Officials Pleased with Downward trend in Crime in Nuevo Leon- "Yeah but"...........

Borderland Beat
Gunmen storm bar  execute 4, seriously maim 3 at Chato's Grill near Monterrey

MONTERREY, NL  - Four young people were killed and three others seriously injured during an attack by gunmen in a bar early Thursday morning in the metropolitan municipality of Santa Catarina.
The violent incident occurred early at 1:00 am in Chato's Grill, a cantina located on Movimiento Obrero Avenue in the neighborhood of Jardines de la Fama part of the metropolitan municipality of Santa Catrina. Witnesses said three men entered the establishment and opened fire on about 30 customers.

Two men died inside the bar and two died outside between parked cars. The injured were transported to local hospitals.

Sources close to the case said actually one of the mortally injured had died early this morning, although that version was not confirmed.

Of the four youths who died, authorities were able to generally identify three, but only as "Samu," Aaron, and Oscar, alias "El Loco," all  between 17 and 20 years of age.

In the parking lot crime scene investigators seized several vehicles, among them, a car with a vehicle registration of 350z SRN2-4190 which had taken about 20 bullet holes, also a Mustang and a red pickup truck with 13 bullet holes.
The shooting caused panic among the attendees, many of whom went quickly through the emergency exit..
Inside Chato's Grill they treated men and women who were hysterical.

It is believed that the incident is related to organized crime. 

At the time of the tragedy (the numbers in reports have varied) but between 30-50 men and women were on the premises , in addition to the manager and two bartenders, all who retired after the incident.

On Tuesday, a businessman was murdered outside his factory, in the neighborhood España, south of the city, a fact related to his refusal to pay the criminals' plaza fees.

Nuevo Leon's government has reiterated that between the murders this year none has been linked to criminal extortion, and in some cases there has been misrepresention by the media..

Governor Confirms kidnapping of the father of Nuevo Leon Mayor 

MONTERREY, NL - Jorge Luis Martínez Martínez, the father of Jorge Luis Martínez Gutiérrez, mayor Zuazua, was abducted early Wednesday from his home in Zuazua, located 40 kilometers north of the capital of Monterrey confirmed today the governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz.

He explained that Jorge Luis Martinez Martinez, father of the mayor, was kidnapped at 2:00 pm yesterday from his home located in Zuazua and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Medina said: "We are working on the confirmed case, and unfortunately I can not give more information for obvious reasons, but it is confirmed and we are working."
The family of the victim presented the relevant factual allegation, authorities have refused to provide information to the media for the safety of those involved.


Despite the recent crimes, the security spokesman for the state, Jorge Domene, said that there is a downward trend in criminal activity in Nuevo Leon.

"What we see is that in the last three months, and this would be the fourth, the impact is we've had about one case per day. As of today we have 24 reported cases related to organized crime, this is a trend of consistency in that number, " he said.

He also noted that recent killings and kidnappings have been carried out by a specific group of organized crime. 

Milenio says in an article on Sept. 28, 2013 that 53% of homicides in Mexico are linked to organized crime, down from 72% in January. In April, 2011 8 out of ten homicides were linked to narcos.

In August 2013, there were 777 killings related to organized crime, which represents the lowest average in two and a half years

(It may be better than the story below which was typical from a year ago but it's still too early to be boasting)

Read More

"La Barbie" Indicted in Georgia

Feds post $2 million reward for alleged cartel kingpin 'La Barbie'

CNN

Atlanta, Georgia - Federal authorities have charged alleged drug cartel leader Edgar Valdez-Villarreal -- known as "La Barbie" -- and five other defendants with trafficking thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into the United States between 2004 and 2006, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court Friday.

Valdez-Villarreal, who remains at large, is alleged to be a top member of the Arturo Beltran-Leyva cocaine cartel.

Authorities have issued a $2 million reward for information leading to his capture. He is currently believed to be in Mexico, a Justice Department statement noted.

