Wednesday, May 25, 2011

AZMEX FYI 25-5-11

Your correspondent is off to frolic in another AOR for a few weeks so
the AZMEX UPDATES, et al, will not be coming in for a while, to the
relief of your inbox. Will be having limited access to internet.
Below listed some good internet open sources for info, quality and
agenda varies. Hopefully reports reports have helped give readers a
"big picture", although Arizona/firearms rights centric, perspective
of the events along both sides of the AZMEX border. Every issue ends
up being interlinked. Primary problems remain: U.S. dopers,
corruption, unsecured border. And the chorus: corruption = gun
control. Of which Mexico remains the poster child.
thx

Those with any hot or critical information, or questions, contact:
BorderInfo@desertlans.com
480-225-9454 cell (for urgent, email for routine, Ingles por favor).

Good sites: Some English, some Spanish

In English:

ASR&PA http://azmex-asrpa.blogspot.com/ ( Archived materials in
process 2004 - 2008)

AZMex http://az-mex.blogspot.com/ ( Archived, 2010 - 2011)

M3 Report http://m3report.wordpress.com/

Stratfor http://www.stratfor.com/

Mexico's Drug War http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/

Borderland Beat http://www.borderlandbeat.com/

Arizona Border Defenders http://azborderdefenders.org/

BNBPC Local 2544 http://www.local2544.org/

American Patrol http://www.americanpatrol.com/

SBI http://secureborderintel.org/

Border Invasion Pics ( mostly archive now ) http://
www.borderinvasionpics.com/

Border Reporter http://borderreporter.com/

Fronteras http://www.fronterasdesk.org/
Also, El Paso Times, McAllen Monitor, Brownsville Herald, and on
occasion, Yuma Sun & Sierra Vista Herald

In Spanish:

SEDENA (Mex army) http://www.sedena.gob.mx/

SEMAR (Mex Navy ) http://www.semar.gob.mx/sitio_2/

El Blog del Narco http://www.blogdelnarco.com/

LOCAL MEDIA

El Imparcial - Hermosillo, Son http://www.elimparcial.com/Home.aspx

El Diario de Sonora http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/

Nuevodia de Nogales http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/

Diario Del Yaqui Cd. Obregon, Son http://www.diariodelyaqui.mx/
portal/index.php

Diario del Desierto Caborca, Son http://
www.diariodeldesierto.com.mx/

La Perla del Desierto Caborca, Son http://
laperladeldesierto.blogspot.com/

El Periodico de Auga Prieta AP, Son http://elperiodicodeap.com.mx/

La Cronica Mexicali, BC http://www.lacronica.com/Home.aspx

Tribuna de San Luis San Luis Rio Colorado, Son http://
www.oem.com.mx/tribunadesanluis/

El Diario de Chihuahua http://www.eldiariodechihuahua.com/

El Fronterizo Cd. Juarez, Chih http://www.elfronterizo.com.mx/

Noroeste Culican, Sin http://www.noroeste.com.mx/

El Sol de Mazatlan Mazatlan, Sin http://www.oem.com.mx/
elsoldemazatlan/

NATIONAL MEDIA

PROCESO Mexico City http://www.proceso.com.mx/

Excelsior Mexico DF http://www.excelsior.com.mx/

El Universal Mexico DF http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/noticias.html

La Jorndada Mexico DF http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/

El Sol de Mexico Mexico city http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/

Milenio Mexico City http://www.milenio.com/

Milenio Guadalajara, Jal http://impreso.milenio.com/Guadalajara/

Milenio Monterey, NL http://www.milenio.com/monterrey/

AZMEX UPDATE 25-5-11

AZMEX UPDATE 25 MAY 2011

Note: some trends The MI-17 doesn't come down that easy.

Drug gunmen force down Mexican police helicopter
The Associated Press
Posted: 05/25/2011 09:07:43 AM MDT
http://www.elpasotimes.com/nationworld/ci_18136454

MORELIA, Mexico—Mexican police say one of their helicopters was
forced to land after drug cartel gunmen opened fire on the craft,
wounding two officers.
Federal police say the gunfire from the ground wounded two officers
aboard the Russian-made MI-17 helicopter.
The police statement says the pilot decided to land about 3.5 miles
(6 kilometers) from the scene of the attack in the western state of
Michoacan.
Police said late Tuesday that the two officers suffered non-life-
threatening wounds.
The attack occurred earlier Tuesday near the city of Apatzingan, one
of the main territories of the La Familia drug cartel.


Mexican state vows legal action against rumors
Posted: 05/25/2011 01:07:08 AM MDT
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18134199?source=most_viewed

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (AP) - The government of Mexico's Gulf coast
state of Tabasco is threatening legal action against people who
spread rumors of drug violence on social networking sites.
Some of the tweets and Facebook posts cited by the government appear
threatening. Other posts that warn people not to go out because there
is a supposed "curfew" could fall under laws prohibiting threats.
But some of the cited posts appear to simply refer to gunfights that
have killed people in the area recent days.
A state government statement Tuesday says authorities are tracing
messages and will "act with all the weight of the law" against posters.
Tabasco officials refuse to specify what laws have purportedly been
violated or what
charges could be brought.


Note: guess they didn't get the memo from DHS that the border more
secure.

Drophouse in west Phoenix has more than 100 people, federal agents say
by Daniel Gonzalez and Shala Marks - May. 25, 2011 01:18 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/
2011/05/25/20110525west-phoenix-drophouse-100-plus-people-inside-
abrk.html

Federal authorities on Wednesday discovered one of the largest
drophouses in years in a west Phoenix neighborhood.

