDG"
LOS KALIMANES "CDG"
LOS ROJOS DE LAREDO "CDG"
LOS ORIONES "CDG"
LOS COBRAS "CDG"
LOS DELTAS "CDG"
LOS SIERRAS "CDG"
LOS GAMMAS "CDG"
COMANDO 7 "CDG"
LOS METROS DE REYNOSA "CDG"
LOS L's "CDG"
LOS CICLONES "CDG"
LOS ALACRANES "CDG"
LOS TIBURONES "CDG"
LOS XW "CDG"

other groups that fall uncatagorized:

La Gente Nueva (Nuevo Leon) not sure if it was a branch of the Sinaloas.

CARTELES UNIDOS "The Modern Federation of Sinaloa??"

The flow charts (click for larger version):

THE BEGINNING

NEW CARTELS
SHIFTS OF POWERS
THE NEW ERA

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Widows and abandoned women take on field work in the Valle

July 15, 2012, 2:25 pm
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El Diario.mx. 7-15-2012.

Guadalupe., D.B.-- She moves the hoe with dexterity. Coquettishly, she tucks a rebellious lock of  hair behind one ear, then she wipes the sweat from her face. It's Maria del Carmen Chavez Rodriguez, single mother who is working temporarily in the cotton fields of the Valle de Juarez.

Here, work is scarce, but women like Maria are not afraid to perform field work so they can take some money home where children or parents await. They also don't have any options.

"The violence left us a lot of single, widowed or abandoned women because their husbands fled,"  explains Raul Gonzalez, foreman of one of the ranches that produces cotton in Guadalupe municipality.

The farming communities in this area, located east of Ciudad Juarez, have been fought over by the Sinaloa and the Juarez cartels for drug and weapons smuggling. Its privileged geographical location, which includes hundreds of unguarded miles between Mexico and the United States, led to a battle for control of the corridor, and left dozens of women totally unprotected, among them mothers and wives.

Many opted for moving to Juarez, others took temporary refuge on the other side of the border because they had dual citizenship of had children born in the United States, but, little by little, they are returning to their homes where they are faced, mainly, with lack of jobs.

A report by the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) from 2011, says that Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman displaced the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes cartel in the Valle de Juarez. It was that dispute that triggered the violence, unusual for these communities who are facing, among other things, with the dismantling of their police forces, whose commanders and officers were killed by criminal groups. With a severely impacted economy, job offers are minimal and few persons are able to find good jobs. One of these is Maria.

Her boss speaks with pride about his employee. She's the best, he declares. "Women are good in all kinds of jobs, very reliable and they are not complainers," asserts the man who convinced the owner of the property to offer employment to women.

"They have families," says Raul, "and just like us, they are working to care for their children. You treat them well, you show them understanding, because they are women who have suffered a lot."

In front of him, Maria doesn't stop working. She's embarrassed to be the center of attention and while she chops the weeds with her hoe, she tries to avoid the camera.

"I just started to work on Monday," she explains, "The work is easy, I just have to clean the cotton plants." She means that she uses the hoe to "clean" the cotton by removing the grass, weeds, climbing vines, thorns, morning glory and "lechugilla" that grow close to the cotton plant. With the hoe she pulls the soil to one side without damaging the the growing plant. And, although the work looks easy, her calloused hands are evidence that it is not.

Maria says she is familiar with field work; this is not the first time she has worked in a field like this and, although the sun beats down mercilessly at the time of the interview, she likes the open air and the tranquillity that only the field can provide. 

"I feel good here, free, it's much better than working in a maquila  (assembly plant), but one needs a full time job because this is temporary, but it's real nice!" she says with a smile.

For one day's work, Maria will earn 120 pesos (about $9.00) which will go towards feeding her seven children and her parents. All of them depend on her pay, and it is because of them that cleaning the soil with a hoe is not heavy work.

"There are a lot of us women here who work in the fields, we're not afraid to do this work, we're familiar with it, we grew up here. Also, we don't have many employment options, and that's why we take advantage of the fact that the cotton planting season is going well," she explains.

Maria del Carmen shows more enthusiasm and says that after this work comes the cotton and pecan picking seasons, which women, men and children take advantage of to find work.

"It's normal now for this work to be done by men, women and even children and young people," she believes, "they come here to work and don't pick up bad habits, so for them, the younger ones, this is also very good."  

This single mother works eight hours a day, Monday through Saturday. "We come to work at 7:00 in the morning and leave at 4:00 in the afternoon," she explains. In between, Maria and her fellow workers have a few minutes for breakfast and lunch. Sometimes they cook their own food on a metal disc that they heat with scraps of wood they themselves gather. They have time to rehydrate chat a little, joke and go back to work.

Raul Gonzalez says that the women are very competent field workers and, because they are neighbors who have known each other all their lives, a lot of them share the same tragic loss of a loved one to violence, so they provide support for each other.

"We treat each other as equals, with respect," he declares, "I would say that women don't think in a "macho" manner, that there are many jobs that only men can do, but we can learn, and we all need to make a living and we have the right to work with dignity, to raise our children, with decent employment in the fields, in a factory, wherever." 

Relief

Despite the fact that recent rains caused serious damage to pavement and drainage in the city, in the farming communities the rain was seen as a great blessing.

"The drought has been affecting us a lot, but now that it has rained you can see the cotton plants are happier, more leafy, that's the benefit that rain brings us. It also brings jobs for the people because you have to clean out the weeds. For example, I hired ten workers, but I'm going to put in another ten on Monday, among them four single mothers, so they can come work here," says the ranch foreman.

After months without a single drop of rain, the farmers in the area were praying for a "good rain," which is what they got this past week. The foreman explains that cotton is irrigated with with water released from reservoirs in the United States. Very little comes from wells, he says, because it is too expensive, but rainwater is best and this will increase the quality of the crop which is still considered some of the highest quality (cotton) in the world.
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July 15th Badanov's Buzzkill Bulletin