"This indictment shows that we are not content simply to arrest and prosecute those in our district who work on behalf of the Mexican cartels to bring cocaine into the United States," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said. "We are committed to tracing the drugs back to the cartel leaders themselves, and we look forward to the opportunity to prosecute the sources of this cocaine in federal court."

The indictment charges Valdez-Villarreal, 36, Carlos Montemayor, 37, Juan Montemayor, 45, Ruben Hernandez, 38, and Roberto Lopez, 31, with conspiring to import and distribute cocaine, as well as attempted money laundering.

The sixth defendant, Jesus Ramos, has already been arrested and arraigned in Atlanta, Georgia.

Evidence unveiled during an early 2008 trial in Atlanta showed that Valdez-Villarreal played a key role in shipping roughly 100 kilograms of cocaine across the border at Laredo, Texas, every week for much of 2005, the statement indicated. Several tractor trailer trucks were used to ship the cocaine to Atlanta, as well as to transport millions of dollars in cash back to Mexico.

Valdez-Villarreal, according to the U.S. State Department, was a member of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel until Arturo Beltran-Leyva broke off to form his own ring in 2008. Beltran-Leyva was killed in a shoot-out with Mexican officials in December 2009.

Read More

20 Execution Victims Litter the Streets of Ciudad Madero

First set of 3 bodies placed to form the letter Z (signature used by Zeta sicarios)

In a horrendous show of force 20 victims of organized crime-style executions were tossed onto the streets of Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas by suspected rival drug cartel gangsters. Ciudad Madero is located on the gulf coast of Mexico 250 miles south of Brownsville, Texas.

A spokesman for the state prosecuter’s office of Tamaulipas said the 20 bodies had been recovered from the streets in four different neighborhoods of the city. Among the dead were 18 men and 2 women. None of the victims were identified by authorities.

All the victims were bound and showed signs of torture and gunshot wounds. They were members of a criminal gang known as “los alacranes”, the scorpions. Some of the bodies had “narco” posters attached but authorities did not release the contents of the messages.

The spokesman for the state prosecutor’s office also stated that a group of gunmen had entered the Tampico-Altamira-Ciudad Madero area Thursday and were attacking and executing rival organized crime groups in all 3 cities.

Second set of 3 bodies placed to form the letter Z

Read More

"El Tori" Capo of "Los Zetas" in Monterrey

As we reported on the capture of Héctor Raúl Luna Luna, AKA "El Tori," we got some pictures of his capture.

 

Luna was arrested along with David Eduardo Fuente Martinez, aka "El Chile" or "El Mantequilla."

Some of the weapons and drugs seized.

 

 “El Tori" is considered by military intelligence to be one of the most powerful members of Los Zetas armed group in northeastern Mexico.

Read More

Military Finds a Zeta Narco-Camp in NL

In the municipality of Higueras, the Mexican military discovered a "narco camp" that resulted in a confrontation that left one dead and a seizure of trucks, high-powered weapons and grenades.

Higueras, Nuevo Leon - About sixty Mexican soldiers attacked a training camp of the armed group Los Zetas in Nuevo Leon from helicopters and land vehicles, leaving one gunman dead and the seizure of an arsenal of powerful weapons, said a general who coordinated the operation.

Among the weapons seized were more than 230 long and short guns, 60 grenades and rocket launchers, as well as trucks and communication equipment.

The action by the army began when four helicopters of the Mexican Air Force arrived at the camp of Los Zetas, located in a rural area of the municipality of Higueras, 45 miles northeast of Monterrey, capital of Nuevo León.

"About 50 sicarios at the camp began to flee when they heard the sound of the helicopters," a military source said.

The soldiers fired on some of the sicarios from the air and others were chased on the ground by troop at the training camp for sicarios.

Read More

Failure to Act and Protect in Creel

They did not act against the sicarios in Creel because there were only seven officers said Saul Hernandez, director of CIPOL.

Saul Hernandez, director of the Police Intelligence Centre (UNCLE), acknowledged that the day the sicarios took the town of Creel hostage and terrorized the residents while going on a killing spree were being monitored through video by authorities but the police did not intervene because it was only seven of them and the closest military installation was in Cuauhtémoc.

