Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Sunday, July 14, 2013

New Focus by U.S. on Marine Kidnapped in Tamaulipas

Borderland Beat

The kidnapping of a U.S. Marine corporal and Iraq War veteran has received scant attention since he was taken from a Mexican ranch with his father and uncle two month ago.
But that may be about to change.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, who led the way in freeing jailed U.S. Marine Jon Hammar, held on bogus gun charges in Mexico, told Fox News Latino she plans to step up political pressure to make sure Armando Torres III's case is solved quickly.
“Right now our plan of action is that next week we're going to take to the House floor,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “So we're going to step it up a notch. We tried the quiet way, and now we're going to raise the profile of this case.”
Meanwhile, the FBI has told the family to prepare for the worst. It is widely believed Torres and members of his family were taken by drug cartel members.
“There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my brother, and he's always on my mind,” Cristina Torres, Armando’s sister, told Fox News Latino. “I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. It's very hard. I just want my brother back.”
Torres, 24, is the backbone of her family, she said. His mother has an alter with old photos and lit candles in the home to remind her not to give up searching for her son -- though the family fights off the grim reality that he may be dead.
Corporal Torres, a 25-year-old Marine in the Individual Ready Reserve and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009, crossed the border into Mexico on May 14th near Progresso, Texas to visit his father’s ranch in La Barranca, Mexico. On that day, eyewitnesses told the Torres family several men stormed into the home and forced Torres, his father, Armando Torres II, and his uncle, Salvador Torres, into a white truck.
On June 11, twelve Congressional representatives wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding help. Both Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto, and President Barack Obama have been briefed on the case. In fact, 165 Central American kidnapped migrants were freed in Tamaulipas state as a direct result of Mexican police action associated with the search of the three missing family members.
The Torres family believes Corporal Torres just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – stuck in the middle of a land dispute over the ranch. Mexican cartels are known for land grabs along the border and use the area to grow drugs and smuggle them across the border.
“In that area, in Tamaulipus, we've seen a mafia war going on between two very violent cartels, the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. These used to be groups that were aligned with each other,” Andrew Selee, vice president for programs at the Woodrow Wilson Center, told Fox News Latino. “The Zetas were the hitmen for the gulf cartel and the two groups split a couple of years ago, they've been fighting for control for the smuggling routes of Tamaulipus, and it's a very violent conflict.”
Selee said the chances that Torres is still alive are not good but there is always the possibility that those who kidnapped him may realize he’s a U.S. marine and they’ve made a mistake. After all, he said, kidnapping decisions, “are often made by low-level operatives in one of the mafia groups.”
Torres is a father of two boys and served as a mechanic in Iraq working on humvees for more than 14 hours a day, fellow marines said. Messages of support from the U.S. Marines community through a Facebook group called “Get Our Brother Back” have provided the family hope and strength over the last two months.
“I don't think I'm going to stop looking till, until I find something, at least until we recover a body or something,” Cristina Torres said of her brother. “But until then, my brother is still alive.”

Marines Rally Around The Missing Marine
The Marines are mobilizing.

Marines and their families from across the United States are mounting political pressure and rallying for the release of fellow Marine reservist, Texan Armando Torres, who was kidnapped in a Mexican border city three weeks ago.

The FBI announced this week it was looking for information about the May 14th disappearance of the 25-year-old Iraq War veteran, who is from the border city of Hidalgo, Texas. ...continues on following page
Torres’ father and uncle also disappeared from the ranch in Mexico, not far from the U.S. border. All three were apparently ambushed by a group of men who forced them inside a truck and then took off.

Before Torres' kidnapping hit the mainstream media, the Torres family reached out to fellow Marines through a Facebook group called "Get Our Brother Back."http://global.fncstatic.com/static/v/all/img/external-link.png

For the past three weeks, Marines who had served with Torres have written numerous emails to lawmakers, started a White House petitionhttp://global.fncstatic.com/static/v/all/img/external-link.png and have contacted dozens of media outlets in an effort to get their “brother” back.

"I read a lot of the posts to my mother," Armando's sister, Cristina Torres, 24, told Fox News Latino. "Just seeing the support from military families, it’s just giving my mom more hope."

Posts on the group have ranged from prayers to people promising to contact their local lawmakers for help. It also has become a sounding board for Marines all over the country hoping for Torres’ safe return.

"I'm a Marine, and what do I need to do to help the situation?" Darren Pelton posted.

"I live in a military town...we are a military family...I will spread the word," Michele Reckel wrote.

Rhett Summerlot, 27, started the Facebook group, which by Tuesday already had 5,000 followers. Summerlot served with Torres in Iraq in 2009 and described him as someone who always has a smile on his face.

