The situation in Mexico has serious consequences for our Rights, and even our lives here in AZ and all along the Mexican border. We cannot emphasize enough how much it is in our interest to have a free, safe and prosperous Mexico as our neighbor. Many of us have family, friends there and they are our neighbor.

We strongly support the Human Rights of the Mexican people to be able to defend themselves. That means the Mexican people should once again have the rights and resources to possess, bear and use modern and effective firearms. As over 70 years of corrupt federal government and it's attending gun control have shown, the bumper sticker is so true. "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns". Mexico is a textbook example of the failures of gun control. While some very limited firearms are permitted on paper, and in practice, the real effect has been to disarm the good people of Mexico.
That was done by the very corrupt political party that ran a country rich in natural resources and people, into the ground to prevent a revolution, not to "control crime" as was the pretense.

As the archived reports will show, the defenseless people of Mexico have suffered way too much. They deserve much better. We need to help.

Given the gravity of the ongoing drug war in Mexico our neighbor to the south, ASR&PA has been working to monitor the border situation and it's many effects on our state and our members:

Including drug and human trafficking, with related issues of murders, kidnappings, home invasions, extortion, destruction of wildlife habitat, illegal immigration, white slavery, money laundering, expenses of incarceration and medical treatments, the list goes on and on. Also de facto cession of areas of the state to the DTO's; fugitives, cash, firearms and ammunition running south. Most of these issues could be significantly reduced by simply securing the border.

To get it out of the way, ASR&PA does support legal immigration, trade, and travel between our countries. Especially so that we and our Mexican neighbors can once again freely and safely travel to our neighboring countries for competition, training, hunting and just enjoy good company.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

AZMEX UPDATE 6-8-08

AZMEX UPDATE 6 AUG 2008


Mexican soldiers enter Arizona, hold agent briefly
August 6th, 2008 @ 1:24pm

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Four Mexican soldiers crossed into a remote area
of Arizona and briefly held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint
before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, U.S.
authorities said.
Border Patrol spokeswoman Dove Crawford said the incident early
Sunday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles
southwest of Tucson, was in an area where the border likely was
marked only with barbed wire.
She said the soldiers lowered their weapons after about four minutes
when the agent convinced them who he was and where they were, then
retreated into Mexico.
State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos in Washington said the
encounter "stemmed from a momentary misunderstanding as to the exact
location of the U.S.-Mexican border."
Crawford said there have been about 40 similar incursions along the
entire border this fiscal year.

AZMEX UPDATE 24-7-08

AZMEX UPDATE 24 JUL 2008

The first come left over deer permits have been listed by AZ G&F.

Minus 15 over in unit 31, all the rest of the left over permits are
in units along the azmex border.
Units 29 through 36C.

A total of 2,626.

End

AZMEX UPDATE 3-7-08

AZMEX UPDATE 3 JUL 2008

Note: besides paying for it, our issues are also affected.
thx

Mexico aid package passed
A new US$400 million aid package for Mexico signals new US-Mexican
relations but falls short of necessary reform.
Commentary by Samuel Logan for ISN Security Watch (02/07/08)
The US Congress approved an aid package to Mexico over the last week
of June in an unprecedented admission that the so-called war on drugs
has reached America's back door.
The US$400 million allotment is part of a larger aid package destined
to bolster a wide range of anti-narcotic efforts inside Mexico, from
judicial reform to helicopters, training and human rights support.
Called the Merida Initiative, this supply-side strategy represents
many months of negotiation and drafting of a language that respects
Mexican sovereignty, placing relatively few restrictions on good
behavior in exchange for aid - a classic carrot-and-stick approach
the US government has used in Latin America for decades with mixed
results.
Yet despite the bilateral goodwill, the plan contains some
fundamental flaws.
Also known as Plan Mexico, the aid package places a heavy funding
focus on military components, bolstering the involvement of soldiers
in what most across the region consider a problem for the police, not
the military.
Increasing the involvement of the military through the Merida
Initiative - with at least US$116 million of the initial US$400
million installment directed to assisting the Mexican military with
helicopters, training and other equipment - could result in an
increase in violence, opportunities for corruption, desertion and
human rights abuses.
By taking Mexico's drug smuggling organizations head on, President
Felipe Calderon has learned he is dealing with a formidable opponent,
one that can easily outspend and outgun anything the Mexican
government can muster. This direct approach has been blamed
repeatedly for the country's continued high levels of violence.
June was the most violent month Mexico has seen since the beginning
of the president's administration, with at least 505 reported
assassinations across the country.
During this time, 468 civilians were killed in Mexico and 509 in
Iraq, a comparison recently made by Mexico's El Universal daily.
Apart from the military assistance, at least US$73.5 million will be
allotted to judicial reform. Another US$3 million will be used to
create a nationwide police registry, which may work toward plugging
some of the gaps exploited by criminals who disguise themselves as
federal police officers before conducting raids and assassination
missions.
The bilateral cooperation born from this aid package has also opened
doors for closer cooperation between the US Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and its Mexican counterparts. The so-
called "iron river" of guns flowing south has long been a point of
contention inside Mexico, where some believe that as many as 80
percent of the weapons used by organized crime comes from the US,
where gun control laws are relatively relaxed.
A recently announced program, called Armas Cruzadas, formalizes
information sharing between US and Mexican customs officials. Most
notably, Mexican law enforcement officers will soon receive access to
eTrace, a program designed to trace the illicit movement of grey and
black market weapons. Adding their own information to the database,
Mexican officials will soon be able to assist the ATF and other
agencies in determining the destination of weapons purchased in the
US for illicit use in Mexico.
The inauguration of Armas Cruzadas and the passage of the Merida
Initiative over the last week of June both represent a boost in
bilateral cooperation, one Mexican lawmakers claim is an admission on
the part of Washington that Mexico's security problem is one shared
by the US.
The US government can provide training, military assistance, computer
equipment and any number of support mechanisms, but it could have
done much more to bolster the resolve required to reform Mexico's
police and improve upon its deplorable corruption record.
In the past, corruption has been one of the primary drivers behind
the US government's reluctance to share information or offer
assistance to Mexico. Many Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and
other law enforcement officers working in Colombia in the 1990s
remember well the unbelievable levels of corruption within that
country's police forces. Its presence affected every decision and
skewed the outcome of most missions. US legislators should apply
lessons learned in Colombia concerning the effects of corruption to
their assistance for their neighbor across the border.
Mexico today cannot be compared with Colombia in the early 1990s, but
the country has a demonstrable problem with corruption, one the
Merida Initiative couldn't begin to eradicate.
That said, a heavier focus on police reform, and other strategies
directed at the professionalization of Mexico's police forces
specifically, and the security sector in general, could travel a long
way toward creating a solid foundation for a modernized and
professional police force at both federal and state levels.
The war on drugs has moved north from Colombia to Mexico, at times
with violence spilling over into the US, and Washington still
maintains a strong focus on a supply-side strategy. The battle has
now shifted to Mexico, and the most assured path toward a long-term
reduction of violence there is directly tied to a significant
reduction in drug demand inside the US.
As the latest installment of an aid package in the decades-old fight
to contain the flow of drugs into the US, the Merida Initiative is an
excellent step in the right direction despite its inherent flaws, but
it cannot defeat the simple laws of economics.

Samuel Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on
security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and
black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is a senior writer for
ISN Security Watch and has a book on organized crime and immigration
forthcoming from Hyperion in Spring, 2009.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only,
not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).

