AZMEX TEXMEX AMMO 7-2-09

note  it really texmex, but a look at what's happening, and it in english.

Also relevant to new legislation here.

thx

Man faces 10 years in ammunition smuggling case

The Associated Press

Posted: 02/07/2009 09:18:56 AM MST

LAREDO, Texas—A men's club manager accused of trying to smuggle ammunition into Mexico inside a hidden vehicle compartment has pleaded guilty to a federal charge.

Raul Alvarez, 29, faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April. On Friday, Alvarez entered a guilty plea to attempting to smuggle ammunition from the United States into Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

He was arrested in December at an international bridge in Laredo, while traveling to Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials doing a random inspection of his vehicle discovered 282 rounds of ammunition, three pistol magazines and eight assault rifle magazines. The ammunition was stored in a secret compartment built into the Ford Expedition's passenger side rear quarter panel, federal prosecutors said.

U.S. and Mexican authorities are working to stop the flow of U.S. guns and ammunition that end up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, officials said.

Alvarez's attorney, David Almaraz, questioned whether the ammunition smuggling statute his client was charged under applied. Almaraz told the Laredo Morning Times it was not a case he could take to trial.

"We're talking about bullets you can buy over the counter ... bullets are bullets; it's all about what you're going to do with them," he said.

AZMEX ARMS 7-2-09

Note:  know it's in spanish, but this the kind of reporting needed on this side of border

all that missing is serial numbers of weapons.  From El Fronterizo, Cd. Juárez, Chih., México

thx

06 de Febrero del 2009

DECOMISAN MILITARES DROGA ARMAMENTO Y VEHÍCULOS

Por: Andrés Rodríguez 

Según informó el Departamento de Comunicación de la Operación Conjunta Chihuahua, el aseguramiento se logró gracias a una denuncia ciudadana que los alertó sobre la presencia de varias  personas armadas y presumiblemente en posesión de  droga.

Según narraron las autoridades, al encontrarse personal militar perteneciente al 26/o. Batallón de Infantería realizando un  patrullaje de vigilancia sobre la calle Ignacio Dávila de la colonia Los Portales, fueron abordados por un ciudadano que les informó que  unas  cuantas cuadras más adelante sobre esa  misma calle se encontraban un grupo de personas en vehículos estacionados a la altura de la casa marcada con el número 2529.çç

Estas personas, según los testigos, estaban armadas, por lo que el personal militar acudió de inmediato al citado lugar, donde localizaron cuatro vehículos con las características señaladas, mismos que al parecer se encontraban abandonados, por lo que se procedió a revisarlos, encontrando lo siguiente:

Droga

Un paquete rectangular confeccionado con cinta de color canela con un peso de 400 Grs. de un vegetal de color verde y seco con las características propias de la  mariguana.

Una bolsa con semilla de un vegetal de color verde y seco con las características propias de la  mariguana, con un peso de 9.300 kgs.

7,904 dosis de piedra con un peso de 1.152 kgs.

2,506 dosis de cocaína con un peso de 1.059. kgs.

Armamento

Una pistola marca Glock, Mod. 30, Cal. 45 mm.

Una pistola marca Pietro Berretta Mod. 92F, Cal. 9 mm.

 Una subametralladora marca Lugger Mod. TEC-DS9

Un cargador para subametralladora con capacidad para 30 cartuchos.

Un cargador para pistola Cal. 9 mm.

7 cargadores para pistola de diversos calibres

395 cartuchos Cal.  .223

88 cartuchos Cal.  45

207 cartuchos Cal.  7.62 x 39 mm.

151 cartuchos Cal. 9 mm.

47 cartuchos Cal. .40

28 cartuchos Cal. 357 Mágnum

39 cartuchos Cal. 357 Sig.

1 cartucho Cal. .32

2 cartuchos Cal. 38 Súper

3 cartuchos Cal. 38 Especial

 Vehículos

Una camioneta color vino, marca Nissan Frontier modelo 2007, con placas  94F-XD6 del estado de Texas.

Una camioneta de color blanco marca Nissan Pathfinder, modelo 2008, con placas OB5-WGH del estado de Texas.

Una camioneta  de color gris, marca Chevrolet Tahoe, modelo 2007, sin placas.

Un vehículo azul marca Nissan Altima, modelo 2007, con placas KDS-40 del estado de Nuevo México. 

Material

Cuatro chalecos antibalas

Dos cuadros de madera con la imagen de Malverde

8 cargadores para celular

1 teléfono celular marca Motorola

2 radios Nextel, marca Motorola

1 cargador y eliminador de corriente

3 baterías para radio

1 binoculares

1 funda para revólver

1 lámpara recargable  

1 báscula gramera

De la cantidad de droga asegurada (cocaína y piedra) según las autoridades, se hubieran obtenido un total de 10,316 dosis con un costo $ 170.69 cada una y un valor total en el mercado negro de  1 millón 760 mil 838 pesos.

Por lo que respecta a la mariguana, se hubiera obtenido un total de 4,850 dosis, con un costo  50 pesos cada una y un valor total en el mercado negro de  242 mil 500 pesos.

