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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLYINSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF VIOLENT GROUPS ()DAILY BORDER NEWS REPORT FOR 17 NOVEMBER 2011COMPILER, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF VIOLENT GROUPS ()EDITOR, JOINT TASK FORCE NORTH (USA.JTFN) (U) This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY and portions may be exempt from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. DoD 5400.7R, "DoD Freedom of Information Act Program", DoD Directive 5230.9, "Clearance of DoD Information for Public Release", and DoD Instruction 5230.29, "Security and Policy Review of DoD Information for Public Release" apply.(U) FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making it available to recipients who have expressed an interest in receiving information to advance their understanding of threat activities in the interest of protecting the United States. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.(U) Use of these news items does not reflect official endorsement by Joint Task Force North or the Department of Defense.For further information on any item, please contact JTF-North Knowledge Management (KM).Compiled By: Mr. Tom Davidson, Institute for the Study of Violent GroupsEdited by: Mr. Jonathan KauppApproved for Release by: Dr. Rodler Morris CONTENTS: (Note: All active EXTERNAL hyperlinks have been removed)Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u CONTENTS PAGEREF _Toc309298708 \h 11.CANADA AND NORTHERN BORDER STATES PAGEREF _Toc309298709 \h 3A.Truck Driver Caught with Cocaine (CA) PAGEREF _Toc309298710 \h 3B.Five People Were Arrested in Three Separate Incidents by Police on the West Coast of the Province Monday Night. (NL) PAGEREF _Toc309298711 \h 3C.Man Arrested after Attempting to Smuggle Pot into U.S. (MI) PAGEREF _Toc309298712 \h 42.INNER UNITED STATES PAGEREF _Toc309298713 \h 5A.Jacksonville Drug Ring with Ties to California and Southeastern U.S. Busted (FL) PAGEREF _Toc309298714 \h 5B.Utah Authorities Bust Drug Operation with Ties to Mexico (UT) PAGEREF _Toc309298715 \h 6C.ATF Offers Reward of Up to $10K in Gun-Shop Burglary (PA) PAGEREF _Toc309298716 \h 73.MEXICO AND SOUTHERN BORDER STATES PAGEREF _Toc309298717 \h 8A.Eleven Zetas Captured (NL) PAGEREF _Toc309298718 \h 8B.Summary of Events PAGEREF _Toc309298719 \h 9C.Border Patrol Agents Seize Nearly 4 Tons of Marijuana in 2 Days (TX) PAGEREF _Toc309298720 \h 11D.Nogales CBP Officers Seize Cocaine Worth More than $500,000 (AZ) PAGEREF _Toc309298721 \h 12E.Mexican National Sent to Prison after Pharr Kidnapping (TX) PAGEREF _Toc309298722 \h 12F.Mexico Arrests a Leader of Knights Templar Drug Cartel (MICH) PAGEREF _Toc309298723 \h 13G.Mexican Daily Offices Attacked by Gunmen (COAH) PAGEREF _Toc309298724 \h 13H.Feds Probe Suspected Drug Tunnel between US-Mexico (CA) PAGEREF _Toc309298725 \h 14I.3 Arrested, Pot Seized after Boat Washes Ashore (CA) PAGEREF _Toc309298726 \h 15J.Mexican Marines Arrest Zetas Cartel Boss (NL) PAGEREF _Toc309298727 \h 16K.PGR Obtains Convictions for 16 Members of Various Criminal Organizations PAGEREF _Toc309298728 \h 17L.Beheaded Man Was Not One of Us, Say Anti-Drug Cartel Bloggers (TAMPS) PAGEREF _Toc309298729 \h 194.CARRIBEAN, CENTRAL, AND SOUTH AMERICA PAGEREF _Toc309298730 \h 20A.Chile Says One of Its Diplomats Shot by Robbers in Venezuela (VE/CL) PAGEREF _Toc309298731 \h 20B.FARC Choose Military Rather than Political Leader (CO) PAGEREF _Toc309298732 \h 21C.Nicaraguan Navy Kills Four 'Drug Dealers' in Boat Chase (NI) PAGEREF _Toc309298733 \h 23D.Puerto Rico Arrests Territory's 'Most Dangerous' Drug Trafficker (PR) PAGEREF _Toc309298734 \h 23E.Peruvian Vice-President Suspended from Congress over Corruption Allegations (PE) PAGEREF _Toc309298735 \h 24F.Colombian Arrested for Running Drug Operations in Ecuador (CO) PAGEREF _Toc309298736 \h 25G.Colombia, Peru Collaborate To End Coca Production at Borders (CO/PE) PAGEREF _Toc309298737 \h 265.OPINION AND ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc309298738 \h 27A.Human Trafficking Is World's 2nd Most Profitable Crime: Report (PR) PAGEREF _Toc309298739 \h 27B.Central American Governments Agree on Regional Security Plan PAGEREF _Toc309298740 \h 27C.Mexican Drug Cartels Accused of Greater Aggression against U.S. (US) PAGEREF _Toc309298741 \h 28D.U.S.-Mexico Crackdown on Cross-Border Drug Trafficking Bears Fruit (US/MX) PAGEREF _Toc309298742 \h 30E.No Drugs in Plane Wreck (UK) PAGEREF _Toc309298743 \h 32F.New Study on Mexico’s Drug Cartels and the Global War on Drugs (CO) PAGEREF _Toc309298744 \h 33G.Mexico's Drug War: Billions of Dollars, Thousands of Deaths (MX) PAGEREF _Toc309298745 \h 34H.Battle for the Border: Drug Cartels Operating Out of Dallas (TX) PAGEREF _Toc309298746 \h 36CANADA AND NORTHERN BORDER STATESTruck Driver Caught with Cocaine (CA)15 November 2011Corning ObserverA police K-9's success has turned into an eight-year prison sentence for a big-rig truck driver busted with 25 pounds of cocaine in Tehama County.The California Highway Patrol dog alerted on the big rig's cab of Baljinder Singh Gill, 29, of Canada, on Aug. 1, as it was parked at the CHP Cottonwood Inspection Facility on Interstate 5.Inside the cab, Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement task force agents and CHP officers confiscated 25 pounds of cocaine.The commander of the drug task force said the big rig, hauling corn and melons, was seized pending asset forfeiture proceedings.Gill was arrested and charged with transportation and possession for sale of a controlled substance and two special allegations. He was held in jail on $500,000 bail.In a plea agreement with the Tehama County District Attorney's Office on Oct. 4, Gill pleaded guilty to the transportation charge and its special allegation.He was sentenced in Tehama County Superior Court last week.Maher said the northbound driver's destination was British Columbia, and the street value of the drugs was estimated at nearly $1 million.Source: [news/tehama-10856-cocaine-big.html]Return to ContentsFive People Were Arrested in Three Separate Incidents by Police on the West Coast of the Province Monday Night. (NL)15 November 2011The Telegram Members of the Corner Brook RCMP/RNC Joint Forces Drug Section arrested a 29-year-old man and a 17-year-old female from the Corner Brook area for drug-related offences. Police team seized three kilograms of cocaine and $620 cash from a vehicle on the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Corner Brook.The accused were arrested for trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance.The man was held to appear in provincial court in Corner Brook today. The female youth was released and will appear in Youth Court on Jan. 25.In a second incident, a 35-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, both from Ontario, were arrested on the TCH just west of Corner Brook.Police seized 10 kilograms of marijuana, four kilograms of cannabis resin (oil) and three kilograms of cannabis resin (hash). Charges laid include: one count of trafficking in cannabis marijuana over three kilos; one count of trafficking in cannabis resin (oil) over three kilos; one count of trafficking in cannabis resin (hash) over three kilos; one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking in cannabis marijuana over three kilos; one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking in cannabis resin (oil), over three kilos; and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking in cannabis resin (hash) over three kilos.Both accused are held in custody and are scheduled to appear in provincial court in Corner Brook on Wednesday.In a third incident, Raymond Kirby, a 58-year-old man from the Burin Peninsula, was arrested east of Corner Brook, near Deer Lake, and had his transport truck seized.This occurred when the RCMP St. John's, Burin and Corner Brook Customs and Excise Sections stopped and searched a tractor trailer locating 2,000 cartons of illegal contraband cigarettes destined for the province. It was a privately owned tractor trailer that was seized by police.Kirby was expected to appear in provincial court today on charges under the Excise Act and the Revenue Administration Act.Source: [News/Local/2011-11-15/article-2805554/Five-people-arrested-in-three-drug-and-tobacco-police-operations/1]Return to ContentsMan Arrested after Attempting to Smuggle Pot into U.S. (MI)16 November 2011Times HeraldA man was arrested Friday morning after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents found more than 33 pounds of marijuana in a hockey bag in the van he was rmation on the arrest was not released until this morning.Remote Video Surveillance System cameras on the St. Clair River detected a boat coming from Canada, entering U.S. waters and landing near the Port Seaway Inn in Cottrellville Township, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.The boat stayed in the United States for a brief time before heading back to Canada, the news release stated. A van was spotted leaving the area at a high rate of speed after the boat began heading back to Canada.Border Patrol agents initiated a traffic stop and saw a large duffel bag in the van. The marijuana was discovered after agents searched the vehicle, and the driver was arrested, the news release stated.The marijuana and the man were turned over to the St. Clair County Sheriff Department. Additional information was unavailable.Source: [article/20111116/NEWS05/111116006/Man-arrested-after-attempting-smuggle-pot-into-U-S-?odyssey=nav|head]Return to ContentsINNER UNITED STATESJacksonville Drug Ring with Ties to California and Southeastern U.S. Busted (FL)15 November 