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.”
I found out about this travesty of justice down in Mexico recently while watching this Dateline series. It is heart wrenching, and I am angry at the Mexican government and legal system there for letting down this mother and daughter. The system is also tainted by cartel influence and money, and this cowardly murderer named Sergio Bocanegra literally got away with murder. And the Mexican legal system helped him get away with it!
So if the legal system and the Mexican government is controlled and influenced by the money and killing power of the Los Zetas and other cartels, then what is the point of this bounty? Why would I even care to post this? Well actually, I want to help shame the Mexican legal system into doing what is right and to seek justice for the murder of these two women. To capture Sergio and execute him would be a fantastic symbolic gesture.
That, and to actually uphold the law and revamp the legal system so that the good people of Mexico can actually look up to their police and government as not corrupt. That they actually care to uphold the law. So if the government is serious now, after the mother and daughter were killed, and these two have basically become martyrs, then I will gladly help promote the capture of these guys and the story of what happened.
Like with a insurgency, the government must prove to the local population that is a good idea. So not only must they aggressively pursue these cartels, but they must also focus on the basic rule of law in the towns and cities. To actually use the military for war-like functions, and assign your police to do actual police work. Or at the least, make sure that you have enough police actually enforcing the basic rule of law in the cities and towns.
The other component is the corruption. Boy, if I was the government and I really wanted to clean up all the corruption, I would be checking bank accounts of all government employees and heavily using moles or mystery shoppers to find these despicable humans that have sold their souls to the cartels. Your justice system is broken, and it is time for serious and extreme measures.
Another idea is to actually take the weapons that you have captured from the cartels, and issue them to town and city defense forces that are being terrorized by the cartels. I look at Mexico much like any other counter-insurgency operation, and if there are local populations who want to fight the cartels, then the government needs to recognize how much of a gift that is, and support them. Get the population involved in this fight. But the government will not get anyone to join that fight, if they are as bad as the cartels or they are as heavily intertwined with the cartels. So eradicate cartel influence, and co-opt with the population-become the better idea.
To finish up here and get back to the main topic, I sincerely hope that these individuals are caught and correctly prosecuted and justice is served. Sergio actually confessed to the murder! The other guy was caught on tape, with several witnesses–to include the brother/son of these two murdered women. And with any luck, if Sergio and this other bastard made it up to the US somehow, that one of my readers potentially spots one of these guys and calls it in to collect the bounty. Or one of you might see Sergio down in Mexico and you never know? Let’s help catch these guys and hopefully the Mexican government will be serious this time. Oh, and here is my latest Letter of Marque catch phrase when referring to the rich cartel clowns.’Dish out the plomo, and take their plata! Arrrrrgh! –Matt
Mexican Federal PGR Raised Rewards For Suspects In Mother And Daughter Escobedo Homicides In Chihuahua
Rewards for murder suspect in sketch has been raised to $3 million pesos ($230,770 U.S.) and Bocanegra has been raised to $5 million pesos ($384,616 U.S.), the Mexican government announced.
By H. Nelson Goodson?June 23, 2011
Mexico City, Mexico – On Thursday, the Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) announced that it had raised the rewards for several suspects connected to the homicides of a mother and daughter. The PGR had released the sketch of the alleged 30-year-old suspect who shot Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, 52, several times including a fatal shot to the head.?The PGR is now offering $3 million pesos ($230,770 U.S.) from $200,000 pesos ($16,000 U.S.) it had previously offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. The suspect is believed to have been working with Sergio Rafael Barraza Bocanegra, 24, the alleged boyfriend and confessed killer of Ortiz’ daughter Rubi Marisol Frayre Escobedo, 16, from Ciudad Juarez.?Bocanegra is accused of taking part in the planned killing of Ortiz on December 16 and the September 2008 murder of Rubi Marisol. He had confessed to killing Rubi Marisol and even led police to a hog farm where her dismembered body was found. Mexican authorities are now offering $5 million pesos ($384,616 U.S.) from $500,000 pesos ($41,000 U.S.) it had previously offered for information leading to the arrest of Bocanegra. They issued an international warrant because Bocanegra could have left the country, but family members of the Escobedo’s believe he is leaving with his girlfriend and several kids in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico.?Bocanegra is an alleged member of Los Zetas and the Cartel de Sinaloa has also joined in the manhunt for Bocanegra, according to several large hand written poster signs discovered around Ciudad Juarez and the Chihuahua Capitol city.?Ortiz had struggled for two years to bring Bocanegra to justice for the murder of her daughter Rubi Marisol in 2008. The day Ortiz was killed, she was outside the Chihuahua state government building in the city of Chihuahua for nine days staging a protest and demanding justice from Governor César Duarte and the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office.