Tanto la droga como las armas, los cartuchos,  los vehículos, el equipo de comunicación y los chalecos fueron puestos a disposición del Ministerio Público Federal para su investigación y consignación.

AZMEX I3 6-2-09

This old one don't know if you seen it before

gals caught in fake Budweiser delivery van

 

November 25th, 2008 @ 3:00pm

 

by KTAR Newsroom

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized a smuggling vehicle made to look like a Budweiser delivery van near Three Points, Ariz., Monday.

The van was carrying 13 illegal immigrants.

Agents fist saw the vehicle at around 9 a.m., traveling north from the border. Believing the van to be suspiciously out of place, officers pulled the driver over and discovered the people inside.

Eight of the immigrants were Chinese nationals. The other five were from Mexico.

The driver will be prosecuted on smuggling charges. All occupants of the van are being held at the Tucson Border Patrol station.

 

AZMEX DHS 6-2-09

HOMELAND SECURITY'S FAVORITE JUDGE

THE BORDER REPORT

A U.S. magistrate in Tucson has ruled that federal agents can lie under oath and it won't be viewed by her court as an act of bad faith.

And if they manage to forget details relevant to a case, like, say, discovering pieces of evidence that they lose first, well, that's okay too.

I'll give you Judge Jennifer Guerin's words pulled from her review of a defendant's motion to dismiss and then the back story on the drug trafficking case.

"Whether Agent Gonzalez was untruthful or absent-minded in his response to questioning at the October hearing about the whereabouts of the bolt seal is not determinative of the issue of bad faith."

This is what happened:

Last June, a truck driver, Osmin Alas, was pulled over at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Southern Arizona. The truck was locked up with a bolt seal which is basically a lock with an identifying number for federal agents to check loads with. The basic idea is that the driver is simply a transporter and the bolt seal ensures that he doesn't have access to the cargo. The only ones who do have access are whoever loaded the truck, federal agents who need to open the truck and whoever's on the delivery end waiting for the shipment.

The Feds like them because it keeps things orderly, drivers like them because it's supposed to absolve them of whatever it is they're hauling. Win-win, right?

Wrong.

A drug sniffing dog found 808 keys of weed in the trailer of the truck, some 1,700 pounds, about $1.2 million at Tucson schwag prices.

Four agents, Gonzalez, Blaine, Nunley, and Haymore, couldn't figure out how to open the bolt seal so they cut it off, letting it fall to the ground. Alas was arrested, the bolt seal stayed in the dirt.

The agents told the judge they didn't think the bolt seal was evidence or that it needed to be preserved.

And that's about as much as everybody can agree on in this  debacle.

At an October hearing, Agent Gonzalez testified that he saw some ID numbers on the bolt seal but that he didn't know much about bolt seals. Earlier, he had testified that he didn't remember what had happened with the bolt seal.

Two months later, Dec. 2, Gonzalez remembered what he did with the thing.

The morning after the bust:

"He picked up the bolt seal and put it in his pocket, intending to keep it as a souvenir of the drug bust. He took the bolt seal home and kept it in his night-stand drawer. Agent Gonzalez testified that he forgot he had picked the bolt seal up until Nov. 11 when government counsel contacted him … "

When the Feds called, Agent Gonzalez remembered what he had done with the thing and brought it to court.

Then another problem came up.

The shipping documents said the bolt seal used was ID number SS3394284. The bolt seal Gonzalez brought in had ID number SS3394845.

You can guess what happened next: the Feds say, basically, that Alas tried to use a fake bolt seal to get inside the trailer and stash the weed. The defense argued that the agents should have kept better track of key pieces of evidence like the bolt seal, instead of tossing them on the ground and picking up them as souvenirs.

The judge ruled that unless the agents had purposefully hid evidence, there was nothing suspect in the entire matter.

"Mere negligent destruction of evidence does not constitute an act of bad faith," she wrote in her decision.

Awesome.

It gets a little better because ineptitude is apparently not something that judges worry about with federal agents.

"Prior to Defendant's June 10, 2008 arrest, none of the agents had ever been involved in the removal of a bolt seal from a trailer during a search. Although each of the agents was aware of the procedure for preserving evidence, none of the agents had been instructed to preserve bolts, locks or seals," the judge wrote.

And that gets us back to the somewhat creepy issue at hand. The agent had never dealt with a bolt seal before, cut it off, forgot about it, then took it home the next day as a souvenir and forgot about it again for four months.

Then it turned out, he brought the wrong one to court. How many of these things are they cutting off anyway? I thought the idea was to leave them on.

All which gets us back to Geurin's original point: "Whether Agent Gonzalez was untruthful or absent-minded in his response to questioning at the October hearing about the whereabouts of the bolt seal is not determinative of the issue of bad faith. Agent Gonzalez' subsequent production of what he believed to be the bolt seal demonstrates that he did not intend to deprive the Defendant of potentially exculpatory evidence," she wrote.

The message is clear. In Geurin's courtroom badly-trained agents can forget details, lie about them under oath, and lose evidence; there's no problem here.

Stay out of Tucson if you want to run dope; this judge will do anything she can to nail you otherwise.

