Posted on 04/22/2009 9:31:25 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Last week at a news conference, Héctor González Martínez, the Roman Catholic archbishop in the state of Durango, announced what many Mexicans suspect: that "everyone knows" where the country's most wanted drug lord lives, "except the authorities."
The archbishop's provocative challenge was quickly denounced as reckless talk by President Felipe Calderón's supporters, while others applauded the blunt suggestion that the federal government was either too corrupt or incompetent to capture Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.
Events then took a deadly and macabre turn, as they often do in Mexico's ongoing drug war. On Tuesday, two military officers were found dead near their bullet-riddled Ford Fiesta in the rough country of the Sierra Madre north of Durango, a region known as the Golden Triangle. It is a hub for drug trafficking and the cultivation of marijuana and opium poppies.
The army lieutenants, dressed in casual clothes, were reported to be working undercover in the area when they were abducted and executed.
The two were found with arms tied and eyes bound with tape. They had been shot multiple times by AK-47 rounds. Nearby was a taunting message that read: "You'll never get El Chapo -- not the priests, not the government."
According to a recent assessment by Forbes magazine, Guzmán, whose nickname means "Shorty," is one of the richest men in Mexico, worth about $1 billion. As he was being readied for extradition to the United States in 2001, Guzmán escaped from prison, reportedly in a laundry van.
When the archbishop said that "everyone knows" where El Chapo lives, he named the place -- "just before Guanacevi," an isolated mining town at the end of the highway, beyond which there are only dirt roads, deep canyons and mountains.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
These cartels are getting their automatic weapons and explosive devices from either the police or military, or a smuggling route. Regardless of how they are getting them, they have to payoff someone to look the other way.
Ping!
Prayers of safety and spiritual warfare for Archbishop Martinez.
Nah. O’Bama knows those weapons are all coming from Wal Mart and gun shows in Nebraska. WalMart sells its RPGs to anyone.
I didn't know Ford made military issue Fiestas.
You obviously haven’t seen the episode of TopGear (Ch.264 DirecTV BBCAmerica) where the Ford Fiesta takes part in the British Royal Marines beach assault....must see TV!!
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
My local one was out of stock today. Have to go back tomorrow.
Your's too? Damn...I've called around, and not a single WalMart in Dallas/Fort Worth has an RPG in stock.
Not even a background check? I don't believe it! /sarc
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