More than 100 people believed to be in the country illegally were
packed in a house on the 9000 block of West Vernon Avenue, north of
McDowell Road, said Vincent Picard, spokesman for Immigration and
Customs Enforcement of Phoenix. Among the people were five teenagers
and 14 women, Picard said. The men and women came from Mexico, El
Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Authorities received a tip about 10:30 a.m. about suspicious activity
around the home, which is east of 91st Avenue.

Neighbors reported seeing several vehicles coming in and out of the
home Wednesday, Picard said. Authorities suspected the vehicles were
bringing in loads of illegal immigrants. Authorities have identified
people they believe to be suspected smugglers, Picard said.
The conditions in the home were poor because so many people were
there. Neighbors said the home is about 1,300 square feet and the
area is typically quiet.

Most of the suspected illegally immigrants had clothes that were
dirty and sweat stained, indicating they might have just crossed the
border.

Federal authorities have brought in two large Department of Homeland
Security buses to the house and are putting the suspected illegal
immigrants, who are cuffed with plastic ties, on to the buses.

Sheriff's employees in smuggling case get high bond
by JJ Hensley - May. 25, 2011 12:28 PM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/
2011/05/25/20110525sheriff-employees-drug-cartel-charges-bond-brk.html

Four of the 11 people arrested Tuesday in a Maricopa County Sheriff's
operation were denied bond because of their immigration status.

Another five suspects apprehended in the operation, including the
sheriff's deputy suspected of smuggling humans and working with drug
traffickers, had bonds set at $1 million or more during their initial
court appearances Tuesday.

The Sheriff's Office arrested Deputy Alfredo Navarrette and two
sheriff's detention officers, Sylvia Najera and Marcella Hernandez,
at the culmination of yearlong probe into an alleged heroin
trafficking and human-smuggling ring.

The accused leader of the ring, identified by authorities as
Francisco Arce Torres, was denied bond along with three other
defendants under an Arizona law that does not allow judges to set
bonds for suspected illegal immigrants.

Hernandez, who is suspected of money laundering and conspiring to
commit drug crimes, was given a $2 million bond, with investigators
noting in court paperwork that Hernandez expressed a desire to move
to Mexico with Torres.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said at a press conference Tuesday that Hernandez
is eight months' pregnant with the child of another suspect,
Francisco "Lorenzo" Arce-Torres, who is described in court records as
a member of the Sinaloa drug cartel and the leader of the Phoenix-
based drug-trafficking organization at the heart of the probe.

Navarrette, a 10-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office and a former
member of the Sheriff Joe Arpaio's human-smuggling unit, was given a
$1 million bond. He is accused of taking part in the conspiracy,
which included smuggling undocumented immigrants from Arizona to
other states.

Najera, the other sheriff's employee arrested Tuesday, was granted a
$36,000 bond. She is accused of money laundering and other crimes
related to the drug-trafficking organization.

Hugo Mejia, the owner of a Phoenix construction company who is
accused of setting up a corporation with Najera for the purpose of
laundering money, was given a $200,000 in his initial court appearance.

The Sheriff's Office said the investigation into the drug-trafficking
and human-smuggling operation is ongoing and more sheriff's employees
were being interviewed to determine what they knew of the trafficking
ring.


Note: bet the cmte members never been in that line. the locals are
right on this one, more trade, more jobs.

State committee unmoved by calls to help fix border line problem
By Hank Stephenson
Published Wednesday, May 25, 2011 5:35 PM CDT
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2011/05/25/news/
breaking_news/doc4ddd83ea20a41020774968.txt

Three local businessmen testified before a state border security
committee on Wednesday to ask for help in improving wait times at the
Nogales ports of entry, but Republican lawmakers on the committee
expressed skepticism that the long waits are, in fact, a problem.

The businessmen – representing the produce, retail and logistics
industries – told members of the Interim Joint Border Security
Committee that wait times at the border are out of control. The
problem is affecting their bottom lines, as well as the bottom lines
of the city, county and state, they said.

They asked the committee for assistance in lobbying the federal
government to increase U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffing at
the Nogales ports, and though several members were receptive to their
message, Sen. Al Melvin, a Republican from Tucson and co-chairman of
the committee, said he's not interested in adding more government
employees.

Committee members Sen. Gail Griffin and Rep. David Stevens, both
Republicans who represent Nogales and Rio Rico, were only slightly
more sympathetic. They said they would support what would essentially
be a postcard to Congress asking for more CBP officers.

Stevens said he realizes the economic impact of long border lines,
but said he has crossed the border in recent years and an hour-and-a-
half wait isn't unreasonable.

The Nogales businessmen who spoke to the committee were Jaime
Chamberlain, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the
Americas; J.B. Manson, chair of the Nogales Santa Cruz Port
Authority; and Bruce Bracker, partner at Bracker's Department Store.

See Friday's Nogales International for a full report.

Note: just had to include this one, but they didn't say nothing
about no spin. Check out the sponsors. BTW, many of our sources
live on the border also. Both sides.

'FACT AND FICTION' OUTING GIVES A CRISIS VIEW BILLED AS APOLITICAL
Bus line offering tours of border
By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, May 25, 2011
9:00 am | Comments
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_ddac114c-a0f9-53f9-
aef1-3377e594eb6a.html


MAMTA POPAT / ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Bob Feinman, right, of Humane Borders, talks about U.S.-Mexico border
security to the tour group while standing near a portion of the
border wall in Nogales, Ariz. Feinman led the group on a bus tour
called "Border Crisis: Fact and Fiction," which is billed as an
apolitical tour that will give people a chance to see for themselves
the truth about living on the border.

If you go

• Call Gray Line Tours of Tucson and ask for Chris DeSimone,
520-622-8811, ext. 3122
• Information also is available at www.graylinearizona.com
• Tours are expected to take place about twice a month, and can also
be scheduled on specific dates for groups of sufficient size. The
tours cost $75 per person for the standard bus or $89 per person for
a luxury touring van. Lunch is included. A portion of the proceeds go
to the Santa Cruz Community Foundation and Humane Borders.

