Posted:
El Diario (
- Four different events in
- At the shouts of “Viva Villa!” (Hurrah, or Long Live Villa) some hundred riders on horseback
started a long cavalcade in
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El Porvenir (
There were nine executions in 24 hrs. in Michoacan. In
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Tiempo (
Three more men were found executed on the Delicias to Satevo highway (in central
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Norte (
The first week of July ended with sixteen homicides in Juarez., making a total of 559 so far this year.
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Diario de Yucatan (
- On a dirt road approach to the Cancun-Merida highway: a man inside a car. Both had been burned. The man had his feet and hands tied with wire. He’d also been shot.
- Yesterday (Sat.) at dawn in Oaxaca, a man’s head was found inside a black plastic bag near the house of the state’s A.G. with a threatening “narcomessage” addressed to the A.G.; the decapitated body was found later on the old road to the airport.
- (Note: This and other papers also carried an article about a report by the
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El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua) 7/6/08
The “Immigrant Civic Society coordinator of the Nicaraguan Network” said that this year thousands of Nicaraguans will continue to abandon their homes due to the lack of economic opportunities available in Nicaragua. The main destinations continue to be the
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- end of report -
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Executions in Mexico continue to set records
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
TOMATOES!
Recommendations For Tomatoes
The New Mexico Environment Department is asking managers of restaurants, hospitals, supermarkets, schools and other food establishments that serve or sell raw red plum, red Roma, or round red tomatoes or products like fresh salsas and pico de gallo made with those tomatoes to stop serving or selling them.The Food and Drug Administration is warning New Mexicans to avoid purchasing all Roma tomatoes or large round, red tomatoes. Consumers should also be aware that both of those types of tomatoes are often used in fresh salsas, guacamole or pico de gallo.
You should avoid bruised or damaged tomatoes as well, according to the FDA.The FDA recommends people in New Mexico and Texas should eat tomatoes that have not been implicated in the outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and tomatoes grown at home."It is important to emphasize that no locally grown tomatoes from New Mexico have been implicated in this outbreak," said Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil.
"We have made great progress in this investigation, and we are continuing to work hard to get more specific information to the public as soon as we can."Until further information is available, the Department of Health and CDC recommend the following for people in New Mexico and Texas:· Persons with increased risk of severe infection, including infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems, should not eat raw Roma, plum, or red round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home.·
People who want to reduce their risk of Salmonella infection can avoid consuming raw Roma, plum, or red round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home.· Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged tomatoes and discard any that appear spoiled.· Thoroughly wash all tomatoes under running water.· Refrigerate within two hours or discard cut, peeled, or cooked tomatoes.· Keep tomatoes that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood, and raw produce items.· Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Open Letter to John McCain
Open Letter to John McCain: Does Rule of Law
Still Mean Anything in America
Senator John McCain
United States Senate
Dear Senator McCain:
As one who was born in
Because of my vested interest in
My purpose in writing is to express my deep concern that you, Senator McCain, have has lost sight of the fact that
We Americans are no less competitive, disagreeable, or combative than are people in other societies--but we adjudicate our differences within the framework of law. Unfortunately, it now appears as though our government--including President Bush, Congress, the Department of Justice et al.--have decided not to enforce all laws.
Namely, it is common knowledge that as many as 38 million illegal aliens are in
My question, Senator McCain: Why do you, an avowed conservative, refuse to demand that
Why do you not demand that illegal aliens be rounded up and returned en masse to country of origin?
How can any government official who has taken a sworn oath to uphold and defend the
After the events of
Six years after the most deadly attack on American soil and our government is still unable to control who enters and who leaves this country?
In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 was enacted to impede the flow of illegal aliens into
How can the
How can you, Senator McCain, ignore the fact that because IRCA has not been enforced, another 38 million illegal aliens have invaded
How can any candidate who professes to care about
Is it not perfectly clear that amnesty rewards illegal behavior and encourages millions of others to come to
Like most Americans, Senator McCain, I work hard for far too little money. I pay taxes, stop for little old ladies at crosswalks, and obey the law. Even when most inconvenient to do so.
