Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

A Prison Without Drugs or Violence - And it is in Mexico

Posted by DD, Republished from Mexico News Daily

DD:  Mexico has a class system based on color of your skin even if it is not discussed or acknowledged in "polite society".  The indigenous people of Mexico, who typically have darker skin, are in the bottom class.  Even though they were the original inhabitants of Mexico and had an advanced civilization with large cities equal to any in Europe before the Spanish invasion, today they are often looked at as inferior and referred to as Indio's in a derogatory manner by society (and the govt).   

There are no dark skinned movie or TV stars, very few politicians, or business leaders that come from this "lower class".  

Perhaps if society and the government took a close look at this prison, their views and attitudes toward the indigenous might change.


Mexican jails are generally known for corruption, crime and overcrowded conditions but a penitentiary in the northern border state of Chihuahua offers a contrasting picture.


Some empty beds, zero drug consumption and no bribery are features of the Social Reinsertion Center (Cereso) of Guachochi, where about half the inmates actually turned themselves in.

The 253 prisoners share one identifying characteristic: they all belong to indigenous communities. Most — 181 — are Rarámuri while 66 are Tepehuan, three are Guarojío and two, Pimas.

The state penitentiary began operating in January 2015 and was built to house a population of 100% indigenous inmates. Equipped with a kitchen, an artisan’s workshop, a barn, a bakery and a library, the jail has strict security measures, but there’s seldom a need to enforce them.
Prisoners have guitars and violins that have been given to them to play their traditional music. (Picture by Nadia del Pozo / VICE News

According to official figures, 98% of the inmates are behind bars for homicide and rape, a percentage hard to find in state or federal penitentiaries elsewhere in Mexico.

Friday, July 29, 2016

29 Autodefensas Might Be Released To Continue Their Criminal Proceedings Liberated




By: Sayra Casillas Mendoza | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Morelia, Michoacán— The Sixth District Judge located in Uruapan decided to modify the precautionary measure of pretrial detention for 29 Tumbiscatío autodefensas, so they may be able to continue their criminal proceedings while they are freed if they meet the five new precautionary measures imposed on them.

Such measures to be met are:


  • To not leave the state
  • To not meet with armed groups
  • Present themselves to the court to sign once a month
  • Posting bail: 120,000 pesos ($6,399 USD)
  • To not approach witnesses


In an interview with Cambio de Michoacán, the lawyer of this group of autodefensas, Ignacio Mendoza Jiménez, considered bail to be a very high amount of money, so he anticipates a possible appeal.

He added that he would ask the governor, Silvano Aureoles Conejo, to give these people the same amount of compensation (90,000 pesos ($4,799 USD) granted in February to former autodefensas to have the possibility to start a productive project.

“Let them support the bond…they are people that don’t have financial resources, who served the state and were arrested on May 9 when they still had permission from Castillo, even though he denies it, to be armed,” he said.

Bullet riddled in Sonora, two nephews of Emma Coronel

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

Subject Matter: Kevin Alexis and Justin Coronel Orduno
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Reporter: Milton Martinez

The brothers, Kevin Alexis, 19 years of age and Justin, 13 years old, were executed with high powered weapons the past Tuesday afternoon at the Centrica Laguna del Nainari, they were identified as alleged(?) nephews of Emma Coronel, wife of El Chapo Guzman Loera, and daughter of the then Sinaloan Capo, Ines Coronel Barreras.

The youngsters have the surname Coronel Orduno were sons of Sergio Coronel Ibarra, nephew of Nacho Coronel, ex head of the Sinaloa, Juarez, Jalisco and Milenio cartels, who died on 29th of July of 2010 during an operation carried out in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Tijuana: Executed couple in Playas tied to trafficking

                                                      Executed couple tied to drug trafficking


It would not be accurate to say Tijuana, nor it's almost entirely apathetic overbearing neighbor of San Diego was shocked by the murders of a young couple in Playas De Tijuana, Coronado section last Monday, but it was noticed.  Noticed, for their age, their relationship, and facebook pictures showed a smiling, attractive couple in barely in their 20's.  They were both students of Universities in Tijuana.  

It's easier to self identify with these victims, then the often nameless, bound, tortured, garroted men in dirty urine stained jeans, dumped in Sanchez Tadoaba,  or Zona Norte tienderos bleeding out on the sidewalk, before the municipals can close off the scene. It makes for a more impactful tragedy when a picturesque couple is gunned down, while sitting in their vehicle.  