July 15, 2012, 9:00 pm
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Mexican Army and naval personnel since July 7th have seized 11,182.1 kilograms of marijuana, 335 kilograms of unprocessed marijuana, 94 kilograms of marijuana seeds, 21.02 kilograms of cocaine, 1.95 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 14 liters of liquid methamphetamine, five kilograms of poppy seeds, 1 kilogram of opium gum and MX $620,570.00 (USD $46,681.51) in cash.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 29th Military Zone detained two unidentified individuals and rescued one who had reportedly been kidnapping July 7th in Verzcruz state.  The operation took place in Frutos de la Revolucion colony in Coatzacoalcos municipality where the unit had been dispatched on an anonymous report of criminal activity in the area.  Soldiers also seized three rifles, 178 rounds of ammunition, seven weapons magazine and one vehicle.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 43rd Military Zone July 8th while on patrol located contraband in Florida colony in Apatzingan municipality in Michoacan state.  The haul included three handguns, 19 weapons magazines, 2,905 rounds of ammunition and one vehicle.
  • A separate army unit with the Mexican 43rd Military Zone while on patrol in Parotilla colony in Lazaro Cardena municipality July 8th rescued three unidentified individuals who had been kidnapped.  Soldiers also seized six rifles, one hand grenade, 34 weapons magazines, 680 rounds of ammunition and one truck.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 26 Military Zone killed one armed suspect in Veracruz state July 8th.  The unit had been on patrol in Manlio Fabio Altamirano municipality when it came under small arms fire by an unknown number of armed suspects.  Army return fire killed one.  Soldiers also seized two rifles, one handgun, weapons magazine and ammunition and one vehicle in the aftermath.
  • On July 8th, a Mexican Army unit with the 34th Military Zone seized 100 kilograms of marijuana in Quintana Roo state.  The unit was on patrol near the village of Sergio Butron Casas in Orthon P. Blanco municipality when it found the drugs wrapped in 10 packages.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone in Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas located abandoned drugs July 6th.  The unit was on patrol when the discovery was made.  The total found was 180.1 kilograms of marijuana in 20 packages.
  • On July 7th an army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone found drugs near a village located near Rio Bravo in Tamaulipas state.  The unit was on patrol near ejido La Brigada in Matamoros municipality when the 126 kilograms of marijuana in 144 packages was found in the bush.
  • Also on July 7th an army unit with the 8th Military Zone located drugs in Nuevo Laredo municipality in Tamaulipas.  The unit was on patrol near ejido Miguel Aleman when 41 packages of marijuana totalling 549 kilograms were found .
  • Also on July 7th a Mexican Amy unit with the 8th Military Zone located an abandoned fuel tanker containing 20,000 liters of gasoline.  The fuel was found near ejido El Realito in Valle Hermoso municipality in Tamaulipas state.
  • Mexican Army personnel seized a quantity of cocaine at a military Checkpoint in Chihuahua state July 9th.  The checkpoint was established near Samalayuca municipality where soldiers stopped and searched a passenger bus finding 18 kilograms of cocaine in 15 packages. The unidentified bus driver was detained at the scene.
  • An army unit with the Mexican 13th Military Zone located drugs in Nayarit state July 9th.  The unit was on patrol near the village of Los Aguajes in Jala municipality when it found 400 kilograms of marijuana, 26 kilograms of marijuana seeds, one rifle, one weapons magazine and 25 rounds of ammunition.
  • Three armed suspects died in an exchange of gunfire with Mexican Army personnel from the 19th Military Zone in Veracruz state July 9th.  The army unit was on patrol near Panuco municipality when it came under small arms fire from an unknown number of armed suspects.  Army return fire killed three.  A total of five unidentified individuals who were being  held for ransom were rescued.  Soldiers also seized three rifles, three weapons magazines and ammunition.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 2nd Military Zone detained four unidentified individuals and seized a quantity of liquid methamphetamine July 11th in Tijuana municipality in Baja California state.  Soldiers searched the baggage claim area at Abelardo L. Rodriguez International airport when it found 14 liters of liquid methamphetamine in eight 1.75 liter containers, which had been labelled tequila bottles.
  • An army unit with the 9th Military Zone located an abandoned vehicle and a number of drugs and guns July 12 in Sinaloa state.  The find was made while the unit was on patrol near the village of Arroyo el Tecomate in Morocito municpality where soldiers found .300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 3.02 kilograms of cocaine. four rifles, one handgun, 24 weapons magazines, 472 rounds of ammunition, one ATV, 93 ammunition belt links (presumably for 5.56mm), tactical gear and the truck.
  • Army personnel with the Mexican 9th Military Zone seized a number of drug and guns in Sinaloa state July 10th.  The unit was on patrol near the village of San Javier de Abajo in  Badiraguato municipality when it located an abandoned truck containing the contraband.  Material seized included 43 kilograms of marijuana seeds, one kilogram of opium gum, one rifle, one handgun, one weapons magazine and 43 rounds of ammunition. 
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 2nd Military Zone detained one unidentified individual who was in possession of drugs in Mexicali municipality in Baja California state July 11th.  The army unit was on patrol in Maestros Estatales colony in Mexicali when the detention took place.  The detainee allegedly had .45 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine on his person.
  • Army personnel with the 2nd Military Zone located more than 40 metric tons of marijuana in Tijuana municipality in Baja California July 12th. The find was made at a warehouse on Granjas Familiares colony in Centenario Delegation where four tractor trailer rigs were found with the drugs inside.  Four unidentified individuals were also detained at the scene.
  • A Mexican Army unit with the 45 Military Zone seized quantities of drugs and guns in northern Sonora state July 11th.  The unit had been dispatched to a building in Altar municipality based on an anonymous complaint of armed individuals in the area.  Soldiers seized 10 rifles, one  handgun, 2,681 rounds of ammunition, 36 weapons magazines, 10 kilograms of marijuana in seven packages, other equipment and one vehicle.
  • Army personnel at the airport in Culican, Sinaloa found drugs in luggage from a flight from Distrito Federeal July 13th.  Soldiers found a DVD player which had four  packages of crystal methamphetamine hidden inside totalling 1.2 kilograms.
  • A counternarcotics sweep in Tepehuanes municipality in Durango state by Mexican Army personnel with the 10th Military Zone seized quantities of drug and guns, and secured the release of four unidentified individual who were being held for ransom.  The operation took place between 10th and 13th of July where soldiers seized 29 rifles, 25 handguns, 29 weapons magazines, 232 rounds of ammunition, one marijuana plantation with an area of ​​400 square meters. 335 kilograms of unprocessed marijuana, 25 kilograms of marijuana seeds, five kilograms of poppy seeds , 1.4 kilograms of an unidentified chemical, one ATV and three vehicles, which were painted in a camoflage scheme similar to the one Mexican Armed forces use.
  • Mexican military personnel with the 29th Military Zone  in Veracruz seized a large amount of cash July 12th.  The road unit performed a traffic stop of three individuals acting suspiciously in Santa Clara colony in Minatitlan municipality.  Aboard the vehicle soldiers found MX $620,570.00 (USD $46,681.51) in cash, one rifle, weapons magazines and ammunition, 21 doses of marijuana, one cell phone and the vehicle.  The three individuals aboard the vehicle were detained at the scene.
  • An army unit with the 45th Military Zone seized a large quantity of marijuana and detained one individual in San Luis Rio Colorado in Sonora state July 14.  Military personnel were conducting a military checkpoint when a tractor trailer rig was stopped for inspection.  Aboard soldiers found 2,100 kilograms of marijuana wrapped in 330 packages.  The driver of the truck was detained at the scene.
  • Mexican Naval Infantry personnel on July 6th seized quantities of drugs and weapons in Veracruz state.  The unit observed nine individuals aboard three vehicles travelling near the village of Agua de Oro in Apatlahuac about 25 kilometers northwest of Orizaba and performed a traffic stop.  Weapons including four AR-15 rifles, five AK-47 rifles, 35 weapons magazines 1,050 rounds of ammunition were found and small packages of marijuana and communications gear were seized.  The report also said the seven were kidnapping suspects.
  • In a second incident Mexican naval personnel stopped five unidentified suspects who were travelling aboard two vehicle travelling along the Acapulco-Pinotepa highway Aboard the vehicles marines found quantities of marijuana and crack cocaine wrapped for retail sale as well as one AR-15 rifles and one AK-47 rifle.
  • A joint ground and seaborne counternarctoics operation off the coast of Sonora state yielded a seizure of nearly 3.8 metric tons of marijuana.  According to the news release, a Mexican Navy maritime patrol helicopter spotted two boats hidden in trees off the coast of Isla Huivulai in the Sea of Cortez about 45 kilometers south of Ciudad Obregon July 10th.  Three boats and another aircraft were dispatched along with naval infantry personnel to the location where marines found the two boats with 3,843 kilograms of marijuana in 355 packages.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
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Mexican Army reinforces La Laguna

July 15, 2012, 9:00 pm
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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

An additional 746 Mexican Army troops have been dispatched to the La Laguna region of Mexico, accoriding to an official announcement by the Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army.