Story here.
————————————————————— Mexican Mother who Sought Justice for Murdered Daughter is Herself Assassinated
Diego DiGhero
December 21st 2010
A chilling video, taken by CCTV camera, captured the assassination of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, a Mexican human rights activist who – for more than two years – has demanded justice for her murdered 16-year-old daughter, Rubí Marisol Frayre. Rubi was shot to death, allegedly by a lover, and her body later burned and left at a garbage dump.
Marisela was arranging on the evening of December 16 her protest signs in front of the government house in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, preparing for yet another demonstration, when a man emerged from a car and shot her in the head. Falling to the ground, she was soon taken by local police to hospital while she still showed signs of life. However, she was finally pronounced dead despite medical attention.
This is fantastic news! Both La Familia and the Los Zetas just took it in the shorts with these latest operations. From a historic seizure of ‘meth precursors’ in Mexico, to 1,985 arrests of meth dealers in the US. Awesome news and good job to all involved. What is really cool, is that all of those arrests will lead to more information that could be fed into these fusion centers that have been created to take on the cartels. I love it.
But this also is interesting in that this is a major attack on the center of gravity of these cartels. These groups are all about business, and anything that disrupts that business will make them very mad. Now will that translate that into attacks on US or Mexican authorities? Already, we see the cartels targeting Mexican authorities, so to see the jump to targeting US authorities operating in Mexico or even in the US, would not be out of the question.
The other reason I mention this, is that this is more a war and not some police action. True, we use police to pry the bad seeds from society, but we are also dealing with a class of criminal that actually wages war. In Mexico, this combatant has no problems with ambushing the police or assassinating politicians. Or paying them. Anything to keep the business going. Hell, towns like Jaurez are more dangerous than any town in Iraq or Afghanistan, and that’s because the cartels are waging war for market share and territory.
The point is, is that we have attacked cartel business in a major way. Now what will they do in retaliation is the question? Did I mention that the State Department issued a warning early this month that stemmed from ‘recent successes against drug cartel figures‘? I also think that this is a war worth fighting, and I will cheer on any and all efforts that destroy these vile criminal organizations. –Matt
Mexican army seizes 840 tons of drug precursors
July 21, 2011
Mexico City – Troops found more than 839 tons of drug precursor chemicals at a warehouse in the central city of Queretaro, the largest such seizure in Mexican history, the Defense Secretariat said.
The chemicals, used to make synthetic drugs such as crystal meth, were discovered Monday at a warehouse in the city’s industrial zone, the secretariat said in a statement.
No arrests were reported in connection with the seizure.
This week’s confiscation tops the previous record of 200 tons of precursors seized almost a year ago in the Pacific port of Manzanillo.
Mexico, which produces most of the crystal meth consumed in the United States, has imposed tight restrictions on the import of chemicals used to make illegal synthetic drugs.
Story here.
——————————————————-
Project Delirium Results in Nearly 2,000 Arrests During 20-Month Operation, Seizures of More Than 12 Tons of Drugs and $62 Million in U.S. Currency
U.S. Department of Justice July 21, 2011
• Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202)514-1888
WASHINGTON—Approximately 1,985 individuals have been arrested on narcotics-related charges as part of a 20-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as Project Delirium, which targeted the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel, the Department of Justice announced today.
As part of an ongoing takedown that began June 1, 2011, 221 individuals have been arrested across the United States as part of Project Delirium, including more than 70 individuals apprehended yesterday and today. In addition, $770,499 in U.S. currency, 635 pounds of methamphetamine, 118 kilograms of cocaine, and 24 pounds of heroin were seized by law enforcement agents since June 1, 2011.
This is a fantastic post from STRATFOR, and I wanted to get it out there to the readership. Of course this post is in accordance with their republication policy, with two links at the beginning and at the end of this excellent article. Thanks to David for giving me the heads up about the article as well.
When this ambush originally happened, Borderland Beat put it out there and that is where I heard about it. It is a shocking incident, because it brings up a lot of points on the realities of the war south of the border. This was not some gang shooting a couple rounds at a rival gang in a drive by–this was a complex attack, complete with military grade weapons and a well planned and disciplined execution. This ambush was also between two drug cartels, and this ambush resulted in the decimation of the target, which happened to be the Los Zetas cartel. (the irony is that the Zetas were the guys that came from Mexican SF forces)
What this article below emphasizes is that size or weaponry is not everything in the world of convoy or psd operations. The Zetas had plenty of guns, plenty of manpower, and even armored vehicles. They lost this fight, because the attacking force knew their routes and were able to prepare an effective ambush. The Zetas also had poor immediate action drills or plans to deal with this kind of thing. Although a well executed ambush is pretty effective, no matter what IA you have. The lesson here is how important the ‘advance’ or route planning and reconnaissance is to the protective detail, convoy operation, or any movements through enemy territory. The Zetas got caught with their pants down in this deal, and paid a heavy price….