2011Jacksonville NewsSeventeen people have been arrested in a Jacksonville-based drug ring that was dealing in an estimated 200 kilos of cocaine annually, police said.Drugs were brought to Jacksonville from Mexico by mail and parcel service and money was taken back to the West Coast by women acting as couriers, the Jacksonville Sheriff said.Those arrested include a man identified as the Jacksonville ringleader who was found with $72,000 cash hidden in a rental car in June. Four people are still wanted by police, including one who is believed to have fled to Jamaica.The ring began to unravel in June when the ringleader, 29, was stopped in a car carrying the cash. He was not arrested but the seizure was a tip that a multi-agency investigation that began earlier in the year was on the right track, investigators said. He was arrested Sept. 29 on two counts of conspiring to traffic in cocaine.The sheriff said cocaine and marijuana was brought to Jacksonville and distributed to other parts of Florida as well as into Georgia and South Carolina. Money was taken back to California and Arizona. Arrests in the case began in late summer and were continuing late last month. Three of those still being sought are believed to be in the Jacksonville area.Seizures include $330,000 in cash, nine vehicles and nine firearms.In addition to the ringleader, 15 others are being charged.Four suspects are being sought by police and one is believed to have fled to Jamaica.Source: [news/crime/2011-11-15/story/jacksonville-drug-ring-ties-california-and-southeastern-us-busted]Return to ContentsUtah Authorities Bust Drug Operation with Ties to Mexico (UT)15 November 2011KSLPROVO — Members of a group that police believe had been making more than $300,000 a month in heroin and cocaine trafficking in Utah were rounded up by numerous county, state and federal officers Tuesday.Eight search warrants were served simultaneously early Tuesday by more than 75 law enforcers from the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, Unified Police Department, Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fourteen people had been arrested as of Tuesday afternoon and booked into the Utah County Jail, mainly for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute."This investigation's been going on a little under a year," said a Lieutenant with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. "This particular group we've known about, we've targeted them, been watching them; so it was a fairly lengthy joint investigation with multiple agencies."The take from the bust was more than 5 pounds of heroin, 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine, $173,000 in cash, four guns and 8 vehicles."With guns, cash, cars and suspects, it's a very entrenched organization," the officer said.Investigators say the arrests have "resulted in the disruption of a multi-state drug trafficking organization operating along the Wasatch Front."The investigation started when detectives conducted surveillance on the ongoing problem of people driving from Utah County to Salt Lake County to buy drugs.Source: [?nid=148&sid=18103149&autostart=y]Return to ContentsATF Offers Reward of Up to $10K in Gun-Shop Burglary (PA)15 November 2011The York DispatchA reward of up to $10,000 is now being offered for tips about the burglary of a Shrewsbury Township gun shop Sunday.An inventory done Monday by federal agents at the Gun Bunker, 60 E. Forrest Ave., determined 90 firearms were stolen from the store, according to the spokesman for the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.State police originally reported that 50 guns were stolen, as well as $900 cash.On Tuesday, the ATF announced it will pay up to $10,000 to the person whose information helps authorities arrest and convict the burglar or burglars.The amount of the reward will depend on how valuable the tip is, he said.The number of weapons stolen is a threat to public safety, he said."(They) may fall into the hands of criminals and are a threat to our community," he said. "That's why we're offering this reward now - (to) arrest those responsible as soon as possible."What happened: Someone burglarized the Gun Bunker between 3 and 6 a.m. Sunday, police said.The burglar or burglars first tried to break in by using a chisel to remove cinder blocks from the rear wall of the store, state police have said.But when that attempt failed, they used a chisel to remove the steel cover blocking a side window, police said.At least five of the stolen handguns are fully automatic, according to police."Obviously, it's imperative that anyone who has information brings it to our attention," said state police. "There are a high number of dangerous weapons on the street that are unaccounted for at this point."ATF is now leading the investigation into the stolen guns and state police are assisting, according to Wise."We have local knowledge of the area," he said.A man who answered the phone at the Gun Bunker Tuesday morning said the shop has no immediate comment.Source: [news/ci_19338987]Return to ContentsMEXICO AND SOUTHERN BORDER STATESEleven Zetas Captured (NL)15 November 2011Borderland Beat Authorities of the Ministry of National Defense reported that they managed to capture 11 members of organized crime Los Zetas, who were intercepted in the town of Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon.The criminals were presented at the facilities of the Agency of Investigations in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Among the 11 captured was a woman and a minor, the minor was not presented to the media.Mexican authorities indicated that people were located and captured without incident during three operations carried out by the Mexican military in Cadereyta. The detainees confessed to authorities that they belong to Los Zetas.The first operation was carried out in the community of Albero, where in the street of Cocotero military arrested eight people, secured three safe houses and in one of houses they managed to rescue a man who had been abducted by the criminals.Those arrested in this operation were identified as Juan Enrique Lopez San Martin, alias El Quique, 24, Antonio de Jesus Benavides Salazar, alias Tony, 18, Jose Salvador Sosa Castillo, alias Pepe, 35, John Bazana Manuel Meza, aka Baby, 43, Jesus Soto David Leal, aka The Davico, 23, Rigoberto Estrada Cantu, alias El Rigo, 52, Olga Lilia Salazar Gonzalez, 39, and a 14 year old minor.The woman arrested is believed to be the wife of another member of Los Zetas that was also arrested in the operation; she told military personnel that she did not report her husband to authorities out of fear.The second operation was recorded in the town of Rancho Viejo of the same municipality. In that operation the military managed to arrest Francisco Armando Perez Castillo, aka El Mandín, 31, and Aurelio Beltran Cruz, aka El Bolas, 22.The two men were in possession of a long gun, a magazine, and 18 rounds of ammunition. They confessed to participating in the abductions and execution of two lawyers in the town of Los Ramones, Nuevo Leon.A short time later military forces also managed to capture Jose Manuel Salazar Salazar, alias El Manolin, 29, who is an accomplice of the two men mentioned above.Source: []Return to ContentsSummary of Events15 November 2011Blog del Narco **Asterisk denotes death involving a police officer or a member of the military serving in that capacity.ESCOBEDO, NUEVO LE?NMexican Marines captured two Zetas, two Zeta operators and three Zeta accountants after receiving an anonymous call from a citizen. Seized were two rifles, a handgun, cartridges, magazines, a silencer, three fragmentation grenades, cocaine, two vehicles, two thousand dollars in cash, and two million 64 thousand 600 pesos (US$152241.95 in cash.SOLEDAD DE GRACIANO S?NCHEZ, SAN LUIS POTOSIThis past Thursday 11/10, four bodies were found. The 3 women and one man had been executed and dumped very close to where President Calderon was inaugurating an event at the time. A narco message was left. Congresswoman Beatriz Benavente said it was a clear message directly to the President.ACAPULCO, GUERREROA married couple were beheaded and left inside an abandoned taxi near the Glorieta de Puerto Marques. Authorities received a report of an abandoned yellow Nissan taxi, on the Colossus-Center route, license plates 2174-FFY. The taxi was abandoned with the engine running and the lights on. When officers approached the vehicle, they discovered that there were human remains inside, those of a man and a woman. The decapitated victims could not be identified.TAMAULIPASThe Attorney General’s Office (PGR) burned 36 tons of marijuana and three kilos 55 grams 300 milligrams of cocaine, in the state of Tamaulipas. The drugs were seized in 67 cases arising from drug arrests in Tamaulipas. This burning is in addition to 79 tons of marijuana burned in October and November of this year. Also present at the destruction was the Consul General of the United States of America.NAVOLATO, SINALOAThree men were found dead laying near the shore of the lake in the town of La Laguna de San Pedro, in Navolato, Sinaloa. The bodies of the men who were brutally tortured and then shot dead by an armed assailant were discovered all together. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene after receiving reports about the gruesome discovery, and secured the area. The executed were not identified, one of them wore a black shirt and blue pants, the second had only jeans and the third was wearing Bermuda shorts in light color. Medical Examiner staff was responsible for transporting the three bodies to the morgue.CULIACAN, SINALOAAn intense gunfight on Thursday 11/10 left two men dead and numerous others in hospitals. No further information.CULIACAN, SINALOAAbout dawn on Friday the 11th, gunmen shot and killed 4 men. Others wounded were treated by paramedics and transported to hospitals, with no other information released.CADEREYTA, NUEVO LE?NOn Saturday, 11-12, the Mexican Army observed a vehicle leaving an area and stopped it. On questioning the two men after finding a weapon, they confessed they were leaving a narco grave. The site, used by the Zetas, contained 2 executed male victims.GUADALUPE, NUEVO LE?NLate Sunday night, municipal police were summoned due to the report of multiple gunshots. On arrival, a white van was found with bullet impacts and three dead inside. Two women and a child were wounded and treated. Authorities said it was a family that was attacked.CADEREYTA, NUEVO LE?NThe authorities announced today 11-15 that 11 Zetas were captured. They were captured during three separate operations, rescuing a kidnapped man in one safe house during one operation. Various ones confessed to kidnappings and murders.SANTIAGO PAPASQUIARO, DURANGOState investigators returning to a federal internment center came under attack, gravely wounding one officer. His condition is reported to be ‘delicate’.TORREON, COAHUILAAnother attack against Mexican media occurred during the early hours of Tuesday 11-15, when gunmen in 2 vehicles attacked El Siglo de Torreon. Using AK 47’s, they shot up the building, set a car on fire and then detonated a grenade. Only property damage resulted.Spanish Source: []Return to ContentsBorder Patrol Agents Seize Nearly 4 Tons of Marijuana in 2 Days (TX)9 November 2011CBPEdinburg, Texas ─ Nearly four tons of marijuana were seized since November 7, by U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector.The largest seizure occurred at the Sarita Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 when agents found more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a tractor-trailer.Another sizable load of marijuana was seized that same day near Abram, Texas, when agents saw a suspicious Chevrolet Suburban traveling north from the Rio Grande at a high rate of speed. After the driver noticed he was being followed by agents, he drove through a chain-link fence and abandoned the vehicle south of the levee. Inside the Suburban, agents found nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana.Several additional seizures on November 7 and November 8, brought the total amount of marijuana seized to nearly 8,000 pounds, with an estimated value of more than $6.3 million. The drugs were turned over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.Source: [xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/11092011_8.xml]Return to ContentsNogales CBP Officers Seize Cocaine Worth More than $500,000 (AZ)14 November 2011CBPNogales, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the Tucson Field Office, a component of CBP’s Joint Field Command – Arizona, seized cocaine yesterday valued at $567,700 when a 26-year-old Mexican male from Nogales, Sonora, attempted to enter the United States through a Dennis DeConcini Port vehicle lane.During a secondary inspection of the man’s 2000 Ford F150, CBP officers noticed discrepancies in the fuel tank and then used a narcotics detection canine to check the truck. The canine alerted to the presence of narcotics, leading to the discovery of 26 packages of cocaine hidden in a compartment in the fuel tank. The drugs, weighing more than 60 pounds, and vehicle were processed for seizure. The subject was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.Source: [xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/11142011_5.xml]Return to ContentsMexican National Sent to Prison after Pharr Kidnapping (TX)15 November 2011The MonitorMcALLEN — A federal judge sent a Mexican national to prison after he admitted to kidnapping an illegal immigrant and holding her for ransom.Lucindo De La Cruz Estrada, 31, was sentenced to 40 months in prison Monday at a hearing before the Chief U.S. District Judge.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested De La Cruz in March, after they learned of a woman who had been kidnapped and held for ransom by an immigrant smuggler.Agents tracked De La Cruz using his cellphone number to a residence in Pharr, according to a criminal complaint. There, they found the victim.The woman, a Mexican national, told agents she had paid $500 to be smuggled into the United States.The woman said De La Cruz picked her up along the Rio Grande and transported her to an immigrant stash house. He then took her to his apartment in Pharr.The woman told agents De La Cruz wanted an additional $2,500 to smuggle her to Houston, according to the complaint. He threatened to harm her and her family if she tried to call police. De La Cruz also threatened to shoot and kill her if she tried to run from the apartment, according to the complaint.ICE will deport De La Cruz after he serves his prison time. He is serving a concurrent sentence on state kidnapping charges, as well, officials said.Source: [news/national-56595-pharr-prison.html]Return to ContentsMexico Arrests a Leader of Knights Templar Drug Cartel (MICH)15 November 2011BBC News Latin America & CaribbeanMexico's military says it has arrested a commander of the Knights Templar drug cartel in western Michoacán state.Juan Gabriel Orozco Favela is accused of leading the cartel's drug smuggling operations in the area and allegedly tortured and killed 21 people in June.Officials said he was arrested on Sunday, during elections in Michoacán state that were marred by drug-related violence and voter intimidation.The Knights Templar formed earlier this year as an offshoot of La Familia.It now controls much of the methamphetamine and marijuana trade in western Mexico.At least 40,000 people are believed to have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon first deployed the military to fight the cartels in 2006.Critics of the policy say successes in capturing cartel leaders have not slowed the flow of drugs and may have exacerbated the violence by triggering power struggles within the cartels. Source: [bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15747249]Return to ContentsMexican Daily Offices Attacked by Gunmen (COAH)15 November 2011Committee to Protect JournalistsA group of unidentified gunmen attacked the premises of the Mexican daily El Siglo de Torreón early this morning, setting a car on fire and shooting at the building several times.Around 2:40 a.m., at least three assailants parked two vehicles in front of the newspaper's offices in the city of Torreón in the northern state of Coahuila, the paper reported. They set one of the cars on fire in front of El Siglo's main door and left in the other. Before fleeing, the gunmen used assault rifles to spray the premises with about 20 bullets that police recovered at the scene, editor Javier Garza told CPJ. One of the offices suffered some damage, but there were no injuries, he said. Federal and state police, as well as members of the Mexican army, arrived at the scene shortly after the attack."We condemn the attack against El Siglo de Torreón and urge Mexican authorities to launch a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's Americas senior program coordinator. "Criminal organizations will continue targeting the Mexican media unless federal authorities take decisive and timely actions to guarantee journalists' safety."According to Garza, the newspaper had not received any threats. He said that El Siglo de Torreón had published information about military actions in the area in recent weeks, but could not point to any specific report that could have triggered retaliation from armed groups. A similar attack occurred in August 2009, when gunmen fired several shots at the newspaper, but an investigation into the attack by state authorities produced no results.Garza said that journalists at El Siglo de Torreón practice self-censorship when covering organized crime. Reporters do not identify by name groups involved in shootouts, arrests, or raids, he told CPJ. The other precautionary measures they take include removing bylines and rotating reporters out of crime beats, he said.This is the second attack against a media facility in 10 days. On November 6, gunmen stormed the newsroom of the daily El Buen Tono in the state of Veracruz, vandalized equipment, and set the premises on fire, according to local press reports. Vanguardia, a newspaper in the city of Saltillo, was the target of a hand grenade attack, in May. In February, gunmen attacked the facilities of two media companies in the city of Torreón, destroyed equipment, and killed a TV engineer. Last year, more than a dozen news facilities were attacked with either guns or explosives.Source: [2011/11/mexican-daily-offices-attacked-by-gunmen.php]Return to ContentsFeds Probe Suspected Drug Tunnel between US-Mexico (CA)15 November 2011Sacramento BeeSAN DIEGO -- Federal officials in San Diego say they are investigating a suspected tunnel that may be used to smuggle drugs between Mexico and the United States.Immigration and Customs Enforcement says in a statement that the suspected tunnel was found late Tuesday in the Otay Mesa area.ICE says no further details could be released because of the sensitivity of the investigation, but officials hope they will have more information Wednesday morning.Last year investigators discovered two long, sophisticated tunnels running some 2,000 feet from Mexico to San Diego.Those tunnels, believed to be the work of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, were equipped with lighting, ventilation, and a rail system for drugs to be carried on a small cart.Source: [2011/11/15/4057944/feds-probe-suspected-drug-tunnel.html]Return to Contents3 Arrested, Pot Seized after Boat Washes Ashore (CA)16 November 2011LA TimesThree men were arrested Tuesday in what the U.S. Border Patrol said was an attempt to smuggle 1,460 pounds of marijuana worth $729,950 into the United States aboard a 25-foot, open-hulled panga boat.Two of the suspects — a 31-year-old Mexican national and a 29-year-old U.S. citizen — were apprehended as they attempted to flee after the boat washed ashore about 1:30 a.m. at Carlsbad State Beach, officials said. Minutes later, Carlsbad police stopped a vehicle being driven by a 29-year-old Nicaraguan national who was in the United States legally. He was turned over to Border Patrol agents.The boat had been detected by California Army National Guard troops working with the Border Patrol to spot smugglers heading north along the San Diego County coast. Helicopters, night-vision goggles and other high-tech gear are part of the arsenal employed in the hunt.A search of the boat captured Tuesday revealed five fuel containers and 19 bundles of marijuana, officials said. The three men, the boat and the other vehicle were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Panga boats are used by Mexican fishermen, as well as smugglers attempting to bring undocumented immigrants or drugs across the border. The Sinaloa drug cartel is suspected of involvement in such activity, officials said.As enforcement has tightened along the border since 2007, smugglers have increasingly turned to the ocean as a route. Although most of the boats have come ashore in northern San Diego County, others have been found along the beaches of Orange and Los Angeles counties. Boats have come ashore near pricey homes in Del Mar, the nuclear power plant at San Onofre and the training beaches at Camp Pendleton.Last year, nearly 900 illegal immigrants and smugglers were arrested at sea or along the California coast, double the number from the previous year.Smugglers sometimes pack immigrants into boats that are not seaworthy. Often the undocumented immigrants pay up to $6,000 each for the chance to enter the United States, officials said. Last year, two undocumented immigrants drowned when their overloaded boat capsized off Torrey Pines State Beach.Source: [news/local/la-me-1116-carlsbad-drug-arrests-20111116,0,1892489.story]]Return to ContentsMexican Marines Arrest Zetas Cartel Boss (NL)15 November 2011Borderland Beat A Los Zetas drug cartel boss and four associates were arrested by marines in Cadereyta, a city in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, the Navy Secretariat said.Rigoberto Zamarripa Arispe, “presumably the No. 2 boss in the command of the Los Zetas criminal organization” in the area, was arrested as a result of an anonymous tip, the secretariat said.The 36-year-old Zamarripa Arispe was arrested at a ranch in Cadereyta along with Juan Luis Martinez Perez, 54, and Juan Fidencio Perez Saucedo, 27.Marines seized eight rifles that the suspects had buried on the property, four handguns, 48 ammunition clips, ammunition, a vehicle and communications equipment.Jose Galvan Palacios, 43, and Ruben Nicanor Tijerina Garcia, 31, were arrested at a house in Cadereyta in a separate operation targeting members of the same Los Zetas cell.Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent drug cartel, mainly operates in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and San Luis Potosi states.Los Zetas has been battling an alliance of the Gulf, Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels, known as the Nueva Federacion, for control of the Monterrey metropolitan area and smuggling routes into the United States.Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel.After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories.Source: [2011/11/mexican-marines-arrest-zetas-cartel.html]Return to ContentsPGR Obtains Convictions for 16 Members of Various Criminal Organizations15 November 2011PGRDuring October 2011, PGR officials issued 68 detention orders against 175 suspects. All were charged with violations of the Federal Law against Organized Crime.During October 2011, 16 criminals were sentenced for their ties with organized crime. The following charts show the individuals, their sentence, group affiliation, and their crimes:Federal Court in JaliscoIndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceMorquecho-Morales, GastonGulf CartelSpying for a criminal organization30 years of prison and a fine of 600 days salary Morquech-Morales, Pedro aka Mota, JoseGulf CartelSpying for a criminal organization20 years in prison and a fine of 350 days salary Garcia-Aviles, Hugo EnriqueGulf CartelSpying for a criminal organization20 years in prison and a fine of 350 dayssalaryFederal Court in Nayarit IndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceSantos-Vazquez, Ricardo (former member of Mexican Army)Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Organization and “Los Beltran Leyva”Participating in organized crime, drug crimes, and collaboration in other similar crimes29 years, four months, and 15 days of prison and a fine of 3,512 days salaryGuatemala-Nino, Jaime (former member of Mexican Army)Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Organization and “Los Beltran Leyva”Participating in organized crime, drug crimes, and collaborating in any way to commit crimes of this nature29 years, four months, and 15 days of prison and a fine of 3,512 days salaryJimenez-Garcia, Francisco (former member of Mexican Army)Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Organization and “Los Beltran Leyva”Participating in organized crime, drug crimes, and collaboration in other similar crimes29 years, four months, and 15 days of prison and a fine of 3,512 days salaryReyes-Flores, Jose Manuel (former member of Mexican Army)Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Organization and “Los Beltran Leyva”Participating in organized crime, drug crimes, and collaboration in other similar crimes29 years, four months, and 15 days of prison and a fine of 3,512 days salaryFederal Court in NayaritIndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceSilva-Pereida, Regimiro“Los Arellano Felix”Operating in Baja CaliforniaParticipating in organized crime, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, and possession of firearms designated for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces25 years and three days in prison and a fine of 371 days salary Loeza-Espinoza, Ivan Aaron AKA Vazquez-Lopez, Dario“Los Arellano Felix”Operating in Baja CaliforniaParticipating in organized crime, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, and possession of firearms designated for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces25 years and three days in prison and a fine of 371 days salaryState not SpecifiedIndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceFuentes-Cervantes, Juan CarlosNot SpecifiedPossession of methamphetamines with intent to sell, conducting financial operations with illegally obtained resources20 years of prison and a fine of 3,925 days salaryHernandez-Martinez, GildardoNot SpecifiedPossession of methamphetamines and cocaine with intent to sell15 years of prison and a fine of 225 days salaryPintado-Vazquez, Salvador(At the time of the crime, a Morelos state Ministerial Police Officer)“Los Beltran Leyva”In possession of and carrying firearms and ammunition designated for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces and possession of cocaine with intent to sellNine years in prison and a fine of 205 days salaryFederal Court in NayaritIndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceGaray-Cadena, Victor Gerardo(At the time of the crime, a Federal Police Officer)“Los Beltran Leyva”RobberyFour years and three days of prison and a fine of 180 days salaryFederal Court in MorelosIndividualOrganizationCrimeSentenceVargas-Anzurez, Mario Alberto (Street dealer)Not SpecifiedPossession of cocaine with intent to distributeThree years of prison and a fine of 80 days salaryGomez-Cardoso, Regino (Street dealer)Not SpecifiedPossession of cocaine with intent to distributeThree years of prison and a fine of 80 days salarySource: [pgr.gob.mx/Prensa/2007/bol11/Nov/b157211.shtm]Return to ContentsBeheaded Man Was Not One of Us, Say Anti-Drug Cartel Bloggers (TAMPS)15 November 2011The RegisterA man tortured, beheaded and dumped close to Mexico's border with the US in a gruesome cartel-style murder was not the moderator of a local online discussion forum, contrary the earlier reports.The still unidentified victim was abused and decapitated before his body was left beside a statue of Christopher Columbus outside the town of Nuevo Laredo. A chilling message, scrawled in ink and found next to his remains, read: "Hi, I’m ‘Rascatripas’ and this happened to me because I didn’t understand I shouldn’t post things on social networks."Last month a Nuevo Laredo en Vivo moderator Marisol Macias Castaneda – also known as Laredo Girl – was decapitated by local drug lords and dumped in the same location by the Christopher Columbus statue. This, together with the scribbled message, led to the assumption that El Rascatripas (aka The Fiddler or Scratcher) was also a moderator on Nuevo Laredo Live.However Nuevo Laredo Live has since denied that the victim had anything to do with the site. It described the victim as a scapegoat and said the murder was an act to frighten off other members of its community, according to a tweet on its Twitter feed.Nuevo Laredo Live reports firefights between drug traffickers and police as well as cartel checkpoints on the region's dangerous road, among other matters. Mexico's ultra-violent drug cartels – in particular Los Zetas, a group founded by Mexican special forces deserters who are engaged in a bloody turf war with their former bosses in the Gulf Cartel – regard contributors as little more than police informants.The Mexican government estimates 35,000 people have died between 2007 and January 2011 in Mexico's brutal and ongoing drug wars. Mexico’s military and police are guilty of multiple human right violations in their fight against the cartels, including torture, 39 “disappearances” and 24 extrajudicial killings since 2006, a report by Human Rights Watch out last week alleges.On the other side, Los Zetas are accused of a string of atrocities, including the execution of an estimated 190 abducted bus passengers in Tamaulipas back in April and the Monterrey casino attack that left more than 50 dead in August. ?Source: [theregister.co.uk/2011/11/15/mexico_slaying_victim_not_blogger/]Return to ContentsCARRIBEAN, CENTRAL, AND SOUTH AMERICAChile Says One of Its Diplomats Shot by Robbers in Venezuela (VE/CL)15 November 2011Latin American Herald TribuneSANTIAGO – Chile’s consul in the Venezuelan capital received a gunshot wound during a brief abduction last week, the government said Tuesday.According to a Chilean Foreign Ministry communiqué, Juan Carlos Fernandez was the victim of an assault as he was leaving a hotel, and he was held by his captors for two hours, during which he sustained a bullet wound, was beaten and threatened.Afterwards, he was left on a street and then taken to a hospital, where he was treated for his wounds and released on Sunday.Since then, Fernandez has been recuperating at home and following his doctors’ orders to rest for three weeks, the text of the statement said.“Our Embassy in Venezuela quickly informed the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry of this deed, expressing the concern of the Chilean government over this violent incident, and it has requested the complete clarification of the event, along with the ... punishment of those responsible,” the communique said. EFESource: [article.asp?ArticleId=444563&CategoryId=14094]Return to ContentsFARC Choose Military Rather than Political Leader (CO)15 November 2011InSight CrimeColombia's hopes for a peaceful solution to the 47 year civil conflict may have suffered a setback, after the FARC opted for a military, rather than a political leader, as their new commander-in-chief.The seven-man ruling body of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Secretariat, has voted Rodrigo Londo?o Echeverry, alias "Timoleon Jimenez" or "Timochenko," to be the new rebel supreme commander. Timochenko was the senior of the two candidates for the to this p position in the guerrilla army. His competitor, and according to many analysts (including InSight Crime), the better qualified, was Luciano Marin Arango, alias "Ivan Marquez.""We wish to inform you that the comrade Timoleon Jimenez, with the unanimous vote of his companions of the Secretariat, was designated on 5 November, the new commander of the FARC-EP," read the guerrilla communiqué.Timochenko is one of the least known members of the FARC Secretariat. He has granted almost no interviews to the media, and not taken part in any of the peace talks between the FARC and the government in the 1980s or 1990s.He joined the FARC in 1982, becoming part of the 9th Front in the department of Antioquia. He was promoted very quickly, and just four years later, in 1986, becoming the fifth member of what was to become the seven-man Secretariat. When the FARC created its system of 'blocs' or fighting divisions, Timochenko was given that of the Magdalena Medio, a complex and strategic area in the north-east of the country (see map).Sources close to the FARC have said that Timochenko represents the traditional and hard line of the FARC. He was very close to the FARC founder and supreme commander Pedro Marin, better known by his alias "Manuel Marulanda," who died of natural causes in 2008. Those who took part in peace negotiations with the FARC said that Manuel Marulanda, and his protégés Timochenko and Jorge Suarez, alias "Mono Jojoy," (killed in an aerial bombardment in September 2010) had little interest in pursuing a political solution to the conflict. They were committed to the military struggle to take power. Those described as most interested in serious political negotiation were Guillermo Leon Saenz, alias "Alfonso Cano," the previous FARC commander-in-chief, killed by the army on November 4, and Ivan Marquez.Part of Timochenko's radicalism can perhaps be explained by his experiences in the FARC. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the right-wing paramilitaries, initially funded by the Medellin drug cartel and supported by elements of the security forces, began killing left-wing sympathizers, the violence was most pronounced in Antioquia and the Magdalena Medio region, where Timochenko had his FARC beginnings. The paramilitary army of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the FARC's most bitter enemy, was born in Antioquia and put down its strongest roots around Magdalena Medio, conducting massacres of suspected rebels, while the security forces in many cases either cooperated or looked the other way.After the killing of Alfonso Cano last week, President Juan Manuel Santos insisted that the leadership of the FARC would "fall like a house of cards." This is most unlikely, as Timochenko, with almost 30 years in the FARC, has widespread respect among the rank-and-file, particularly the hardliners that form the core of the rural fighters.Timochenko is also likely to present a far more difficult target for the Colombian security forces then his predecessor Alfonso Cano. First of all, because he is known to move freely in Venezuelan territory. This is an insurmountable obstacle for the Colombian government, as after the Colombian air force bombed a FARC camp in Ecuador in March 2008, killing Secretariat member Luis Edgar Devia Silva, alias "Raul Reyes," President Hugo Chavez stated that any such aggression in Venezuelan territory would lead to war.The files seized from the computers of Raul Reyes show that Timochenko has strong links to elements in the Chavez regime, both political and military. The files suggest that he provided training for Chavista irregulars. There are also messages by Timochenko talking about elements of the Venezuelan Armed Forces and intelligence helping with the movement of personnel, money, and drugs. There is also mention the Venezuelan security forces providing ammunition, weapons and medical supplies. While the word "cocaine" never appears in the Reyes files, with the rebels preferring to use non-existent words like "maracachafas", the meaning is clear. Indeed Timochenko, along with his second-in-command of the Magdalena Medio Bloc, Felix Antonio Mu?oz Lascarro, alias "Pastor Alape," is wanted by the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges. The US has placed a $5 million bounty on the head of Timochenko, making him one of the U.S.'s most wanted.Timochenko has also been the FARC's head of intelligence and counterintelligence, and is known to be cautious, bordering on paranoid. He prefers to stay on the move, seldom spending more than one night in the same place, and not using guerrilla camps, instead sleeping in peasant huts or in small lean-to's built in the jungle. Intelligence sources told InSight Crime that Timochenko spends his time moving between the Colombian department of Norte De Santander and the Venezuelan state of Zulia, which sits across the border. There have recently been reports of Timochenko up in the Serrania de Perija, a mountain range further to the north which forms the frontier between Colombia and Venezuela.. . . .Source: [insight-latest-news/item/1853-farc-choose-military-rather-than-political-leader]Nicaraguan Navy Kills Four 'Drug Dealers' in Boat Chase (NI)12 November 2011BBCThe Nicaraguan navy says it has killed four alleged drug dealers and seized more than a ton of cocaine from a speedboat after a six-hour chase through Caribbean waters.The marines say they were fired on as they finally closed in on the boat.The four men on board, three Nicaraguans and one Colombian, were killed in the shootout which followed.Nicaragua is on the main transit route for drugs smuggled from South America to the United States.Military spokesman Juan Ramon Morales said officials seized 56 packages filled with cocaine, the speedboat, two rifles and a submachine gun.Officials suspect two of the men to have taken part in a 2009 deadly ambush of two Nicaraguan navy personnel in the remote coastal town of Walpasiksa.Source: [bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15709544]Return to ContentsPuerto Rico Arrests Territory's 'Most Dangerous' Drug Trafficker (PR)15 November 2011InSight CrimeThe man said to be Puerto Rico's most dangerous drug trafficker was detained by police on a boat off the coast of the U.S. territory.The trafficker, alias "Cano Marrero," was arrested on Monday along with an unknown individual. He is expected to be transferred to Miami, Florida, where he will face charges of drug smuggling.He has been characterized as a “major trafficker” and is believed to have close connections with Colombian and Venezuelan criminal organizations. He is accused of smuggling more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine into Puerto Rico and the U.S., using Dominican Republic as a transshipment point.This year has been one of the most violent in recent memory for Puerto Rico. A bloody battle for control of domestic drug distribution between ‘Cano Marrero’ and alias "Peluche," has been blamed for a recent string of murders in Caguas, a city 20 miles south of