"We are a brotherhood, and this could have happened to somebody in a different union in another state, somebody would have done something like this to start the process to get him home,"  said Summerlot, who has sent out more than 100 emails and made dozens of phone calls to get the word out. 

Former New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson and Texas Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, a Democrat, have responded to emails and have pledged their help.

"I think they messed with the wrong people," Melissa Estrada, the mother of Armando's two sons, said of the Marine brotherhood. "It's such a beautiful thing, the bond is so strong."
Fox Latino

100 comments:

  1. f'd up Obama admin.

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    Replies
    1. So what do you want Obama Admin do? Send SEAL TEAM 6 for a smash & grab? That wont happen simply because he wasn't behind Enemy Lines so to speak.

      Back in June 1995 in Bosnia, Capt Scott O'Gardy ejected from his F-16 while patroling the No Fly Zone over Banja Luka, Western Bosnia when his Jet was downed by a 70s era old Missile. The US moved in & picked him Up.

      The Obama Admin U r blaming cant pull the same stunt because:

      1) There is No War Situation with Mexico
      2) Mexico has complex & touchy sovereignity issues with US.

      Over to you Sir.....

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    2. Z40 captured in nuevo Laredo they have a pic of hos capture!!!

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    3. Major fire fights in nuevo Laredo close to Laredo Texas Laredo Texas on alert cercas del jardin possible rescue of z40 underway

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  2. Because he a marine so act like u ppl care? He just another lame working for cartels thAts dead

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  3. The only way US would intervene is when the cartels kidnap a very high rank officer from the armed forces by accident.. I think they will find a way to slide this under the rug..but yeah wrong place at the wrong time.. hopefully they can at least find the body and give him a proper burial...

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    1. I doubt a high ranking member of the armed forces would step a foot in Mexico ya pea brain

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    2. Probably they kidnapped him so he can train them

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    3. Kidnapped him so that He can train them???? If am coming in as Ur Trainer it means that I practically possess a superior strategic skill-set & know-how about Commando tact etc. The Victim would use his Training to get Escape or obliterate his Captors.

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    4. Train them on what? Fixing humvees, that was his job in the marines.

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  4. Sorry guys but he's a dead man. Ur only hope is to call the expendables to get to the bottom of this. Trevino ur ass is toast when jet li and the boys show up

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  5. So sorry for the nightmare this family is going thru - I no I'm not alone n saying there's along of us who would LOVE 2 SEE OUR MILITARY HEROES GOING INTO MEXICO & SERVING JUSTICE 4 OUR TAKEN HERO & HIS FAMILY MEMBERS - And I would hope no mercy is shown 2 them. We will keep u & ur family n our prayers & wishing all the support possible.

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  6. Keep it up cartels and you will soon see the us military roll across the border.

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    Replies
    1. Not likely, the US government is fully complicit with narco shipments crossing over the border.

      A large amount of drug profits end up in American banks. The US government is corrupt from the top down.

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    2. Keep dreaming

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    3. & The military would solve nothing...dumbass. what did the military solve in iraq, afghanistan, vietnam?? not a dam thing. they couldn't dismantle the taliban so how in the world would the u.s. military dismantle all the cartels? You swear dude. Be realistic just about everyone has a price. I'm sure chapo would pay some people off i mean afterall he is a multibillionare

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  7. sounds like hogwash to me

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  8. he's dead, the killers will never get caught. the ones they present as the killers will be innocent people just like the two guys they presented after the border patrol agent was murdered by his partner.

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  9. Who cares, as long as the violence is contained within the borders of Mexico.

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    1. Its already spread to the u.s. there's been several beheadings in u.s. terittory. chicagos violence is evidence of their presence

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    2. Ur an a hole.Sleep with one eye open.

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    3. @5:00p.m u r an idiot!!! nobodys family deserves this bullshit i dont care what side of the border they are on.the cartels and crooked gvts are like freakin cockroaches.break out the raid!!!

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  10. RE-_- Keep it up cartels and you will soon see the us military roll across the border.

    Getting a good laugh from that comment, this Administration along with the previous Bush Administration couldn't and can't even stop illegals from crossing our border. The Cartels control immigration into our country they are sending thousands here to do their bidding. Don't believe me just look at a the millions that are already here in every town and major city. They were all smuggled here and who controls the smuggling??? Well yes the Drug Cartels, they control all the Plazas or points of entry into the United States. Our Immigration people don't control SHIT!!! We are too stupid to realize it and we just sit back and want to give these aliens rights and drivers licenses....what a joke. That Marine that went to Mexico, well I think by now his head is on a stick.....As long as we have this dummy in the white house, the only place our military is going is to the junk yard, once he gets done reducing it's size...ha haha...its so sad it's funny....

