Death and destruction continue to intensify

In the past few hours, 34 murders by organized crime and narcotraffickers have been reported, 22 in Chihuahua state and the rest in six other states in Mexico. Among those killed were two children, two businessmen and an agent of the Federal Agency of Investigations [equiv: FBI]. Also counted in the murders were two decapitations in Celaya, Guanajuato, the heads found with a narco-message from Los Zetas directed against the group called La Familia.

The Mexican Army and Federal Police in Tijuana, Baja California, arrested Santiago Meza Lopez, 45, known as “El Pozolero del Teo,” [roughly, Teo's soup maker]. He is reportedly listed as number 20 on the FBI’s most wanted. He has allegedly disposed of more than 300 bodies of those murdered by the Arellano Felix cartel in 2008. For his services, he was paid 600 dollars per week. His alias alludes to his method of disposing of bodies by dissolving them in acid when he worked under the leadership of Teodoro Garcia Simental, “El Teo,” who now works for the Sinaloa cartel.

Following the arrest of Meza Lopez (above), who has admitted at least 300 body disposals, a citizens’ organization presented the Mexican department of justice (PGR) photographs from 30 families who are missing relatives. They hope the PGR prisoner might help in identifying them.

The director of Colombian police, General Oscar Naranjo, said his men are not intimidated by an offer of 1,000 dollars (US) for each policeman killed, made by a major narcotrafficker. The narco-boss, Daniel Rendon Herrera, alias “Don Mario,” is the country’s most wanted and is under pressure from a police operation taking place in the northern section of Colombia. General Naranjo said Don Mario’s offer indicates that the operation is accomplishing its purpose. ”This announcement has raised the morale of our police and has not frightened any of them,” he assured. As a precaution, his forces have been instructed not to patrol alone and to take all meals within their military compounds.

“A group of 104 Ecuadoran migrants deported by United States officials arrived last night (at the airport in) Guayaquil.” [News research for the preparation of this report shows that, other than Mexico and Central American countries, Ecuador is the most prolific and frequent Western Hemisphere source of emigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.] ——————–

An op/column by Roberto Arias titled “Rainbow : Eradicating violence?” begins as follows:

Eradicating violence in a country where organized crime, the maras [note: "MS13" gangs], narcotraffic, the judicial system, large sectors of private enterprise and widespread institutional and governmental segments are corrupt is not a task for one but for several governments in a row. It is impossible that just one person of limited resources could magically do away with what has become deeply rooted in Guatemala decades ago. ——————–

A family in Nogales, Sonora, was attacked by gunfire Saturday evening, killing two and gravely wounding a baby. Witnesses said the attack happened at an intersection when the family’s car was blocked by another. The attacker got out of his car with an AK47 assault rifle and shot the driver of the other car at pointblank range and then shot a woman trying to escape from the vehicle. The vehicle had at least 20 impacts. These homicides bring the total to double those for the same period last year in Nogales.

The “center of gravity” of the narco war in the Americas has shifted from Colombia to Mexico, according to General Oscar Naranjo, head of the Colombian national police. He said that with the “disappearance” of the Colombian cartel, Norte del Valle, the Colombians are trying not to have conflicts with the Mexican bosses. The general described two levels in the narco business: a subordinate one of supply and transport and the other, the relationship between the bosses of Colombia and Mexico. In this arrangement, what he called the center of gravity of narco traffic, has shifted to Mexico. General Naranjo emphasized that, after 30 years of efforts in the struggle against narco traffic, it is not possible to back down now that a change in direction has been achieved. ”Colombia is no longer the provider of 90% of the world’s cocaine, but rather 54%, the rest is contributed by Peru and Bolivia,” he pointed out.

According to Nicaraguan federal police reports, Mexican police arrested 138 immigrants, among them a child of four years, traveling hidden in a truck in the state of Chiapas. The truck had no documentation and, for that reason was searched and the people discovered. The group of immigrants was made up of Albanians, Brazilians and Central Americans. According to Mexican immigration statistics, 40,050 undocumented immigrants were arrested in the state of Chiapas.

[This article was followed by two noteworthy reader comments, presumably from Central Americans.]