The announcement did not provide any other details except to note that the reinforcements have already arrived in the area. 

In practical terms, 746 troops represents a regiment of infantry, which is as heavy a one time movement of Mexican Army troops to any region. 

La Laguna, which represents the area that includes Torreon, Coahuila, Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio, Durango has been the site of one of the heaviest concentrations of federal, and Coahuila and Durango state security forces in Mexico.  At last count, 4,000 total security troops were stationed in La Laguna, all part of Seguro Laguna, a security operation began last October.

Mexico has similar operations in other states, such as Operacion Noreste in Tamaulipas state, Seguro Veracruz in Veracruz state and Seguro Guerrero in Guerrero state, all intended to place a high concentration of federal security forces in areas known to be in use gangs by Mexican drug gangs.

The Seguro Laguna operation is commanded by the XI Military Region based in Saltillo, Coahuila and was originally intended to place several troops in choke points used by Mexican cartels to move drugs, munitions, shooters and migrants to the northern border with the United States.

One of the main goals of the operation was to reduce violence in the area, but an increase of shootings and several recent mass murders in the region involving rival drug gangs had officials considering  requesting additional federal reinforcements, but from the Mexican Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), the controlling agency for the Polica Federal (PF).   

However, Policia Federal troops had been asked to leave the region last February because the presence of PF troops had reportedly exacerbated violence in the area.  The news dispatch which dealt with local officials' request named SSP head Genero Luna Garcia. However news released a day later indicated that PF troops from Zacatecas would be redeployed to Sinaloa and replacement troops would soon be arriving in Zacatecas as reinforcements.  No mention in those news releases about additional PF troops moving to La Laguna was indicated.

SEDENA is constantly rotating maneuver ground units in and out of critical regions such as La Laguna, both as a security measure and to give tactical and unit commanders valuable experience in counternarcotics operations.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
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Police ambushes, history repeats itself

July 15, 2012, 11:04 pm
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debate.com. 7-15-2012.

Guasave, Sinaloa.-- International Highway and 19th Street, Guasave Municipality. Friday afternoon, July 15, 2011. Inert bodies of uniformed officers on the asphalt. One can still smell the gunpowder, hear the cries of the wounded and one is moved by the grief stricken cries of relatives who are trying in vain to resuscitate the humble worker who was killed after being caught in the crossfire.

Ten municipal police have fallen and there are several more wounded in an ambush by an armed group, when the police were coming from Los Mochis  headed to the state capital. They were members of the Public Security Secretary's escort and that's where they fell.  The civilian had nothing to do with all this, but he has also become a victim.

The scene should not be repeated, but then it is a new story. Other places and other victims, the same drama and sequel. Dead policemen, orphan children, widowed wives, touched authorities, stupefied to the point of puzzlement. Tributes, speeches with promises of justice that are still not realized.

Reaction

State Governor Mario Lopez Valdez, interviewed yesterday in Angostura, admitted the seriousness of the ambushes against police officers, and said he is negotiating for better quality weapons. "On top of the fact they attack by surprise, which is an advantage for them, the weapons they have and armored vehicles give them all the advantage, and if today we see a willingness in our police officers to confront the criminals, [we] should evaluate the possibility of equipping them so they will be on equal terms," he pointed out.

The state's Executive has, in fact, proposed to the Sedena (Department of Defense) that, in view of the obvious inferiority of the weapons carried by law enforcement personnel compared to the ones used by armed groups, state police agencies should be allowed to use weapons seized from criminals.

"Police officers are willing to be receive training, because to use these weapons  they must have [training]"-- Mario Lopez Valdez, Governor of Sinaloa.

Assassin who was killed in El Fuerte took part in the Guasave massacre.

The State Attorney General, Marco Antonio Higuera, disclosed yesterday that one of the suspected hit men killed in the Tetamboca, El Fuerte, confrontation is also one of the killers who took part in the massacre of police officers in the ambush a year ago in Guasave.

One year after the ambush of police officers in Guasave, what progress has been made in the investigation? Have there been any arrests? -- There have been arrests, it is a fact sent to the PGR (Federal Attorney General's Office). I don't have any information about the people, but we know clearly the people that participated (in the ambush). Specifically, the person who died in the attack against the ministerial police  in Tetamboca was one of the people with an arrest warrant from that incident. There are individuals already in prison.

What support has been provided to the victims? -- What the law of Support to Victims provides, a pension, life insurance, and the Attorney General's Office has provided all that the law requires.

We understand that there are widows that have not received support. Do you know anything about that?-- No, because they just [met] with me; with reference to the PME, whatever benefits that involve the Attorney General's Office have been satisfied. I don't know what other information they have provided. We have always, always assigned a person to deal with them.

With respect to the officers killed recently...-- I spoke with the widows yesterday, we give them personalized attention because of the paperwork they have to provide, but they continue to receive the salary as if [the officer] was still on duty. The State Government will be their contact for their childrens' scholarships and funeral expenses.

And justice never came

"Sometimes I can't believe my son is not here...sometimes I think it's all lies", are the only phrases that Rosa Maria Angulo Subia manages to utter when she remembers how her son Alvaro Gallardo Angulo died a year ago, when he got caught in the middle of a firefight in which ten police officers were killed, on the Mexico's International Highway 15. 

Interviewed beside the chapel that the family built in honor of the dead young man, thirteen days after his 29th birthday, the grief-stricken mother complains indignantly about the indifference shown by the three levels of government towards the only civilian killed in the ambush directed against and intended to slay ministerial officers. They have tried to bargain with her to the point it is impossible to get any support from the government.

Sad and angry at the same time, she insists that in the year that has gone by nobody has approached them to offer an explanation, to apologize or to ask whether they needed anything after the death of their second son.

"Maybe they haven't done it because they were too busy with the political campaigns... but nobody from the government, municipal, state or federal, has come to this house to ask whether the principal victim, my grandson Alvaro Ernesto Gallardo, nine years old, needs anything to get by."

However, she admits, just this past June 23, one of the PGR chiefs came to interview them again.

"But we were not here and all they told the person who talked to them was that they had received some order from the federal government to come by to ask how the case was going. But here, there's nothing...justice has not come here..we haven't gotten anything... My grandson received a scholarship that looks like it's from a support program for crime victims, but it's a ridiculous scholarship...they give him 220 pesos a month... That amount doesn't pay for anything," she says.

Dreams cut short 

Then, in a halting voice, she talks about her son Alvaro and the plans he had made to get ahead.

"It seems everything turned against him...He had just gotten that job and the day of the shootout he was coming back from taking an order for tortillas to Juan Jose Rios, when coming back on the International Highway he got in the middle of the shootout.

We found out about it because we were at La Entrada, when his girlfriend called us and said Manuel had called her to tell her he had been in the shootout and was feeling very sick...That's why we got there quickly but there was nothing we could do."

She says that Alvaro had a lot of plans, he wanted to get his prep school certificate to keep on studying, but everything turned against him.

"What happened to us is very painful, because when a relative is sick you can prepare for it, because you know that sooner or later he will go, but when a son goes like this, it's painful...

"Sometimes I think it's all lies and that it's not true that all this happened; sometimes I can't believe this has happened to us...but only God knows."

The attacks, the deaths, the places and the days: a tragic narrative.

Monday, October 11, 2010.