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  11. Not to be a dick but this guy is probably already 6 feet under with his head chopped off.

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  12. http://www.historiasdelnarco.com/2013/07/la-pf-limpia-el-camino-para-el-chapo.html?m=1

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  13. that was probably the reason he crossed over in the first place,try to settle the feud they having with the cartels...maybe. He forgot to bring his marine buddy's with him and weapons though.

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  14. we don't have to care .....but let's use this as an excuse kill some Mexican thugs.

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    Replies
    1. Or get killed by mexican thugs? Jaja you gys are funny.bullet s dont respect no one.and if you ever been to war you would know thismmmmm

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  15. 7-14 at 5 is a less than a cockroach anytime any country touch an American full death should be the result . I live 200 miles from the border they are here and need to be dealt with. a marine should be revenged I know many of us that lost our ranches mexico ok write it off our taxes , marine gone tell the Mexican that cannot fix send a seal team I do want long combat deal in mexico but everytime they take one of us punish every cartel even president chapo . sorry spelling and grammar so bad but that last post pissed me off.

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  16. @ 5:00 PM
    Who cares? If you are an American citizen, you SHOULD care. This young man served his country well and every inhabitant of the US owes him a debt of gratitude and concern for his well being. My prayers go out to Armando Torres III and his family.

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  17. So this kid served in Iraq. He was a part of an illegal war on foreign soil that killed up to a million Iraqis in their own nation.

    Karma is a bitch.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, those gentlemen hung at Nuremberg were just following orders from their superiors also.

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  18. hey 5 p.m he defended yor ass you go live in Oklahoma city or dallas on your fat ass . I bet his buddies would help . I am sure you never defended anyone, sure never been to border. I bet you just another asshole republican who visits fastfood every day , his father set him to Iraq owned land I mexico , but we cannot help him I love put your ass I Nuevo Laredo for week to see how tough you are.

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  19. This whole thing stinks to high heaven, why would anybody in their right mind go to interior mexico through Progresso???

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  20. I think its time for Duane Lee Chapman to take a visit down into La Barranca, Mexico.

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  21. La Barranca is In Michuacan not Tamalulipas

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  22. Damn zetas let the U.S. military roll through cartel neighborhoods

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  23. Mexico is a shit hole. As soon as you cross the border it smells like shit & piss, I'm talking instantly within fucking seconds. These poor bastards are so used to it they don't even smell it no more. Of course, the people running the country are pieces of shit who collect bribe money and payoffs from the cartels who are themselves pieces of shit. Guess what law enforcement and military personnel are equal to in Mexico....... Exactly!!!
    So when you go to a shit hole, don't be suprised when you're treated like shit. Actually, you should be suprised when you're not treated as such! God Bless the USA!!!

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    Replies
    1. Your an idiot, look at what has happened to women and children in iraq,afghanistan,syria,libya
      Look at TRAYVON MARTIN you prick

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  24. My prayers go out to the family and i hope the pieces if shit that took him get what's coming to them kill all cartel members and associates let's shut these fuckers down

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    1. 1021 there are great people everywhere ; like mexico. And there are bad people everywhere ; like in your country too. Respect others and be kind your majesty.

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  25. May God bless you and your family Ms Torres, Your son served his country honorably and now it's time they do the same !

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  26. thats pic are when he was a kid now is older grandpa style

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  27. well granpa 1 should of visited granpa 2,the one that shot up those cdg thugs that tried to take his old wrinkly ass...maybe things be different.

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  28. Whether u agree or not about u.s. comeing over the border u cant be a smart cartel or drug dealer for that matter if u think that wont bring heat just ask oziel cardenas

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  29. Chapo snatched him to fix his offroad golf buggy.

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  30. 10:21 pm, your right about that. And nobodys fleeing their country th live In that shithole.

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  31. So what about all the other kidnapped victims? Just because he was a humvee mechanic he gets all this media attention?

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  32. Fuck with a marine, marines will come looking for you, whether it be ordered, or not.

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  33. This is bullshit, a stupid marine gets kidnapped and USA expects us to worry ,? What about all the other people kidnapped and died? Fuck this story

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  34. "Getting a good laugh from that comment, this Administration along with the previous Bush Administration couldn't and can't even stop illegals from crossing our border....d drivers licenses....what a joke. That...its so sad it's funny...."

    whats funny is your blindly following right wing policy like it means something...the right answers to a powerful Ag Lobby, which wants mexicans here for the cheap labor...the only white folks who don't want them here, are poor dumb ones like you who have to compete with them for Jobs...I never worry about illegals competing with me for jobs...friggin PWT

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  35. What about the dad and uncle. The sister says how much she misses her brother. Did the dad and uncle get away ?