Mario Aguirre writes: The Mexicans have the cruelest immigration laws. They arrest every immigrant arriving in their country en route to the US. And they do it because they don’t want them to better themselves. Only they, the Mexicans, want to immigrate to the US and take over the southern states of that country. They are carrying out a silent invasion against the Americans.

Teo writes: All the Mexican leaders are hypocrites in regards to immigration policies. They complain that their citizens are arrested and deported after having a trial before an immigration judge, while they deport Central Americans and Cubans within a few hours after being arrested and without having a hearing before a Mexican immigration judge.

Some fifty aliens were expelled from Peru in 2008. The majority were Ecuadorians but there were also a couple from the U.S., Colombia and Venezuela plus a smattering from a number of other countries in Europe and one individual from Japan. The Peruvian General who heads the Migrations and Naturalization Department said that the majority had either stayed longer than permitted, had entered with fraudulent documents or had become employed, “which is forbidden.” ——————–

An armed group attacked the police facility in Tijuana this morning where “El Pozolero” [above, Sunday] is detained. The attack, carried out with from at least three vehicles with high powered weapons, resulted in only material damage to the building. Officials surmise that the attack was in relation to the arrest of El Pozolero and two other other members of the Arellano Felix cartel arrested with him.

The President of Guatemala is said to pray daily that the narcotrafficker Daniel Perez Rojas, “El Cachetes” has not escaped prison in his country. Perez, a leader of Los Zetas, was arrested in April, 2008, in Guatemala after a battle between Mexican and Guatemalan drug gangs in which 11 were killed. [M3 reports 4/16-17/08 and 10/9/08] He is imprisoned in Guatemala under heavy guard. Both Mexico and the US requested his extradition after his arrest. The Guatemalan Secretary of Government, Salvador Gandara, said that every morning the President calls him asking “how are we doing with the jails?” and the Secretary answers that no one has escaped. ”Why don’t we turn him over to the Mexican authorities who have better facilities?” asks the Secretary. Since his incarceration, security officials have detected seven attempts by “El Cachete” to escape.

Five men in a vehicle were killed by gunfire in Chihuahua city yesterday afternoon. Another murder occurred yesterday morning bringing the total to 14 killed over the weekend just in the capital city of Chihuahua. All this action took place despite “intensive patrols” by elite military units and Federal Police. The five killed in the car were being chased by another vehicle when they crashed into an obstacle and came to a stop, giving the pursuing vehicle the opportunity to finish them off at close range with about 100 rounds before fleeing.

In Cd. Juarez, Chihuuahua, five men on motorcycles were gunned down together last evening. No further details were given.

The Mexican immigration agency (INM) predicts the repatriation of an estimated 100,000 Mexicans from the US in January alone. The INM identified the period from January to March as the most intensive in deportations and this year the special circumstances in the US — immigration raids and unemployment — would influence the statistics. At present, the agency reports that some 3,000 Mexicans repatriate daily, mostly “involuntarily.”

Chinese coming through Ecuador attempting to reach the U.S. on the increase http://m3report.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/chinese-coming-through-eucador-attempting-to-reach-the-us-increasing/

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org Foreign News Report

The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.

"According to Nicaraguan federal police reports, Mexican police arrested 138 immigrants, among them a child of four years, traveling hidden in a truck in the state of Chiapas. The truck had no documentation and, for that reason was searched and the people discovered. The group of immigrants was made up of Albanians, Brazilians and Central Americans. According to Mexican immigration statistics, 40,050 undocumented immigrants were arrested in the state of Chiapas."

Here is another article today worth reading:

Drug Gangs Have Mexico on the Ropes
Law enforcement south of the border is badly outgunned.

[snip]A report by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the former drug czar, makes similar observations. “The malignancy of drug criminality,” he writes, “stretches throughout the U.S. in more than 295 cities.” Gen. McCaffrey visited Mexico in December.

Here is how he sees the fight: “The outgunned Mexican law enforcement authorities face armed criminal attacks from platoon-sized units employing night vision goggles, electronic intercept collection, encrypted communications, fairly sophisticated information operations, sea-going submersibles, helicopters and modern transport aviation, automatic weapons, RPG’s, Anti-Tank 66 mm rockets, mines and booby traps, heavy machine guns, 50 cal sniper rifles, massive use of military hand grenades, and the most modern models of 40mm grenade machine guns.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123292962031814007.html

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