Perhaps I am the fool for withdrawing money with my ATM card instead of a gun; stopping at red lights that take forever to turn green, and paying for food when shoplifting would be quicker and cheaper.
Most illegal aliens do not pay income taxes. Perhaps I am again the fool for filing a timely and honest IRS 1040 every April, a ritual that I have followed for decades and which has cost me tens of thousands of dollars?
Senator McCain, the question is profound: Does the rule of law matter at all in
Even more profound: Why in the world should any
John W. Lillpop
Saturday, April 5, 2008
US ambassador alarmed by Mexico border violence
MEXICO CITY, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Mexico warned on Friday of an "alarming" surge in violence in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and said he could heighten a travel alert for U.S. citizens traveling there.
Tony Garza said he was preparing an updated travel advisory after visiting Ciudad Juarez this week to talk to local officials about a jump in murders in the city to nearly 200 this year, as well as kidnappings and robberies. The city borders
"Despite valiant attempts by Mexican law enforcement in the area, crime and violence is rapidly increasing," Garza said in a statement. "The statistics are alarming."
"While there is little doubt in my mind that the travel alert should be reissued, it may also be necessary to heighten the alert to better reflect the increasing insecurity in the state of
The murders have pushed the national death count from drug cartel killings above 800 for the first three months of 2008. President Felipe Calderon's government, which began an army-led crackdown on drug gangs about 15 months ago, has sent 2,500 extra troops to
Mexican border cities are popular with
Mexican army finds $6 mln in truck near U.S. border
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican soldiers looking for drug traffickers found $6 million in cash inside a truck near the U.S. border and arrested five men at the scene, the army said on Friday.
Army drug squads in the northern state of Tamaulipas, a smuggling hot spot over the border from Texas, found the U.S. currency stuffed into eight suitcases as they inspected a tractor trailer and smaller truck parked along a highway.They also found four pistols, the army said in a statement.
Army and federal police units deployed in President Felipe Calderon's 15-month-old crackdown on drug cartels are grappling with a spike in violence that has left more than 800 people dead in gangland-style killings so far this year.
The U.S.-Mexico border is the main entry point for South American cocaine and other drugs smuggled north to U.S. consumers.
Mexico's powerful cartels buy masses of U.S. arms and their safe houses brim with cash from their organized crime businesses. Army raids have turned up big hauls of guns and cash since Calderon's operation began.
Also on Friday, the daily El Universal reported that five soldiers had been arrested for passing information to the Sinaloa alliance of Pacific Coast smugglers.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Mexican drug cartels borrowing tactics from international terrorists
11:33 PM CDT on Saturday, March 29, 2008
The use of training camps is just one tactic that Mexican drug cartels are borrowing from international terrorists, U.S. and Mexican officials say. Some officials have begun referring to cartel operatives as "narco-terrorists."
In testimony before Mexico's Congress last fall, Genaro García Luna, Mexico's public security minister and top law enforcement official, noted the increasing use another terrorist tactic – using videos and the Internet to spread fear. Cartels have made videos of executions and posted them on the Internet – sometimes with music added.
"The delinquents, narco-traffickers are copying a pattern used by Middle Eastern terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001," Mr. García Luna said, referring to the videos. "...That's the most serious point in terms of combating organized crime ... that a group of thugs, with this criminal strategy, can generate fear and intimidate entire communities."
Another practice is the creation of clandestine cells in various locations which are then called upon to carry out killings and other assignments. Authorities said such cells exist in McAllen, Brownsville and Laredo, as well as the Mexican cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros.
Although drug cartels may be adopting the practices of international terrorists, U.S. and Mexican officials stressed that there was no evidence of Middle Eastern terrorists using training camps or operating in the region.
Drug cartels use camps near Texas border to train recruits
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, March 30, 2008
CAMARGO, Mexico – The ranch near this border community is isolated, desolate and laced by arroyos – an ideal place, experts say, for training drug cartel assassins.
Mexican drug cartels have conducted military-style training camps in at least six such locations in northern Tamaulipas and Nuevo León states, some within a few miles of the Texas border, according to U.S. and Mexican authorities and the printed testimony of five protected witnesses who were trained in the camps.
