NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
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. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
ATTENTION!
For an important report from NAFBPO, open the hyperlink below.
A proposal for Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement and Reform
******************************
El Diario de Juarez (Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua) 10-12-10
Editorial by Martin Coronado
In the midst of a huge economic crisis intensified by violence, extortion, kidnappings and government apathy, Juarez is in agony. To continue as we have, according to experts and business groups, this city cannot last for more than six months. This border city, which in 2007 recorded full employment, was a paragon of economic expansion, and an example for the rest of the country. Now all that is an illusion.
The war between drug cartels, extortions and kidnappings have brought unemployment, the massive closure of businesses of all types and the exodus of people, assets and businesses to El Paso and other cities. The businesses that have opened are now closed due to almost three years of losing customers. Experts have said that Juarez could take advantage of the economic crisis in the United States had it not been for the violence that broke out after the government declared war on narcotics.
Federico Ziga Fernandez, President of the Chamber of Commerce, said that until security returns to Juarez the economy cannot grow even if recovery comes to the United States. He said that if extortions and kidnapping do not stop, businesses will continue to close or look for a more peaceful place where they can invest and generate employment without the risk of losing their lives or personal assets.
Jorge Contreras Fornelli, President of Economic Growth of Ciudad Juarez, said that obviously it is violence that is retarding the economy in Juarez. He said that when there is crisis in the United States, its businesses usually look for places like Juarez to invest. But this time, it is not like that because violence reduces and blocks growth.
The federal government started the war against crime without anticipating the collateral economic damage. While there is no security, no strategy of economic recovery will work and the city continues to pay the price.
http://www.diario.com.mx/notas.php?f=2010/10/12&id=646cdf00db4df62cd80200bdb7aaa6ed
The bloodiest narcotics gang
La Prensa (Mexico City) 10-12-10
OEM – In Mexico the last letter in the alphabet is synonymous with extreme violence and terror connected to a growing band of narcotraffickers that has spread over vast areas of the country over the last few years. “Los Zetas” started with a band of 40 deserters from an elite unit of the Mexican Army and grew into the most violent drug cartel with thousands of members. Like a Frankenstein monster, they fight against the security forces from which they originated. They are well armed and use military tactics they learned before they deserted.
The Zetas, operating with the complicity of the police, in many instances, have become a major pain to the government. They compete with other cartels for drug routes into the United States, and engage in kidnappings and extortion.
The Zetas are experts in counterinsurgency tactics learned from the original members who trained in United States Military Schools. They united with violent local gangs and terrorize entire local populations where they extort “protection fees.”
“They are a paramilitary organization that has taken the model of the Colombian paramilitary (FARC) generating terror among the civilian population and creating political instability,” said Adalberto Santana, author of the book, Narcotics Traffic in Latin America.
Years ago, when they were part of El Golfo Cartel, the Zetas swelled their ranks with former Kaibiles, an elite unit of the Guatemalan Army. Until a few years ago, the Zetas operated principally in the northern state of Tamaulipas but then expanded into Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. Today kidnappings, charges of “protection money” to businesses, bars and restaurants are routine even in remote parts of Tamaulipas and other states.
Days before the state elections in Tamaulipas on the 4th of July, the most popular candidate for Governor, Rodolfo Torre, fell by gunfire from a group of Zetas, the most serious political crime in the last 15 years. According to various newspapers, the leader of Los Zetas, ex-soldier Heriberto Lazcano, AKA “El Lazca,” had gotten revenge for the capture of two of his main lieutenants.
In the middle of this great crime wave between different cartels, there have been nearly 29,000 deaths despite President Felipe Calderon’s operation against them. In recent months, supposed Zetas massacred 72 migrants, the majority of which were Central Americans, who were intercepted on their trip to the United States.
http://www.oem.com.mx/laprensa/notas/n1814546.htm
-end of report-
M3 Report 