AZMEX 6-2-09

Mexican Drug Cartels Armed to the Hilt, Threatening National Security

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

By Matt Sanchez

In November, along the border with Texas, Mexican authorities arrested drug cartel leader Jaime "el Hummer" Gonzalez Duran — one of the founders of "Los Zetas," a paramilitary organization of former Mexican soldiers who decided there was more money to be made in selling drugs than in serving in the Mexican military.

Click here for photos.

As El Hummer was being transported to the airport in an armed vehicle, his fellow cartel members launched a brazen attack against the federales.

They were armed to the teeth. Their arsenal ranged from semi-automatic rifles to rocket-propelled grenades. When the smoke finally cleared and the government had prevailed, Mexican federal agents captured 540 assault rifles, more than 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 150 grenades, 14 cartridges of dynamite, 98 fragmentation grenades, 67 bulletproof vests, seven Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles and a Light Anti Tank (LAW) rocket.

Click here to see video of the Mexican military's fight with the drug cartels.

This is modern Mexico, where the leaders of the powerful drug cartels are armed to the teeth with sophisticated weapons, many of which are smuggled over the border from the United States. It is with this array of superior weapons that drug cartels are threatening the very stability of their own country. And it's why America's outgoing CIA Director, Michael Hayden, says violence in Mexico will pose the second greatest threat to U.S. security next year, right after Al Qaeda.

"Americans are understandably focused on the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S. from Mexico," says Andreas Peter, author of "Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide."

"But too often glossed over in the border security debate is the flow of weapons across the border into Mexico," he told Foxnews.com in a statement via the Internet.

The cartels are obtaining arms from America by using "straw man" buyers, who legally purchase weapons at gun shops and gun shows in the U.S. The weapons cross into Mexico, where border security is much weaker heading south of the border than it is going north.

Authorities don't know how many firearms are sneaked across the border, but the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) says more than 7,700 guns sold in America were traced to Mexico last year, up from 3,300 the year before and about 2,100 in 2006. Mexican authorities say 90 percent of smuggled weapons come from the United States.

In Northern Mexico, high-powered American weapons have enabled drug cartels to control whole territories. There is the Colt AR-15, the civilian version of the military M-16. And there is the "cuernos de chivo" — Spanish for goat horns . . . the 30-shot curved banana clip of the AK-47.

The AK-47, long the symbol of guerrilla revolution, is not the most accurate or technical assault rifle, but it gets the job done. It is the workhorse of drug cartels, and ammunition can come from a variety of world sources, including the United States.

And then there are the sniper rifles.

"The .50-caliber was interesting because we haven't seen that type of arm used in Mexico yet," said Scott Stewart, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and an analyst for Stratfor, a geopolitical security firm. The ..50-caliber long-range sniper rifle is incredibly accurate and dangerous; a trained operator could kill a human being with a round from well over a mile away.

For criminal cartels like Los Zetas, greater firepower means greater influence in not only the drug trade; it has enabled them to infiltrate and threaten the entire power structure of Mexico. In December, the Mexican attorney general announced the arrest of Maj. Arturo Gonzalez Rodriguez for allegedly assisting Mexican drug trafficking organizations — allegedly for $100,000 a month.

The connection between the drug cartels and the Mexican army has given cartel leaders access to military grade weapons like the high powered Five-Seven semi-automatic pistols.

A favorite with the cartels, the Five-Seven has the advantage of being light: under 2 pounds, with a 20-round clip filled with bullets the cartels call "matapolicias' — "cop killers."

"The 5.7 x 28, armor piercing (AP) rounds are not available for sale to the general public and are probably coming from the Mexican military," said Stewart who has analyzed U.S.-Mexican border security issues for half a decade.

The drug-related murder rate in Mexico doubled in 2008 from just one year before, and as the violence escalates, the power of the drug cartels has destabilized Mexican authority to the point of threatening national security.

Last week Gen. มngeles Dahuajare announced that more than 17,000 soldiers had deserted in 2008.

"The Mexican Army is becoming a revolving door for the enforcement arm of the drug cartels; they simply pay better," Stewart said.

"If they don't get the weapons from the U.S., they'll get it from somewhere else: Brazil, Guatemala, Argentina or even former satellite state 'gray markets,'" he said.

Despite the efforts of his comrades in crime, El Hummer wound up in jail — and Mexican authorities paraded him before the media to reassure the public that they are still in control.

But that was largely for show. As long as weapons flow into Mexico, the drug cartels will be able to develop an arsenal. "Control" will be unstable, at best.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487911,00.html

Note: these latest "hits" were in rural SW Chihuahua state.  Notable mainly for the 90 rounds used in one of them.  

thx

  CUAUHTÉMOC

 

/El Diario  (Chih, Chih.)

Semana sangrienta en la región; dos ejecutados mas, ahora en La Junta

 

De la Redacción

Viernes, 06 de Febrero de 2009

Aumenta la cuenta de ejecutados en la región en esta sangrienta semana.

Ayer en La Junta, Guerrero, fueron ejecutados 2 hombres en la colonia Mirador, aparentemente cerca del domicilio de uno de ellos.

