Posted on 10/31/2006 2:31:41 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
McALLEN — Jose Sandoval’s kidnapping has the same hallmarks of most of the other 20 kidnappings reported this year to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department: He knew his kidnapper and it was drug-related.
And though no one will confirm that Sandoval’s Oct. 20 kidnapping is a sign the drug-related kidnappings in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo have hit the Rio Grande Valley, the Federal Bureau of Investigations in McAllen has joined the investigation.
FBI agents cautioned that so far innocent bystanders in the Valley have not been caught in the crossfire. But increased cooperation between the FBI and local law enforcement seem to be a sure sign that the violence in the Valley has become more organized because of ties to drug gangs.
"We don’t know if it’s moving south," said FBI spokesman Jorge Cisneros. "We have seen some of these cases lately that have concerned us here in the Valley."
Valley kidnappings are usually tied to gangs working for the Gulf Cartel, said John Johnson, the FBI assistant special agent in charge on the border from Laredo to Brownsville. The Gulf Cartel, which operates out of Matamoros, is fighting to wrest control of drug smuggling routes as far west as Nuevo Laredo and Laredo from its rivals.
The FBI only gets involved in local cases when they suspect someone, like Sandoval, has been taken across a state or international border or when a child is involved. Sandoval is probably in Mexico now, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.
Sandoval’s wife and daughter were also kidnapped. His wife was raped, but managed to escape with their daughter the day of the kidnapping.
The Sandoval case and a report that a man had been kidnapped from the Renaissance Casa de Palmas Hotel in McAllen on Sunday have piqued the attention of federal investigators.
On Sunday, Michael Riojas called 9-1-1, saying a man and woman stuffed him into the trunk of his rented green Nissan Maxima at Casa de Palmas. Riojas’ call dropped and police have still not found him. His case is still listed as a missing person, although police believe he may have staged his kidnapping to escape a rival drug gang.
The FBI is worried enough about these cases that they met with Treviño to discuss not only sharing intelligence but assigning officers to work at each other’s offices on homicides and kidnappings.
"Most of these cases are going to have a drug trafficking nexus to it," Treviño said.
The Valley has a long way to go to match the violence in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, but evidence is mounting that the violence there and in the Valley is tied almost entirely to drug gangs.
With two months left in the year, the number of kidnappings probably won’t hit the 32 reported in 2005 and it’s lower than the 25 reported in 2004. But even with that decrease, kidnappings account for 21 percent of major crimes reported this year to the sheriff’s office.
Many of the kidnappings are retaliation for home invasions by rival drug gangs that have gone wrong or gang members trying to collect unpaid debts, Treviño said.
Burglaries, which include home invasions, and kidnappings account for more than 75 percent of the major crimes reported to the sheriff’s office.
Any estimate about the number of kidnappings in the Valley is conservative, Johnson said.
"The biggest problem we have is that a large number of these kidnappings are not even reported," he says. "Because of the victim’s involvement in drug trafficking, they don’t reach out to law enforcement."
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Andres R. Martinez covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.
This is just another reason why we need to help elect Randy Graf to the 8th Congressional District of AZ.
Randy is running against an open borders liberal who got an F rating from the NRA and who sits on the board of the ACLU.
Randy is running about 8 points behind but the race is winnable if the Freepers help.
Please contact:
morrow321@aol.com
www.votegraf.com
Robert Morrow is a Texan who is organizing a huge GOTV for Randy.
We need your help.
Valle Ping!
Hey SwinneySwitch, please add me to your Valley Ping!
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