It's crucial not to blame the victims, or discount them, which is a technique that is depressingly effective in Mexico, and the US, to emotionally distance themselves from crime, and apply a kind of fatalistic disconnect between the dead, and their own existence.  'Of course they were killed, they were mixed up with narcos'.  That's the kind of sentiment expressed all too often.  

A sentiment that excuses shocking and demeaning atrocities, teenage girls assaulted, brutalized and dumped in the street, families executed in their homes, 19 year old boys executed in front of their families, a kind of brutal degradation that would seem impossible to justify. 

Vianey Ruiz Moreno and Ricardo Moreno Renteria were seated in a car, parked outside a home, last Monday night, in the mid evening.  Three .40 caliber bullets struck Ricardo Moreno in  the face, neck, and arm, he died on the scene.  One bullet entered the temple of Vianey Ruiz, she also died on the scene.  10 shell casings were recovered on the scene.  The killing was described as a 'direct, clever attack against the two.  There must be some problem here'

Problems like unpaid debts, and old grudges, lost shipments, and broken promises, unreturned phone calls, and drunken confrontations.  Power and madness, bloodlust and business.

Zeta Tijuana reports that interviews with members of the family contained allegations the father of Ricardo Moreno had introduced his son to drug trafficking, and he was involved in trafficking to the United States.  Reports also indicate the mother of Vianey was kidnapped several years back, and released after paying the random.  

Pictures tell us a lot, but they can be deceiving, images that create reactions, which may be more complex then our explanations.  His open collared Burberry polo in one picture, her Michael Kors bag in another, her features, which perhaps are surgically enhanced.  It's morbid speculation, to analyze the shirt or breast implants of the deceased.... I suppose, but murders and .40 caliber bullets leave this in their wake.  Pictures, snapshots, hushed allegations, and very tragic circumstances of death, that leave many questions.  

Their was another body found that night in Playas, tossed on the street.  Two more last night in Zona Norte, and nearly 500 this year.  They all have stories behind them, their is a series of events, conditions, choices, families that put these events in motions, their faces behind the dead, and faces behind the bullets.  You can buy dozens of roses for your girlfriend, and traffic drugs with the same hands, you can buy groceries the morning after laying in wait outside a home in Playas, in front of the dark sky, and walk away into the darkness, as blood runs down the Jetta's seats, and the stillness of death lingers in the air, in the streets, throughout a city.

Sources: AFN Tijuana, Zeta Tijuana 


Secretary General of the youth network of the PRI in Guerrero, Zimena Bernal Vargas,detained with an operator of the Beltran Leyva Organization

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article

Subject Matter: Ximena Bernal Vargas, Beltran Leyva Organization
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required


Reporter: Milenio Digital
The Secretary General of the youngster network "X Mexico in Guerrero", Ximena Bernal Vargas, was detained last week with an alleged operator of the cartel of the Beltran Leyva brothers.

The network, Jovenes x Mexico, who are aligned to the PRI, confirmed that Bernal Vargas is a member of this organization; however, the Secretary for women in this entity, Gabriela Bernal Resendiz, affirmed that her sister is not a functionary of anything in the three levels of Government.

"I want to make clear that Ximena doesn't work in the Secretariat that I direct, and as such is not a functionary of anything in the three levels of Government," said Bernal Resendiz in a video published on her face book account.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Michoacán: Ambush Kills 3 Policemen, Wounds 8


Police ambushed in Ziracuaretiro
Photo: 90 Grados


By: Francisco Castellanos J. | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Ziracuaretiro, Michoacán— The aftermath of an ambush left at least three policemen dead and eight more wounded when they were opened fire by armed men at the exit of the municipality of Ziracuaretiro along the highway to Uruapan.

The incident took place around 18:00 hours at the height of the gas station El Fresno.

There, members of the Michoacán Police who were patrolling were gunned down by armed civilians.

After the incident, paramedics from the Red Cross, Civil Protection and of Search and Rescue were mobilized to the site.

Shortly after, a strong operation was implemented by the Mexican Army, federal police, and Ministerial Michoacán Police to find those responsible.