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  36. For the people saying he only new how to fix humvees your dumb he could shoot your brains off from around 500yrd with his m16 and only iron sight or put you on your ass...there trained to be war killing machines

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  37. I hope an earthquake wipes Mexico off the face of the earth these pos country is a threat to humanity fuck all mexican bastards fuckin criminals good for nothing

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    Replies
    1. Approve this 8=========DDD----/

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  38. leave no Marine behind!! OORAH!!!

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  39. Ugh! Chi-Town has always been violent and home to various Mafias, Latin Kings, Peoples Nations, etc. Nothing new adding another group. Maybe you mistakenly thing Capone and Luciano were from NYC??!! No, they're Chi-Town.

    As for the marine, he's dead, ellos lo mataron. He's soup. If he were female, maybe, maybe, he'd be in some brothel being used up & still alive ... but no he's male. Even if they knew they made a mistake, if he saw their faces they'd kill him. It's just that simple. Zetas, well, they (the higher ups) have more & better US military training than he does. Remember, the originals were trained by US Special Forces not just anyone to be Mexican Special Forces. They're like Colombia's COINTEL units who mostly turned crazy out of control .When the Cartels start putting landmines all over the place, I'll say, "Bienvenidos a Colombia".

    What's sad is sooo many know the Cartels are killing innocent people to take their land yet are doing nothing about it.

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    Replies
    1. Shows how much you know. The undisputed leaders are Z40 and Z42, both have absolutely ZERO military experience. Z1 and El Lazca had military training. Its so funny how everyone thinks the letra are all trained mercs. Learn before you post.

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    2. Yeah! z40 and z41 graduated from Dora The Explorer survival school. They're both bad ass mofo's.

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  40. the marine is only TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD

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  41. If the U.S does nothing for Mexican American Marine we Marines will go on our own and find him. Marines vs Cartels coming soon.

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  42. Que Agarraron Al Z40 En Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas...???

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    Replies
    1. Si wey! Lo cacharon con tu jefa bien empinada

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  43. Z-40 caught in Nuevo Laredo

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  44. they are saying on mundonarco that z40 was captured???

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  45. I HAVE BEEN TWETING ABOUT THE RUMOR OF Z40 BEING CAPTURED ON THE BB TWITTER PAGE. I HAVE SIDE BY SIDE PHOTOS ON MY LAST TWEET. Judge it and give me your thoughts I am not reader to devote a post to the rumor yet....

    https://twitter.com/Borderland_Beat

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    Replies
    1. Looks a lot like him. Unless he uses a look-alike like Saddam and his boys did.

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  46. man sorry for the typos...too excited I guess..
    or please tweet what you think. I am curious, because I am not so sure about the photos.

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  47. TO: July 14, 2013 at 9:37 PM
    Anonymous said...
    I think its time for Duane Lee Chapman to take a visit down into La Barranca, Mexico.
    RE: DO YOUR HISTORY HOMEWORK MENSO - Last time Chapman went into Mexico and tried his U.S. tactics (which is illegal in Mexico) he was arrested & deported from Mexico. He was humbled and was crying like a 15 year old girl because he thought he could pull his Hollywood sensationalized BS abroad. Hope this poor Devil Dog & his family didn't suffer, but unfortunately he's another unresolved stat that will not end well because he's not even in custody. I'm sure he did his time and if he was still active, the Marine Corps wouldn't have let him travel abroad without a special need & persimission.

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  48. They say z40 captured????

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  49. @chivis it was announced that they have caught z40

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  50. SHootout in Nvo Laredo colonia jardin...near American consulate and 2 hospitals

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    1. There is this video where a taliban decapitates an XxAMERICANxX soldier its sad but the Heroic sildier is Screaming AMERICA AMERICA AMERICA while is he is bleeding and dying. I was also shecked on how the taliban cut his throat in such a way that he didnt struggle

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  51. @chicos it has been confirmed z40 caught in nuevo laredo he was probably betrayed

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  52. WARNING TO AMERICANS IN NVO LAREDO...FROM US CONSULATE

    US ConGen Nvo Laredo ‏@USAConNVL 2h

    Reports of isolated gunfire in Nuevo Laredo (Colonia Jardin). Recommend that U.S. Citizens exercise caution in the area.
    Details

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  53. No confirmation on the Z40 rumor.
    no post on PGR website
    no majors carrying the rumor

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  54. i z-40 really was captured, the Govt might hold back on releasing that info hoping to get something useful out of z-40 before his organization has a chance to hide the dope and hitters...however, you'd think they'd all know by now, given the stories we've read here about their sophisticated communication's systems

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  55. Its not him don't look like 40

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  56. CHECK THE DALLAS NEWS ABOUT 40

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  57. hope it's the scumbad z-40..