Los hechos ocurrieron alrededor de la 1:00 de la tarde en la intersección de las calles Felipe Ángeles y Jiménez. Todo hace suponer que el copiloto al bajar de una camioneta ram colo verde oscuro, otro vehículo se les acercó y les comenzó a disparar, dejando al copiloto tirado sobre la calle cercado e iniciando una persecución contra el conductor de la unidad que intentaba escapar.

metros adelante, en el cruce de las calles Felipe Ángeles e Industrias, el chofer quedó muerto dentro de la camioneta tras ser alcanzado por las balas.

Los hoy occisos viajaban a bordo de un vehículo pick up, Dodge, Ram, 1500, color verde, cabina y media 4 x 4, mismo que presentaba múltiples impactos de proyectil de arma de fuego  y a bordo del cual fue localizado el cuerpo de uno de los fallecidos, hasta el momento no identificado plenamente.

El protocolo de información enviado por al Subporcuraduría de Justicia Zona Occidente establece que el copiloto fue identificado como José Luis Delgado Veleta; del segundo, versiones policiacas comentaron se le conocía como "el memo".

Personal especializado en la escena del crimen, embaló recogió mas de 90 casquillos percutidos calibre 7.62 x 39 y .223, que se localizaron a lo largo de la calle Felipe Ángeles, desde donde se encontró el primer cuerpo sobre la calle hasta donde se localizó el vehículo con el segundo cuerpo.

La Policía Ministerial Investigadora inició con la indagatoria en torno a los hechos sucedidos alrededor de la 1:00 p.m. del día; mientras tanto, personal de Servicios Periciales se hizo cargo de realizar los análisis correspondientes a la evidencia localizada, así como de la necropsia de ambos cuerpos.

En el lugar, que fue ampliamente resguardado por agentes ministeriales y militares, los Agentes del Ministerio Público levantaron numerosos casquillos que se encontraban regados en los mas de 100 metros que separan a las calles Jiménez e Industrias, sobre la calle Felipe Angeles.

Tan solo en el vidrio frontal de la camioneta, se apreciaban mas de 15 disparos, además de otra cantidad de tiros sobre las puertas de la camioneta.

 

Estas recientes ejecuciones, se unen al tiroteo ocurrido en domingo en el carril de caballos en El Terrero, con saldo oficial de 3 muertos; el "levantón" de 2 personas en la plaza de El Molino el pasado miércoles y donde se encotraron casquillos de arma de fuego y rastros de sangre. Ayer, la ejecución de otras 2 personas en La Junta, Guerrero.

Sin embargo, las cifras extraoficiales aseguran que hubo decenas de muertos en las carreras de El Terrero, que esa misma noche ocurrió otro enfrentamiento en El Molino con saldo de 5 muertos, versiones sin confirmar por las autoridades policiacas.

AZMEX DEFENSE CASE 2-2-09

Cochise County rancher tried on civil rights claims

By Brady McCombs

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.02.2009

a

A civil rights trial against Cochise County rancher Roger Barnett began today in federal court in Tucson.

The latest suit against the controversial rancher stems from a 2004 incident in a wash near Douglas when Barnett approached a group of illegal immigrants with a gun and a large dog.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs — five women and 11 men who were trying to cross into the U.S. illegally — say that Barnett held the group captive at gunpoint, threatening that his dog would attack and that he would shoot anyone that tried to escape, a press release from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said.

They say Barnett also kicked one of the members of the group. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is representing the 16 people.

The federal lawsuit charges Barnett, his wife, Barbara Barnett; and his brother, Donald Barnett; with conspiring to violate the plaintiffs' civil rights, the release said.

In March 2008, U.S. District Court Judge John Roll rejected Barnett's efforts to have the charges thrown out. Roll ruled that there was 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.

Barnett's attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants didn't have the same rights of interstate travel.

That setback came on the heels of another judgement against Barnett in February 2008. At that time, the Arizona Court of Appeals refused to throw out a jury verdict of guilty from November 2006 — 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 has boasted of detaining thousands of border crossers on property he owns or leases near Douglas in the last decade and then turning them over to Border Patrol officials.

The trial is scheduled to go through Feb. 13, the press release from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com.

AZMEX ARMS 1-2-09

Seize rifle and cartridges at the home in Nuevo Nogales 

01 February, 2009 05:00 Enrique Gómez / EL DIARIO 

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Nogales, Sonora 

                    

A 7.62 caliber rifle, two magazines and 41 rounds of ammunition were seized outside a home in Colonia Nuevo Nogales. 

City officials received a report that someone fired shots into the air to the outside of the house marked with number 36-b of the New Street Zambia. 

It was about 22:40 pm when the elements of the Municipal Police arrived at the scene, after a cursory review, they noticed that pulled to the side of a car that was parked outside the home, were 10 cartridge casings from gray Wolf brand 7.62 x 39 mm. 

They also noticed a rifle black peacock color Norinco brand, with wooden handles black color without handles 7.62 x 39 mm, which was inserted a magazine with 30 shots and was stocked with 30 cartridges. 

A few inches found another magazine with the same capacity, supplied with 11 cartridges, all of the Wolf brand. 