NOGALES, Ariz. - An increased Border Patrol presence has improved
security on his border ranch, Dan Bell tells the visitors. Then Bell
adds he still lives with uncertainty because of the armed smugglers
he encounters.
About 70 percent of the winter produce that enters the U.S. crosses
through the Nogales ports of entry, Lance Jungmeyer, president of the
Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, explains. But an
insufficient number of port inspectors could push some of that
business out of Arizona, he warns.
From the historic Rock Corral Ranch south of Tubac where he lives,
Dr. William Neubauer said emphatically that he feels no danger living
near the border.
The 12 people aboard the inaugural run Tuesday of the bus tour called
"Border Crisis: Fact and Fiction" were given a chance to form their
own opinions about the U.S. border region by hearing from people who
live and work here.
The tour also included up close views of the port of entry and border
fence in Nogales and a Humane Borders water tank near Arivaca.
"Take your own fact-finding mission on the U.S.-Mexico border," the
promotional pamphlet from Gray Line Tours says. "Don't let the
politicians and news broadcasters become your only source of
information."
Gray Line Tours of Tucson organized the excursion in conjunction with
Humane Borders and the Santa Cruz Community Foundation. The trips
will be offered twice a month, or upon request for large groups. The
all day tours, which include lunch, cost $75 per person.
"It's been very informative," said Ruth McClung, a Tucson engineer
who opposed U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva in the 2010 Congressional
District 7 election. "It's always interesting to hear from people
that live down here and do business down here."
John and Judy McCaleb have lived in Tucson since the mid-1970s but
said they wanted to learn more about what really happens on the border.
"You hear so many diverse tales. The only way to decide what's true
is to come down and see it for yourself, said John McCaleb, who along
with his wife owns McCaleb Construction, a remodeling company.
They enjoyed the day and said that anybody with interest in border
issues should take the tour.
"The best compliment I can give is that I could spend two days doing
this," John McCaleb said.
Tour guide Bob Feinman - a member of the Santa Cruz Community
Foundation and Humane Borders - emphasized several times that the
excursion was designed to be apolitical.
"We do not want you to feel we are twisting your arm," Feinman said.
"The idea is that you find out for yourself. If your local elected
official can have a fact-finding mission, why can't you?"
Feinman succeeded in maintaining his political neutrality as guide,
but the tour was too heavy on residents trying to convince the
participants the border region is safe and would be better with a
presentation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Jennifer
Leslie, Arizona director of Smart Girl Politics, a conservative
women's movement.
Leslie and friend Chayah Masters said they enjoyed the day but that
it may be hard to convince people it's worth spending $75 without
presentations from federal officials.
"I don't know who they are going to market this to," Masters said.
As is the case with many maiden voyages, the tour had a few hiccups.
After lunch in Rio Rico at the Fresh Produce Association offices, the
group boarded a smaller bus to go see the border fence east of
Nogales. But the bus was too heavy to make it all the way up a steep
hill. The participants got out and walked a few hundred feet to the
fence.
No one was complaining, but Felipe Garcia, of the Metropolitan Tucson
Convention and Visitors Bureau, offered a suggestion:
"On the next tour, schedule lunch after this part of the tour," said
Garcia, laughing.
Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com.

AZMEX EXTRA 25-5-11

AZMEX EXTRA 25 MAY 2011


3 in Sheriff's Office accused of drug, human smuggling
by JJ Hensley - May. 25, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/24/20110524phoenix-
area-maricopa-sheriff-search-warrants-abrk.html

Three Maricopa County sheriff's employees, including a deputy in the
human-smuggling unit, were arrested Tuesday by authorities who say
they were involved in a drug- and human-trafficking ring and used
Sheriff's Office intelligence to guide smugglers through the Valley.

Deputy Alfredo Navarrette, 37, has worked with the Sheriff's Office
for nearly a decade, serving in a special unit designed to target
human smugglers moving through Maricopa County. But investigators
believe Navarrette was himself involved in human smuggling.
Investigators found two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's home
when he was arrested early Tuesday morning in a sweep that concluded
a yearlong investigation.

"The fight against drugs, illegal immigration and human trafficking
is important not only to me but the citizens of Arizona," Sheriff Joe
Arpaio said. "That a deputy sheriff would provide information and
associate with these drug and human traffickers is despicable."


Investigators from a multijurisdiction drug task force also arrested
two sheriff's detention officers, Sylvia Najera, 25, and Marcella
Hernandez, 28. They are accused of laundering money and moving drugs
for a Valley-based drug-trafficking organization with ties to Mexico.

Arpaio said Hernandez is eight months' pregnant with the child of
another suspect arrested Tuesday, Francisco "Lorenzo" Arce-Torres,
who is described in court records as a member of the Sinaloa drug
cartel and the leader of the Phoenix-based drug-trafficking
organization at the heart of the probe.

Court records indicate Hernandez had $20,000 cash on her when she and
Najera were arrested Tuesday morning on their way to work at the
Lower Buckeye Jail.

12 suspects held

The sheriff's employees were among 12 suspects arrested Tuesday
during a series of early-morning raids at 16 locations throughout the
Valley where investigators had targeted members of the organization.

The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and
officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a
crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding the illicit profits.
Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week
through the Valley.

Arce-Torres, who authorities say was the ringleader, arranged for
heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the
drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to Superior Court and
Justice Court documents filed Tuesday.

Once the drugs arrived in Arizona, they were shipped to two houses in
the West Valley, where the heroin was diluted to create more product,
investigators said in the court documents.