AZMEX UPDATE 25-6-08

AZMEX UPDATE 25 JUN 2008


Note: absolutely nothing on print or other media on this.
Also check www.azplea.com
thx


Subject: azmex phx incident
REPORT: Mexican Army Members Busted for Home Invasion and Murder

The suspects may have been hired by drug cartels to perform home
invasions and assassinations in the U.S.

Conflicting reports on whether three men arrested in a Phoenix home
invasion and homicide Monday may have been active members of the
Mexican Army.

While on the J.D. Hayworth show, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association
President Mark Spencer said that the men involved were hired by drug
cartels to perform home invasions and assassinations.

The Monday morning incident resulted in the death of the homeowner.
Between 50 and 100 rounds were fired at the house.

Spencer said a police officer told him that one of the men captured
said they were completely prepared to ambush Phoenix police, but ran
out of ammunition.

He added that all were all dressed in military tactical gear and were
armed with AR-15 assault rifles. Three other men involved in the
invasion escaped.

Click Here to listen to Mark Spencer's entire interview on the J.D.
Hayworth show.

However, Phoenix Police have not confirmed the men were Mexican Army
members.

Sgt. Joel Tranter said one suspect revealed that he had "prior
military training," but "no credible evidence" that any of them were
active in the military.

Click Here for more from Sgt. Joel Tranter with KFYI reporter Bob
Bennett.

AZMEX UPDATE 20-6-08

AZMEX UPDATE 20 JUN 2008


Ariz., Sonora to join forces against crime
by Sean Holstege - Jun. 20, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

A pact to be inked Saturday between Gov. Janet Napolitano and Sonora
Gov. Eduardo Bours Castelo will make Arizona's southern neighbor the
first Mexican state to trace illegal weapons.

Arizona and Sonora officials said the states will team up to combat
gunrunning and share databases of fugitive felons on both sides of
the U.S.-Mexico border.

The states also will promise to work on improving border entry points
and share more information to combat drug smuggling.

Other terms call for bolstering responses to border-spanning
disasters and the development of digital maps to improve responses to
emergencies.

The governors meet twice a year at the Arizona-Mexico Commission, and
past meetings have often yielded vaguely worded resolutions.

But this weekend's pact will lead to specific plans with immediate
enforcement actions, training and investigations, federal agents and
the Governor's Office said.

The office and Arizona's top agent with the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they hope the agreements will
be a model for other border states to follow when their governors
assemble in August.

"Kudos to Arizona and Sonora for being the first along the border to
do this," ATF Special-Agent-in-Charge Bill Newell said. "They are
trying to show the other states the benefits."

Ariz. guns end up in Mexico

The bust last month of a Phoenix gun store, X-Caliber Guns, previewed
the kind of investigation that the states' officials expect to become
more common.

When Mexican authorities recovered the pistol of a cartel boss in one
raid, an ATF weapons trace found it had been sold at X-Caliber. Other
weapons found in Mexico led back to Phoenix.

Ultimately, investigators raided the store, arrested the owners and
accused them of selling hundreds of semi-automatic rifles to Mexican
cartels.

Until now, only Mexican federal agents have had access to the trace
data. Under the new agreement, Sonora state police will have the same
access, just as police throughout the United States.

ATF agents will train Sonora state police on the trace system and how
to identify unique weapons and recover tampered serial numbers.

Arizona will form a task force involving the state Department of
Public Safety, U.S. customs agents and police from border towns and
regions.

The team will start immediately, said Napolitano's law enforcement
advisor Suzie Barr.

Using existing resources, officers will pull over more cars suspected
of running guns to Mexico and will launch more investigations like
the X-Caliber case.

"This enhances Project Gunrunner, and Project Gunrunner has been very
successful," Barr said, referring to an ATF pro- gram which during
the last fed- eral fiscal year traced nearly 1,500 guns in Mexico
back to sales in Arizona.

Newell said that since Jan. 1, Mexico has dramatically increased its
requests for trace data. Last year, 8,000 guns were seized in Mexico,
a country with very strict gun laws.

Countries jointly fight crime

The agreement comes amid increased scrutiny of gun smuggling.

This spring, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched
"Armas Cruzadas," a program to stop guns from getting into the hands
of Mexican drug cartels.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a
$1.6 billion, three-year aid package to Mexico to help that country
fight its increasingly bloody drug war.

The money will pay for training and equipment, including improvements
in tracking weapons.

The aid package of the Merida Initiative which was negotiated between
President Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon and announced in
October 2007.

Shared fugitive databases

Arizona and Sonora will also swap databases to track thousands of
fugitives.

Arizona is seeking 60,000 felons, with an unknown number hiding in
Mexico.

Mexican prosecutors have asked their U.S. counterparts to help arrest
fugitives hiding in Arizona.

Under the new pact, each state law-enforcement agency will have a
full-time officer assigned to sending and receiving updated lists and
to ease extraditions of caught fugitives who.

The agreements, obtained by The Arizona Republic, will be signed at a
ceremony in Phoenix on Saturday.
"We absolutely hope that this becomes an inspiration for other border
states to follow," Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said.

end

AZMEX UPDATE 18-6-08

AZMEX UPDATE 18 JUN 2008

Note:  as always I believe numbers suspect.
thx




On the trail of Mexico's drugs gangs


By Duncan Kennedy 
BBC News, Mexico City

So far this year more than 1,400 people have died in Mexico as drug cartels battle one another for control of the illegal drugs trade to the US, and battle the authorities trying to stop them.


The dead include more than 400 police officers and other public officials.

This follows 2,500 deaths last year and the same number in 2006.

Estimates by the US Drug Enforcement Agency suggest the drugs trade is worth $20bn (£10.3bn) a year.

US law enforcement agencies are now heavily involved in trying to help the Mexicans control the violence.

But Americans are playing another role in the conflict.

More than 90% of weapons used by the cartels originate in the US and there is evidence US citizens are joining the gangs to act as hitmen and women.

We went to a gun shop in the US that had sold a weapon subsequently found in Mexico during an anti-drugs operation.

The owner was shocked when told that the police had traced it via its serial number to his store.

"I'm surprised," he said, "But it's people that kill people, not guns."

It is also people that smuggle the guns into Mexico.

Rocks, not guns

We were introduced to one such person, an American who would only talk if his identity was concealed.

"I can sell guns for two or three times what you pay for them in a shop," he said. "If I don't do it, someone else will. That's the bottom line."

Bottom lines, not lives, are what is driving a market that the smuggler says is being fed by many eager Americans.


But while American individuals are profiting from Mexico's misery, the US authorities are working to halt the flow of weapons.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has launched Operation Gunrunner, a joint intelligence-gathering enterprise with the Mexican government.

"I think we can make a difference," says Dewey Webb, a veteran ATF agent with 32 years of service.

"I'll know it's a success when we see the cartels throwing rocks at each other, not shooting themselves with guns," he said.

Rosalio Reta's armoury has never included rocks.

Reta is 18 years old, American, and a cartel hitman.

Detectives believe Reta, who is serving 40 years in a US jail for murder, has killed 30 people.

The cartels use people like Reta to enforce their business in the US. Their American nationality means they can cross the border with ease.

Reta is one of at least 15 US citizens used by the cartels, according to police in Texas.


Their story has another twist.

These hitmen have received training at a variety of camps along the border with the US.

Reta told police he was in a camp for six months.

"He received basic training, just like in the regular army," says one detective we spoke to, who did not want his identity revealed after receiving death threats.

"Not only would it be training in weapons use and explosives, but it would also be physical training like sit-ups and running," he said.

"Women, too, are going into these camps".

