Posted on 10/07/2007 6:46:57 PM PDT by Ladycalif
Army-Drug Gang Shootout Leaves 15 Dead in Mexico by Diane Smith 23:35, October 5th 2007 Army-Drug Gang Shootout Leaves 15 Dead in Mexico
A shootout between armed forces and drug smugglers in the Mexican city of Tampico on Friday left 15 people dead and 10 wounded in the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas, local media reported.
The Army raided the area inhabited by the criminals and seized 20 tons of cocaine, radio and online press reported. Tampico city is the home to the Gulf Cartel, one of the two most powerful Mexican drug gangs.
The clash between the soldiers and traffickers wasn’t immediately confirmed by the National Defense Ministry or the public prosecutor's office.
The only official who mentioned the operation was none other than the Mexican President Felipe Calderon who talked about it in a speech in Ciudad Victoria. He was set to visit the town just a few hours after the raid took place.
"We have doubled the efforts to make the law prevail in Mexico with ... actions and interventions like those that happened recently, I can say today (Friday), in the state of Tamaulipas," Calderon said.
The drug-related violence has reached very high levels in the north-eastern Mexican state. At least 2,000 people have been killed this year alone in quarrels between the rival gangs.
Ninety percent of cocaine entering the US comes through Mexico so John Walters, the top White House official in charge of anti-drug efforts, was very pleased with the Mexican authorities and praised them for their efforts to fight the cartels that supply the white powder.
Since he began his term as Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon sent about 30,000 troops and federal police across the country to deal with the drug gangs. Although this method was seen with skepticism at first, it seems to be the right path to follow.
The price of the white powder in 37 US cities rose since March and the purity of it has dropped by 11% over the same period showing that the traffickers are diluting their dwindling stocks to stretch it further and meet demand.
"After 25 years of cocaine coming into the United States, there has never been the kind of disruption of this magnitude for this long," Mr Walters, who also released the figures above mentioned, said.
Build A Fence Ping
Dog and Pony Show, IMO.
Are you kidding? This is the main reason why one hasn’t been built and properly staffed for decades.
Don’t worry, Lady, we’re going to send them ONE BILLION dollars of your hard earned tax dollars to fight drugs!
It’s like giving an alcoholic the keys to a Jim Beam factory.
Some of todays headlines:
Keyword: Aliens
US to launch $1bn ‘Plan Mexico’
Illegals may give state more clout - more seats in Congress
Kucinich-Sponsored Resolution Approved at National Latino Congreso
Death Penalty Case Puts Bush and Texas at Odds Over Mexican’s Fate
U.S. lets in more immigrants for farms
Study: illegal alien population may be as high as 38 million
Feds move to ease guest-worker rules
U.S. raises refugee admissions ceilings
Two More - At least the issue is making the News these days!
Fugitive arrested at border crossing
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/06/news/sandiego/19_06_3110_5_07.txt
By: North County Times Wire Service
SAN DIEGO — Federal agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry today arrested a fugitive wanted on three counts of second-degree murder and a kidnapping charge in Florida, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials reported.
Loubert Jules, 19, was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee that entered the port facility this morning, CBP information officer Angelica De Cima said.
Record and fingerprint checks determined that Jules was the subject of a felony warrant in Lees County, Fla., De Cima said.
Customs officers took Jules into custody and transported him to county jail to be held pending extradition back to the East Coast.
October 6, 2007
Border Patrol agents in the agency’s San Diego, Yuma and Tucson sectors will soon begin using a more powerful compressed-air gun to fire pepper or ink balls at illegal border crossers during violent confrontations.
The device, called an FN 303, can shoot the filled plastic projectiles 225 feet, said Andrea Zortman, a spokeswoman for the agency in Washington, D.C. The pepper-ball launchers currently used by agents have a range of about 60 feet.
Thank you for locating and posting this story. I was SURE I heard (this morning on cable news) that 15 were killed in a shoot-out with tons of cocaine seized in Mexico - but the MSM (for some reason) has chosen not to publish it.
I wonder why?
I also wonder why anyone would choose to vacation anywhere in Mexico.
Mercy. How silly is that? AIR guns....well, at least their stronger.
Reminds me of those environuts who think we should wipe with only one square.
I thought I heard something as well.
Nice report...thanks for posting it...
Well duh.....Easily stopped if the USA had the guts to put 30K of our troops on the southern borders (& let them shoot real bullets)
so John Walters, the top White House official in charge of anti-drug efforts, was very pleased with the Mexican authorities.
So our 30 years of a WOD has now morphed into "anti-drug efforts" ???
A PR stunt to be sure. I've read reports that "Plan Mexico" will be announced in a few days where the US will give Mexico $1 Billion over two years to fight the drug gangs.
This raid was just to grease the skids for Bush's $Billion hand over to Mexico's corrupt oligarchy.
There were US reports on this last week, they just didn’t make it past the border states.
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