"We did react but the problem is ... there were only 7 officers who immediately contacted the Mexican military but the truth is they can't get from one point to another just like that, I mean they have to get their equipment, they must get organized and they have to leave from where they are, from Cuauhtemoc which is a good few kilometers way" said Saul Hernandez.

He added that in this situation they (military) could not get to the town in three minutes and he highlighted that he wish they could do it in three minutes but logistically they can't.

At the same time he rejected any responsible to the monitors of the video for failure to take any action against the sicarios because they immediately alerted the state police but that logistics problem already mentioned prevented them from intervening.

The wide range of the broadcast of the video of Creel taken hostage by sicarios was cause of worldwide attention.

Related Posts:

Questions of Impotence in Creel

Video of Massacre in Creel

Sicarios from Creel Massacre ID's

Read More

The President on Organize Crime, Military and Cinco de Mayo

Puebla, Puebla - President Felipe Calderon said the bravery and sacrifice of the Mexican armed forces in the war on drugs make liars of those who doubt, question, or criticize their mission, and called for the people to fervently embrace the causes of the country regardless of risks or costs.

During the ceremony of the 148 anniversary of the Battle of Puebla celebrated on May 5th, the president hailed the Senate approval of the National Security Act which gives a new framework for the intervention of the army in fighting crime, he hoped that the House of Representatives will conduct an analysis and adopt this initiative.

"This fight is for freedom and justice in Mexico and that is why we should support it, that is why we should not only continue ahead, but we must move ahead with a full intent to achieve a victory, a victory with the support of the people and the strength of the state, to the institutions we must attain, and this task of defending the legality, the strength of the country, to protect Mexican families, and the armed forces must play a leading role."

Read More

"The Sad Reality Of Los Zetas"

Today a new video surfaced, video titled "La Triste Realidad de Los Zetas", or The Sad Reality of the Zetas. In the video, you can see 4 captive people wearing black shirts with a bold Z on it. Behind the captive "Zetas", we can observe 3 people wearing masks and a fourth one out of camera view who is conducting the interrogation.

The video is a big improvement from the other ones. In it, the person conducting the interrogation makes sure that we, the viewers, can clearly hear everything. Although this video is extremely suspicious, I'll debate that once you guys read the dialogue.

I got a lot of positive feedback on the videos, so after I post this, tomorrow I'll work on older videos for you guys, so you can perhaps get a better idea on what's happening.. Anyways, translated by yours truly, RiseMakaveli.. Here it is...

Read More

With their Power Intact Los Zetas Spread South

By Jerry Brewer

Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) appear to be in agreement that Los Zetas have become a common threat to their operational venues. However, the common belief among the narcoterrorists is that the Zetas are much too powerful to be challenged without help from those with similar massive narco-dollar pursuits.

These interesting alliances of convenience are actually an act of desperation for each DTO to slow down or stop a rival opponent from monopolizing the drug trafficking trade. There are no real loyalties in these alliances and the chess-like movements of all the major DTOs is a recipe for disaster.

The Zetas (their moniker "zeta" is the name of the letter z in Spanish) rise to power and influence has been through ruthless murdering modus operandi and superior firepower. A violent behavioral identifier, the result of these bad apples upbringing as former paramilitary commandos — trained killers and weapons experts.

The growth of the Zetas from humble beginnings as recruited enforcers for the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s, led them opportunistically into a realm of extended organized crime as kidnappers, extortionists, and agents of human smuggling. They were quick to expand their power and influence stature by beheading rivals and others that stood in their way.

And now it appears that the not so clever decision of three rival DTOs (Sinaloa, La Familia, and Gulf), to merge into a mutual agreement to target the Zetas for extinction, was an unwise act of believing there is strength in numbers.

Read More

The Unknown Drug War

Mexico City, March 23rd 2010

On March 23rd, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Mexico City to discuss efforts to battle the increasing violence and power of Mexico's drug cartels. The meeting with their Mexican counterparts focused mainly on accelerating military and civilian aid to Mexico and Central America.