The detective said that he has a very reliable female informant whom he has used for years. She told him she went into a camp for women only.

"She received the same kind of training as Reta," he said. "That meant training in the use of guns, car chases and how to make small explosive devices, all whilst wearing military fatigues."

The detective explained how some of the cartel members are former special forces troops from the Mexican Army, known as Zetas.

"They train because they were trained," he said.


Armed escort

After weeks of research, we decided to visit one of these camps, although most people advised against it.

We were reminded, time and again, that at least 11 journalists have been killed in Mexico by the cartels for trying to cover the story.



It cannot go on like this. We are living in terror here 
Nora del Rio 
Widow of murdered police chief
But after persuading one federal police force in the north of the country to provide us with an armed escort, we went ahead.
We set out early in the morning, and drove 70km (43 miles) into the desert.
Roads gave way to tracks, confidence gave way to nervousness.
Eventually we pulled up at the gates of one ranch where our escorts said they would go no further.
We climbed over a fence and went on alone, walking for about half an hour across scrub and open desert.
We had been told that the cartels do not stay long in one place and that this camp was regularly swept by the army to make sure they do not return.
We saw tyre tracks, an empty beer can and a recently used open fire. The place had an eerie sense of isolation - ideal, of course, for noisy weapons training.
After less than an hour, we left.
Another police force showed us their footage. In the bathroom of a normal looking house, there was a sink under which they discovered a hidden passage that led to a soundproofed underground room.
At one end, four targets had been erected. In front of them were dozens of high-powered rifles and the ammunition to go with them.
Seeing such stocks, it is no wonder so many police and army units complain about being outgunned by the cartels.
In a different sense, the cartels are also trying to outwit the authorities when it comes to moving their drugs.
We were shown a series of extraordinary films and photos of the cartels' latest piece of apparatus: semi-submersibles.
US Customs have come across at least four of these craft. With up to four crew, these vessels have equipment to evade radar and can travel at up to 20 knots.

One was found to contain four tons of cocaine.
The gangs often try to scuttle the craft if they are about to be captured. That makes prosecutions harder, though there is talk in the US of a change in law to make the use of these kinds of boats illegal.
If this sounds like the cartels are winning, it is not the whole truth.
While they are still moving large quantities of drugs and are still prepared to kill lots of people, thereby giving the impression of strength and superiority, they are also suffering setbacks.
The Mexican government says the fact that there is so much violence is a sign the gangs are on the defensive, reeling from the pressure being inflicted by the authorities and by their own internal infighting as their leaders are arrested.

Brazen activities

Some 25,000 troops are now deployed around Mexico to try to break the cartels.

There have been several high-profile operations that have detained the heads of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel.


But key figures, like Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, still evade capture and fuel the cartels' sense of invincibility.

The cartels' brazen activities extend to dangling full-size banners from road bridges urging people to join them. These audacious advertising posters even include a phone number for potential recruits to call.

Their ability to infiltrate local, city and federal police forces to get access to high-ranking officers in order to murder them, is another chilling reminder they are not yet a spent force.

"Something has to be done," said Nora Del Rio, whose husband Juan Antonio was the chief of police in the northern city of Juarez.

"It cannot go on like this," she said. "We are living in terror because of these gangs."

Mexican President Felipe Calderon is in the process of working out an even more comprehensive deal with the US to try to bring the violence to an end.

Known as the Merida Initiative, it has the full support of President George W Bush, although the US Congress has been attaching strings to the $1bn in funding that is due to flow in the next three years.

The experience of Colombia in the 1980s and 1990s suggests the cartels can be subdued, if not beaten.

But for now, Mexico's killing machines, in the form of their assassins and their ceaseless supply of weapons and ruthless ingenuity, do not seem ready to stand, or be pushed, aside.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2008/06/18 20:53:34 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

AZMEX UPDATE 11-5-08

AZMEX UPDATE 11 MAY 2008

War among drug criminals rages here
Home invasions, kidnappings target rival traffickers, echo Mexico
horrors
By Dale Quinn
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.11.2008