Hernandez's brother, Duran Joseph Alcantar, who was also among those
arrested, is suspected of operating one of the stash houses, and
investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery
of heroin from the drug houses.

Investigators say they believe Navarrette helped the ring by
fortifying Arce-Torres' home with surveillance cameras, registering
drug-courier vehicles in his name and laundering money.

Navarrette and Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped
set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which
was used earlier this month to launder nearly $50,000 in drug
proceeds, according to court documents.

Najera's name appears on West Utilities Group's corporation filings
in Arizona, along with that of a Phoenix construction company owner
who was arrested on suspicion of laundering money for the organization.

Investigators believe that, in addition to laundering money and doing
other chores for the ring, Navarrette himself was smuggling humans.

"Navarrette assists this (human smuggling) organization by operating
a drophouse and on at least five occasions transported illegal aliens
from Arizona to California for the organization," records state.

Yearlong inquiry

A tip about the ring came into the sheriff's special-investigations
unit almost a year ago, and the investigation moved slowly at the
outset, according to sheriff's officials.

Navarrette remained on patrol duty until he was moved to the
sheriff's training facility a couple of months ago for a violation of
office policy that was unrelated to his suspected role in the
trafficking ring.

Sheriff's officials said the probe was unique and had to be handled
delicately because of the serious criminal allegations against law-
enforcement employees. That meant that transferring one of the
suspects to another role within the office, or even pulling personnel
files, could have been enough to tip off friends that something was
afoot and risk spoiling the investigation.

Navarrette had the most opportunity to gather information and
influence investigations because of his work on the streets. Even he
could not be moved out of his role in the human-smuggling unit,
however, until supervisors found a violation of office policy that
gave them reason to move him without compromising the probe.

"There was not enough to take any action against him, either, until
very recently," said Deputy Chief Brian Sands, who oversees the human-
smuggling group.

Navarrette has been with the Sheriff's Office since 2001 and worked
in a variety of roles, including patrol and court services, in
addition to his role with the human-smuggling unit.

Rosters for the unit indicate that Navarrette was a member from the
earliest days of the sheriff's controversial "crime-suppression
operations," when deputies and posse members flood a region of the
Valley looking for minor traffic violations and potential immigration
offenses.

Arpaio said he believed Navarrette used information from those
operations and his position in law enforcement to help coordinate the
movement of contraband through the Valley.

"He repeatedly supplied details about the illegal-immigration crime-
suppression operation to leaders of the drug-trafficking
organization," Arpaio said. "This action placed numerous deputies,
reserves and posse volunteers in harm's way while they were
volunteering and conducting operations."

Arpaio could not say when Navarrette last worked on a crime-
suppression operation with the human-smuggling unit.

Probe continues

The investigation went public when search warrants were served and a
series of arrests were made Tuesday. But officials say the probe
could last for months and target other suspects.

A few additional sheriff's employees were being interviewed Tuesday
night, Arpaio said, to determine what they may know of the suspects'
activities in the Sheriff's Office. "Doesn't mean they're guilty of
anything," Arpaio added.

Investigators are also trying to determine the extent of the ties
between the suspects and members of multinational drug-trafficking
organizations operating in Arizona.

Navarrette was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on suspicion of 19
violations including conspiracy, money laundering and human
smuggling. He was being held on a $1 million cash bond.

Hernandez, booked on suspicion of committing 11 violations, including
conspiracy, drug crimes and money laundering, was placed under a $2
million cash bond at a Tuesday court appearance. The reasoning for
the $1 million bond disparity was laid out in court documents for
Hernandez, who just returned from a trip to San Luis, Mexico, with
Arce-Torres, suspected of being the ringleader.

"Hernandez has said that she, Torres and co-conspirator Navarrette
have talked about leaving the U.S. and living on one of Torres'
ranches in Mexico," the documents state.

Najera was in custody Tuesday and faced money-laundering and other
charges.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2011/05/24/20110524phoenix-area-maricopa-sheriff-search-warrants-
abrk.html#ixzz1NNLeR3p3

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

AZMEX UPDATE 24-5-11

AZMEX UPDATE 24 MAY 2011

Note: AZ also having some major fires thanks to our narco friends.
As they continue to trash our habitat. Locals usually keep the
forests pretty clear of deadwood, etc. and it use for heat and
cooking. But the narcos have really curtailed these practices. So
more fires. This over toward the Sonora state line.

Note "Wilderness areas: made to order for drug cartels, along with
National Monuments, Reservations, etc. Series of articles assembled
by Holub of the Tucson Citizen

Wilderness Areas on the border? What a great idea if you are a cartel
drug smuggler
http://tucsoncitizen.com/view-from-baja-arizona/2011/05/21/wilderness-
areas-on-the-border-what-a-great-idea-if-you-are-a-cartel-drug-smuggler/


Narco threat to fire-fighting brigade in the Sierra Tarahumara
Agencies | 12:39
http://eldiariodechihuahua.mx/notas.php?
f=2011/05/24&id=74b23b671f2502ad3648887f0df0ed27

Chihuahua .- Besides the danger of fighting a wildfire in the Sierra
Tarahumara of Chihuahua, the brigade must confront drug trafficking
groups with powerful firearms who scared the fire fighters away from
areas where they plant drugs.
Even some people in several mountain towns like Madera, Bocoyna,
Guachochi and Guadalupe y Calvo, have complained publicly that drug
traffickers are precisely those that generate some wildfires to keep
them away from certain areas, or because the fire destroyed regions
where they have planted marijuana and poppy.
In this regard, the delegate of Conafor in Chihuahua, Jose Trevino,
said the brigade certainly endanger their lives to address these
conflagrations, so that everyone has a major medical expense
insurance for 100 thousand dollars and a life insurance by 200 thousand.
However, he ignored the threats made by drug traffickers to the
brigade, but also denied that it has submitted several such incidents.
Unconfirmed allegations of note that even a brigade of helicopters
being used to transport personnel to the site of the fire was shot
from the ground on his way to the Sierra Tarahumara to face a forest
conflagration.
Derived from the drought of more than eight months in the state, in
Chihuahua the number of fires increased to 300 percent, to be
counted, until May 17, 912 blazes, said the delegate of the Conafor,
José Treviño.
Last year 358 fires were recorded, whereas in the five months of this
cycle are already 912 events, most municipalities given in the Sierra
Tarahumara.
Involvement is 22 thousand hectares have been scorched by fire, most
grasslands and shrubs, so the economic sector most affected has been
the farmer.
Chihuahua ranks third nationally in number of fires and acres affected.