Witnesses on the scene, said that inhabits the home of Jacob Vizcarra Amescua, allegedly detonated the weapon he had on several occasions but for fear of retaliation would not give more details. 

The officers knocked on the door but nobody answered, so they moved the weapon and boots before the judge called on duty who gave to the authorities of Public Prosecutions of federal law and provided them with weapons and cartridges.

Decomisan rifle y cartuchos en casa del Nuevo Nogales

01 February, 2009 05:00 Enrique Gómez/EL DIARIO

Tamaño de la fuente:    

Nogales, Sonora             

                   

Un fusil calibre 7.62, dos cargadores y 41 cartuchos útiles fueron asegurados a las afueras de un domicilio de la colonia Nuevo Nogales.

Autoridades municipales recibieron el reporte de que una persona realizaba disparos al aire a las afuera de la casa marcada con el número 36-b de la calle Nueva Zambia.

Fue cerca de las 22:40 horas cuando los elementos de la Policía Municipal arribaron al lugar, después de una revisión superficial, notaron que tirado a un lado de un automóvil que estaba estacionado frente al domicilio, se encontraban 10 cartuchos percutidos de color gris, marca Wolf calibre 7.62 x 39 mm.

También notaron un fusil color pavón negro de la marca Norinco, con empuñaduras de madera color negro sin cachas calibre 7.62 x 39 mm, que tenía insertado un cargador con capacidad para 30 tiros y se encontraba abastecido con 30 cartuchos mutiles.

A unos centímetros encontraron otro cargador con la misma capacidad, abastecido con 11 cartuchos, todos de la marca Wolf.

Testigos de la escena, manifestaron que en el domicilio habita el de nombre Jacobo Vizcarra Amescua y que presuntamente el había detonado el arma en varias ocasiones pero por miedo a represalias no quisieron dar mas datos.

Los agentes tocaron a la puerta pero nadie respondió, por lo que trasladaron el arma y los cargadores ante el Juez Calificador en turno quien dio parte a las autoridades del Ministerio Público del Fuero Federal y puso a su disposición las armas y los cartuchos. 

AZMEX ARMS 30-1-09

Cash and weapons seized en route to Mexico

Published Friday, January 30, 2009 9:52 AM MST

While conducting outbound inspections yesterday at the Nogales ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted currency and weapons destined for Mexico.

Further scrutiny of the area in question revealed a non-factory compartment containing five sealed packages of money. The value of currency intercepted was more than $250,000.

Donald Anderson, Acting Port Director for Nogales stated, "We are ever vigilant in our efforts to uproot the criminal element coming in or out of this country. If you are going to attempt to break the law through the Nogales Port of Entry, we will find you."

Yesterday, CBP officers were conducting outbound inspections of vehicles at the Mariposa Port of Entry when they set their sights on a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer. The interview with the 32-year-old female resident of the United States driving the vehicle revealed inconsistencies in her story. As a result, the vehicle was selected for further inspection. While inspecting the Blazer, a CBP narcotics and currency K-9 was utilized and alerted to the rear of the vehicle.

Further scrutiny of the area in question revealed a non-factory compartment containing five sealed packages of money, four pistols and eight magazines for the weapons. The value of currency intercepted was more than $250,000. The driver of the vehicle was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation. The vehicle, money, weapons and magazines were seized. 

6 with weapons, arrest and marijuana 

The seizure of 660 kilograms of marijuana, rifles, pistols, cartridges, car, and the arrest of six people, carried out by staff of the Mexican Army Mascarene and Santa Cruz. 

  

The Military Zone 45 based in the border reported that it took place in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking in three separate actions. 

At the ranch's Chapel which is located near the Mascarene, the military spotted Esquer Sergio Corrales, Alberto Francisco Valdivia Pérez, Héctor Manuel Rodríguez Porchas Bernardo Gutiérrez Soto. 

These people were seized a red GMC pickup truck, two 22-caliber rifles, a carbine 30-30, and a 22-caliber revolver and ammunition that had to guard 458 kilograms of marijuana. 

In other action in personal Mascarene Third Motorized Cavalry Regiment, detained Francisco Valenzuela Ruiz, 71, who guarded ten packages containing 102 kilos of marijuana. 

We also seized a 22 caliber rifle, and ten rounds, while in Santa Cruz seized fourteen packages hundred kilograms of marijuana. 

The drug and detainees were turned over to the Attorney General of the Republic, which ratified the Mexican military struggle against drug trafficking. 

 http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/volcano/largeImage227157.gif 

Gulf Cartel, the most beaten 

January 30, 2009 05:00 DAILY 

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    Most blows to drug trafficking are the Gulf Cartel 

The Gulf cartel hit men and his group "Los Zetas" are among the best armed drug gangs operating in Mexico, in the midst of a gritty war that has left thousands dead, said the attorney general. 

The Gulf cartel hit men and his group "Los Zetas" are among the best armed drug gangs operating in Mexico, in the midst of a gritty war that has left thousands dead, said the attorney general. 