In an operation, five agents of the PEP and three from the Navolato Municipal (police) die in an ambush at La Costera, near El Gato de los Gallardo. Salvador Alvarado.

Sunday, March 6, 2011.

DANGEROUS AREA. Killers ambush and kill seven agents of the PME on the International Highway, at the entrance to Guayparime, Guasave Municipality.

Thursday, May 26, 2011.

THE ATTACK.
On Mexico Highway 15, at El Burrion, an armed group attacks a PME convoy, killing one of the officers.

Friday, July 15, 2011.

ASSAULT.
Ten agents of the PME and a civilian are massacred in another ambush on Mexico Highway 15, near the intersection with 19th Street. Ten police officers are wounded.

Monday, July 9, 2012.


SURPRISE.
Seven officers of the PME die in an ambush on the highway to El Fuerte, in Tetamboca. Four of the assailants are killed in the return fire.

  
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Narco Convoys: Power in Numbers

July 16, 2012, 8:20 am
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By ACI for Borderland Beat
They moved in on the small town of Creel in the early hours of March 15, 2010.  A convoy of three luxury SUV’s pull off one of the main drags.  Through tinted windows gunmen filled the cabs.  They pulled over to a stop.  Many jumped out guns at the ready; they converged around the capo, Enrique Lopez Acosta, alias El Cumbias. 

The men wait, snorting lines of cocaine, more trucks arrive and more gunmen step out.  They converge and several gunmen block off access to the town.  They set up roadblocks, each of the trucks that block the road have lights which mimic police vehicles.  There must be at least forty or fifty gunmen.  A man and his truck approach the check point, he is pulled out and thrown against his vehicle and patted down, the man is later allowed to turn around and leave the way he came.

As the sun rises in the sky a large group of gunmen run towards what appears to be a very large house.  Sources claim this to be the mayor’s house, one of the biggest in town.  It is thought the occupants were involved in La Linea.  The gunmen fan out overtaking the property.  Several of the gunmen approached the front of the house; they kicked down doors and shot through windows.  After they killed who they came for they run back toward the street filled with trucks and gunmen.
This video shows how small town are most vulnerable to cartel violence simply because they are outnumbered and outgunned.   The video cameras were installed because of a massacre of 13 people that had just occurred.
Lopez Acosta ran a cell of Gente Nueva in the state of Chihuahua.  He worked directly with Noel “El Flaco” Salgueiro who at the time was the man behind much of the violence in Juarez.  La Gente Nueva is a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel; they operated mostly out of Chihuahua however have now branched out and operate in several states within Mexico, including Veracruz, Durango and Guerrero.  Most of the original members of this faction were former Juarez Cartel members, who defected to Sinaloa.  Greed lead many to wage war against “Viceroy” Carrillo Fuentes and his sicarios, La Linea.  To date at least 3000 people have died in the conflict between the two cartels.         
"El Flaco"
Lopez Acosta was arrested in December 2010 at his lavish home in Delicias, Chihuahua where he was having a celebration.  In the operation he was wounded, and his brother killed.  Noel Salgueiro was said to have been at the party but was able to escape prior to the Mexican Armies arrival.  Salgueiro was eventually arrested in October of 2011.  He was arrested in Culiacan, alone and without incident; many believed he was turned over by Chapo because he had caused too many problems.    

This video shows a convoy of Zetas in San Fernando.  This has been site of several of the worst atrocities of the cartel wars.  This is where 72 migrants were massacred at a ranch because they refused to join the organization.  This is also the location of several mass graves which totaled more than 200 bodies.  It was said the Zetas roamed the streets freely, forcing many locals to abandon their town due to the lack of security.  In the following video a convoy can be seen traveling throughout the town unabated till some sort of confrontation ensues.   This was before either atrocity occurred, after both incidents the town was swarmed by Federal Troops and order was briefly restored.  The Mexican Government is now building a permanent military base outside of the town in an attempt to wrench the area back from Los Zetas. 

The smaller communities are not the only places vulnerable to convoys, in the town of Apatzingan, which has a population of 115,000 people, and is the home base of the Caballeros Templarios a convoy of fifty trucks can be seen driving through the town.  The video which is from May 2011 is incredible, as gunmen drive by onlookers wave and cheer on the convoy as it passes.  You can clearly see the Knights Templar logo on several of the trucks as well as many being equipped with lights to resemble the authorities.

In another video, one made famous on YouTube, a convoy is seen in Valle Hermoso which is in the state of Tamaulipas.  The dramatic footage, which shows gunmen blocking off roads, protecting a convoy as it makes its way through town, is simply riveting.  This powerful footage which clearly shows gunmen crouched down, firing their weapons at some unknown adversary as a large convoy of Narcos speeds by.  The video has become a symbol of what has happened to Mexico.   


In another yet another video this time in Nueva Laredo, a Zeta convoy get caught up in a shootout with the military, several vehicles are seen disabled as civilians try their best to find cover.  The video last for almost ten minutes and clearly shows why attacking a convoy of gunmen is highly risky for both the military and the civilian population.  The battles often last for hours, and are especially dangerous in densely populated areas.
These shocking scenes seems as though they fit the dynamic of an insurgency or low intensity war, rather than that of criminals.  One can see how entire police forces could be intimidated, how entire communities are held hostage and how difficult it is for the Mexican Military to deal with the problem.   The cartels today more resemble the Colombian cartels of old.  They operate in the open, highly organized, well-funded and equipped to do battle not only with rivals but the government as well.      
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The details of the massacre

July 16, 2012, 2:24 pm
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Rio Doce. 7-16-2012

Tetamboca, El Fuerte, Sin.-- In this ranch area, there is still the echo of the more than 2,000 shots that were fired in a bloody clash between an elite group of State Ministerial Police agents and a a cell of hit men working for the Beltran Leyva-Carrillo-Zetas triad that left eleven dead.

In the fight, the police took the most casualties, although, according to the state's attorney general's office (Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado; PGJE), the mafia group lost one of its leaders, Juan Pablo Osuna Lizarraga, known by his code name "Cien" or his alias "El Mapache" (Raccoon), and two of his lieutenants, Alfonso Enriquez Enriquez and Gustavo Ismael Soto Nunez, this last was one of his sharpshooters.

In May of 2010, El Cien assumed control of the Mazatlecos in Los Mochis after the arrest of his close associate (compadre) Geovany Lizarraga Ontiveros, aka "El Desconocido" or "El 120", who, it turns out, is the brother of Samuel Lizarraga Ontiveros, aka "El Tortillero", who controls Mazatlan. Geovany Lizaraga Ontiveros ascended to "jefe de plaza" (city crime boss) through his uncle Santiago Lizarraga Ibarra, El Chaquin, chief of the Nayarit cell, who was killed in 2010 in Tepic in a confrontation  with federal police officers.

Additional information from military and ministerial sources who had access to the interrogation of suspects in earlier incidents shows that, despite the loss of lives, neither of the adversaries fell apart [during the confrontation]; the ministerial police officers regrouped immediately, while the gangsters promoted men on the spot. There's also talk that new operatives arrived to reinforce the attack perimeter and [keep open] the only land route for supplies and personnel for the siege of Choix, which the Beltran Leyva triad has maintained for two months to take control of the marijuana and gum opium producing area from the Sinaloa cartel: the Golden Triangle.