It was recognized that Mexico's southern border through which weapons and drugs flow north is of equal importance to the border with the U.S

Up until 2007 only about 1% of cocaine shipments traveled overland through Central America. The DEA now estimates that up to 75% of the cocaine flowing north to the United States and an increasing domestic market in Mexico passes thru Central America.

It is believed that the majority of all the heavy weaponry in use by Mexican drug cartels such as fully automatic AK 47 assault rifles, machine guns, RPG launchers and hand grenades are imported through Mexico's southern border from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

This is a legacy of the vicious civil wars fought in Central America from the 1960's to the early 1990's

Read More

The Cartel's Arsenal

Mexican Drug Cartels Armed to the Hilt.

Today I did a telephone interview with a national US media outlet about the weapons in Mexico. People in the U.S. seem to underestimate the weapons these cartels pack. They are usually well equipped and trained. The Juarez cartel has been using street gangs to do their bad deed, but in general the sicarios (hired assassins) are armed to the teeth. Here is an example of one seizure of weapons in TJ.

The cartels usually prefer the AK-47 (Europe and China), but for them it's easier to get the AR-15 (U.S.), and seems to be common among the cartel. Very rare do you see them with revolvers as handguns, usually they are semi autos. Some of the ammo is the kind that will penetrate almost anything, including body armor.

They love their grenades.

The AK-47 is the preferred weapon of choice.

The semi auto handguns, along with the, very popular among law enforcement, Glock.

The Capos have their favorite, usually the Colt .45

Read More

Sedena Identifies the Heads of Los Zetas

The Ministry of National Defense identified the main leaders of the criminal group Los Zetas who are operating in some municipalities of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, and who are identified as responsible for the killing of soldiers, as well as entire families.

These sicario leaders operate in the municipalities of Mier, Miguel Alemán, Camargo, San Fernando, Ciudad Mante and Ciudad Victoria, all these located in the state of Tamaulipas. While in Nuevo Leon they identified the ringleaders in municipalities of China, Cadereyta, Cerralvo and General Bravo.

This week the Army discovered a clandestine grave in the village of Comales municipality of Camargo containing the bodies of men, women and children, all killed by the Zetas.

The authorities managed to find the location of this narco-grave through interrogation of detainees that belonged to the criminal group Los Zetas, who pointed out that the acts of these massacres were ordered by the following commanders; Juan Vera Ovando “El Colmillo” an army deserter, Noé Minez “El Tigre” and Juan Pedro Saldívar Farías “El 27” or “El Orejón,” who are responsible for the Plaza of Camargo and Comales.

Read More

Los Zetas and Mexico's Transnational Drug War

Los Zetas and Mexico's Transnational Drug War.

In January 2009, retired Gen. Mauro Tello Quiñones took command of a police unit charged with combating drug-related violence in the popular Mexican tourist destination of Cancún.

The assignment lasted just one week. In early February, Tello and two aides were kidnapped and killed. Before murdering Tello, the assailants broke his arms and legs and tortured him for hours. The incident provoked shock across Mexico, with the governor of Quintana Roo state calling it "truly horrible."

Even by the standards of the violent drug war that has consumed Mexico of late, this crime stood out for its brazenness and brutality. In short, it bore all the marks of an attack by the notorious paramilitary organization known as Los Zetas.

Originally composed of 31 army deserters who went to work for a cartel boss, the Zetas have evolved over the past decade into a sophisticated criminal enterprise with more than 1,000 members. Drawing on military-style skills and a penchant for the gruesome, the group has expanded its illegal activities and established itself as the most feared and destructive player in the Mexican drug trade.

The Zetas have ruthlessly seized market share, waged a bloody campaign against the authorities, and used coercion and bribery to hollow out government institutions from within. Their exploits have spurred the militarization of the Mexican drug trade.

In short, they have done more than any other entity to foster the cycle of violent chaos in which the country is currently trapped. Having begun as hired guns, the Zetas now represent the single greatest threat to the Mexican state.