Drug-fueled home invasions, kidnappings and other violent crimes have
surged in Tucson recently, echoing the drug war raging in northern
Mexico.
As law enforcement cracks down on smuggling along the border,
officials say, traffickers increasingly are turning to more desperate
measures to continue their criminal activity.
In some cases, smuggling groups turn on each other, finding it easier
to steal from competitors than bring drugs across the border themselves.
And although the violence is most likely to hit those engaged in drug-
related activities, there's always the risk that it will spill over
and involve innocent people — a possibility that local law-
enforcement agencies are scrambling to confront.
The violence is driven in part by the massive amount of drugs flowing
through Arizona, officials say.
Although it's one of four states along the U.S.-Mexico border, 60
percent of illegal drugs that end up in the country come through
Arizona, said Tucson Police Department Capt. Terry Rozema, commander
of the multiagency Counter Narcotics Alliance.
Drug trafficking always has been a brutal trade, but lately the
violence is on the rise, officials say.
In response, the Pima County Sheriff's Department, now assisted by
the U.S. Border Patrol, recently created two border-crime units that
target human and drug smugglers in rural areas.
The growing threat in the city prompted the formation last month of a
home-invasion unit, staffed with a sergeant, five detectives, a crime
analyst and a clerk, said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, the unit's supervisor.
"The criminal element recognizes it's probably easier to obtain a
large quantity of narcotics or cash from someone who's already done
the hard work of shipping the product and finding a place to store
it," he said.
"We've seen some violent periods on and off in the past," said
Special Agent Anthony J. Coulson, the assistant special agent in
charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Tucson district.
"And I've seen an increasing level of violence in Tucson that's drug-
related."
Drug-related killings can stem from several factors, he said, such as
an unpaid debt or going behind the back of one organization to sell
drugs to another.
And if a smuggler loses several drug loads, it could cost him his
life. It's not so much a matter of the lost money — a couple hundred
pounds of marijuana lost can be absorbed by the cartel — but to send
the message that such losses won't be tolerated, Rozema said.
Two Mexican cartels — the Gulf and the Sinaloa cartels — control
the flow of drugs, and their presence creates a "dynamic pressure" in
Arizona, Coulson said.
The two cartels agreed to share the Arizona corridor after deadly
gunfights in Cananea, Sonora, in May 2007, Coulson said.
"The cartels, they smuggle the drugs through, and these organizations
work on both sides of the border," he said. "And everybody in between
works for these cartels in some form or fashion."
As drugs move from distributors in Mexico to consumers in the United
States, some of them pause in Tucson, where they are repackaged for
their trips throughout the country, Rozema said.
Drug rip-off specialists
That creates the opportunity for drug rip-off specialists who use
home invasions — two to four armed intruders bursting into a house
and demanding cash or drugs — as a preferred tactic. It isn't new,
but recently the rip-offs have become increasingly visible and
violent, Coulson said.
The exact number of these drug rip-off crews isn't known, but Rozema,
the Counter Narcotics Alliance commander, said as many as a dozen may
be operating in the area.
Tucson police were unable to provide specific information about when,
where and how many home invasions have occurred this year. Officials
said that information was still being analyzed and compiled.
The robbers, usually drug traffickers themselves, find out locations
of stash houses from paid informants or through word of mouth.
"There is some semblance of an organized structure," Ronstadt said.
There is also a good possibility that victims and robbers know one
another or are associated with one another other.
That works in favor of the robbers, because the crime often goes
unreported, and victims are uncooperative with investigators,
officials said.
But rather than lose a drug load, officials said, traffickers are
likely to defend their stash.
On April 23, a man was shot in the leg at his West Side house when
two men confronted him and his two friends in his garage. According
to the residents, the assailants demanded money and jewelry before a
scuffle ensued and the men fled.
The next day, another man was shot in the leg at a house near Tucson
International Airport. The victims told police that three men, two of
them armed with handguns, pulled up in a Ford pickup, and one of the
robbers tried to get into the house.
Rarely hit the wrong house
Police say the home-invasion robbery was most likely drug-related,
and a woman living in the house was forced to flee with four children
under age 6, including one infant.
In both cases, police said the homes were targeted, and investigators
don't believe the robbers hit the wrong house.
Since the home-invasion unit was formed on April 6, there have been
about two or three incidents per week, Ronstadt said.
The robbers usually don't hit the wrong house — but sometimes they do.
On Feb. 28, three intruders violently confronted a man and his
toddler daughter at their home in the 5800 block of East Sanderling
Drive, in Littletown, south of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
The man, whose name has not been released because he was never
charged with a crime, called authorities and said he had shot one of
the intruders.
When police arrived, they found Carlos Ramirez Valenzuela, 34, of
Tucson dead. Police said the intruders were likely searching for
drugs, but they hit the wrong house.
People living in the neighborhood agreed. The residents of a house
just a few doors from where the deadly home invasion occurred have
since been evicted, and neighbors said drug dealers might have lived
there.
One neighbor, Ryan Vandenbrand, 23, said he has considered moving
since the home invasion, especially considering that other robberies
and burglaries have occurred nearby.
Vandenbrand said he and his roommates get anxious when they hear odd
sounds around the house. Another neighbor, Janice Wiebelhaus, 25,
said she has added concerns because of her 6-year-old son and 2-year-
old daughter.
"It was really scary, because we're from South Dakota and we're not
used to having that happen," she said.
Some of her neighbors have loud parties late at night, and people
pull up to houses and leave their cars running for quick visits,
which she finds suspicious.
"We don't keep firearms in the house, so we wouldn't have been
prepared" for a home-invasion robbery, she said.
If there were a stronger sense of community in the neighborhood, she
said, she and her husband might feel safer.
But even when the robbers get the right house, it can have grisly
results. Heriberto Lopez Felix, 42, was shot to death on April 6 in
front of his teenage son outside his home in the 2500 block of West
Ajo Way, west of South La Cholla Boulevard, according to the
Sheriff's Department.
Four men in a red pickup pulled up in front of Felix's house and
confronted him before opening fire. Inside the house, deputies found
244 pounds of marijuana, which was the likely target of the home
invasion, said Sgt. Jesus Lopez, head of the Sheriff's Department
homicide unit.
On April 19, an Oro Valley woman notified police that her boyfriend
had disappeared.
According to Tucson police, Sarayut "Bill" Tilley managed a property
that was being used to store a substantial amount of marijuana.
When the drugs disappeared, three men kidnapped Tilley, thinking he
was involved in the theft, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police
Department spokesman.
Tilley, 41, was held captive in a house in the 1600 block of East
Roger Road, and when he got a chance to escape, he went for it,
Robinson said.
During his escape, he and one of his captors struggled over a gun,
and Tilley shot the man.
The kidnapper, who later died from the injury, was identified by
police as Fernando Augustine Luzania-Coronado, 19, a Mexican citizen.
One of the two other kidnappers then shot Tilley, but he managed to
escape and survived the ordeal.
Tucson police say they hope that cracking down on criminals and
punishing home invaders will make robbers think twice about raiding
someone else's property.
"Considering the short time we've been doing it, and even though
these are new detectives (to the unit), I think we've already made a
dent and made some good progress in connecting these cases," Ronstadt
said.

● Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or at dquinn@azstarnet.com.

AZMEX Barnett case 31-3-08

TUCSON REGION
Rancher to face charges of violating entrants' rights
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.31.2008
advertisement

A federal judge has cleared the way for the trial of Douglas rancher
Roger Barnett on charges that he violated the civil rights of border
crossers and kicked one of them.
Judge John Roll rejected Barnett's efforts to have the charges thrown
out. Roll also rebuffed the contention by David Hardy, Barnett's
attorney, that the rancher's wife, Barbara, should be dismissed from
the lawsuit.
Roll also refused Barnett's request that the plaintiffs be forced to
put up some sort of bond to cover his legal costs should he win the
case.
The judge said such a move might impair the ability of the 16 men and
women who have filed suit to pursue their claim. Roll pointed out the
lawsuit was filed in 2005, but Barnett did not express any concern
until more than two years later.
Roll did not set a date for a trial.
This is the second legal setback for Barnett. Last month the state
Court of Appeals refused to throw out a jury verdict of guilt — and a
nearly $100,000 monetary award — against Barnett in another civil
case where a jury concluded he falsely imprisoned members of a
Douglas family.
Barnett, who has said he has identified 10,000 illegal border
crossers in the last decade, did not return a call seeking comment.
The case stems from a 2004 incident where the plaintiffs claim they
were captured, assaulted and unlawfully detained at gunpoint by
Barnett as part of a conspiracy based on his feelings toward Latinos,
and illegal entrants in particular. Barnett's brother, Donald, also
is named in some of the allegations.
Hardy argued there was no evidence of a conspiracy, but simply that
Roger and Barbara were checking for damage on their 22,000-acre
ranch, and responding to barking by their dog. He also said there is
no actual evidence of race-based animus — which is covered by the law
— but only that the plaintiffs entered the country illegally.
And Hardy said border crossers are not a protected class,
particularly because their status "results from their own conscious
choice to break the law."
Roll, however, said there is sufficient evidence of a conspiracy,
that the conspiracy denied the plaintiffs their right to interstate
travel, and the actions of the Barnetts were motivated by race to
allow the matter to be presented to a jury.
Similarly, the judge rejected Hardy's contention that the Barnetts
could not be charged with violating the plaintiffs' constitutional
rights of equal protection under the law because they interfered with
their right of interstate travel.
"Illegal aliens have no constitutional right of interstate travel,"
Hardy argued. And the attorney said the law being used by the
plaintiffs — and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education
Fund which is representing them — protects individuals only against
government action.
Roll said that is a misinterpretation of the law, noting federal law
grants certain protections to everyone in the country, regardless of
status.
Finally, Roll refused to accept Hardy's arguments the plaintiffs
could not be sued for punitive damages because the actions the
Barnetts allegedly took were not "outrageous."

AZMEX UPDATE 12-3-08

AZMEX UPDATE 12 MAR 2008

Note: We really need to see the evidence and need to know where
those weapons are coming from and how.
Or maybe from Mex police and military? Chavez?
It's for sure that we can't take their word for it.
Our Rights seem to be a problem for others.
thx


March 12, 2008 - 11:29PM

U.S., Mexican authorities to target smugglers
Comments 11 | Recommend 1
MARK FLATTEN, TRIBUNE
International human and drug smuggling rings that find safe haven
across the Mexican border will be targeted under agreements between
U.S. and Mexican prosecutors announced Wednesday in Phoenix.

Mexican attorneys general vowed better cooperation in prosecuting
organized smuggling gangs that have operated openly there in the
past. Federal and state authorities in Mexico also agreed to work
closely with their American counterparts to identify and shut down
money laundering operations that finance cross-border criminal gangs.

As part of the agreements, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard
said he will push for changes in federal gun laws to make it easier
to track arms dealers who smuggle weapons into Mexico.

The change would require people who buy multiple rifles in a single
transaction to file a disclosure form, similar to one now required
for multiple handgun purchases.