The reports state that the attack was carried out by the group "Los Chacales", an armed clandestine group that maintains access routes and highways for the Mazatlecos from the Los Mochis north exit to Jahuara, El Fuerte. According to evidence compiled by the PGJE at the scene, on  Monday, June 9, the state forces were attacked when they were returning on Highway 44, Los Mochis-El Fuerte, from patrol operations in Choix after the assassination of Municipal Police Chief Hector Echavarria Islas, which took place March 29.  They were to be relieved the next day. The shooters were placed on the right hand slope of a hill.

After the first volley of gunshots, the convoy broke apart into two segments, with about 100 yards between them. From the rear of the ministerial police officers, an armored truck with grey side boards, with a sharpshooter riding in the back, drove towards the first group of police officers to finish them off. In fact, the vehicle drove around in circles until it was finished with the massacre. Then the armored truck went after the first convoy, but could not finish them off because they had taken cover behind the railroad tracks and on the roof of a nearby house on top of a hill, from where they were shooting.

The armored truck climbed up on the hill and drove around the house, with the gunmen shooting at the ministerial agents on the roof. However, the sharpshooter was hit by a shot from one of the police officers, and was killed instantly. Unexpectedly, the truck lost traction; it got stuck on a sand bank when the drive shaft broke off from the transmission and twisted the differential. Stuck, the occupants of the armored truck abandoned the vehicle and, believing they would get reinforcements, attacked the police agents and were killed.

After the shooting ended, the area was flooded with police officers and was closed to traffic.

State Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez said that the criminal group planned the attack against the police for two days, and carried it out when [the police] were in its sights. However, local residents contradicted that statement and said that the clandestine armed groups have been operating there for months or years in control of the area and the attack could have been coincidental. Higuera Gomez did not reveal the reason for the attack, but asserted that it was carried out by armed groups in retaliation against police operations in the area.

After the attack, Francisco Cordova, Public Safety Secretary, said that State Ministerial Police will modify its mobilization strategy and incorporate it into its Intelligence section.

Governor Mario Lopez Valdez lamented the massacre of police officers and spoke about their response under attack. As a result of the ambush, the governor obtained permission from Sedena (Department of Defense) to augment the law enforcement firepower, permission that had been secured during the previous administration when they went from .30 cal. M-1 carbines to .223 cal. AR-15s, then to 7.62 cal. AK-47s, to the current 7.62 cal. G-3.

Attacks:

 

March 6, 2011: Ministerial police group ambushed in Guayparime, seven police officers killed.

May 26, 2011: Gunmen attack convoy of Policia Estatal Preventiva (PEP; State Preventive Police): one officer killed.

December 3, 2011: Two police officers are killed in an ambush In Los Mochis. Two patrol vehicles are destroyed in Colonia Texas.

July 7, 2011:  The police escort of Francisco Cordova (Public Safety Department Secretary) is ambushed on (Mexico) Highway 15 and 19th Street. Ten police and a civilian are killed.

January 24, 2012: Two groups of gunmen attack police in Los Mochis, wounding three.

March 5, 2012: The Los Mochis Municipal Police building is attacked with hand grenades and heavy gunfire. There are no fatalities.

March 22, 2012: Five police officers are wounded in an ambush in Higuera de Zaragosa.

March 29, 2012, Hector Echavarria Islas, Choix Municipality Chief of Police, is attacked by gunfire. He dies the next day.

July 9, 2012: Seven ministerial police officers are killed in Tetamboca, El Fuerte.     
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The displaced: the agony of losing everything

July 16, 2012, 5:14 pm
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El Universal. 7-16-2012. (estados@eluniversal.com.mx) 

According to researchers, there is an indiscriminate persecution taking place in the Sinaloa mountains, as if in a war zone; they estimate that more than 20,000 inhabitants have fled.

Ignacio Alvarado

Mazatlan. One night in May of 2011, several trucks entered surreptitiously into La Noria, the historic town northwest of Mazatlan through which, for centuries, wagons loaded with gold and silver would come down from the mines in the Sinaloa and Durango mountains. The trucks drove through deserted streets while dogs barked frantically. Finally, they stopped in front of a dwelling and about twenty individuals armed with assault rifles got down. The dogs' barking was silenced by the sound of gunfire. From a distance, out of the only window on his house on top of a hill, Ricardo witnessed what he himself describes as "a true hell on earth."

"Even though I was pretty far off, about 100 yards, I could feel the gunshots. It sounded like thunder. But what scared me the most was the the flames, the fire that came out of the rifles. It lasted an eternity. It was about ten minutes during which God was not around."

By then, in effect, La Noria had become nobody's land. Communities in townships like Nuevo San Marcos and Juantillos, for example, had been left desolate after the massive flight of their inhabitants. Violent gangs would attack constantly and murder or kidnap men and women, either because they belonged to a criminal group or simply because they refused to cooperate with them.

That's why, that night, Ricardo, who up to then had resisted the idea of leaving, woke up his wife and three sons to gather a few belongings and abandoned their land at sunrise, something he never thought he would do in all the 70 years he had lived.

"It was not easy. It is not easy to leave your life behind. And it's worse for somebody who is not aware that bad things are happening because one is always going around making people happy, you know. You go to work and from work, home to sleep. More than anything else, I would go to the town to sleep, but I could not do that any more because of the gunfire that could be heard on all sides when night fell. Hell, I tell you."

Ricardo is a musician. Years ago he formed a group, La Nueva Estrella (The New Star). They played a repertory that included ranchero and norteno music in bars and restaurants in Mazatlan, 35 kilometers away. Every day, up to the time he fled, he would leave his house almost at mid morning to take take one of the four routes that covered the round trip to and from the port city. He always came home at night.

"I was never scared. Everything was very peaceful. But we're in a country that nobody understands. We're not in a revolution or anything like that, and that's why we don't understand the violence. In addition, we're the ones paying for what's happening, we're paying for others, for other people's disputes. They say that the mafia of sicarios... But you can't tell who's who, and we don't want to know," says the man, defeated, in the yard of the house he built out of wood and cardboard at the foot of another small hill outside of Mazatlan, in a place eloquently known as the San Antonio Invasion, a sort of camp for refugees from the violence,  where there's no water, drainage, electricity or a future.

The spread of shacks is extensive. Before last summer, however, this was just a muddy area that some opportunist, backed by some political party, decided to occupy with a few needy people. Another thing; the drama materialized. On the street that goes to his house, Ricardo knows at least 30 families from back home, and most of them arrived there during the the hellish period he witnessed. They are not the only ones. In Mazatlan, there may be another 8,000 persons in the same situation, according to Arturo Lizarraga, a researcher with the Sinaloa Autonomous Univesity (UAS) who specializes in migration studies. The exact date this happened, he said, is impossible to know.

"There's no firm number of displaced persons, he explains. What is a fact is that there is an indiscriminate persecution taking place in the mountains, like in a war zone.  What's worse is that the people are caught between two fires: on one side the State forces and on the other, the gangs.  So there are very many localities that, although they may have not disappeared completely, have a high percentage of homes that are completely vacant. I estimate, therefore, that more than 20,000 mountain inhabitants have fled without anybody, not even the authorities, having any idea of where exactly they are and how they are surviving."

High migration

The Sinaloa mountains are experiencing one of the most intense migration phenomena in the last 60 years. Lack of (economic) opportunity during that time has left (people) with two predominant options: either they go to the United States or they hire themselves out (to work) in the amapola (poppy) and marijuana fields. But there was never an exodus such as the one in the last five years, says Lizarraga. Because the migration pattern also changed and veered almost completely towards urban zones such as Culiacan and Mazatlan, which has triggered other social phenomena.