The camps near the Texas border and at other locations in Mexico are used to train cartel recruits – ranging from Mexican army deserters to American teenagers – who then carry out killings and other cartel assignments on both sides of the border, authorities say.
"Traffickers go to great lengths to prepare themselves for battle," said a senior U.S. anti-narcotics official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Part of that preparation is live firing ranges and combat training courses. ... And that's not something that we have seen before."
Many of the camps are temporary, used for a time and then abandoned or used intermittently. Others are hidden on private land behind locked gates and have more permanent facilities, the officials said.
The land is seldom held in the name of known cartel members but is usually purchased through someone fronting for a cartel, authorities said. Sometimes "mobile" training camps are conducted on private land without the owner's consent.
The camps include locations in Mexico's interior, but U.S. law enforcement officials said they are acutely concerned about those along the 1,000-mile-long Texas-Mexico border – another example of the escalating drug war among feuding cartels.
In Texas, Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores said he and other law enforcement officials are "doing everything we can to secure our borders with limited resources."
"We know through intelligence sources that narco-traffickers invest money in Mexican nationals and U.S. citizens in training camps to instruct them in the black art of assassination and terror," he said. "It's even more shocking to hear that they even have mobile training sites because they take loads of money to set up." In the state of Tamaulipas, for example, the Zetas – paramilitary enforcers of the Gulf cartel – train with other mercenaries, including the Kaibiles from Guatemala, the officials said.
The testimony of the five protected witnesses is in documents from the Mexico attorney general's office obtained by The Dallas Morning News. Fernando Castillo, the spokesman for the attorney general's office, confirmed the authenticity of the documents and said the report of six training camp locations in two states abutting Texas was "about right."
"We're not talking about Marine-style or al-Qaeda-type training camps," Mr. Castillo said Friday. "These are more informal places used for target shooting and for physical exercising."
According to the printed testimony, the training has taken place at locations southwest of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville; near the town of Abasolo, between Matamoros and Ciudad Victoria; just north of the Nuevo Laredo airport; and at a place called "Rancho Las Amarillas" near a rural community, China, that is close to the Nuevo León-Tamaulipas border.
Two other ranches used as training camps, both east of Matamoros, have clandestine landing strips for cocaine shipments originating in Colombia and destined for the United States via Texas, according to the officials and testimony. Mr. Castillo described Rancho Las Amarillas as a more sophisticated operation than the others and said Mexican authorities seized the ranch in 2002. The ranch manager, Eduardo Salvador López, was sentenced Feb. 23 to 20 years in prison for drug crimes. Mr. Castillo added: "When we know there is a training camp, we seized them and shut them down. But because they're often mobile and often temporary, we can't do much about them."
Two Mexican soldiers stationed in Reynosa, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the camps are sometimes heavily fortified. "In some cases, they're better armed than we are," one soldier said of the cartel members. "They can bring down a plane."
A former senior Mexican intelligence official said that the use of training camps has become "standard practice" for the cartels. "Yes, there are training camps where hitmen from both sides of the border train with weapons from the United States," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
There is no firm estimate of the number of people who have received training in the camps, but a U.S. intelligence official said the number was in the "hundreds" across Mexico.
It's all part of a strategy by drug cartels to intimidate their enemies and assert control over besieged communities along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, the officials said. The result has been unprecedented violence – at least 5,000 people killed nationwide in two years – and ongoing brutal confrontations with local, state and federal forces.
"The Zetas paramilitarized the situation with training camps and military background," said a senior U.S. law enforcement official and weapons specialist, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They turned battles into a prolonged war."
In small towns along the Texas-Tamaulipas border, the Zetas operate with seeming impunity, driving late-model SUVs and carrying gold-plated rifles. Roadside altars are appearing that pay tribute to "Santa Muerte," the Saint of Death, adorned with candles and Grim Reaper figurines. Residents regard them as a sign of cartel activity.
According to the witness testimony and interviews with U.S. and Mexican officials, training in the camps may range from a few weeks to months, and trainees have included American teenagers.