Goddard said the law would only be effective if passed at the federal
level, but acknowledged that the idea is "going nowhere" in Congress.

GANGS WAGING WAR
Mexican smuggling gangs are so well-armed with weapons smuggled from
the U.S. that they are waging open war against Mexican police,
Goddard said.

He added that the minor change in federal law would make it possible
to identify criminal arms dealers.

"We heard loud and clear that there is an active, fighting war being
fought in Mexico, and that prosecutors and investigators in Mexico
are dying," Goddard said of his discussions with his Mexican
counterparts. "If we are going to get their assistance in going after
drug traffickers and going after human traffickers and going after
money launderers, the message we got is please stop sending weapons
to Mexico that are killing our police officers."

The pledge of better cooperation against organized smuggling gangs
was announced at a news conference in Phoenix that closed three days
of meetings between more than a dozen attorneys general from U.S. and
Mexican states.

The crux of the agreement is that police and prosecutors on both
sides of the border will work more closely to investigate criminal
organizations that smuggle immigrants and drugs into the U.S., as
well as guns into Mexico.

In the past, smugglers could simply cross into Mexico to escape
prosecution by U.S. authorities, Goddard said. There was a mechanism
to seek prosecution in Mexico, but that was available only in cases
that were ready for indictment, he said.

Under the new agreement, Mexican authorities will work closely with
their American counterparts to investigate cases in which particular
suspects may not have been identified, Goddard said.

There also will be better cooperation in going after the finances of
criminal organizations, which typically use legitimate money
transmitters to move the proceeds of their smuggling activities
across the border, Goddard said.

AIMING FOR THE MONEY
Interrupting the flow of money will be the most effective means of
breaking organized smuggling rings, said Noe Ramirez Mandujano,
special assistant to the Mexican federal attorney general who
specializes in organized crime.

Mexican immigrants are frequently victims of violent crimes committed
by human smugglers, including murder, extortion and sexual assault,
Ramirez said.

"Our purpose is to combat this sort of thing because we are not
simply referring to the victimization of an individual," Ramirez
said. "We are talking about the victimization of a country and
humanity as a whole."

AZMEX UPDATE 2-3-08

AZMEX UPDATE 2 MAR 2008


Note; One has to wonder how the Mexican media can get details, and
the U.S. media never can?
thx

Noticias
Fuerte decomiso en Sonoyta
Virginia de Viana

Imagen del decomiso realizado el día de ayer en Sonoyta

HERMOSILLO, Sonora(PH)

En dos acciones distintas, elementos de la Inspección Fiscal y
Aduanera, comisionados en el Centro Táctico de San Emeterio,
decomisaron ayer 264 mil 730 dólares, 3,591 cartuchos, 23 cargadores,
y cuatro armas de fuego de distintos calibres, en el Municipio de
Sonoyta.

A través de un comunicado de prensa de la Procuraduría General de la
República (PGR) se informó que los detenidos son Carlos Pérez Nieves
y Alma Rosa Valenzuela Chaparro, quienes se encuentran a disposición
de la Agencia del Ministerio Público Federal.

En el primer operativo, los agentes de la Inspección fiscal
arrestaron a Carlos Pérez Nieves, quien viajaba a bordo de un
vehículo Chevrolet 1995, tipo sedan de la línea Montecarlo, con
placas de circulación número 988-TIS del Estado de Washington,
procedente de Tijuana, Baja California, y con destino a Melaque Jalisco.

El detenido traía en el vehículo 2 fusiles calibre 7.62 x 39mm., 1
pistola calibre .45mm. automática,1 pistola calibre .38 super, 2,501
cartuchos calibre 7.62 x 39mm., 199 cartuchos calibre .223 mm., 741
cartuchos calibre .38 super, 48 cartuchos calibre .38mm. expansivos;
102 cartuchos calibre .45 mm. expansivos, 100 cartuchos calibre .45
mm, 45 cartuchos calibre 12 perdigones.

De igual forma, 115 cartuchos calibre .9mm. expansivos, 75 cartuchos
calibre .9mm., 249 cartuchos calibre .380, 14 cargadores calibre 7.62
x 39 mm., 2 cargadores calibre 9 mm., 5 cargadores calibre .45 mm. y
2 cargadores calibre 338 super.

En autobús

En otro operativo en la garita de San Emeterio fue detenida Alma Rosa
Valenzuela Chaparro, quien viajaba a bordo de un autobús de la línea
TAP, procedente de Mexicali, Baja California, y con destino a
Culiacán, Sinaloa.

El dinero fue descubierto en un doble fondo de su maleta, donde se
localizaron, 1,275 billetes de 100 dólares, 366 billetes de 50
dólares, 5,787 billetes de 20 dólares, 218 billetes de 10 dólares y
202 billetes de 5 dólares.

La Agencia del Ministerio Público Federal determinará la situación
legal de los dos detenidos.

Nota Publicada: 02/03/2008 11:37

AZMEX UPDATE 27-12-07

Scientists fleeing border, smugglers
Outdoor studies getting riskier, researchers say
Chris Hawley
Republic Mexico City Bureau
Dec. 27, 2007 12:00 AM

MEXICO CITY - Biologist Karen Krebbs used to study bats in Organ Pipe
Cactus National Monument on the Arizona-Mexico border. Then, she got
tired of dodging drug smugglers all night.

"I use night-vision goggles, and you could see them very clearly" -
caravans of men with guns and huge backpacks full of drugs, trudging
through the desert, Krebbs said. After her 10th or 11th time hiding
in bushes and behind rocks, she abandoned her research.

"I'm just not willing to risk my neck anymore," she said.

Across the southwestern U.S. border and in northern Mexico,
scientists such as Krebbs say their work is increasingly threatened
by smugglers as tighter border security pushes trafficking into the
most remote areas where botanists, zoologists and geologists do their
research.

"In the last year, it's gotten much worse," said Jack Childs, who
uses infrared cameras to study endangered jaguars in eastern Arizona.
He loses one or two of the cameras every month to smugglers.

Scientists, especially those working on the Mexican side of the
border, have long shared the wilderness with marijuana growers and
immigrants trying to enter the United States illegally. But tension
is rising because of crackdowns on smugglers by the Mexican military,
increased vigilance in the Caribbean Sea, new border fences, air
patrols, a buildup of U.S. Border Patrol agents and a turf war
between cartels.

Smugglers are increasingly jealous of their smuggling routes and less
tolerant of scientists poking around, researchers say.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument stopped granting most new
research permits in January because of increasing smuggling activity.
Scientists must sign a statement acknowledging that the National Park
Service cannot guarantee their safety from "potentially dangerous
persons entering the park from Mexico."

"It's a kind of arms race, and biologists are stuck in the middle,"
said Jim Malusa, who specializes in mapping desert vegetation.
"There's been a chilling effect on researchers."

Higher stakes

Scientists say things have gotten more uncomfortable since 2001, when
the United States began fortifying its border after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. In 2006, the Border Patrol embarked on a hiring
spree, with plans to raise its personnel from 12,000 to 18,000 by the
end of 2008.

Smugglers have responded with violence. Assaults on Border Patrol
agents are occurring at a record pace, with 250 attacks reported from
Oct. 1 to Dec. 16, an increase of 38 percent over 2006.

"It's a war zone out there," said Mickey Reed, a research technician
at the University of Arizona's School of Natural Resources.

As crossing the border gets more difficult, the fees that smugglers
charge to guide illegal immigrants through the desert has doubled in
recent years, to as much as $3,000 per person, migrants say. At the
same time, Mexico has been stepping up highway checkpoints and port
inspections, forcing drug smugglers into the wilderness and onto
remote beaches.