Read More

Welcome to Zetalandia

"Hace dos años aparecieron los jovenes con sombreros negros, en sus camionetas. Decian que eran Zetas" They appeared two years ago with their black hats, in their pickups. They said they were Zetas.

That's how the conversation began. It was a demoralizing story of how suddenly fear can assume control.

The man talking is a member of a family living in a town on highway 57, the main road to the border in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

The town is poor, living on agriculture and remittences from the U.S.. The takeover was more than likely done to solidify control and provide protection for drug shipments on the way to the border.

There was no fight by the small outgunned, outmanned municipal police force. No federal or state police force reinforcements were sent.

He said the first order of business by the Zetas was to impose a "cuota" (an extortion fee) on all alcoholic sales in the town, from both bars and depositos (stores that specialize in beer sales).

Strangely all consumption of alcoholic beverages in public was forbidden by the Zetas and limited to bars or residences. They acquired buildings and houses at strategic locations in the town, on all the roads leading out of the town and on the plaza.

These are always occupied by armed men with radios who keep vigil on a 24 hour basis. Nothing moves, no one arrives or leaves without their knowledge.

Read More

The Progress Report

Zetas, Gulf and Sinaloa cartels the most hit in the war of drugs in Mexico.

Since President Felipe Calderon declared war on drug trafficking in December 2006, just days after taking office, more than 22,700 people have died in different instances, almost 10,000 fewer than are handled Unofficially, according to a report classified as "confidential" which was distributed among the legislators who participated yesterday in a meeting with the security cabinet of the federal government.

Also it was highlighted that 2009 was the most violent year since Calderon launched a military offensive against drug cartels to 9,635 registered deaths.

The document also details that in the first quarter of drug violence it has cost the lives of 3,365 people and stresses that Ciudad Juárez is the most violent city in the country with 4,324 homicides so far in this administration.

According to the report, the state of Chihuahua, located north of the country has been the state most affected by drug-related violence with 6,757 murders so far in the six-year term of Calderon, Sinaloa and Guerrero followed with 3,136 and 1,826 homicides respectively.

At the same time according to data provided by the federal government, between December 2006 and March 2010 121,199 people have been detained with links to organized crime.

Read More

Mexico Drug Cartels' Close Ranks' Against Rival

Mexico's authorities say that two of the country's most powerful drugs cartels have overcome their rivalry to form an alliance against a third.

BBC

Ramon Pequeno, head of the Mexican anti-narcotics police, said the Gulf and La Familia cartels were now fighting a group called the Zetas.

They are fighting over a lucrative drug transit point on the US border.

The Zetas began as hitmen for the Gulf cartel in the 1990s but recently pushed for their own share of the drugs trade.

Believed to have emerged from among Mexican army deserters, they are notorious for their readiness to behead victims. Their criminal activities are believed to include drug-trafficking, extortion, migrant-smuggling and kidnapping.

Nearly 18,000 people have been killed in drugs-related violence in Mexico since 2006.

Some 40,000 soldiers have been sent to border regions to fight the cartels.

'War on everybody'

The shift in allegiances is apparently fuelling drug-related violence along Mexico's border with Texas.

Read More

Northeastern Mexico Wave of Violence

Weekend shootouts in northeastern Mexico kill at least 9.

CNN

At least nine people died in shootouts over the weekend in northeastern Mexico, an area where two drug cartels have been waging a bloody war since January.

Eight people were killed early Sunday in the municipality of Miguel Aleman in Tamaulipas state, the state government said on its Web site. Five died inside a bar and three others were killed in a motor vehicle, the government said.

One gang-related death was recorded in the municipality Saturday during a firefight between soldiers and a group of armed men, the government's information center said.

The area, which borders Texas, has seen ferocious fighting between the Zetas and Gulf cartels after a recent gangland slaying. Hours-long gun battles are common, and U.S. officials were recently forced to temporarily close the consulate in Reynosa, another city in Tamaulipas state.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico of concerns about the security situation in the nation. The State Department issued a similar warning in March.

The trouble in Tamaulipas and neighboring Nuevo Leon state started January 18, when Gulf cartel members killed top Zeta lieutenant Victor Mendoza. The Zetas demanded that the Gulf cartel turn over the killers, but the narco group refused.