Since 2007, the people displaced from the mountain communities have overwhelmed the municipal authorities.Then Mayor Alejandro Higuera Osuna declared to the local press that his administration was not capable of dealing with the demands of those fleeing from the violence. "Our material capacity to offer an alternative to displaced persons has been exceeded. We're not prepared for the consequences of the violence, we don't have a plan, it doesn't exist."

The mayor talked about there being 2,500 families in this situation, many more than the 1,700 families that governor Mario Lopez Valdez alluded to last May.

Loar Lopez Delgado, secretary of the municipal presidency, would not speak about what this entails. What is a fact, declares the UAS researcher, is that these hordes are reflected in the Mazatlan  crime statistics. "When they can't find work in the U.S., when they can't find work here, they have no alternatives other than the underground economy or violence."

Lizarraga found that the highest percentage of migrants was composed of young people between the ages of 17 and 29 years of age (6 out of 10), and the exponential increase in homicides in Mazatlan coincides with that displacement. "Crime went up. The most serious year in the entire history of Sinaloa was 2010. What we are talking about is that Mazatlan was one of the most violent cities, not just in Mexico-- it was third nationally-- but in the world, with a level of 57.93 homicides per each 100,000 inhabitants. These figures are from INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Geografia, equivalent to National Census Bureau)."

Ricardo, the displaced musician, fits at least one of the two realities described by the researcher: unemployment. Since he fled, La Nueva Estella, his music group, disappeared. He has tried to find work as a soloist, but the violence has led to the closing of a substantial number of the businesses in Mazatlan where he used to find work, and has also scared off the tourists.

Economic losses

In his book, "Scenes of Violence and Insecurity in Tourist Destinations: Mazatlan, a case study", UAS researchers Arturo Santamaria and Silvestre Flores explain that the restaurant industry lost 70% of its business in 2011, a proportion similar to that suffered by commercial establishments who closed due to the lack of tourists. As an example of the collapse caused by the homicide numbers in 2010, they point to the arrival of cruise ships, the economic backbone of bars, restaurants and jewelry and handcraft shops. From the 103 ships that arrived in 2008, only 27 came in 2011. With respect to the environment in which displaced people look for jobs, shelter and food, without being able to find any, he says in his interview: "The pressure this generates is something we have not measured with any degree of precision, but one can imagine what is happening."

Tough situation

In the one-room dwelling that Olga's husband erected, about 200 yards north of where Ricardo lives, you can see poverty in every corner. She, her two adolescent daughters and a two-year old infant moved there after they fled from Santa Maria, a small community in the mountain area of El Rosario, south of Sinaloa.

An armed group came and shot to death her husband's three brothers. Over there, Olga says, he worked in the fields. Now, in Mazatlan, he goes out every day looking for work as a garden trimmer. Sometimes he brings back money for food, sometimes he comes back empty handed. "The situation is very tough,you know," says Olga, "The small amount of electricity we have is just enough to run a small fan, and the heat is unbearable. Then, when it rains, everything gets flooded, we lose the few things we have. Over there, we left our house and our clothes and our furniture. All our things, but we cannot go back...Over here we feel more or less protected, but we're not safe. God's will." 
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Texas Gas Drilling: New Energy Roads Help Narcos Bypass Border Stops

July 16, 2012, 6:00 pm
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Borderland Beat

Gas drilling is a boom for traffickers too....Paz, Chivis
The road where the drugs were found was one of many that have been leased to energy companies.
/ U.S. Border Patrol
Energy companies boring into the depths of South Texas in the multibillion-dollar hunt for natural gas and oil are opening a growing fissure in U.S.-Mexico border security as they build hundreds of miles of private back roads and an uncharted pipeline to America for drug traffickers.
Hefty roads running through once-remote ranchlands now enable loaded-down tractor-trailers and pickups to avoid Border Patrol highway checkpoints that have long been the last line of defense for stopping all traffic headed farther into the United States.
Traffickers are seeking to use the southwest-most stretches of the massive Eagle Ford shale formation, which stretches from Mexico all the way to East Texas, to their advantage by trying to corrupt truck drivers, contractors and gate personnel. Authorities also speculate that they are trying to make "cloned" copies of legitimate trucks and use contractor-like vehicles to avoid standing out among fleets of oil-field service vehicles working for energy companies. In some cases, vehicles have been stolen and believed to have been used by smugglers.
"They are using those roads to transport drugs, guns, ammo, you name it," said Albert DeLeon, chief deputy of the Dimmit County sheriff's office.
White House warned
The South Texas High Intensity Drug Traffic Area, a coalition of state and federal law enforcement agencies, sent a threat assessment to the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White House in June warning that the shale boom is enabling traffickers to bypass so-called choke points, where the Border Patrol has traditionally been able to stop and question all traffic on highways leading from the border region.
"Our biggest concern is how law enforcement is going to attack the threat. We cannot move Border Patrol checkpoints into those positions," said Tony Garcia, director for the South Texas HIDTA. "It is pretty much up to your imagination what they could be moving through there. ... It is a bit of a dicey situation for us to deal with. We are putting our heads together."
For energy companies, the roads are critical to moving heavy drilling and related equipment in and out of the ranchlands where the work is done.
"Once they get past the checkpoints, they are pretty much free," said Javier Pena, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Houston division, which includes San Antonio and reaches to the Mexican border.
"It is very much on our radar," Pena said of smugglers. "We have been gearing up for it."
He declined to discuss the use of sensors, cameras or other tactics to monitor possible narcotics routes. Authorities also suspect that gate guards, drivers or other workers might succumb to bribes.
"There will be employees who think they can make a quick thousand or 15 or 20 thousand (dollars)," Pena said. "Once money is involved, someone will always go for it."

Video contains footage of a Exxon road and its appalling  "security"
Traffickers avoid highway check points by usig leased energy roads
Drugs intercepted
On a weekday morning in early March, 18,665 pounds of marijuana were caught being smuggled aboard two trucks, one a flatbed, the other a tanker truck driving through the Briscoe Ranch on a road that circumvents a Border Patrol checkpoint.
They were on a private road leased to energy companies and carrying what looked like supplies typically used in oil field operations but were instead loaded with marijuana. The two trucks yielded the most pot ever caught in one day by the Border Patrol's Del Rio Sector.
One of the truck drivers, who was not an employee of the energy industry, later admitted to agents that he was to be paid $7,500 to deliver the load, according to an affidavit at the federal courthouse in Del Rio.
Other big South Texas catches came in July last year when Border Patrol agents stopped a bogus oil field truck carrying 1,373 pounds of marijuana, and in June when they found 3,529 pounds of the drug stashed in a truck driven by an energy company worker.
Robert Fuentes, agent in charge of the Border Patrol station in Carrizo Springs, said agents are working to educate energy companies and employees on possible encounters with drug traffickers or undocumented immigrants.
"They are our eyes and ears out there," he said. "They are in the middle of no place."
Deb Hastings, executive vice president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association, serves on a council that advises Texas' governor on ways to coordinate the needs of the private sector with those of security.
"Safety and security are top priorities for oil and gas operators in Texas," Hastings said in a prepared statement.
But the explosion of activity also has brought new economic prosperity.
"It has been incredible, hundreds of jobs have been created," said Webb County Judge Danny Valdez, whose county spans 3,360 square miles and borders three Mexican states. "As a county, we depend on these revenues, we welcome it."
At the same time, he conceded that law enforcement in his county is already stretched.