To avoid the checkpoints, Mexican drug cartels are moving their
marijuana farms northward, from traditional growing areas in
Michoacan, Nayarit and Guerrero states to more remote areas in Sonora
and Sinaloa states, according to the U.S. government's 2008 National
Drug Threat Assessment.

Marijuana smugglers, whose cargo is smellier and bulkier than
cocaine, are increasingly abandoning the urban border ports of Texas
and California in favor of the Arizona-Sonora corridor, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration says. U.S. authorities seized 616,534
pounds of marijuana in the Tucson Sector alone in 2006, up from
233,807 pounds in 2001.

Smugglers also are increasingly relying on boats moving through the
Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard said this month. The Coast Guard
seized a record 356,000 pounds of cocaine this year, most of it in
the Pacific.

Scientists, who once had the ocean and desert all to themselves, say
they are increasingly rubbing elbows with bad guys.

"They used to take the easier routes through washes and old river
beds, but now, they're moving into the rougher country," said Randy
Gimblett, a University of Arizona professor who studies human impacts
on ecology. "There's a lot at stake because there's a lot of money
tied up in drugs. We're not confronting those folks, but we're seeing
more of that activity."

Close calls

There are no statistics on attacks or threats against scientists,
said Mark Frankel, director of the scientific-freedom program at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. But among
researchers, drug stories abound.

Michael Wilson, a botanist and director of research at the Drylands
Institute in Tucson, said he avoids some parts of Mexico's Sonora
state since seeing opium poppies, which are not native to Mexico, and
mules carrying loads of marijuana down from the mountains. Opium
resin is used to make heroin.

Wilson said he has noticed an increase of marijuana cultivation in
recent years and more people watching over the fields. Some of his
colleagues now carry guns, he said.

"There are a lot of researchers who have ducked out of doing research
in Mexico," Wilson said.

David Yetman, a social scientist and host of the PBS series The
Desert Speaks, said he had to stand in a marijuana field in eastern
Sonora to get pictures during the filming of a 2004 segment on rural
liquor-making. He hired off-duty policemen with automatic weapons to
protect his film crew during a piece in southern Sonora, an area
known for drug trafficking.

Richard Felger, another botanist, said he stays away from remote
mountains in Sonora since being robbed and threatened on research trips.

"I got kind of allergic to pistols being held to my forehead," Felger
said.

Gimblett, who relies on buried pressure sensors for his research on
park users, said smugglers routinely cut his cables. Childs has tried
leaving notes and pictures of saints - even Jesús Malverde, the
unofficial saint of drug traffickers - to try to persuade smugglers
to spare his jaguar cameras, but to no avail. Each camera costs $450.

Holes in research

The paranoia among drug smugglers is creating serious gaps in
scientific knowledge, researchers complain.

Huge swaths of northwestern Mexico are now off-limits to science,
said Andrés Búrquez, a professor at the National Autonomous
University of Mexico. The worst is Sinaloa state, home of the Sinaloa
Cartel, he said.

"The most serious problem is when you have to visit a specific place
in the countryside, places of geological interest," he said.
"(Residents) will say, 'You can go to A, B and C place, but not D.'
And it turns out that's the place that interests you most."

Childs says he loses one or two months' worth of pictures every time
a jaguar camera is destroyed.

He also is unable to put cameras on the Mexican side of the border
because of opposition from property owners who are fearful of, or
perhaps cooperating with, the smugglers. That has made it harder to
answer a key question: whether endangered jaguars are repopulating
the United States or simply wandering over occasionally from Mexico.

Krebbs hasn't been out to study the endangered lesser long-nose bats
at Organ Pipe in two years. Dean Hendrickson, an ichthyologist at the
University of Texas, says avoiding marijuana and poppy fields has set
back his efforts to study mysterious species of Mexican trout in
Chihuahua state.

"It's going to be hard to do that without comprehensive sampling, and
this sort of stuff definitely puts holes in our sampling,"
Hendrickson said. "There's no doubt: The drug stuff is definitely
affecting research."

AZMEX UPDATE 2-12-07

AZMEX UPDATE 2 DEC 2007

December 2, 2007 - 11:52PM

'Coyote' wars move to Valley
MIKE BRANOM, TRIBUNE

Rival gangs of human smugglers no longer battle for supremacy on busy
freeways. The fight has come to quiet residential streets.

Like any trade involving illicit contraband, violence always has
surrounded the trade of smuggling illegal immigrants into the United
States. With "coyotes" continually scheming to eliminate competitors
and steal their lucrative cargo, the crackle of gunfire often broke
the silence of the desert.

But after successful interdiction efforts on Arizona's highways,
police and prosecutors say they now are seeing more crimes committed
in the Valley.

"If you're an innocent person living in a neighborhood where there's
a drop house, you have reason to be concerned," said Arizona
Department of Public Safety Lt. Fred Zumbo, an immigration
enforcement expert.

Phoenix police recently touted a successful investigation into
kidnappings and extortion attempts stemming from human smuggling. In
this instance, the crime scenes were single-family homes.

According to authorities, smuggler Luis Armando Camacho-Pasos showed
patience in destroying a rival gang.

He went to Mexico, approached a coyote and posed as an illegal
immigrant needing help to cross the border. Once stashed in a west
Phoenix drop house in June, Pasos told the smugglers to meet his wife
nearby, where she would pay the remainder of his fee.

But there was no wife, and there certainly wasn't any money. Instead,
Pasos' armed gang jumped the other smugglers, seizing the competing
ring's "cargo," taking their captive immigrants to their own drop
house and then extorting money from them.

In 2006, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona
investigated 100 calls in which migrants were held hostage, usually
while coyotes were squeezing them for more money.

But ICE spokesman Vinnie Picard said the agency does not track how
many cases specifically relate to one group of smugglers overtaking
another.

Pasos was brought to justice after an illegal immigrant escaped and
called police. Last month, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for
kidnapping and weapons violations.

"These are very dangerous crimes taking place within our community,"
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Joel Tranter said. He estimated that
city's authorities respond to smuggling-related kidnapping calls on a
weekly basis.

Why these incidents are taking place within the Valley can be found
in the wreckage of two bullet-riddled and blood-drenched vehicles
along Interstate 10.

On the same day in November 2003, coincidentally, that Mexico's
president visited Phoenix, a group of bajadores — bandits ripping off
other smugglers — commandeered a pickup filled with illegal
immigrants northwest of Tucson. But one of the original smugglers
escaped and called his compatriots in Phoenix, who came to his aid.

The first group eventually caught up with the bajadores near Casa
Grande and opened fire.

The toll: four dead, five wounded and four arrested.

A similar incident took place in rural Pima County earlier this year,
with three killed.

In response to the mayhem, DPS fought back earlier this year with
"Operation Full Court Press," which Zumbo described as a thorough
interdiction effort along the border and on major traffic arteries
heading into the state. Scores of arrests followed.

"But it's like a big chess match, in that we do something and then
they counter it," Zumbo said. "So, they've countered it by not using
the main highways."

AZMEX UPDATE 20-11-07

AZMEX UPDATE 20 NOV 2007

Border disharmony: Congressman, TV newsmen inspect river
By Jonathon Shacat
Herald/Review

Published on Tuesday, November 20, 2007
PALOMINAS — U.S. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva toured the ongoing border
fence construction project at the San Pedro Riparian National
Conservation Area on Monday to raise awareness for his proposed
Borderlands Conservation and Security Act.