Read More

Capo Gets 40 years in Prison

Mexican drug cartel honcho gets 40-year sentence.

San Diego, California — A man who helped make the Arellano Felix family one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison Monday after nearly a decade of legal wrangling.

Jesus "Chuy" Labra, 61, received the maximum sentence Monday at the prosecution's request. Labra sought a 25-year prison term and apologized for his actions to U.S. District Judge Larry Burns, said his attorney, Eugene Iredale.

Labra pleaded guilty in October to dealing marijuana and cocaine. He was arrested while watching his son's soccer game in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2000, when the cartel was near the height of its power. It took more than eight years to extradite him to the U.S.

Jesus "Chuy" Labra Aviles, left, walks past a U.S. Marshall as he and a group of men alleged to be members of notorious Mexican drug cartels are escorted from the federal courthouse after making their first court appearance in the U.S. Monday, Jan. 5, 2009 in Houston.

Labra tapped extensive connections with Colombian cocaine traffickers and Mexican marijuana growers and regularly participated in the cartel's major decisions, according to a 2003 indictment.

He was accused of smuggling marijuana across the border to the United States beginning in the 1970s. Labra later moved into cocaine when Colombian suppliers shifted trafficking routes from the Caribbean and Florida to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Read More

New Cartel: Cártel del Pacífico Sur

State of Morelos - After the assassination of Arturo Beltran Leyva by the Mexican Marines the restructuring of the cartels in Morelos could have possibly created a new drug cartel: The South Pacific Cartel "Cártel del Pacífico Sur" (CPS)

The South Pacific Cartel (Spanish: Cártel del Pacífico Sur), is a Mexican gang that originated in the Mexican state of Morelos.

Although they call themselves a 'cartel', the 'South Pacific Cartel' is only a local cell created on April 2010 by Héctor Beltrán Leyva, leader of the Beltran Leyva Cartel. The gang is known for having employed a 12-year-old gunman and executioner.

In the last recent days there has appeared graffiti, narco-messages, burning of homes, businesses and cars, and besides the usual murders, there has been a new signature of the source of all this: Cártel del Pacífico Sur (CPS).

Over the past two days the acronym (CPS) has appeared written on the walls of private homes and businesses that were burned, allegedly done by organized crime since March 30 in an effort to take control over the state of Morelos.

In criminal acts by this new criminal organization, which comes amid a dispute that is being waged between the Beltran Leyva clan with their former chief of sicarios Edgar Valdez Villareal alias "La Barbie." There has been at least 15 suspected sicarios killed, whose bodies have dumped with narco-messages.

In the homes and businesses that have been burned, there has not been anyone injured yet, but after each of these fires, the acronym "CPS" is written on the walls.

The violence in Morelos intensified after the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva on December 16, when elements of the Mexican Marines discovered his whereabouts.

Read More

Gulf Cartel Defends its Territory from Zetas

The criminal organization known as the Zetas used to be the enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization. The Zetas were mostly former Mexican military trained by the US in counter-insurgency tactics, but went on to become one of the strongest criminal organizations in the country.

However, this February, the two organizations split and a struggle over drug trafficking territory (focused in the border state of Tamaulipas, the Gulf Cartel’s traditional stronghold) ensued.

According to an article by the Mexican media outlet MILENIO, it appears that the Gulf Cartel has been able to fend off these assaults from their former associates and has been slowly pushing the Zetas out of the state.

Messages written on walls and mass emails—supposedly authored by the Gulf Cartel—claim that the organization is only focused on eliminating the Zetas and avoids harming civilians. “Mr. Osiel Cárdenas Guillén has strictly prohibited us from doing this [intentionally harming civilians], we would never get involved with people living a normal life and doing honest work to support their families.” Osiel Cárdenas Guillén is the group’s nominal leader who was extradited to the US in January 2007.

As recently as February 24 of this year, a Houston federal judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison without parole and ordered him to pay $50 million to the US government.

Read More