Note: Mexican people will fight back, especially if they can get arms.

Cheran, about to shout "to arms"
Francisco Castellanos and José Gil Olmos
http://www.proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/91569

CHER Mich., May 23 (Process) .- The village looks like a battlefield:
350 barricades, fires, piles of stones and wood, sand bags and cars
act as trenches that people use to defend against illegal loggers
supported by armed gangs of organized crime.

For more than a month remains in this place a self-imposed siege. The
residents watch the clock and inputs and outputs of the village.

Each day that passes the situation becomes more critical in the
Purépecha region of Michoacán. In addition to blockade the
inhabitants of this village, access to the entire area were also
closed on Thursday 12th by loggers, backed by organized crime gangs.

This dual blockade affects the entire Meseta Purépecha, consisting of
eight towns where the gangs destroyed 12,000 hectares of forest, said
a committee of Cheran.

One villager said: "Schools and businesses remain closed as well.
Many people who work elsewhere, even in Morelia, can not leave. The
municipal police left the village but no one trusts them because they
protect the loggers. On Monday 9, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs
and Human Rights Department of the Interior, Felipe de Jesus Zamora
Castro, told us that federal police arrive and the Army, but there is
nothing. "

For almost a month, residents of the region were abandoned to their
fate. It was not until they arrived on Thursday, 19 members of the
Joint Operating Bases (BOM), formed by municipal police, state and
federal soldiers. Asked them land to settle and to form a group to
coordinate surveillance efforts. The villagers say that the BOM are
not operating and remain in their posts without doing anything.

"We complied immediately. Please be advised that the land already and
coordination of people, but the situation remains tense because they
are still clearing the forest and are armed, "said a farmer who
requested anonymity because of death threats received since the last
15 April formed the citizen self-defense and imposed a state of siege
in Cheran.

That day people decided Purépecha react timber fellers, they say, are
protected by organized crime, presumably by members of the family who
are still operating in the region.

According to some community members of this group of drug traffickers
Cheran has undergone dozens of men, forcing them to work felling
trees and only pay them 150 pesos per day.

A representative of the villagers said that precisely on April 15,
several residents stopped 10 trucks loaded with timber and clashed
with armed men in them:

"They tried to rescue them and put together the shooting. Eugenio
Sánchez Rendón injured who are hospitalized. They took three
companions and fled protected by municipal police patrols working for
organized crime. "

Two days after this confrontation closed all entrances to the
village. However, the barricades could not stop the armed men on
April 27 took two community members, Pedro and Armando Juárez
Hernández Urbina Estrada, who appeared tortured and executed days later.

Stop Violence
"We are tired of so much abuse and Cheran on the verge of social
explosion. Not only this community but the entire Meseta Purépecha,
is on alert. Just expect a signal to rise up in arms against
organized crime, which we have until the mother, "said one villager
told reporters, his face covered.

He says that, from 2008 to date, nine people have been killed and
five more were missing for defending the forests and loggers face
with guards and gunmen.

"The struggle is not between communities would have us believe, but
against organized gangs and government. We are tired of exploitation,
blackmail, kidnapping, uprisings, murder, extortion, and live and die
in fear. Now we are going to face the bad guys are crafty or the
government. We're just waiting a timely manner, and if there are
answers, as to weapons, "he told reporters an indigenous Purépecha.

The people of Cheran say that for three years, loggers have ravaged
its forests to the detriment of the whole population, amounting to
about 18 thousand people.
"Do the math: 180 thousand pesos a day, nearly 35 million a month,
for three years. A fortune, right? The loggers are protected by an
individual known as El Guero, who planted marijuana in these sites
without anyone saying anything. Now engaged in cutting wood and
stripped to 13,000 hectares, "says another Indian.

Among the stones that serve as retainer, the people of Cheran raised
a Mexican flag. Women make tortillas, cooked beans, rice, and tamales
corundas. Several children carrying banners that read: "Felipe
Calderón, Michoacan, protects our forests, no more looting," "No more
dead in the Meseta Purépecha" "We thirst for justice and security"
and "Mr. Governor, we want prompt and effective solution, not more
promises. "

The men are hoes, axes, machetes, sharpened sticks, bats, scythes,
slings, stones and knives. If there is a warning signal launch a
rocket or touch the bells of the church.

A village woman yells at reporters: "Help us! We want to live in
peace! And ill finished with our forests, burned, burning medicinal
herbs, pine trees, animals of the hills. We are scared. They came
with their guns to schools and threaten the children and teachers and
took them out, so no school. We are threatened. So the people stood
up because we do not want the return of the bad. We involved the Army
or Navy, they are permanently. But look: What are police? Not one!
Nothing at all! ".

At night, guards and smoldering campfires even when reporters are
doing their journey at dawn. In the neighborhood of El Calvario still
be seen the traces of the battle of April 15, burned trucks, houses,
posts and windows shot.

On the way to the mountains, the villagers show reporters the
"cottage" of the PRI mayor of Cheran, Roberto Bautista Chapina, where
each major party eight days ago. The Indians say they are people of
Guero.