Grijalva, representing Arizona's 7th Congressional District, and
fellow Democrat Gabrielle Giffords of the 8th District are the only
two of Arizona's eight U.S. representatives whose districts abut the
U.S.-Mexico border. Giffords' district includes all of Cochise County.

Glenn Spencer, left, of the American Border Patrol, has some issues
with U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, right, as the 7th District Congressman
visits the San Pedro River near Palominas and Spencer's property on
Monday. Tucson television newsman Bud Foster of Channel 13, center,
listens. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review)
Grijalva observed portions of the border fence and listened to
concerns voiced by host Bill Odle, a nearby landowner who is opposed
to the construction because it will negatively impact wildlife and
create "a false sense of security."

His attitude seemed to stand in stark contrast with the feelings of
some Americans in the borderlands who say the fence has been needed
for a long time to help stem the flow of illegal migration from Mexico.

Grijalva told reporters that after seeing the fence first hand, he
felt "overwhelmed" by the seriousness of the issue.

He said he is worried about plans to put a barrier across the San
Pedro River because of its consequences on wildlife and the environment.

He also questioned the fence's long-term effectiveness. He said the
fence will not be "the deterrent, the prevention or the real stoppage
of illegal entrants into this country."

People who staunchly oppose illegal immigration say the fence is
simply one element of a larger strategy to stop the flow of illegal
border crossings.

Grijalva, whose district has witnessed deadly clashes between rival
smugglers in the past year, remarked, "This is a corridor. People
will inevitably, if they have not already, find a way around, through
or over this construction."

His proposed legislation, the Borderlands Coservation and Security
Act of 2007, also known as HR 2593, would require the Department of
Homeland Security to consult with federal land managers and tribal
officials to create a strategy that supports both border security and
protects lands.

The legislation would provide for flexibility rather than a one-size-
fits-all approach to border security by allowing Homeland Security
experts to decide whether fences, virtual fences, border barriers or
other options are the best way to address border security.

Also, the legislation would require full public notice and
participation on border security decisions, as well as ensure the
government complies with laws protecting air, water, wildlife,
culture and health and safety. In addition, it would fund initiatives
that help mitigate damage to borderland habitat and wildlife.

Representatives of Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club and the
Center for Biological Diversity accompanied Grijalva on the tour.

Matt Clark, southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said
HR 2593 would "help to alleviate a lot of the conflict that is going
on here along the border."

Congress passed the Secure Fence Act in 2006, allowing for the
construction of a wall and fencing along much of the southern border.

Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit and on Oct.
10 a federal district judge ordered a delay in the construction in
the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area because the
government failed to fully study the environmental impact of the
project.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff invoked his power under
the REAL ID Act on Oct. 22 to waive several laws to allow for the
construction to be restarted.

Grijalva said he disagrees with Chertoff's decision because he did
not study the land or consult with local land managers, and because
he used the REAL ID waiver.

"Right now, people think, 'Well, it's a good waiver because he built
a wall.' " Grijalva said. "Down the road, those waivers, I think, are
a threat to some of the basic public process transparencies that we
need in this country."

Contacted by phone on Monday, Veronica Nur Valdes, spokeswoman for
the Department of Homeland Security, said, "We stand by the
secretary's decision."

"After all, he did determine that any further delay in constructing
tactical infrastructure and fencing in the area would present a risk
to our nation's security," she said.

Chertoff feels the fence will be beneficial to the environment
because it will stop the traffic of illegal immigrants who leave
trash and human waste in areas, according to Nur Valdes.

The Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to prevent the
negative impacts on the environment. It agreed to work with a
qualified biologist regarding wildlife concerns. Also, temporary
vehicle barriers will be erected in the river that can be removed
during flood season, according to Nur Valdes.

Clark said wildlife will be able to get over and through the vehicle
barrier. But, he is concerned that the fence will funnel smuggling
and enforcement activity into the riparian corridor.

He is also concerned the fencing structures may cause the river bed
to shift. The fence may also increase sedimentation that could affect
endangered fish. The fence will also block wildlife from accessing
habitats across the border, he claimed.

On Nov. 1, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club filed a new
lawsuit saying Congress violated the Constitution by giving Chertoff
the authority to ignore the laws under the REAL ID Act.

According to Clark, the case will be reviewed by a judge at the
federal district court level.

"If she rules in favor of our position, that will fast-track this
case to the Supreme Court. If she doesn't allow the amended complaint
to move forward, it still may go to the Supreme Court, but it is less
likely the Supreme Court will entertain it," he said.

He is hopeful that the government will be required to remove some of
the fencing and mitigate environmental damage.

During one portion of the tour, Grijalva also made a stop along the
San Pedro River. Glenn Spencer, a neighboring landowner and president
of American Border Patrol, a nonprofit border-watch group, came by
and announced that it was against the law for the motor vehicles to
be in the sensitive riverine area.

"There are two signs posted all the way in here. 'No vehicles.'
'Authorized use only,' " said Spencer, who had parked outside the
zone and had hiked up to the group.

The congressman and environmentalists apologized for the faux pas.

"Do you know that this is where American Border Patrol smuggled
simulated weapons of mass destruction, up this river?" he continued.
"We took it all the way into Sierra Vista ... "

"This is one of the greatest threats to United States security, right
here — the San Pedro River."

Republican response

The president of the Arizona Senate, State Sen. Tim Bee of District
30, was sought for his reaction to the recent Democratic
Congressional tours of the border.

"I hope that it's effective, that it's more than a photo opportunity
for them, and that they will go back and get something done," said
Bee, who is exploring a possible challenge against Democratic U.S.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords next fall.

Bee noted that he himself has "taken lawmakers to the border numerous
times."

He criticized the Congress for its inaction on immigration, and he
also said the state of Arizona continues to struggle with border issues.

Herald/Review reporter Jonathon Shacat can be reached at 515-4693 or
by e-mail at jonathon.shacat@bisbeereview.net.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Fwd: azmex gun trade



Begin forwarded message:


Date: November 9, 2007 12:48:46 PM MST

Subject: azmex gun trade

note;  This could be a response to a letter I wrote to editor couple months back.  Challenging the "authorities" to document where many of the arms originate, and
where in AZ one can get grenades, etc.  Still believe many of the cartel's arms come from Mex. govt. and these days perhaps from Venezuela
thx


"Yet the reality remains that second amendment rights in the US and those who defend them stand in the way of a robust solution to stop the arms that continue to flow from the US to Mexico."