the capital.Source: [insight-latest-news/item/1847-puerto-rico-arrests-territorys-most-dangerous-drug-trafficker]Return to ContentsPeruvian Vice-President Suspended from Congress over Corruption Allegations (PE)16 November 2011MercoPress - South Atlantic News AgencyThe ethics committee in Peru's Congress voted on Tuesday to suspend Vice President Omar Chehade from the legislature over corruption allegations, increasing pressure on him to resign from both posts.Chehade is accused of asking the police to evict workers from his brother’s cooperative sugar plantation Chehade is accused of asking the police to evict workers from his brother’s cooperative sugar plantationChehade, who holds a seat in Congress and is one of Peru's two vice presidents, has defiantly refused calls by President Ollanta Humala to quit and end the first scandal of his young presidency.Chehade claims he is innocent of allegations that he asked a police general to help his brother evict workers from a cooperative sugar plantation to support a company that wants to take it over.The ethics panel unanimously voted to suspend Chehade from Congress for 120 days and the entire legislature will likely vote on the motion next week.Chehade has said he was taking leaves of absence from some duties but will hold onto his jobs while he defends himself in investigations by the attorney general and three congressional committees over illegal lobbying.Humala, a populist former military officer, distanced himself on Sunday from Chehade, saying “We don't have any relationship with him at this time.”But Humala effectively cannot fire Chehade and his power to end the scandal has been limited by the constitution, which says only Congress can remove a vice president from office in an impeachment proceeding.The approval rating for Humala, who campaigned on promises to fight corruption, was 62% in the leading Ipsos poll before the scandal emerged, making him the most popular Peruvian leader in decades.Source: [en.2011/11/15/peruvian-vice-president-suspended-from-congress-over-corruption-allegations]Return to ContentsColombian Arrested for Running Drug Operations in Ecuador (CO)15 November 2011Columbia ReportsGilberto Londo?o Garcia, alleged business manager of drug-trafficking group Los Rastrojos' operations in Ecuador, was arrested in northwest Bogota on Tuesday.The trafficker, alias "Profe" or "Serpa," was allegedly in charge of the production and transport of cocaine for the drug gang "Los Rastrojos," in southern Colombia and Ecuador.The District Court of East New York in United States sought Londo?o Garcia's extradition on charges of drug-trafficking and money laundering.According to a police report Londo?o Garcia ran drug laboratories in southern Colombia under the leadership of Wilber Varela, alias "Jabon" where he was put in charge of expanding the illegal activities in Ecuador,It is also alleged that he developed numerous infrastructures for drug processing in the jungles of Ecuador.Profe allegedly created various routes for drug-trafficking in the neighboring country, including in the country's harbors, through the utilization of submarines.The drugs were then transported to coastal areas of Central America, Mexico and the United States, supplying cocaine to Mexican drug cartels.Source: [colombia-news/news/20456-colombian-trafficker-creates-drug-route-in-ecuador-put-under-arrest.html]Return to ContentsColombia, Peru Collaborate To End Coca Production at Borders (CO/PE)15 November 2011Columbia ReportsAnti-narcotics police from Colombia and Peru will synchronize manual eradication of illicit crops, such as coca, in border zones between the neighboring countries in December.General Luis Perez Alvaran, the anti-narcotics police director, explained, "Particularly with Peru we are planning the manual eradication of coca plants, simultaneously on the border, where we have detected around 200 hectares [495 acres] of illicit crops."The general went on to say that the bilateral collaboration seeks to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia - countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).The project will include 90 men working as manual eradicators on behalf of the Social Action Office of the President, who will be supported and protected by members of the police force in order to avoid violence and conflict.The director of the Peruvian anti-narcotics police, General Dario Hurtado Cardenas, said that 20 days ago in Puerto Leguizamo, in the Colombian department of Putumayo a preliminary meeting was held in order to identify the coordinates of the areas where illicit crops were being cultivated in the Upper Putumayo region."In Peru we have a setback at this point, which is the fuel for our helicopters in this area, but we hope to overcome this episode and start eradicating in the month of December," Cardenas said regarding the delay of the project.The official also asserted that the crops were "surely grown by Colombian and Ecuadorean small-scale farmers, but there are no guerrillas on Peruvian land."Source: [colombia-news/news/20450-colombia-peru-collaborate-to-end-coca-production-at-borders.html]Return to ContentsOPINION AND ANALYSISHuman Trafficking Is World's 2nd Most Profitable Crime: Report (PR)15 November 2011InSight CrimeA new report suggests that human trafficking was the second most profitable criminal activity after drug trafficking worldwide last year.According to a report funded by the R. M. Foundation, which is a major donor to anti-child exploitation causes worldwide, the illicit trade in human beings brought in $9.6 billion in profits worldwide last year. The report, which was released at a November 14 conference on human trafficking in Puerto Rico, claims this represents a three-fold increase from 2009.The finding clashes with figures used in two recent reports conducted by Global Financial Integrity and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. These use data compiled by the International Labor Organization, who places the number far higher, at $31.6 billion annually. These two organizations both estimated that this figure makes human trafficking the third most profitable illicit activity, behind drug trafficking and counterfeiting.While the R. M. Foundation has not published the methodology behind their report, the discrepancies with other profit estimates for human trafficking are not surprising. This is linked to the difficulties associated with defining human trafficking, and differentiating it from other related activities such as migrant smuggling.Source: [insight-latest-news/item/1850-human-trafficking-is-worlds-2nd-most-profitable-crime-report]Return to ContentsCentral American Governments Agree on Regional Security Plan 15 November 2011El Dialogo / AFPThe Governments of Central America agreed on a regional security strategy, directed chiefly toward combating violent juvenile gangs (maras) and preventing the region from turning into a new bastion of drug trafficking, official sources announced.The strategy, which contains 22 specific projects, was analyzed and ratified by the region’s deputy ministers of security and foreign relations during a closed-door meeting.Central America, considered one of the world’s most violent regions and one of those most susceptible to penetration by drug traffickers, will present these initiatives to a Group of Friendly Countries, which has already committed around $2 billion dollars in donations and credits.The proposals were submitted to representatives of that group, opening a period of negotiations, the secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Juan Daniel Alemán, explained in a press release.Of the 22 programs agreed on, the Governments have chosen 8 for priority execution in 2012, according to a diplomatic source.These include plans for the social prevention of violence at the level of local Governments, for the modernization of the region’s prison systems, and for the professionalization of regional police forces.The improvement of national criminal investigation systems, border security, and youth prevention programs, among others, will also be given priority.The decision to draw up a regional security plan was adopted at a summit of the presidents of Central America, Mexico, and Colombia with U.S. Secretary of State in Guatemala in June.El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are the countries most affected by violence and corruption in Central America, although insecurity is perceived as one of the chief problems in all the countries in the area.Source: [en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2011/11/15/feature-ex-2668]Return to ContentsMexican Drug Cartels Accused of Greater Aggression against U.S. (US)15 November 2011AHN News Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – American law enforcement authorities say they are tracking what appears to be a more aggressive approach toward the United States by Mexican drug cartels.The latest revelations show the powerful Sinaloa cartel was considering a military assault against U.S. government or media buildings in Mexico City.The cartels also have moved some of their marijuana cultivation into the Upper Midwest of the United States, according to law enforcement officials.A former assistant U.S. attorney and now an adviser at the Center for International Criminal Justice at Harvard Law School said in a recent New York Times interview, “Mexican organized crime groups have morphed from drug trafficking organizations into something new and far more dangerous. The Zetas now are active in extortion, human trafficking, money laundering, and increasingly, anything a violent criminal organization can do to make money, whether in Mexico, Guatemala or, it appears, the U.S.”Details of the planned military attacks in Mexico City are emerging from the prosecution of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, reputedly a top lieutenant in the Sinaloa cartel.He is facing numerous charges in federal court in Chicago of importing and selling cocaine and heroin. He has pleaded not guilty.Prosecutors filed papers in the case recently based on witness testimony that discussed a meeting on a Mexican mountaintop retreat with Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman.Guzman reportedly wanted revenge for inroads U.S. law enforcement has been making against smuggling and violence of the cartel.Margarito Flores, a witness who agreed to testify at the trial set to begin in February, is quoted in the federal court papers discussing the meeting with Guzman and his associates.