July 18, 2008
by m3report
El Universal (Mexico City) 7/18/08
The Mexican Department of Justice (PGR) says that the US government denies having a report about the training of drug cartel gangsters in Iran, as reported yesterday. In a letter sent to El Universal, the PGR said that Washington denies the existence of any document with this information.
- The Mexican Navy reported that the narco-submarine intercepted yesterday carried a cargo of 5.815 metric tons of cocaine and a crew of four Columbians destined to the state of Sinaloa. This was also reported by several other news sources. (Photos relate)
- A Canadian and a Lebanese with long connections to drug trafficking were murdered in Guatemala. Elliot Taco Castañeda and Ahmet Kaawach were leaders of the United Nations gang in Vancouver, British Columbia with connections to the Middle East and Mexican cartels.
- As part of the strategy to disrupt the financial structure of criminal groups, the PGR carried out a search of two money exchange businesses suspected of laundering money for narcotraffic through branches in the states of Mexico, Guerrero and the the Federal District. The businesses presumably laundered $50 million in drug money.
- The Buenos Aires, Argentina provincial police arrested nine Mexicans and an Argentine after raiding a residence being used as a laboratory to produce synthetic drugs. The operation took place some 25 miles north of the capital. The band planned to transport the drug to Mexico hidden in the soles of shoes. According to unspecified sources, this is the most important discovery in the country for the manufacture of drugs.
- Luis Gonzaga Castro Flores, convicted in 2003 on drug charges and serving an 8-year, 9-month sentence in Oriente prison in Mexico City, has apparently escaped. Castro, linked with Ismael El Mayo Zambadas cartel, was discovered missing after the evening roll call yesterday.
- The Mexican Army in Tijuana, Baja California discovered a load of 3 tons of marihuana hidden in several truck trailers near the port of entry at Otay.
- According to Michoacan authorities, so far in 2008, 78 undocumented from that state have died trying to cross into the US, mostly from dehydration in the desert.
La Crónica de Hoy (Mexico City) 7/18/08
The Mexican Department of Justice (PGR) estimates that 80% of Columbian drugs passing through Mexico destined to the US market arrive by sea. The Columbian crew of the submarine captured yesterday claim they were kidnapped and forced by FARC [Colombian rebels] to man the boat.
Cuarto Poder (Chiapas) 7/18/08
Separate groups of 91 and 17 illegal Guatemalans were encountered by Federal Police in Chiapas. Both groups were being transported hidden in trucks.
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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.
