July 9, 2008
A dozen narco-murders in Sinaloa and Baja California
NAFBPO
La Crónica de Hoy (Mexico City) 7/8/08
- The carnage continues in Mexico with a dozen new deaths in the states of Sinaloa and Baja California yesterday. Six of the bodies were burned and all had the distinctive marks of execution-style murders of organized crime. That is, hands tied, heads covered, death by multiple gunshots some burned or partially burned, some decapitated. The accompanying photo from Tijuana relates.
In the state of Tamaulipas, 18 metric tons of marihuana were incinerated under the supervision of federal authorities. Also destroyed were sizable amounts of cocaine and heroin previously seized in various operations in the state.
El Financiero (Mexico City) 7/8/08
In a long article pointing out the repercussions of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa last May, El Financiero reported the negative impact the 400 arrests had on the town, stating that up to 75% of the Hispanic businesses, most of them restaurants, will have to close for lack of customers. Others plan to modify their menus to meet the changing local tastes.
El Imparcial (Hermosillo) 7/8/08
- A police officer in Agua Prieta, Sonora (across from Douglas, Arizona) was wounded by an armed group who fired into the patrol vehicle in which he was a passenger. His partner was not hurt and no arrests were reported.
- Investigations by the Human Rights Commission (CNDH) indicate that state public officers in Guanajuato use torture as a systematic practice to obtain information or statements. The CNDC investigated six cases in which eight prisoners were beaten by police agents, causing grave injuries. The organization said it was not opposed to prevention and prosecution of crime, but within lawful means.
El Diario (Chihuahua) 7/8/08
In only the first six months of this year, kidnappings in the state of Chihuahua have increased 150% compared to 2007, according to the state attorney generals office. (In this sense kidnapping refers to abductions of wealthy individuals for ransom and not to the forceable abductions carried out for revenge, torture and murder.) The report also summarized other criminal activity in the state, mainly executions, which in the jargon of the Mexican press, refers to violent, premeditated murder generally carried out by organized crime.
Cuarto Poder (Chiapas) 7/8/08
A column by Carlos Z. Cadena states;
Again this week, the story of violence and public insecurity was in attendance on this Southern Border, where groups of criminals confronted one another in gunfights in the town of Suchiate, where the result was one dead, several vehicles confiscated, as well as firearms, grenades, bullet-proof vests, cartridge belts and ammo clips. According to neighbors of the town, there were more than 30 minutes of engagement where it seems, two groups of criminals wanted to appropriate the region. As of this moment, neither military nor federal or state police have made any arrests, a fact that creates panic in the area.
Most lamentable is that few are the voices raised to ask the federal authorities to strengthen their efforts to combat organized crime. There are commentaries in the sense that the threats are commonplace and have created a psychosis in the border communities, including that of Tamachula where endless Notary Publics and businesses have been threatened for the purpose of extortion. Until now even the most representative organizations have remained quiet before the wave of violence that has descended upon Chiapas in the past months. It would appear that the life force has left Tapachula and panic continues to be reflected in our people. Everyone is adrift.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
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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.