"Webb County is a vast land," he said. "We need to find a way to work together."

The above video depicts one citizens fight to have EXXON demolish an obsolete shack used by narcos as a staging area.  She first noticed the activity while waiting at a school bs stop for her child.  Men with automatic weapons, in trucks driving the EXXON road to the abandon shack.  Her request reasonable..fell on the ears of the unreasonable, even rejecting her offer to pay for the take down of the shack, citing potential legal ramifications. 
Source: Houston Chron Video source DD of Borderland Beat Forum (Thank you!)
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"Los Zetas" are Divided, the Infighting, Narcoreportaje

July 17, 2012, 5:41 am
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For a while there has been rumors of a division within the Zetas leaderhip, primarily Trevino Z-40 and Lazca, and as is the case, such rumos many times are hard to confirm but I found interesting a post by _The Magician_  in the Borderland Beat Forum, 

Source: Proceso

Security Federal Sources confirm what some narcobanners hung in northern states suggested since early last month: Los Zetas, the extremely violent group of thugs who became the Gulf Cartel, faces a break in the dome. Its two main leaders, the Z-40 and the Lazca apparently are engaged in a complicated web of betrayals, experts, predicts a new and more serious bloodshed in the country.

On the morning of June 1st a group of young hung a large banner in the Garden Independence in the Historic Center of Zacatecas. Almost four teenagers while they climbed the stairs of a pedestrian bridge across the busy avenue Felix U. Gomez, the center of Monterrey, to place the same narcomensaje in the center had a large photograph of Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, El Lazca. Around the image of Lazca were seven other lords smaller mushrooms that have been killed or captured, including Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, El you baby, Jaime Gonzalez Duran, The Hummer, Arturo Guzmán Decena, Z-1, and Raul Lucio Hernández Lettuce, The Lucky.

In those days was also uploaded to the video portal Youtube a run with the following warning: "Pay attention cartels in Mexico and other countries, this is the story of a person who has betrayed fellow teaming up with federal and deliver them and their plan is a leader of Los Zetas. " With that warning starts the video they called "the true story of Z-40", referring to Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, who along with The Lazca has control of Los Zetas, the group that operated until 2009 as the armed wing Cartel Gulf to serve Osiel Cardenas Guillen, now imprisoned in the United States.



Then another video: "New run of Los Zetas", which tells of the treachery alleged to have committed the "New Judas" as identified Treviño Morales, against some members of that organization.



On June 7 the same message with the photo of the center Lazca appeared before the municipal president of Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas. But this time was placed at the door of a truck inside which there were 14 mutilated corpses. Click here to view. These messages and events such as the dismemberment of 49 bodies that were abandoned early on May 13 in Cadereyta, reveal a new division in one of the most powerful and diversified in the Republic, which could be a prelude to a new bathroom of blood. "Z-40" vs. "The Lazca" Security sources confirmed the federal government that it is split between Los Zetas and believe that the struggle is for leadership. Treviño Morales mentioned can even betray and to deliver to the Lazca, the only of the military elite still in the organization.

Other Army deserters who created the Zetas at the beginning of Vicente Fox have been killed or imprisoned. "The Z-40 has been betrayed and has been putting people Lazca" say the officials, who add that Lazcano has been moving between Europe and Central America. I recently was located in Costa Rica, where he arrived from Germany. Lazcano has lost a lot of people you trust and that has forced him to retreat, although the recent arrest of Jose Trevino Morales, brother of the Z-40, which may favor, they say. Jose Trevino was arrested on June 12 in the U.S., accused of laundering money for his brother. The research in this country has to do only with the cell of Los Zetas by Treviño Morales and does not involve the entire criminal organization.

The Z-40, who has been located between Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Aguascalientes, could make even more violent cartel that if he can remain in control, it has distinguished himself as an impulsive operator, say the sources. News of the zeta division are not new. Since April last year the Texas firm Stratfor intelligence realized versions in this regard: "Stratfor has heard rumors of a split between the leader of Los Zetas, Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, El Lazca, and number three in the organization, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, Z-40. But we have not been possible to confirm this and determine if the leaders wear side was affected or caused by that division. " Versions were not there.

In June last year it was reported that Lazcano was killed in a clash with the army in Matamoros. The Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) denied it. Narcomensaje The narcobanners that appeared in Zacatecas, Monterrey and Ciudad Mante began last June with a warning: "This goes for all of us who are near the boss Lazcano and Z-40". The authors of the text used the name of Guzmán Decena, Z-1, the soldier who founded Los Zetas and died in Matamoros in November 2002 in a clash with army excompañeros.

The appeal was to ask whether Heriberto Lazcano catch some z's heads are accidents or have been betrayals. The casualties have been with the Army or the Navy. But most have fallen into the hands of the Federal Police (PF). In the narcobanners is said that the detention of Germain Torres Jimenez, El Tatanka was "understandable to remove the heat of the U.S. government." This is because in December 2008 that was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of former agent Felix Batista FBI in Saltillo.

Then ask who gave it: Lazcano o Z-40? After being captured in Poza Rica, Veracruz, El Tatanka confessed to the PF who had left the Plaza Saltillo because he knew that members of his group wanted to eliminate it. Another of the names on the covers is to Efrain Teodoro Torres, La Chispa or Z-14, who died in the attack on March 3, 2007 in Villarin, Veracruz, where he held a horse race. His name came back to light by the arrest of the brother of the Z-40 for among those accused of laundering money for Miguel Angel Trevino, the U.S. Justice Francisco Colorado Cessa included, this in fact where he died on Z-14.

The narcobanners say that after killing his left Torres' family in the street. " There is also the name of Enrique Reyes, Rex or Z-12, arrested in June 2007 in Hidalgo by the military. "His dream was to marry you relied on the location of your wedding and putting betrayed her wedding day," says narcomensaje also question whether the Lucky it has captured the Navy when he was alone, even though "he was very careful in their safety. " Was "chance or treason?". The narcomensajes also note that Miguel Angel Trevino walked along with Daniel Perez, El Cachetes, when he was arrested in Guatemala in April 2008. "It was the second in command of yours as he fought and 40 other.

Coincidence or treason? ". They also say that the head zeta in Reynosa, Jaime Duran, The Hummer, he "interfered to 40 for that outlines more than him." Also refer exmilitar the arrest of another group's founder, The you baby, and Alberto Jose Gonzalez Xalate, El Paisa, stopped by the PF in April 2012 in Saltillo while riding in a car with his wife and three children. "He was a good friend of yours and looked after your finances and personal interests blues accident that also found him walking in a car alone with your family!"

The message ends with the phrase: "Draw conclusions ... the majority were stopped by the blues and is as easy as giving a phone number and you ganchan. "The only people who were reported to 40 you mentioned ... are all chance or treason? With whom we are safer with Lazcano or 40. " Also in video The narcovideos are more explicit: they say that "Judas" Los Zetas is Miguel Angel Trevino. We engage in a series of intrigues and murders of the same peer group and warn Lazcano that the Z-40 "knows no loyalty."

"There is a saying that is very true, or you have to trust your shadow. That you bring to one side knows no loyalty ... and you to trust your shadow, you know where you'll end up, "says" The new run of Los Zetas. " "There I leave you to remember what the Sierra de Victoria, San Luis and San Fernando, remember and make memory, you dropped the whole government and almost did not manage to," he adds.