The bodies of the fallen policemen were sent to the Forensic Medical Service of Uruapan, 15 minutes from the incident, and to private hospitals in the same area.

Source: Proceso

Tracy Saenz promotes an Amparo against privation of liberty

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

Subject Matter: Tracy Saenz, Gerardo Ortiz
Recommendation: See Link to article by BB reporter Texcoco De Mora on Mr Ortiz


Reporter: Luis Carlos Sainz
The model that acted in the video musical of the song "fuiste mia" by Gerardo Ortiz fears being detained.

The model Tracy Saenz presented a demand of Amparo in a Federal Court in Tijuana to prevent which ever possible judicial order that may take away her liberty.

Before the a Judge of the Third District of Amparo and Federal trials in the State of Baja California, was filed as trial of guarantees 1185/2016, promoted against the PGR and other authorities.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

United States and Mexico agree to combat heroin and fentanyl consumption

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article

Subject Matter: Heroin and Fetanyl consumption in both countries
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

During her visit to the United States, the head of the PGR, Arely Gomez, agreed to create a bi-national group to lower the consumption of heroin and fentanyl in both countries.

Reporter: Ruben Mosso
Mexico and the united States agreed the formation of a bi-national group to confront the problem that is occasioning both countries, the consumption of heroin and fentanyl, drugs that have been the cause of many deaths.

The accord was made between the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Arely Gomez Gonzalez, during a working visit she made to Washington, United States.

The bi-national group will be headed in Mexico by the Prosecutor General of the Republic.

Daniel Barrera: "The last of the great capos" gets 35 years in N.Y. sentencing

Lucio R. Borderland Beat Material from archives, U.S. website and The Guardian

Barrera being extradited to the U.S.
Colombia describes Barrera “the last of the great capos”….


Dusk was falling in the evening of 2012 as the ordinary looking middle-aged man, parked his car opposite the towering white statue of an angel in the Andean mountain city of San Cristobal near Venezuela's border with Colombia.

Daniel Barrera walked the few feet to a bank of public payphones facing the church, picked up the handset and dialed a number. He had barely begun his conversation when, to the shock of shopkeepers and passers-by, dozens of armed police appeared - and the 20-year career of the last of the notorious Colombian drug barons was over.

Known simply as "el Loco" - "the crazy one" - for his for violent mood swings and ruthless dispatch of rivals, Barrera was captured by Venezuelan security officers without a fight last week as he telephoned a subordinate to issue instructions.

"He just shrugged and had the look of a resigned man who knew his time was up," a street vendor who witnessed the arrest told The Sunday Telegraph. "The National Guard pulled up on motorbikes and he surrendered without a struggle. It was over in no time."


The Venezuelan swoop was conducted after a months-long monitoring operation in coordination with Colombia,  Britain's MI6 and American intelligence,  an indication of the depth of concerns about Barrera's kingpin status trafficking cocaine to the US and Europe.

He has been described as the trafficker “most like Pablo Escobar”, and one who had elected to change his appearance through plastic surgery, and altering his fingerprints by using acid.

The Colombian, 48, eventually pleaded guilty  to charges by the United States, and on Monday a Manhattan judge, Gregory Woods, described Barrera’s crimes “staggering”, sentenced Barrera to 35 years in prison.

Judge Woods rejected Barrera’s defense plea for leniency. The leniency please was centered on the guilty plea, offer of cooperation.

The sentence also included a 10 million dollar forfeiture in addition to a 10M dollar fine.

U.S. prosecutors contend that Barrera had shipped, tons of cocaine to the United States,  in a massive drug trafficking operation.  The operation trafficked drugs to four continents using narco subs to transport the product.


Monday, July 25, 2016

Another Mayor Killed in Mexico; 2nd over weekend

Posted by DD Republished from SRN News and BBC News

Police were on patrol in San Juan Chamula Chiapas after the mayor there was shot on Saturday

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mayor of a town in one of Mexico’s most violent drug corridors was shot to death, the second mayor killed in Mexico over the weekend.

Ambrosio Soto was mayor of a township that includes Ciudad Altamirano, a known haven for drug traffickers in southern Guerrero state.

Roberto Alvarez, spokesman for southern Guerrero state, said Sunday that gunmen blocked a highway just over the state line in neighboring Michoacan state with pickup trucks and opened fire on the mayor’s vehicle late Saturday. He said two federal officers serving as Soto’s bodyguards were wounded in the attack.