A report by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) on arms trafficking in Mexico explained that the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, whose seat is the northern state of Tamaulipas, but which operate in at least seven other states are organizations with greater criminal activity and violent. " 

"These organizations have been secured the highest number of firearms and special features for its versatility, potential adverse effects, reach, penetration and volume of fire," prosecutors said in the report. 

Among the weapons seized from the gang of drug traffickers are able to transfer some powerful armor and fragmentation grenades. In one of the pistols known as "cop killer." 

The war between cartels for control of routes into the United States and against the security forces last year left more than 5,700 deaths in the country, more than double that of 2007. Some of them appeared beheaded or dissolved chemicals in barrels. 

In September last year in the western city of Morelia, unidentified individuals threw grenades into a crowd that participated in the celebrations of Independence Day. 

The attack killed eight people. Three men were arrested as alleged perpetrators of the facts, attributed to "the Zetas." 

The cartel of the Arellano Felix brothers, who operate in the city of Tijuana, which borders the United States is in second place in the number of weapons with special features that have been seized, some rifles and rocket launchers. 

The third site is the Pacific cartel or Sinaloa, that have been seized handguns and assault rifles of conventional features, exceptionally, grenade launchers and grenades. 

The Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin is the "Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most wanted drug lord.

Aprehenden a 6 con armas y marihuana

El aseguramiento de 660 kilogramos de marihuana, rifles, pistolas, cartuchos, un vehículo, así como la detención de seis personas, llevó a cabo personal del Ejército Mexicano en Mascareñas y en Santa Cruz.

 

La 45 Zona Militar con sede en esta frontera dio a conocer que esto se llevó a cabo en la lucha permanente contra el narcotráfico en tres acciones distintas.

En el rancho La Capilla que se ubica cerca de Mascareñas, los militares detectaron a Sergio Corrales Esquer, Alberto Francisco Valdivia Pérez, Héctor Manuel Porchas Gutiérrez y Bernardo Rodríguez Soto.

A estas personas se les decomisó un pick up GMC color rojo, dos rifles calibre 22, una carabina 30-30, y un revólver calibre 22, así como cartuchos que tenían para custodiar 458 kilogramos de marihuana.

En la otra acción en Mascareñas personal del Tercer Regimiento de Caballería Motorizado, detuvieron a Francisco Valenzuela Ruiz, de 71 años, quien custodiaba diez paquetes que contenían 102 kilos de marihuana.

También le decomisaron un rifle calibre 22, así como diez cartuchos, mientras que en Santa Cruz decomisaron catorce paquetes cien kilogramos de marihuana.

La droga y detenidos fueron puestos a disposición de la Procuraduría General de la República, con lo que ratifica el Ejército Mexicano su lucha frontal contra el narcotráfico.

 http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/volcano/largeImage227157.gif  

Cártel del Golfo, el más golpeado

30 January, 2009 05:00 EL DIARIO

Tamaño de la fuente:    

    La mayoría de los golpes al narcotráfico son al Cártel del Golfo

El cártel del Golfo y su grupo de sicarios "Los Zetas" son los mejores armados entre las bandas de narcotraficantes que operan en México, en medio de una descarnada guerra que ha dejado miles de muertos, dijo la fiscalía general.

El cártel del Golfo y su grupo de sicarios "Los Zetas" son los mejores armados entre las bandas de narcotraficantes que operan en México, en medio de una descarnada guerra que ha dejado miles de muertos, dijo la fiscalía general.

Un informe de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) sobre el tráfico de armas en México detalló que el cártel del Golfo y "Los Zetas", cuya sede es el norteño estado de Tamaulipas pero que operan en al menos otros siete estados, son las organizaciones con mayor "activismo delictivo y violento".

"A estas organizaciones se les ha asegurado el mayor número de armas de fuego y de características especiales por su versatilidad, potencialidad lesiva, alcance, penetración y volumen de fuego", dijo la fiscalía en el informe.

Entre las armas decomisadas a esta banda de narcotraficantes se encuentran algunas capaces de traspasar poderosos blindajes y granadas de fragmentación. A una de las pistolas se le conoce como "mata policías".

La guerra entre los cárteles por el dominio de la rutas hacia Estados Unidos y contra las fuerzas de seguridad dejó el año pasado más de 5,700 muertos en el país, más del doble que los del 2007. Algunas de ellos aparecieron decapitados o disueltos en sustancias químicas dentro de barriles.

En septiembre del año pasado en la occidental ciudad de Morelia, desconocidos arrojaron granadas contra una multitud que participaba de los festejos del día de la independencia.

En el ataque murieron ocho personas. Tres hombres fueron detenidos como supuestos autores materiales del hecho, atribuido a "los Zetas".

El cártel de los hermanos Arellano Félix, que opera en la ciudad de Tijuana, fronteriza con Estados Unidos, se encuentra en segundo lugar en cuanto al número de armas con características especiales que se les ha decomisado, algunas de ellas fusiles y lanzacohetes.

En el tercer sitio se encuentra el cártel del Pacífico o de Sinaloa, al que se le han decomisado armas cortas y fusiles de asalto de características convencionales y, excepcionalmente, lanzagranadas y granadas.