The situation is serious, say the press officers and dissemination of
movements: no food or classes and children are afraid to go to school
and get them out with bullets. The phone signal is constantly going.

A hooded media says that schools will not open until there is safety
for teachers and students, until they the Army and Federal Police
show up.

Control Committee members commented that getting food to survive are
social organizations, indigenous communities and civil society, which
are stored in the storage facility enabled in the parish of the
village parish.

The community's lawyer, David Peña, warns: "We are facing an
exceptional situation, it is the first time that an indigenous
community decides to self-imposed isolation and a real siege to
address organized crime."

And launched an appeal: "The authorities of the three levels of
government must take immediate and effective way to prevent this from
becoming a tragedy ..." l


Locals to testify before state border security committee
By Hank Stephenson
Nogales International
Published Tuesday, May 24, 2011 10:36 AM CDT
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2011/05/24/news/
doc4ddbcde795f18855550318.txt

Three local businessmen are heading to Phoenix on Wednesday to tell a
state legislative committee on border security that in order for
Arizona's economy to grow, the border ports need more attention and
more manpower.

The residents – representing the Fresh Produce Association of the
Americas, the Nogales Downtown Merchants Association and the Nogales
Santa Cruz County Port Authority – have been invited to speak to the
Joint Border Security Advisory Committee about how the state can help
facilitate legitimate trade and travel while maintaining the security
at the ports.

They say they also plan to highlight the economic impact of trade in
the border region on the state of Arizona and the country.

Jaime Chamberlain, chairman of the Fresh Produce Association of the
Americas, said he wants to explain to the committee the importance of
international trade and commerce to business and government in
Arizona – and to help facilitate that trade, he wants to ask for
assistance from state legislators in requesting more Customs and
Border Protection officers for Nogales's three ports of entry.

"We need for our ports of entry to be just as safe and secure as the
parts between our ports," he said. "I don't think they really realize
in Phoenix how important this community and this port of entry is for
the state."

Bruce Bracker, partner at Bracker's Department Store, said last week
in an interview with the Nogales International that he had been
running some numbers and found that Mexicans contribute $7 million in
sales tax alone for the city of Nogales.

"That's just sales tax," he said at the time. "That doesn't include
all the money they're spending which allows me to pay the 59
employees I have or the however many hundred employees Wal-Mart has
or JC Penney has."

Watch on line

Bracker, Chamberlain and J.B. Manson, chairman of the Nogales Santa
Cruz Port Authority, will testify at the committee's third monthly-
meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. Wednesday and can be streamed online
at http://azleg.granicus.
com/MediaPlayer.php?
publish_id=13

The Interim Border Security Advisory Committee is comprised of six
Republican lawmakers from both chambers (including Rep. David Stevens
and Sen. Gail Griffin, who represent Nogales and Rio Rico) and
representatives from the Arizona Cattle Feeders' Association, Arizona
Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Public Safety,
Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Department of
Corrections and Arizona National Guard Adjutant.

There are no Democratic lawmakers on the committee.

AZMEX I3 24-5-11

AZMEX I3 24 MAY 2011

Note: wonder where they are going? Second article has very
interesting development.

Nuevo Leon is migrants receptor status
There are 700 thousand people who are not native to the state,
according to figures from INEGI, we are a transit state, so many are
forced to go through here.
Tue, 24/05/2011 - 08:15
http://www.milenio.com/node/726106

In the state of Nuevo León, there are about 700 000 people who are
from other states of Mexico, according to the latest census figures
from INEGI, released as the director of the Migrant Services Centre
of the State Government, Alejandra Ocádiz .

The official said even more people that keep coming to our state from
other parts of the country, that those to enter the United States or
other parts of the country and the world. "There are 700 thousand
people who are not native to the state, according to figures from
INEGI, we are a transit state, so many are forced to go through here,
but also for all those people who come in search of employment
development "said Ocádiz.

In order to establish agreements between authorities and civil
society and integrated to maximize the benefits of migration and
minimize its costs discussions are held in Room Jorge Trevino of the
Superior Court of Justice of the state, the first discussion forum "
Nuevo León to the Vanguard for Migration Policy, "which discussed
issues of International Migration and Nuevo León, Migration and the
Legal Framework.

"The idea is to see all the work that lies ahead not only to develop
appropriate frameworks, but public policies that lead the way of
social programs to inhibit the local migration, because although
Nuevo Leon is still not getting high statistics but many people in a
internal migration, "the state official

Another problem faced by migrants is the lack of resources to
generate more opportunities and social programs.
"The Federation made a distribution of public spending, Nuevo Leon
continues to receive people and sometimes does not get the national
resources of this migration," said Ocádiz.

Monterrey • Zyntia Vanegas


Note: Amazing development, looks like a secure border is ok just for
some. Almost as amazing is the use of the words "illegal immigrant"
in media. It a national security issue for Mexico also.

Agents of the institute, the Federal Police and the Directorate
General of Customs will be responsible
INM will raise anti-immigrant wall
In Chiapas and Campeche build four large bases, called Internal
Control Points, or PIC, which expects to significantly reduce the
flow of illegal immigrants from Guatemala goes to the U.S., the first
will be in Huixtla.

24/05/2011 • Policy
Image: Alfredo San Juan
http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8963647

The federal government adopted a tougher approach on illegal
migration from Central America and built in Chiapas and Campeche four
bases customs and immigration of large-points defined as Internal-
Control, or PIC, that he hopes to reduce the flow of illegal
immigrants it travels from Guatemala to the United States.

