Posted on 10/05/2009 9:57:47 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. businesses are reporting threats by extortionists claiming to be members of drug cartels, a sign criminal tactics common in Mexico are showing up north of the border.
Last week alone, at least two El Paso businesses reported to police calls they had received from a man identifying himself as a "Zetas commander" working for the "Gulf cartel."
One man, in a "bullying voice," called an El Paso businessman and demanded "$50,000 immediately, or the next time we'll see you, it will be at the funeral of a loved one," the businessman said.
The businessman spoke on condition of anonymity, citing concerns for his safety and that of his family. The family said it reported the incident to police.
Police said the caller may have been someone posing as a cartel member, hoping to use the fearsome reputation of the drug-trafficking groups operating across the border in Ciudad Juarez to extract money from businesses in El Paso.
El Paso police spokesman Javier Sambrano said he believes the incident is a "scam, with people trying to take advantage of the situation here in the community, specifically in Ciudad Juarez."
Sambrano said an investigator had been assigned to the case, and he acknowledged other businesses had been threatened in the past few days, but he couldn't say how many.
Such extortion calls have become common in Mexico, where drug cartels have morphed into full-scale mafias, running extortion and protection rings as they try to expand their criminal operations. But such calls are considered rare on the U.S. side of the border.
El Paso prides itself as being one of the safest U.S. cities for its size.
(Excerpt) Read more at themonitor.com ...
Yet another reason to secure our Southern border NOW!
Bush told me they were just here to work jobs Americans won’t do and McCain/Graham and the Democrats want amnesty for all involved.
What’s wrong with this picture?
I admired President Bush for many reasons, but I’ll never understand why he wouldn’t secure the borders. Granted, it should have been done decades earlier, but the evidence kept piling in and he could have built that border fence. So our ecology has been compromised in the border area, homeowners are threatened with violence near the border, and now this. We have a LEGAL way to enter the country!!!Was there anyone outside of Washington who couldn’t see this situation coming?
“...a sign criminal tactics common in Mexico are showing up north of the border...”
It’s just one of those little inconveniences we must endure to enjoy our subsidized labor. It’s a small price to pay to have our yard work done cheaply and to have the sheets changed in our motel rooms. Pay up.
“I admired President Bush for many reasons, but I’ll never understand why he wouldn’t secure the borders.”
I expect the same or similar reasons as Reagan.
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
9/11/2001
Our so-called representatioves in DC who are not for securing the border now are all short-sighted morons only interested in their own re-election.
Serpentine, Shel! Serpentine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1WxSITwWw
:-)
One of my fave comedies of all time. Could not stand the remake.
A scam? Not if these guys start showing up tortured, mutilated and/or headless.
Cause all recent presidents are globalist, one worlders who bow to the ruling international oligarchy.
“A scam? Not if these guys start showing up tortured, mutilated and/or headless.”
Not to worry. There are a lot of differences between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, but let’s focus on two of them here:
1. In Ciudad Juarez, there have been 1,800 murders this year; in El Paso (right across the Rio) there have been 10.
2. In Ciudad Juarez, it is illegal for civilians to own firearms; in El Paso, nearly everyone has a gun and concealed carry is legal (with a permit).
They're a lot better-armed than one would think.
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