Soto had received threats and was under protection from federal police. A local drug gang had reportedly threatened him because he refused to turn over part of the city budget as a protection payment.

In recent years, business owners in Ciudad Altamirano say they have been forced to pay extortion to the Knights Templar drug cartel.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Mexico Weighs House Arrest for Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo

Posted by DD republished from ABC News

 By Mark Stevenson, Associated Press 
 
Mexico's government is studying a request to place imprisoned 86-year-old drug lord Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo under house arrest, an official said Saturday.

Fonseca Carrillo, who is also known as "Don Neto," is considered one of the founders of modern Mexican drug trafficking. He is serving a 40-year sentence for the 1985 slaying of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.

A federal official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the government is "analyzing the legal aspects of the possibility" of allowing him to serve out his sentence under house arrest. He is currently being held at a top-security prison in the western state of Jalisco.

Mexican courts have said Fonseca Carrillo is eligible for the program, as are other aged or ill inmates.
His age has been a matter of debate, but most sources believe he was born in 1930.

Interview of Caro Quintero "I did not kill Enrique Camarena" Video, updated.

On a videotaped interview with Proceso, Rafael Caro Quintero says he did not kill Enrique Camarena and says he was "in the wrong place." He apologizes to the Mexican people, the DEA and the US government and says: "I am not at war with anyone; El Chapo and Mayo are my friends. " He says he was devoted to planting marijuana because "somehow we had to survive."

The waiting went somewhere in northern Mexico. It was an afternoon with a storm on the way. Suddenly, just like a ghost, he appears walking with relaxed pace. Dark skin and calloused hands. Under the blue cap short dyed hair. It shows a perfect and shiny teeth and thin body.

Rafael Caro Quintero is, nicknamed The Prince or Narco of Narcos. For his capture, the US government is offering a reward of 5 million dollars. And in Mexico has accused him of have been reinstated in drug trafficking and to unleash a war against the Sinaloa Cartel.

He has on his chest at least two scapulars, one of the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos, a gift from one of its sons, and one with a blessing from his mother. Wears long-sleeved shirt, buttoned almost to the neck and jeans. On his left wrist a black dial watch. No jewelry, luxury or weapons; his bodyguard seems to be composed of only two men. His shoes are black and the soles are visibly worn. They seem the exact metaphor of someone who flees from justice for almost three years.

After 28 years in prison in August 2013 it was released from the Detention of Guadalajara by a collegiate court orders. But days after the Attorney General's Office (PGR) obtained two arrest warrants against him: one to extradite him to the United States and another to do 12 more years in prison, according to the PGR, they remain pending in Mexico.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Tamaulipas: Kidnappers Die Via Burns In Confrontation With Mexican Navy




Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

The Tamaulipas Coordination Group (GCT) reported that the vehicles in which five people tried to flee in the municipality of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, were gunned down by members of the Mexican Navy and exploded, burning the passengers.

According to the agency, the five were alleged kidnappers who opened fire against the marines after being caught throwing the lifeless body of a man on a road leading from the town of Valadeces to the common land of Lucio Blanco.

A pickup truck and a Mercury Grand Marquis were used for the escape of the five men, which lasted a few meters, and after a shootout, were burned completely, around 12:45 hours of this past Friday.

The Mexican Marines opened fire in defense of their lives, said the GCT.

None of the bodies have been identified.

Full text of the statement:

Announcement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group

July, 22, 2016

Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas— The Tamaulipas Coordination Group reports that on Friday, July 22, in a village in the municipality of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, at least five suspected kidnappers were died burned after the two vehicles in which they tried to escape burst into flames.

The no deceased, still unidentified, were surprised by members of the Mexican Navy when they were throwing the lifeless body of a man who had been killed, this occurred on a road leading from the village of Valadeces to the common land of Lucio Blanco.

Realizing the presence of the marines, the suspects opened fire and tried to escape in a pickup truck and a Mercury Grand Marquis, starting a chase that lasted a few meters.

Navy personnel repelled the attack in defense of their lives and when they tried to intercept the two vehicles, they exploded and burned completely, which killed the attackers.

The incident occurred shortly after 12:45 hours.  The victim of the kidnappers has not been identified, but it was a young man who was handcuffed and had several bullet wounds on his body.