One of them is Rosalio Reta, 18, who was sentenced last year to 40 years in prison for a murder in Laredo. Mr. Reta's career as a cartel hitman began at age 13, he told investigators. Authorities say he may have been involved in as many as 30 execution-style murders in the U.S. and Mexico. Last year, Mr. Reta gave Laredo police Detective Roberto García an account of how he and other high school-age boys were trained as teenage hitmen for the Zetas. Mr. Reta told Laredo authorities he spent months training under Mateo Díaz López, "Comandante Teo," an alleged top Zeta member arrested last year in the state of Tabasco on drug and weapons charges.
Mr. Reta's confession led to the discovery of three clandestine cells in Laredo, allegedly carrying out assignments for reputed cartel leader Miguel Treviño. "I know we're fighting terrorism throughout the world ... but here along the border the narco-terrorists operate on both sides of the border, and so far it's gone largely unnoticed by Washington," said Webb County Assistant District Attorney Jesús Guillén, who prosecuted Mr. Reta.
According to the printed testimony, Rancho Las Amarillas was under the control of reputed Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. Mr. Cárdenas has been extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting trial in Houston on 17 counts of importing and distribution of drugs, as well as three charges of threatening a U.S. federal agent and one of money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Mr. Cárdenas used the ranch to raise cattle as well as to train his personal militia, many of them former army soldiers lured by promises of higher pay, according to the testimony. Pay started at about $300 a week but would double within six months – far higher than salaries for soldiers or police. Pay for hitmen and bodyguards began at $1,000 per week, according to testimony.
In September 2001, Mr. Cárdenas, a former federal police officer, began ordering new recruits lured from Mexican special forces units to the ranch for advanced training, according to the testimony. "That course lasted two months," according to the testimony of one protected witness, who said he worked for Zeta leader Arturo Guzmán Decena. "From that point on, the Zetas, numbering more than 50, began to engage in larger operations."
Mr. Guzmán was later killed in a battle with the Mexican army in Matamoros. Today, the number of "hardcore" Zeta members is more than 300, according to an internal Mexican military intelligence report. The training is extensive and includes the use of such weapons as AK-47 assault rifles, AR-15s, grenade launchers and .50-caliber machine guns, according to the testimony and U.S. officials. And the training can be deadly. In September 2002, Zeta member Omar Bautista Hernández drowned during an exercise that required him to swim with his backpack and high-powered weapon, according to the testimony.
The camps serve other purposes. In his confession, Mr. Reta told Detective García that the ranches are used as execution sites, where cartel members dispose of their enemies. In one incident, according to testimony, the bodies of four Nuevo Laredo police officers were set on fire inside barrels filled with diesel fuel. The remains were buried there the next day.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Ciudad Juarez in the spotlight
Report from Mexico...
Diario, Norte (both Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua), Excelsior (Mexico City) 3/31/08
The arrival in Ciudad Juarez of the Mexico army's latest contingent will result in forty-six unannounced traffic checkpoints in surprise locations, each to be manned by thirty soldiers. All land routes into and out of Ciudad
Twelve
The military have been performing aerial surveillance with helicopters over various parts of the city and they have also made several forced entry house searches but have kept reporters away from the immediate area; items removed from the searched houses were covered to prevent their identification when they were taken from the houses to the vehicles outside.
Forty-six
Police Arrest More Than 30 Illegal Immigrants Working As Security Guards
DALLAS - More than 30 illegal immigrants who work as security guards face weapons charges, Dallas police said. Police teamed up with state and federal agents for the joint operation, which aimed to identify armed and unarmed security officers who were in the country illegally.
The people arrested face weapons charges, because it is illegal for non-citizens to carry or own guns. The investigation targeted 26 Dallas-based businesses, most of which were nightclubs. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said the state will " vigorously prosecute" the people arrested during the operation.
"Hopefully, this operation will help us send a message that we will not tolerate the falsification of documents for undocumented aliens under the guise of providing security," he said in a statement.
All of the people arrested during were employees of two local security companies, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office said.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
