Feral Jundi

Now this story is barely getting any notice out there and this is stuff we need to be watching along the border. To me, this is just another sign of the drug war in Mexico, spilling over the border into the US.

The other part that I am curious about, is if it is easier for Los Zetas to operate on the US side of the border, versus the Mexico side? Of course the cartels will play the border regions to their advantage, but will there be a point where the battlefield will expand to the US side at an increased level?  I say this, because the cartels are fighting over territory in Mexico, and it makes sense that the battle for territory would extend into the US. And will US authorities even be a deterrent to that fight over territory in the US?

I think another thing to watch is the consolidation of  power, and the taking of territory by the cartels. What I am getting at here is what happens when a cartel wins the territory they are fighting over?  If a cartel wins and consolidates the border regions on the Mexican side, then the logical battlefield that is next, would be the US side. Meaning the competitors of that cartel will have to go to the US side to get in on controlling the flow of drugs/money/people to make money. That dominate cartel will also have to win that US side of the border in order to fully exploit the territory it has won on the Mexican side. Interesting stuff and something to watch. –Matt

Edit: 11/26/2011- Dr. Bunker just wrote a Tactical Note about this incident. Check it out here.

Zetas blamed for shootout in Houston
By Dane Schiller
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
HOUSTON — The mission was supposed to be a textbook “controlled delivery” — a routine trap by law enforcement officers using a secret operative posing as a truck driver to bust drug traffickers when their narcotics are delivered to a rendezvous point.
Instead, things spun out of control. Shortly before the marijuana delivery was to be made Monday, three SUVs carrying alleged Zetas Cartel gunmen seemingly came out of nowhere and cut off the tanker truck as it rumbled through northwestern Harris County, sources told the Houston Chronicle.
They sprayed the cab with bullets, killing the civilian driver, who was secretly working with the government. An undercover sheriff’s deputy, who was driving nearby in another vehicle, was wounded, possibly by friendly fire from officers arriving at the scene.
“We are not going to tolerate these types of thugs out there using their weapons like the Wild, Wild West,” said Javier Pena, the new head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston Division. “We are going after them.”
“Everybody is surprised at the brazenness,” Pena continued as he stressed a full court press by the DEA, the sheriff and police. “We haven’t seen this type of violence, which concerns us.”

For some at the scene, it seemed all too similar to what has been playing out in Mexico, where drug cartels operate with near impunity as they clash with each other and with the military and police.
Sources discussed aspects of the shootout on the condition they not be identified publicly due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.
A contingent of law enforcement officers had been covertly shadowing the truck as it eased its way through the Houston area to deliver a load of marijuana fresh from the Rio Grande Valley.
As the gunmen attacked, officers quickly jumped into the fray and also opened fire on the attackers. The truck kept rolling until it careened off the roadway and came to a halt.
Dozens of law officers descended on the scene as well and fanned out in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Four suspects, all believed to be citizens of Mexico, were arrested and charged Monday with capital murder in connection with the shooting.
They are Eric De Luna, 23; Fernando Tavera, 19; Ricardo Ramirez, 35 and Rolando Resendiz, 34.
The sheriff’s deputy, who has not yet been identified publicly because he was working undercover, was hit in the knee during the melee that involved several cars and guns.
The eight-year veteran was expected to spend Thursday night in the hospital, but make a full recovery.
Christina Garza, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, said much of the incident remains under investigation, including who shot the deputy and the driver.
“Until we get that forensic analysis back, we won’t know for sure,” she said. “There were several people firing weapons. As for who shot who, that is still under investigation.”
Authorities would not discuss how the deceased driver, who in addition to being a confidential informant and holding a job as a commercial truck driver, first made contact with the traffickers.
While some of the arrestees allegedly have admitted to an affiliation with the Mexico-based Zetas, authorities said they are trying to determine why such a bold and risky attack was launched over just 300 pounds of marijuana.
Sources, who concede this case is especially puzzling, said that if the Zetas had learned the truck driver was an informant and wanted him dead, there are smarter ways to get him than risk an assault on a truck watched so closely by law enforcement.
“If it was a straight assassination, there were points in this controlled delivery where he would have just been a sitting duck,” one law enforcement source said.
A theory being closely looked at is that someone from the drug underworld knew what the truck looked like and knew where it was going, and decided to get a crew together to stage a ripoff, thinking much more marijuana was hidden in the truck.
“Pretty brazen to kill a man over 300 pounds of grass,” the law-enforcement source said.
Story here.