“This government is letting [American law enforcement] do whatever they want,” said Ismael Zambada-Garcia, according to Flores. “It will be good to send [them] a message.”Guzman reportedly said, “They are f—— us everywhere. Let it be a government building, it doesn’t matter whose [for the attack in Mexico City]. An embassy or a consulate, a media outlet or television station.”Guzman remains in hiding after escaping from a Mexican prison.The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has called Guzman one of the most dangerous and wealthy criminals in the world. His fortune is estimated at over $1 billion.Prosecutors claim to have secretly taped phone conversations of the defendant, Vicente Zambada-Niebla, following up with the attack plans.He was speaking with Margarito Flores, who had become a DEA informant in 2008 known as “Twin,” when he reportedly said, “Twin, you know guys coming back from the war. Find somebody who can give you big powerful weapons, American s—. . . . We don’t need that small s—, I want to blow up some buildings. We got a lot of grenades, we got a lot of .50 calibers, we’re tired of AKs,” Zambada-Niebla allegedly said.“You’re good with me,” he said. “You want to be really good with me, get me my s—, my guns. F— the money, f— the drugs, I want to blow s— up. I want some bazookas, some grenade launchers.”Zambada-Niebla’s attorneys have said their client also was cooperating with the DEA but that the agency turned him over to American prosecutors anyway. The attorneys said they will respond to the evidence in the prosecutors’ court filing with their own evidentiary filing soon.Other Mexican cartel drug activity against the United States appears to be marijuana crops being grown in Wisconsin for the Chicago market, according to DEA agents.They reportedly found the first of several marijuana fields three years ago after being notified by a hunter who inadvertently ran across one of them.A DEA investigation found 10 marijuana fields worth millions of dollars in a national forest and the surrounding area of northern Wisconsin.Since then, the DEA has traced the marijuana to the Sinaloa drug cartel and arrested 12 men. They also found that Mexican drug cartel assassins, known as Scorpions, might be responsible for at least two murders in the Chicago area.The DEA says Chicago and Atlanta have become major transportation hubs for smuggled drugs in recent years.U.S. law enforcement agencies are responding by placing a greater emphasis on infiltrating and monitoring the drug cartels, according to Justice Department officials.Source: [2011/11/15/mexican-drug-cartels-accused-of-greater-aggression-against-u-s/]Return to ContentsU.S.-Mexico Crackdown on Cross-Border Drug Trafficking Bears Fruit (US/MX)16 November 2011Shanghai Daily TAMPA, the United States, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Drug traffickers plying their trade along the U.S.-Mexico border are being curtailed in their work due to increased efforts by U.S.-Mexican law enforcement authorities to crack down on cross-border drug trafficking activities.The death of Mexico's Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora, 45, and seven other people in a helicopter crash southwest of Mexico City last Friday illuminated Mora's key role in decreasing the drug trafficking trade both in Mexico and subsequently along the U.S.-Mexico border.Mora, whose funeral was held on Saturday, worked closely with President Felipe Calderon in extraditing more drug traffickers to the United States than in previous years. But Mexican investigators said there was no link between the crash and any drug trade cartel.To counter increased crackdowns, drug traffickers along the U.S. -Mexico border are trying all sorts of ingenious ways to try to bring illegal drugs into the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States.The most recent devious way that is adopted by drug traffickers to try to smuggle drugs across the borders of these countries in the region is by way of using self-propelled mini-submarines. Coast guards in many central and southern American countries have been intercepting these drug subs, as the mini-submarines are called.In late October, what is believed to have been the first attempt by drug traffickers to bring a drug sub into Florida waters proved unsuccessful, when a drug sub's crew scuttled such a vessel in waters off the coast of Honduras.When crew members of the Florida-based U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) cutter boat Cypress found the vessel, they immediately alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which then promptly sent 14 scuba divers to investigate the sunken drug sub, which was found to be loaded with seven tons of cocaine worth an estimated 180 million U. S. dollars."We don't see (drug subs) activity from Mexican smugglers. The Mexican drug trade is primarily done over land," explained the USCG Washington D.C.-based spokesman. "The fact that they are changing their maritime traffic routes is an indication we're having success stopping them."The two major U.S. government agencies which are devoted to cracking down on drug trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border are the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).Without disclosing the precise number of its agents fighting drug trafficking alongside the U.S.-Mexico border, a DEA spokesman said the DEA is "the largest international law enforcement agency in Mexico" with 12 bureaus and over 100 staff members there.The CBP Commissioner announced on Nov. 11 that, as part of intensified efforts to fight cross-border drug trafficking, a series of upgrades and inspection systems for people entering the U.S. via El Paso had been put into place. The new upgrades will help make customs and border patrol agencies to be more effective in detecting and stop drug traffickers from entering the United States.The CBP has been so successful at controlling border crossings, and also maintaining safety along the U.S.-Mexico border, that a CBP unit known as Border Support Team 18 was deployed in mid- September to Baghdad, Iraq to train their Iraqi counterparts in detecting possible drug or weapons traffickers on its border.The crackdown efforts have led to a series of charges against suspected drug traffickers and criminals in the U.S. On Oct. 28, the head of the DEA in El Paso, the Texas bureau announced that 12 people were indicted on cocaine trafficking charges.The Dallas Bureau of the DEA proclaimed on Oct. 19 that drug trafficking charges had been brought against eight members of the national criminal street gang known as the Crips in the city of Fort Worth, Texas.Although drug trafficking alongside the U.S.-Mexico border is often thought to happen primarily along Texas' border with Mexico, it also happens along other southern U.S. states, such as Arizona, that border with Mexico.Earlier on Sept. 30, the Arizona Attorney General announced at a press conference in Phoenix that over 1,300 kilos of cocaine were confiscated from a Mexican drug cartel, whose street value was between 25 to 33 million dollars.Authorities in Arizona announced in late October that the one- year Operation Pipeline Express was successfully completed with the result of smashing up of a large narcotics trafficking gateway. In the operation, Arizona law enforcement authorities confiscated over 33 million dollars of illegal drugs in western desert of Arizona.In Mexico, numerous members of its troops have gone through training conducted by Colombian federal police personnel, whose primary job is to stop drug trafficking.For over four decades, Colombia police and troops have gained rich experience from their long history of fighting with heavily armed drug cartels. The Mexican Navy has also set up special anti- drug trafficking units to target drug traffickers on sea.Source: [article/article_xinhua.asp?id=31041]Return to ContentsNo Drugs in Plane Wreck (UK)15 November 2011Cayman News ServiceThe RCIPS said Tuesday that officers are still unable to say why the private light aircraft which crashed in Cayman Brac this weekend was in local airspace. The police revealed that so far no drugs have been discovered in the wreckage of the plane, which smashed into the Bluff late on Sunday night after clipping a light-pole located at a new sub-division. Throughout the day the RCIPS was engaged in scene preservation and officers commenced a full search of the area, supported by customs colleagues, which began at 6.00 Tuesday morning. A UK aviation investigation team will arrive in Grand Cayman tonight and will travel to Cayman Brac tomorrow to begin their investigation, the police stated. (Photo courtesy Cayman27)“We cannot speculate at this time as to why the plane was in our jurisdiction. However, a full investigation is underway looking into all of the circumstances,” an RCIPS