El cártel de Sinaloa es comandado por Joaquín el "Chapo" Guzmán, el capo más buscado de México.

AZMEX ARMS 27-1-09

Note:  these pieces coming just about every day now, sometimes in U.S. media also 

This particular one in local AZ media also.

Story line,  arms from AZ arming drug cartels.  

Claims 95% of arms coming from here.

Never, of course, any mention of the thousands of deserters from Mex military

and the arms missing with them.

thx

Internacional

Provienen de EU armas de carteles mexicano

PHOENIX, Arizona(AP)

Otros cuatro agentes fueron heridos en un tiroteo en el que se confiscaron cargamentos de armas, incluido un rifle AK-47 que según las autoridades fue comprado en un negocio de armas de Phoenix y llevado de contrabando a México.

La presencia del rifle en México refleja dos realidades de la guerra contra el narcotráfico: Casi todas las armas que emplean los carteles ingresan de contrabando desde Estados Unidos y ese tráfico es facilitado por comerciantes de armas corruptos.

"Hay una guerra", declaró Bill Newell, agente especial a cargo de las sucursales de la Oficina de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (ATF, según sus siglas en inglés) de Arizona y Nuevo México. "Hay una guerra entre los carteles de la droga. Y hay otra guerra entre el gobierno y los carteles. Las armas empleadas (por los carteles) en esta guerra son adquiridas ilegalmente aquí en Estados Unidos".

Las autoridades no saben cuántas armas son llevadas de contrabando a México, pero la ATF dice que el año pasado se comprobó que más de 7 mil armas vendidas en Estados Unidos fueron a parar a ese país. 

El año previo se hallaron 3 mil 300 y en el 2006 tan solo 2 mil 100. El aumento en esa estadística es atribuido no solo a un incremento en el volumen de armas contrabandeadas sino al hecho de que las autoridades mexicanas han desarrollado métodos más eficaces de dar con esas armas.

Funcionarios mexicanos y estadounidenses calculan que el 95% de las armas de los carteles proceden de Estados Unidos. Las restantes son robadas a agentes mexicanos abatidos. Los carteles reclutan gente que compra armas en su nombre en Estados Unidos y luego arreglan formas de llevarlas a México de contrabando.

El servicio de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (APF), cuyos inspectores son los encargados de vigilar los puertos de la frontera, desistieron de revelar con qué frecuencia inspeccionan los vehículos que salen del país, pero admiten que no todos son revisados.

Se considera que es más importante inspeccionar los autos que ingresan al país, porque pueden traer armas, terroristas y otros elementos peligrosos, además de indocumentados. 

En general se inspecciona un vehículo que sale del país si han recibido alguna información de que puede haber algo irregular.

"No tenemos personal suficiente como para revisar todo el tráfico que sale", dijo el portavoz de la APF Jason Ciliberti.

Las autoridades dicen que los pocos comerciantes que venden armas a contrabandistas a sabiendas pueden causar grandes daños. Destacan el caso del comerciante de Arizona acusado de vender un AK-47 recuperado el 27 de mayo en un tiroteo en Cualicán con elementos del Cartel de Sinaloa.

Nota Publicada: 27/01/2009 17:54

AZMEX ARMS 26-1-09

Note:  the push to stop arms flowing south continues,

is a growing problem for us.  

Story describes urging action from Obama and Napolitano .

Asked last week if ILA

had someone covering this?  Would strongly urge ILA getting a Spanish speaking

specialist on this issue before it blows up on us.  Info in English is pretty deficient.

thx

Obama debe cerrar la frontera a tráfico de armas: Sarukhán

26 January, 2009 03:36:00

El Universal/EL DIARIO

Tamaño de la fuente:  

     México desearía ahora, afirmó Arturo Sarukhán, que Obama cierre el paso de las armas que van a grupos criminales en territorio mexicano, cuya violencia amenazaba a México con volverlo un "estado fallido".

Expresa el embajador de México en EU que el gobierno del presidente Felipe Calderón 'esperaría ver alguna acción' de Barack Obama en su primer año en cuanto a la reforma de inmigración

WASHINGTON, DC. 

  México ha tenido frustraciones con la administración previa del presidente George W. Bush y esperaba insistir de ''manera fundamental'' con el nuevo presidente Barack Obama en que Estados Unidos cumpla sus propias leyes y cierre el paso de armas ilegales por la frontera hacia el sur, dijo el lunes el embajador mexicano ante la Casa Blanca.

Arturo Sarukhán declaró también que el gobierno del presidente Felipe Calderón ''esperaría ver alguna acción'' de Obama en su primer año en cuanto a la reforma de inmigración, que daría legalidad a más de 8 millones de mexicanos que viven y trabajan en Estados Unidos, pero dijo que también era ''muy realista'' como para esperar mucho.

''Es un tema muy polarizante'', declaró en una mesa redonda con reporteros de The Associated Press.

''Las coaliciones que se habían articulado en torno a la reforma integral en 2006 y 2007 tendrán que reconstruirse y esto no ocurre de manera fácil, requiere de un (prolongado) trabajo político...''.