The first of these bases will be built in Huixtla, a town 70
kilometers from the border with Guatemala and the two main crossing
points on the southern border undocumented, Talisman and Ciudad
Hidalgo, where an estimated 80 percent of migrants cross en route to
the north

According to detailed documents obtained by this newspaper, the
Mexican government plans to close the road to the illegal migrant
traffic shortly after Huixtla, on the Panamerican highway, to prevent
those seeking to reach the United States from crossing into the Gulf
of Mexico states and achieve moving towards the north, a region more
difficult to control.

"(He) Internal Control Point is the implementation of a range of
facilities and infrastructure that will allow federal agencies
reviewing various flows-both people and goods and vehicles, which
enter the country from southern border. This program is the first of
its kind in the country, "stated in the sketch of the project,
prepared in April by the Institute of Management and Valuation of
National Assets (INDAABIN), which has been responsible for building
the base.

According to plan, the new government operations center will be led
by agents of the National Migration Institute, the Federal Police and
the Directorate General of Customs, 50 percent and reduce migration
from Tapachula.

The garrison is located in a valley that resembles a natural funnel
that all roads in the region, the routes taken mostly migrants arrive
without sideways possible: Huixtla confluence of Highway 200, which
communicates with Tuxtla Tapachula and 211, which links the border
towns of Comalapa, Amatenango and Motozintla to the north.

Will also be controlled Highway 190, which crosses the state from
west to east and ranges from Cintalapa to Guatemala, in addition to
the 225, which ends in Puerto Madero. With the single base come under
government control all roads in southern Chiapas.

The construction of the base will close, in fact, illegal traffic to
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, support staff in the area.

"We are a funnel-shaped town. On the one hand, you have the sea and
marshes and roads impassable. The other, the mountains. All roads
have to cross here, "acknowledged Jose Luis Laparra, mayor of
Huixtla, who confirmed that the council has already given the land to
the Federation for the construction of the building, valued at more
than 20 million pesos. Should be ready by the end of the year.

"We have concluded that the main transit route from the coastal
migrants. If you want to go north Huixtla have to go through, "added
the mayor.

***

In the report on the construction of Huixtla PIC is defined as the
other bases will be located in Comitan and Palenque, Chiapas, and in
Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche. "They are included in the Integral
Program for the Southern Border of Mexico, which seeks among other
objectives to ensure orderly and safe migration, and have adequate
infrastructure for the purpose" is added to the document.

Created at the beginning of term with the intent to "rearrange" the
Gaza border with Central America, the Integrated Program for the
Southern Border has been considered by the Interior Ministry as a
sensitive issue, of which no details have been released for reasons
of national security, as argued Bucarelli the transparency
0000400212910 request by this newspaper last year.

But INDAABIN document, prepared at the request of the Institute for
AFH and Associates Consulting, opens a window into what is the vision
of the comprehensive program for undocumented migration and how it
would flow intercepted that annually brings tens of thousands of
American and other foreign nationalities to cross illegally through
Mexico.

"The functions performed on the PIC Huixtla be implemented in
coordination with other internal review points to be developed in the
area, projects (that) have the mission of enhancing security and
border control in the south of the country before the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec, "outlined in the document.

Keys
Expectations
• The federal government estimates that at the border with
Guatemala, there are more than 40 illegal crossings.

• The PIC will be a line to filter out the flows of people and goods
irregular manage to escape inspection and verification on the margins
of the border. "

• The National Institute of Migration estimates that the
construction of the PIC will be reduced by 50 percent Tapachula
migration.

Agentes del instituto, de la Policía Federal y de la Dirección
General de Aduanas estarán a cargo
Levantará el INM muralla antimigrante
Construirá en Chiapas y Campeche cuatro bases de gran tamaño,
denominadas Puntos Internos de Control o PIC, con las cuales espera
reducir considerablemente el flujo de indocumentados que se dirige
desde Guatemala hacia EU; la primera estará en Huixtla.


2011-05-24•Política
Ilustración: Alfredo San Juan
http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8963647

El gobierno federal adoptará un enfoque más duro respecto a la
migración ilegal desde Centroamérica y construirá en Chiapas y
Campeche cuatro bases aduanales y migratorias de gran tamaño —
definidas como Puntos Internos de Control o PIC—, con las que espera
reducir el flujo de indocumentados que se dirige desde Guatemala
hacia Estados Unidos.

La primera de estas bases se construirá en Huixtla, un poblado
ubicado a 70 kilómetros de la frontera con Guatemala y de los dos
principales puntos de cruce de indocumentados en la frontera sur,
Talismán y Ciudad Hidalgo, por donde se estima cruza 80 por ciento de
los migrantes en ruta hacia el norte

Según detallan documentos obtenidos por este diario, el gobierno
mexicano tiene previsto cerrar la vía al tráfico ilegal de migrantes
poco después de Huixtla, sobre la carretera Panamericana, para evitar
que quienes buscan llegar a Estados Unidos crucen hacia los estados
del Golfo de México y logren encaminarse hacia el norte, una región
más difícil de controlar.

"(El) Punto Interno de Control consiste en la puesta en marcha de
una serie de instalaciones y de infraestructura que permitirán a
distintas dependencias federales la revisión de los flujos –tanto
de personas como de mercancías y vehículos- que se internan al país
desde la frontera sur. Este programa es el primero en su tipo en el
país", se expone en el croquis del proyecto, preparado en abril
pasado por el Instituto de Administración y Avalúos de Bienes
Nacionales (Indaabin), al que se ha encargado la construcción de la
base.

De acuerdo con lo previsto, el nuevo centro de operaciones
gubernamental estará comandado por agentes del Instituto Nacional
de Migración, la Policía Federal y la Dirección General de Aduanas,
y reducirá 50 por ciento la migración por Tapachula.