spokesperson said Tuesday.Earlier on Monday the police confirmed that the pilot and his passenger, the two occupants of the plane killed in the air crash, were from Columbia and Mexico but they will not be able to reveal their identities as police are now working with the governments of the two countries to determine who the men are and why they were attempting to land on a secluded road on Cayman Brac.The plane was not expected in Brac airspace and officials said they still do not know where the flight had come from or where it was headed. The Cessna 210 crashed in the bush off Booby Bird Road; the two men were killed in the smash and the aircraft extensively damaged.Although there were unconfirmed reports of fuel containers on board, officials said that the plane did not ignite at the point of impact.Source: [local-news/2011/11/15/no-drugs-plane-wreck]Return to ContentsNew Study on Mexico’s Drug Cartels and the Global War on Drugs (CO)15 November 2011Cato InstituteYesterday, Juan Carlos Hidalgo pointed out that Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos became the latest world leader to recognize the need to rethink the prohibitionist policies that allow powerful drug traffickers to flourish. Santos called for a new approach to “take away the violent profit that comes with drug trafficking” and that governments around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, need to debate legalizing select drugs, such as cocaine.From Colombia to Mexico, the drug war rages on. Despite two decades of U.S.-aided efforts to eradicate drug-related violence in Colombia, the problem persists. Indeed, the trickle-down effects from Mexico southward now threaten to engulf Guatemala. Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador are all experiencing alarming homicide rates at least partially related to drug trafficking. To address these spikes in violence and stem the flow of drugs, the United States has spent billions of dollars in Mexico and throughout Latin America. Sadly, there is little evidence that this policy has been successful, and the evidence mounts that it has been an outright failure.A new policy is needed to stem the violence and consequences of the Mexican drug cartels pervasive power. In a new study released today, a senior fellow at the institute argues that the only lasting, effective strategy for dealing with Mexico’s drug violence is to defund the Mexican drug cartels. “The United States could substantially defund these cartels,” he says, “through the full legalization (including manufacture and sale) of currently illegal drugs.”The complete study, “Undermining Mexico’s Dangerous Drug Cartels,” is available here.Cato Editors ? November 15, 2011 @ 11:24 amSource: [new-study-on-mexico%E2%80%99s-drug-cartels-and-the-global-war-on-drugs/]Return to ContentsMexico's Drug War: Billions of Dollars, Thousands of Deaths (MX)16 November 2011M&CMexico-City - The numbers are staggering.More than 40,000 lives lost.Twenty-five billion dollars a year in criminal profits.Close to a quarter-million people displaced by the explosion of violence that has consumed Mexico since President Felipe Calderon declared war on drug cartels at the end of 2006.Mexico's drug war has taken on epic proportions, plunging Mexican society into fear and threatening to become an unstoppable force, five years into a war many think Mexico cannot win.'The war can't be won with military force alone. Plenty of high-ranking bosses have been shot - and nothing has changed,' an analyst at the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research in Germany, told dpa.In fact, in five years, much has changed - for the worse.Clashes between cartels and federal forces now routinely terrorize urban areas. Cartels have expanded their business into human trafficking, kidnapping and extortion. As cartel bosses are captured or killed, new ones rise up to take their places. Entire regions of the country are controlled by organized crime, and in nearly five years, the state does not appear to have gained much ground.Calderon has been criticized for the 'militarization' of the conflict. But he has said widespread corruption and infiltration of local and state police forces left him no choice.Corruption, experts say, is the original sin that allowed drug cartels to gain influence in politics and create a culture of impunity.The author of a book on Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' (Shorty) Guzman, says that endemic widespread corruption has led to a 'symbiosis of crime and politics' and the effective toleration of the drugs trade.From the start, traffickers have paid off officials to turn a blind eye. Detractors accuse the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which dominated Mexican politics for 71 years until 2000, of collusion. But analysts say the problem goes deeper.'Mexico's problem is not just the drugs trade. This is merely the imposing icing on the large cake of lawlessness,' political scientist Ricardo Cayuela wrote in a recently published study.'The cake, however, consists of a society that tolerates breaking the law and a state that demonstrates every day in all its institutions that the law is an element that can be negotiated.'Mexico started as a minor player, a simple transit route for 1980s Colombian cocaine traffickers.But as the United States cracked down on Colombia, Mexicans moved in, adding Mexican-produced marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine to the river of drugs flowing north.While Mexican drug lords have battled for turf and smuggling routes for decades, the violence exploded only in 2006, when Calderon took office and declared war on the cartels, deploying 60,000 soldiers and federal police to fight them on the ground.Far from stopping the killing, the military operation has seen an explosion of it. Every arrest creates a power vacuum other 'narcos' rush to fill. Divisions between the cartels have grown, and factional war has sparked a level of violence never seen before.As the killing and fear spread from rural areas to cities, it began to affect citizens who had until then felt safe.Cities like Juarez and Nuevo Laredo, on the US border, became virtual battlegrounds. Last year, the Zetas group threatened to kill the entire town of Mier if citizens didn't clear out. (They did.) Since 2006, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, an estimated 230,000 people have left their homes to flee the violence, about half to the United States.The death rate is climbing. In 2007, drug wars were blamed for 2,400 deaths. By 2010, the one-year toll was more than 15,000.And yet, somehow, life goes on.Mexico made it through the 2008 economic crisis relatively unscathed. The economy grew 5.5 per cent last year, and forecasts show growth continuing, at a slightly lower rate, this year and the next. Foreign investment tanked in 2009 but rebounded for 2010, as did tourism, a key earner. Millions of Mexicans live life more or less as they always have, worrying more about ordinary crime than drug war killing. Predictions of a 'failed state' have, so far, not come to pass.Calderon's term ends in 2012, and public despondency about the killings means his successor may have to propose a change in strategy.But a drastic withdrawal of the army from the drug war seems unlikely. Five years after Calderon swore to restore 'peace and tranquility' to Mexico, the country is settling in for a long haul.Even Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico's public security minister and former top cop, acknowledged the limits of the fight as it began in 2006.'Owing to the temptation, there will always be people prepared to play the game,' he said .'There is a real market (in the US). And there is no comparable product in the world.'Source: [news/americas/features/article_1675536.php/Mexico-s-drug-war-Billions-of-dollars-thousands-of-deaths]Return to ContentsBattle for the Border: Drug Cartels Operating Out of Dallas (TX)15 November 2011KRGVDALLAS - Federal agents say Dallas is a hub for the Mexican Drug Cartels."We've listened, through wire taps, and we know the organizations commanding control cell are talking to commanding control cells in Mexico. Directly to the trafficking cartel heads," says the Drug Enforcement Agency Agent.He says the Gulf Cartel, La Familia, and the Sinaloa Cartel all have a presence in Dallas."They have familial roots here. Some of them grew up here, have families here, have established networks here," he says.The drug mules who carried loads in for the cartels are living in Dallas as well.Moises Albino Castillo was one of those mules."I travelled as a drug mule three times. I brought in 15 kilos of marijuana on my back two times," he says.Castillo says he was treated well by the cartel, but he decided not to continue working for them."I don't want to. It ends badly, I have too much to live for. It would end with me shot or in prison. No, no thank you," he says.He's one of the few. The agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency says other people do not turn down the offer."We've had illegals. We've had American citizens. You name it, we've had it across the gamut," says DEA.He says the drug dealers are willing to establish themselves through violence in Dallas."We do know that in the past two years, there's been 12 different homicides that we've actually tracked back to drug trafficking groups," he says.It's all part of the cartel's plans to move their drugs through the Valley to Dallas and then to the rest of America.Source: [news/local/story/Battle-for-the-Border-Drug-Cartels-Operating-out/Gv1-3ZUcjE-ZfZJE36D8Lg.cspx]Return to Contents ................
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