Dijo que México se ha decepcionado con el gobierno del presidente George W. Bush por el muro en la frontera, por su incapacidad para abrir el paso de camiones mexicanos a territorio estadounidense y su falta de visión para ''construir sinergias'' sobre las realidades de ''un México de abundante mano de obra y un Estados Unidos de abundante capital''.

México desearía ahora, de ''manera fundamental'', afirmó Sarukhán, que Obama cierre el paso de las armas que van a grupos criminales en territorio mexicano, cuya violencia según varios informes de la administración Bush amenazaba a México con volverlo un ''estado fallido''.

''Esa caracterización es absolutamente errónea'', dijo explicando que el gobierno mexicano tiene control de su territorio, de grupos militares irregulares, de su población y otros aspectos que precondicionan un estado fallido.

''México de ninguna manera cae dentro de esas características''.

Hizo notar más bien que ninguno de los informes de la era Bush mencionaba que la violencia en México estaba produciéndose ''dentro de un vacío'' generado por la falta de acción de Estados Unidos para cortar el tráfico de armas, los flujos de dinero y otros recursos y afectar así la capacidad de los sindicatos del crimen de combatir al estado mexicano.

Indicó que Calderón insistirá en que Obama dote de mayores recursos a agencias como TFA (el buró del tabaco y armas de fuego) e ICE (de aduanas e inmigración) para descubrir con trabajo de inteligencia en Estados Unidos quienes movilizan y reciben las armas.

''A menos que entendamos que éste es un reto bilateral, que es un tema que requiere políticas realistas, vamos a fracasar'', afirmó.

''Si México fracasa, Estados Unidos también fracasa''.

Dijo que México creía que la secretaria de Seguridad Interior de Obama, Janet Napolitano, ''entiende la dinámica'' de una frontera que sólo en el estado de Arizona, donde ha sido gobernadora, hay unas 12 mil armerías; y que no iba a argumentar contra la II Enmienda de la constitución estadounidense que señala como derecho tener y portar un arma de fuego.

''Nuestro argumento es asegurarnos que las leyes de Estados Unidos se cumplan en Estados Unidos'', explicó refiriéndose a que existían, por ejemplo, leyes que impiden vender o exportar armas prohibidas, como las de calibre .22 que circulan ilegalmente en México.

Bush cesó en sus funciones la semana pasada luego que en su gobierno se construyera unas 700 millas (mil 200 kilómetros) de la muralla o un tercio de la frontera, y sin vencer la resistencia de sindicatos y legisladores para permitir el cruce de camiones mexicanos, una provisión del Tratado de libre comercio para América del Norte (TLCAN o NAFTA) vigente hace 15 años.

Actualmente, la carga mexicana es transbordada a camiones estadounidenses en la frontera o viceversa. La operación cuesta un promedio de 8 dólares por camión.

Según Sarukhán, ''no parece mucho'', pero si se tiene en cuenta que unos 75 mil camiones cruzan a diario la frontera, la pérdida anual de las empresas es de unos 216 millones de dólares.

Dijo que México ''insistirá'' ante el gobierno de Obama en sus derechos del NAFTA, y les decía a aquellos que creían que no tiene interés en la seguridad fronteriza que ''están totalmente equivocados''.

AZMEX ENVIRO 25-1-09

Crew finds not much to clean along river

By Derek Jordan
Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Sunday, Jan 25, 2009 - 04:14:01 am MST

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SIERRA VISTA — A team of volunteers and students who set out to collect trash along a stretch of the San Pedro River on Saturday morning were treated to a pleasant surprise: no garbage.

Nearly all of the team of more than 10 volunteers expected much worse and came prepared with large green body-bag sized bags for collecting trash.

"I definitely thought there would be more than this," said Ted Mouras, vice president of Friends of the San Pedro River.

As the team hiked the nearly five-mile trek along the river north of the San Pedro House, through muddy banks and forests of 7-foot-tall Johnson grass, most of their collection bags remained empty, save for the now empty water bottles they brought for themselves.

In his time working to help preserve the river, Mouras has seen a dramatic improvement in the amount of waste found in its waters.

"Five to eight years ago, it was really, really bad," he said. "There were areas along the river where you would find upwards of three to five-hundred water bottles caught in the current."

The majority of the garbage was the result of illegal immigrants following the river north. But, he said, recent efforts by the U.S. Border Patrol have stemmed the flow of border crossers entering the area.

A veritable sea of trash that was not uncommon just a few years ago may be what volunteers were expecting when they showed up Saturday morning.

"I thought it was going to be a lot worse than this," said Yuna Cho.

Along with fellow Buena High School junior Tae Kim, Cho attended the clean up as part of the Buena Key Club, a student club devoted to community service efforts.

"I thought there would be a lot more garbage, but it's pretty clean," Kim said.

Such was the lack of garbage along the hike, that whenever a volunteer managed to spy a discarded beer can or ragged T-shirt, a joyous shout altered the rest of the team.

Still, as unexpected as it was, no one could say they were disappointed by the cleanliness of the area.

"It's kind of like a 'no news is good news' situation," Mouras said.

Herald/Review reporter Derek Jordan can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at derek.jordan@svherald.com.