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  58. TW15T3R GARCIA
    The little pussy nigga false claimin,twister,twistin like a bitch.
    All the motherfuckers here hating on this Armando Torres because he Mex-Amer and fought for the"enemy"the US.He made a better life for him and his whole familiar and became a bread winner and provider in the US.He then went back to his papas homeland probably to help him and the hateful scrubs killed him,especially cause of who he was and who he worked for.They were probably laughing when they killed him,cause these loser motherfuckers aint got no brain,they fuckin stuuuupppiiddd,thats why they losers.
    Dont hate on gringos and the US,they just like anyone else trying to better themselves.
    Condolences to his familia and D.E.P Armando Torres III

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    Replies
    1. Hahah dont sh1t a brick!!! It was only an opinion you immature loser

      Delete
  59. Its not confirmed z40 captured

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  60. I just heard on the radio Z40 was captured over the weekend. False alarm?

    Junius

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  61. I pray for the day that the US military runs thru Mexico & wipes out the cartels!

    The day marijuana is legalized ocean to ocean u better believe the US will go in to Mexico the same way they went into Afghan for that opium!

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  62. Mexico is a shit hole!

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  63. Ya callate el ozico .u probably kuve in a shithole yourself,PUNK.

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  64. Corporal Torres is Mexican American. Sadly he would have to be Caucasian for the average American to care.
    His fellow Marines care, people of good will care but there is a reason this has not been headlined on the cable or network news.

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  65. July 15, 2013 at 4:25 PM
    "M"
    "Laugh all u want motherfucker.Im a mexican american marine myself "
    Greetings to you Senore from a gringo,fuck all the haters,you go for yourself and your family and your brothers.Most of these haters are to stupid to think for themselves,we all just people trying to better our lives,keep safe bro you and yours.

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  66. Racist fucks, Just go to mexico and try to speak to the people who live near the border in mexico, some of these very poor People affected by the drug wars, live there just a week, u will see ur testicles shrink and maybe fall off, while this people go out in danger zones to make a few dollars to feed their families everyday, this same people have relatives born in The US, is it ok for u to say that its ok as long shit stays in mexico? Im not about to ask u to put urself in their shoes, u know why?, because it is very insulting, this people r very simple and hard workers, u could never speak for them because u will never ever understand their pain of family loss due to rape, kidnap, extortion etc, will u be ok if that was to be happening to your family when they go and try to have a fun vaction in mexico? It has happened already, and im sure that their families feel the same pain even if they are americans and live in the US, So dont talk like u r this f..n iron man with no feelings or emotions, pray ur family never takes a loss this way, so dont comment if u r just a jackoff online. Pendejos babosos coyones

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  67. Fuck with a marine, marines will come looking for you, whether it be ordered, or not.

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  68. That pictures are very old he is an old man fat ass

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  69. The United States Marine Corps cares about every Marine regardless of Color or Creed....We all bleed for each other. We will not stop until USMC Cpl. Armando Torres is returned to the United States. When I read how you must be a White man to get anyone looking for you. You are wrong. We are a brotherhood that lasts forever. I have heard that Z-40 was captured. But we will not rest until Torres is returned. If he is not returned all the Cartels will suffer. Semper Fidelis.

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  70. (Semper Fi, 11:50 PM.) Those who know, aren't talking. Those who don't,speculate. We don't know why the Marine"s fate unfolded this way, or by whom the deplorable act of kiddnapping was carried out. We certainly can appreciate his family's sorrow & grief. There is no need to mock a Mother's shattered heart. Blame is no solution, hardly, helps. Mexico is NOT a " sh' hole!" Mexico is vast, enormous, many distinct cultures & languages have existed for millennia & centuries more, in a land & people rich in histories. In the '70's Mexico's peso, on par w/ USAD, functioned as Spanish Speaking American states & nations most stable currency & had for decades, prior. Extreme poverty, clasismo, lack of education, opportunity & social justice denied to the many are core issues ignored, today, in a Mexico gripped by heartless corruption. Months back, on a WEST POINT Blog's post made the year before, i read this, " Look for us to roll across the Mexican border in the next war-against the Zetas."

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  71. Calmate pinche Rambo!

    ReplyDelete

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