Interesting story and this ties in with my bounties post on Eduardo Ravelo, the captain of the Barrio Aztecas. The one point to clue in on, is that these guys are getting good at what they are doing with each and every operation, and their hits are becoming increasingly more complex and coordinated. The question is, who is training and developing such lethal programs, and what is the next level? I personally think that we will see more IED related hits in the future, and these hit squads will evolve much like Al Qaeda and company has evolved. They will use the most efficient means necessary to get the job done and strike terror in their opponents. If hit squads are targeting cops or military with IEDs, that will definitely change the tune of operations real quick.
The other point is the whole ‘binational contract killer’ concept. Yet again, these groups have found the weakness that lies within the states. These folks are using the border to their advantage, and because they enjoy being somewhat binational, they can operate pretty freely on both sides and blend in. Of course law enforcement does not have that luxury, nor do bounty hunters or any other tools of the state. –Matt
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New adversary in U.S. drug war: Contract killers for Mexican cartels
By William BoothWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, April 4, 2010
CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO — A cross-border drug gang born in the prison cells of Texas has evolved into a sophisticated paramilitary killing machine that U.S. and Mexican officials suspect is responsible for thousands of assassinations here, including the recent ambush and slaying of three people linked to the U.S. consulate.
The heavily tattooed Barrio Azteca gang members have long operated across the border in El Paso, dealing drugs and stealing cars. But in Ciudad Juarez, the organization now specializes in contract killing for the Juarez drug cartel. According to U.S. law enforcement officers, it may have been involved in as many as half of the 2,660 killings in the city in the past year.
Officials on both sides of the border have watched as the Aztecas honed their ability to locate targets, stalk them and finally strike in brazen ambushes involving multiple chase cars, coded radio communications, coordinated blocking maneuvers and disciplined firepower by masked gunmen in body armor. Afterward, the assassins vanish, back to safe houses in the Juarez barrios or across the bridge to El Paso.
“Within their business of killing, they have surveillance people, intel people and shooters. They have a degree of specialization,” said David Cuthbertson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s El Paso division. “They work day in and day out, with a list of people to kill, and they get proficient at it.”