Media versions circulating in Nuevo Leon police say Los Zetas and are divided into two camps, one of which is negotiating with disaffected groups of the Gulf Cartel to form a group and leave the Z-40. And note that Heriberto Lazcano has much time away from the main action. One of the facts that demonstrate the division of the group occurred early on May 13, when Jesus Elizondo Ramirez, El Loco, Zeta leader in Cadereyta, disobeyed the orders of the Z-40.

Captured by the military on 18 May in the town of Guadalupe, confessed that he "was ordered to Heriberto Lazcano and Miguel Angel Trevino and the head of the criminal organization in that entity, which is known as El Morro, to be coordinated with a guy nicknamed El Camarón and leave in the main square of Cadereyta bodies was going to deliver such person, together with a blanket that incriminated as responsible for the killing, "says a statement from the Department of Defense.

Elizondo told Ramirez that a representative of Camarón, José Ricardo Barajas Lopez, The Speaker, who escaped the prison of Apodaca, quoted in the village of Los Herrera, where he met with 30 gunmen who gave him the 49 bodies, "which were transported in several trucks, including a truck. " "Because of the likely consequences that would trigger an event of this nature against" El Loco violated the orders of their commanders and decided to "leave the bodies where they were later located by the authorities and not in the central square of the municipality, as he said. "

In this version, the morning of May 13 The Speaker is responsible for recording the action with his cell phone and then the video was uploaded to Youtube, but it lasted a few hours on the network. In his confessions to the military, Elizondo Ramirez confirmed that the Z-40 was in Guatemala when he was arrested the Cachetes.

The statement of the Department of Defense states that Elizondo "further noted that in March 2008 was part of a group of assassins led by Treviño Morales, who raided the department of Zacapa in Guatemala to expand control of the organization that country, registering several clashes with local groups where he died Guatemalan drug trafficker Juan Jose Leon Radon, aka Juancho Leon. "

Two days after the 49 bodies appeared, the group is splitting tens of narcobanners placed in Ciudad Valles, then finally in Monterrey and Zacatecas, which denies being behind the killing of Cadereyta. "The Zeta Group disclaims all 49 quartered in Nuevo Leon and ask them (the authorities) that chequen well, do good work as it should. Not because they go and pull a truck with bodies with a message that the Zetas were going to stop doing their job, "noted the narcomensaje.

Another of the facts showing the divisions Zetas also happened in Monterrey, when state police arrested Juan Francisco Treviño Chavez, El Quico, nephew of Treviño Morales.

Treviño Chavez was arrested along with his cousin Jesus Chavez Garcia afternoon June 12 at a mall in Monterrey by members of the State Investigation Agency (IEA). Treviño Chavez, 31, was in charge of the plaza of Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey reached to reorganize the group is still with them. Police sources reported that his capture was due to an anonymous tip that alerted members of the AEI, a corporation that never stops drug dealers of that caliber.

After capturing the fact kept secret for two days until a leak to the media brought to light the case. Treviño Chavez was the second family of Treviño Morales arrested that day: the U.S. government had already captured the younger brother of the Z-40.
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HSBC Allowed Narcos To Launder Billions

July 17, 2012, 6:03 am
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Borderland Beat    

(AP)Europe's largest bank had lax controls that allowed Mexican drug cartels to launder billions of dollars through its U.S. operations for seven years, a Senate investigation found.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations extensive report on HSBC Holdings PLC also says U.S. regulators knew that the bank had a poor system to detect problems but failed to take action.

In addition, some bank affiliates skirted U.S. government bans against financial transactions with Iran and other countries, according to the report. And HSBC's U.S. division provided money and banking services to some banks in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh believed to have helped fund al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the report said.

The panel released the report Monday ahead of a Tuesday hearing on the topic. HSBC released a statement saying its executives will offer a formal apology at the hearing.

"We will apologize, acknowledge these mistakes, answer for our actions and give our absolute commitment to fixing what went wrong," the bank said in a statement.

The U.S. Justice Department said that it is conducting a criminal investigation into HSBC's operations but declined to confirm that the bank is in settlement talks.
HSBC's net income last year was $16.8 billion. It operates in about 80 countries around the world. Its U.S. division is among the top 10 banks operating in the United States. It has assets of roughly $210 billion in its U.S. operations.

Money laundering takes profits from the trafficking of drugs, arms or other illicit activities and passes them through bank accounts to disguise the illegal activity.
  
The bank used its U.S. operation as a "gateway" into the U.S. financial system for other HSBC affiliates, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the subcommittee's chairman, told reporters Monday. Because of lax controls against money laundering, HSBC Bank USA "exposed the United States to Mexican drug money" and other suspicious funds, Levin said.
The report says the drug cartels laundered money through the bank's U.S. division from 2002 through 2009.
The bank said in its statement that it changed its senior management last year and has made changes to strengthen its compliance with rules to prevent money laundering. .

"We ... recognize that our controls could and should have been stronger and more effective in order to spot and deal with unacceptable behavior," the statement said.
Sen Levin  blasted the federal agency supervising the bank's U.S. operations, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He said the agency "tolerated" HSBC's weak controls against money laundering for years.
Thomas Curry, who heads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will also testify at Tuesday's hearing.
Compliance with anti-money laundering laws "is crucial to our nation's efforts to combat criminal activity and terrorism," said Curry in a statement. He said the agency expects banks to have adequate programs in place to comply with the laws.


Not Fined

HSBC's Stuart Guliver admits "mistakes"
 Global banking giant HSBC and its U.S. affiliate exposed the U.S. financial system to a wide array of money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing risks due to poor anti-money laundering (AML) controls, a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations probe has found.
The important word in there, the vital word, is “risks”.
“In an age of international terrorism, drug violence in our streets and on our borders, and organized crime, stopping illicit money flows that support those atrocities is a national security imperative,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., subcommittee Chairman. “HSBC used its U.S. bank as a gateway into the U.S. financial system for some HSBC affiliates around the world to provide U.S. dollar services to clients while playing fast and loose with U.S. banking rules. Due to poor AML controls, HBUS exposed the United States to Mexican drug money, suspicious travelers cheques, bearer share corporations, and rogue jurisdictions. The bank’s federal bank regulator, the OCC, tolerated HSBC’s weak AML system for years. If an international bank won’t police its own affiliates to stop illicit money, the regulatory agencies should consider whether to revoke the charter of the U.S. bank being used to aid and abet that illicit money.”
The important word out of Senator Levin’s mouth there is “exposed”.
HSBC did not have sufficiently robust internal audit and verification systems to be able to prove that the transactions it was undertaking were not money laundering, terrorist financing or aiding the financing of the drugs trade. This is, and I’m sure you will agree, rather different from actually allowing or doing any of those things
Those things may even have happened as well: but that isn’t why HSBC has been fined. Their paperwork was inadequate: that is why they were fined.
Stepping Up the Settlement To Move To The Criminal Investigation

The Justice Department and HSBC Holdings HBC -0.30%PLC are accelerating settlement talks to resolve a criminal probe into laundering of drug-cartel and other money, according to people familiar with the investigation.
A settlement of the money-laundering investigation is near and could come within weeks, according to these people. Among the allegations Justice Department prosecutors have focused on, according to people familiar with the criminal probe, is whether bank officials were complicit in laundering by drug cartels by allowing suspicious money to be hidden in flows of bulk cash between the U.S. and Mexico.
For further information link HERE, Wall Street Journal

See Athena's article on BB forumHERE

Sources: AP, Forbes, Bloomberg, WSJ
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