Guns: The bloody US-Mexico market



Image: ISN

With over 2,100 deaths between January and October 2007 related to drug trafficking and the use of weapons purchased in the US, Mexico pins its hopes on the future success of the Merida Initiative to combat drug and gun trafficking.
By Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (31/10/2007)
As news and rumors swirl around the current status and future success of the Merida Initiative, a plan to combat narco-trafficking in Mexico, those who argue the plan's merits can agree on at least one point: The front line of the so-called war on drugs has moved north from Colombia to the US-Mexican border, but the focus on drugs has overshadowed an element of the regional black market that is just as important.
Mexican authorities now estimate that during the administration of former Mexican president Vicente Fox (2000 to 2006), some 2,000 guns per day entered Mexico. That works out to about 1.4 guns per minute. During that same period, the Fox administration seized 8,088 guns of the estimated 4,380,000 that entered the country, representing 0.18 percent of all the arms illegally smuggled into Mexico over six years, according to Mexican daily La Reforma.
Reports from the Mexican Attorney General's office indicate that seized weapons are now more powerful and plentiful and traced weapons almost always lead back to the US.
Since the ban on assault weapons in the US was removed in 2004, Mexican criminals have demonstrably singled-out versions of the AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles, or AR-15s, as their preferred weapons.
What has been called an "iron river" of guns, ammunition and light weapons flows south into Mexico where organized crime hit men and others use them to combat Mexican military and police. The resulting body count has pressured the Mexican government to request additional help from Washington, whose leaders remain reticent to enact strict gun control legislation.
In a country where the right to own a weapon is staunchly preserved, at least one, maybe two gun shows are organized nearly every weekend of the year. Texas, Arizona and California are considered the three source states for a majority of the guns that are purchased and smuggled into Mexico. Preventing these guns from flowing south is a challenge that pits the second amendment rights of US citizens against the bloody battles and mounting numbers of Mexicans killed by weapons purchased in the US.
Ant-Trafficking
Gun shows in Arizona occur on most weekends. They are often organized by clubs and other groups such as the Arizona Arms Association, and are well within the law, which allows for private transactions between gun owners and citizens.
These transactions are not always closely monitored. It is often left up to the individual salesman to identify interested buyers who may be purchasing weapons for a third party. Known as "strawmen," these purchasers buy weapons for a commission of US$50-US$100 per purchase. Single-moms have been targeted for this seemingly benign service because they raise less suspicion.
"We try to tell our merchants to watch for signs of nervousness or see if someone is making multi-purchases," president of the Arizona Arms Association, Bob Litzman, told ISN Security Watch.
Using a network of such strawmen, Mexican gun traffickers can collect over a weekend dozens of weapons they then smuggle into Mexico typically over land routes with a line-up of cars carrying a smaller number of weapons across different border crossings.
This form of smuggling, where smaller groupings of guns are moved across the border is known as "ant trafficking," and is one of the primary reasons why it is difficult to detect weapons moving south from the US side of the border.
Back at the gun show, on the vendors' side of the table, private vendors often enter the business of becoming a supplier, taking orders in advance for delivery at a future date, likely an upcoming gun show. These individuals gather repeat clients and form the bulk of the supply source for weapons traffickers, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
"Gang members and smugglers know which dealers to go to," ATF Senior Special Agent Tom Mangan told ISN Security Watch in a telephone interview from his office in Phoenix, Arizona.
"But we have had some cooperation from licensed dealers," Mangan said, adding, "[They are] motivated by those unlicensed dealers who cut into their profits."
Heading south
These salesmen and strawmen are the primary sources of illegal weapons flowing south, which they sell or hand off to gun traffickers who generally group the shipments at specific border crossings. Once in Mexico, weapons smugglers are set to make thousands on their merchandise.
"A used AK-47 may sell for around [US$] 400 and up," Litzman told ISN Security Watch. He added that an AR-15 could sell for US$800 to US$2,000, depending on the model and age of the weapon as well as other options such as the scope, stock or trigger guard.
Once in Mexico, these weapons are worth at least double those prices, and in some cases as much as triple or more, according to the ATF. One AK-47 purchased in Arizona for US$500 might go for as much as US$1,500 or more once it crosses the border.
At border crossings, Mexican customs agents are in the best position to detect smuggled weapons, but their situation is a difficult one. Many are given the well known choice of plata o plomo. "take the bribe or take a bullet." This is the clear message Mexican organized crime groups send those who patrol the Mexican side of border crossings, known as "plazas."
In February this year, a Mexican customs agent stopped a truck in Matamoros, a town across the border from Brownsville, Texas, under the control of Mexico's Gulf Cartel. The agent seized a load of weapons including 17 grenades, 18 rifles and 17 pistols. The next day he was killed with an AK-47.
The Mexican military, since its deployment to troubled spots in central and northern Mexico, has had some success seizing smuggled weapons. On 13 October, soldiers seized a weapons cache in central Tamaulipas state, located on the Mexico-Texas border. The public list of seized weapons included 11 AK-47 rifles, 13 AR-15 rifles and over 700 clips of ammunition. The Mexican daily El Milenio reported that one grenade launcher, powerful enough to destroy a tank, was also recovered.
But a review of Mexican reports reveals that such large seizures are limited. Finding weapons left at the scene of a crime is more common. Mexican officials have opined that hit men leave the weapons behind for two reasons: They do not want to be found with the weapons in the future and it is easy for them to obtain more.
Easy to get, hard to trace
Back in the US, where the Second Amendment upholds the gun shows that some consider a loop hole that facilitates weapons smuggling, the politics surrounding tracing and information sharing can be complicated, while the process of purchasing and required background checks has been streamlined.
Background checks are not always required at gun shows because most sales are considered to be made between two private, unlicensed individuals - not a licensed dealer and an individual, as would be the case in gun stores where a background check is mandatory.
The check itself is often quick and easy. When a customer is ready to close a sale, the merchant is required to call a hotline administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, where he gives the appropriate information to the person on the other end of the line. Most of the time this process takes less than five minutes. For years, the process took much longer, to the chagrin of gun shop owners, but over time has become streamlined and easy, according to Litzman.
Strawmen who purchase weapons from law abiding gun merchants are a gateway into the murky world of the grey market, where the guns reside until they are smuggled into Mexico and resold. Before the guns are handed out for criminal use, expert gunsmiths inspect working parts, clean the guns and make the necessary adjustments to turn a semi-automatic into a fully automatic assault weapon.
Once the strawman leaves the store with gun in hand, or leaves the fairgrounds in the case of a gun show, there is no way to trace the weapon until it is found at a crime scene or seized. Often times, weapons seized in Mexico trace back to gun stores in the US, but the only information the gun dealer must legally share is the information already approved by the background check itself. From there it is a dead end.
Tracing weapons captured in Mexico back to the US is itself a complicated process, one only allowed through the federal police headquarters in Mexico City. As a result, many weapons remain untraced because agents do not want to hassle with the bureaucracy.
There are over 200 million guns owned in the US. At any time any of these guns could be sold to men and women who will smuggle them to Mexico - some for personal use and self-defense and others for criminal use. The combination of such a massive supply with demand met by ant-trafficking creates a sea of possibilities, variables and actors in a country where the ATF and others have a limited set of legal tools and, more importantly, constitutional rights to respect and defend.
Solutions
The ATF has provided Mexican officials with technical assistance for tracing, but the manuals are currently in English, according to Mangan. He points out that the ATF is hopeful that future funding will allow for the manuals to be translated into Spanish, to place more agents on the border and an expansion of real-time intelligence sharing between the ATF and agents in Mexico.
Apart from the seemingly simple task of translating English to Spanish, the Merida Initiative promises to provide Mexican authorities with scanners. Placed up at key border crossings, these scanners can be set to detect drugs in traffic moving north and guns in traffic moving south.
Mangan is hopeful that the Merida Initiative will boost information sharing as well - something that to date has been lacking between agents due to concerns with corruption.
Yet the reality remains that second amendment rights in the US and those who defend them stand in the way of a robust solution to stop the arms that continue to flow from the US to Mexico.
On 29 October, the Washington Post reported that the Mexican government had seized from January to 21 October 2007 over 6,000 weapons, 470 grenades and 552,000 rounds of ammunition.
A former Mexican president, Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz, mourned at the turn of the century that Mexico was "so far from God, and so close to the United States."
With over 2,100 deaths between January and October 2007 related to drug trafficking and the use of weapons purchased in the US, Mexico's geographical position, while difficult during the Mexican-American war, never has been more challenging than it is today.



Sam Logan is a Senior Political and Security Analyst at Riskline who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999.