It also emphasized the importance of OPSEC and PERSEC. Obviously the attacking force was able to find out when and where this Zetas movement was going to commence. The Zetas felt they had plenty of manpower and firepower to deal with any threats, and probably did not care too much about OPSEC or PERSEC. The Zetas in this case, remind me of Poncho Villa in the Battle of Celaya, where intelligent strategy and tactics by General Alvaro Obregon defeated the frontal assault and idiotic bravado of Villa.
The other thing I wanted to add to this article that wasn’t mentioned, was the use of drugs by these combatants. After following these fights down there for awhile, I have actually come across some video that showed combatants of a cartel using cocaine before a raid. (at minute .53 in this video) This was a common act with insurgents in Iraq or even in Afghanistan, and using drugs to enhance performance or steady the nerves before an attack, is a factor to keep in mind. This simple act of using drugs, actually makes a combatant tougher to kill and more erratic or unpredictable to fight. But it also impacts their decision making, which is a huge detriment. It might explain why the Zetas were so careless in this scenario.
Stuff to think about, and for those of you operating down in Mexico, I wish you well. You have a tough job in a very intense and complex operational environment. I also wanted to point out another source for information that has grabbed my attention. The guys at Small Wars Journal have been posting a series called the Mexican Cartel Tactical Note, by Dr. Robert Bunker and I highly recommend reading and commenting there if you can. Know your enemy…. –Matt
Protective Intelligence Lessons from an Ambush in Mexico
Jun 2 2011
By Scott Stewart
On the afternoon of May 27, a convoy transporting a large number of heavily armed gunmen was ambushed on Mexican Highway 15 near Ruiz, Nayarit state, on Mexico’s Pacific coast. When authorities responded they found 28 dead gunmen and another four wounded, one of whom would later die, bringing the death toll to 29. This is a significant number of dead for one incident, even in Mexico.
According to Nayarit state Attorney General Oscar Herrera Lopez, the gunmen ambushed were members of Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel. Herrera noted that most of the victims were from Mexico’s Gulf coast, but there were also some Guatemalans mixed into the group, including one of the wounded survivors. While Los Zetas are predominately based on the Gulf coast, they have been working to provide armed support to allied groups, such as the Cartel Pacifico Sur (CPS), a faction of the former Beltran Leyva Organization that is currently battling the Sinaloa Federation and other cartels for control of the lucrative smuggling routes along the Pacific coast. In much the same way, Sinaloa is working with the Gulf cartel to go after Los Zetas in Mexico’s northeast while protecting and expanding its home turf. If the victims in the Ruiz ambush were Zetas, then the Sinaloa Federation was likely the organization that planned and executed this very successful ambush.
You know, on the flip side I guess this should be good news that the cartels are killing each other. But the violence impacts the locals, and the police and army get in the way and they get killed too. And eventually someone takes the top position of the heap, and imposes their will on the population. It will be interesting to see what cartel wins in this exchange, and it would be a fascinating study to find out what was the strategy involved. This kind of cartel/gang warfare, is really free market warfare. It is also hybrid warfare, because these guys are using military hardware and tactics–complete with grenade launchers, assault rifles, and IED’s.
The cartels contract their hit men or contract killer companies, and they all fight each other with no limitations on strategy or tactics. That is interesting, because in that kind of environment, innovation can really flourish. If chopping someone’s head off makes strategic sense, they do it. Putting a price on the head of their enemies, and turning it into a sustainable industry makes sense to them. So this kind of cartel/private warfare is interesting to watch.
The question I have is when the dust clears, will we see a cartel that rises to the top that has the kind of capability that not only can destroy their competitors, but can take on the government and all of it’s forces? For the sake of Mexico and the world, I hope not. –Matt
——————————————————————
Mexico: Cartels team up to destroy hit men gang
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Apr 12, 2010
MEXICO CITY — Two Mexican drug cartels have joined forces to destroy a feared gang of hit men along the border with Texas, a shift in allegiances that is fueling drug-war violence, federal police said Monday.
Intelligence reports indicate the Gulf and La Familia cartels — formerly bitter rivals — have formed an alliance to fight the Zetas gang in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, said Ramon Pequeno, the head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal police.
It was the first official confirmation of the alliance, which has been rumored since banners appeared throughout the region announcing the pact and warning residents not to leave their homes, saying the conflict would get worse. E-mails were also sent with the same message.