La guarnición se ubicará en un valle que asemeja a un embudo natural
al que todos los caminos de la región, las rutas que toman en su
mayor parte los migrantes, llegan sin soslayo posible: en Huixtla
confluyen la carretera 200, que comunica a Tuxtla con Tapachula y la
211, que enlaza a los poblados fronterizos de Comalapa, Amatenango y
Motozintla con el norte.

También se verá controlada la carretera 190, que cruza el estado de
oeste a sureste y va desde Cintalapa hasta Guatemala, además de la
225, que desemboca en Puerto Madero. Con la sola base entrarán bajo
control gubernamental todas las carreteras del sur de Chiapas.

La construcción de la base cerrará, en efecto, el tránsito
clandestino hacia el Istmo de Tehuantepec, admiten funcionarios de la
zona.

"Somos un poblado en forma de embudo. De un lado, tienes el mar y
marismas y caminos intransitables. Del otro, las montañas. Todas las
carreteras tienen que cruzar por aquí", reconoció José Luis
Laparra, presidente municipal de Huixtla, quien confirmó que el
cabildo ya cedió el terreno a la Federación para la construcción
del edificio, valuado en más de 20 millones de pesos. Deberá estar
listo a finales del año.

"Hemos llegado a la conclusión de que la ruta principal de
tránsito del migrante es la costera. Si quieren llegar al norte,
tienen que pasar por Huixtla", añadió el alcalde.

***

En el reporte sobre la construcción del PIC Huixtla se define que las
restantes bases estarán ubicadas en Comitán y Palenque, en Chiapas,
así como en Ciudad del Carmen, en Campeche. "Están incluidos
dentro del Programa Integral para la Frontera Sur de México, el cual
persigue entre otros objetivos garantizar flujos migratorios
ordenados y seguros, así como contar con la infraestructura adecuada
para tal fin", se añade en el documento.

Creado a principios del sexenio con la intención de "reordenar"
la franja limítrofe con Centroamérica, el Programa Integral para la
Frontera Sur ha sido considerado por la Secretaría de Gobernación
como un tema confidencial, del que no se han dado a conocer detalles
por razones de seguridad nacional, según adujo Bucarelli a la
solicitud de transparencia 0000400212910 presentada por este diario
el año pasado.

Pero el documento del Indaabin, elaborado a petición del instituto
por la consultoría AFH y Asociados, abre una ventana a cuál es la
visión del Programa Integral para la migración indocumentada y cómo
habría de interceptarse un flujo que, anualmente, lleva a decenas de
miles de centroamericanos y extranjeros de otras nacionalidades a
cruzar irregularmente por México.

"Las funciones a realizar en el PIC Huixtla serán ejecutadas en
coordinación con otros Puntos Internos de Revisión que se
desarrollarán en la zona, proyectos (que) tendrán la misión de
reforzar la seguridad y control en la franja fronteriza del sur del
país antes del Istmo de Tehuantepec", se expone en el documento.

Claves

Expectativas

• El gobierno federal estima que en la frontera con Guatemala
existen más de 40 cruces irregulares.

• El PIC "será una línea para filtrar los flujos de personas y
mercancías irregulares que logran eludir la inspección y
verificación en los márgenes de la frontera".

• El Instituto Nacional de Migración calcula que con la
construcción del PIC se reducirá 50 por ciento la migración por
Tapachula.

Es Nuevo León estado receptor de migrantes
Hay 700 mil personas que no son originarias del estado, según las
cifras del INEGI, somos un estado de tránsito, por lo que muchos
están obligados a pasar por aquí.
Mar, 24/05/2011 - 08:15
http://www.milenio.com/node/726106

En el estado de Nuevo León existen alrededor de 700 mil personas que
son de otros estados de la República Mexicana, según las cifras del
último censo del INEGI, según lo dio a conocer la directora del
Centro de Atención al Migrante del Gobierno Estatal, Alejandra Ocádiz.

La funcionaria incluso señaló que son más personas las que siguen
llegando a nuestro estado de otros lugares del país, que aquellos
nuevoleoneses que se van a Estados Unidos o a otros sitios del país y
del mundo. "Hay 700 mil personas que no son originarias del
estado, según las cifras del INEGI, somos un estado de tránsito, por
lo que muchos están obligados a pasar por aquí , pero también es
por toda aquella población que viene en busca de desarrollo de
empleo", explicó Ocádiz.

Con el fin de construir acuerdos entre autoridad y sociedad civil e
integrar para maximizar los beneficios de la migración y disminuya al
mínimo sus costos se llevó a cabo, en la sala Jorge Treviño del
Tribunal Superior de Justicia del estado, el primer foro de
discusión "Nuevo León a la Vanguardia por una Política
Migratoria", donde se abordaron los temas de Migración
Internacional y Nuevo León, la Migración y el Marco Jurídico.

"La idea es ver todo el trabajo que tenemos por delante no sólo
elaborar marcos adecuados, sino generar políticas públicas que
marcan el camino de los programas sociales para inhibir la migración
local, porque aunque Nuevo León no está en estadísticas altas sigue
recibiendo gente hay una migración interna", agregó la funcionaria
estatal

Otro de los problemas que enfrentan los migrantes es la falta de
recursos para genera mas oportunidades y programas sociales.
"La Federación hace una distribución del gasto público, Nuevo
León sigue recibiendo gente y a veces no alcanza los recursos de esta
migración nacional", indicó Ocádiz.

Monterrey • Zyntia Vanegas

AZMEX EXTRA 2.1 24-5-11

AZMEX EXTRA 2.1 24 MAY 2011

Note: hear it gonna get worse

3 in Sheriff's Office accused of drug, human smuggling
by JJ Hensley and Michelle Ye Hee Lee - May. 24, 2011 04:18 PM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/
2011/05/24/20110524phoenix-area-maricopa-sheriff-search-warrants-
abrk.html

Three Maricopa County Sheriff's employees and seven others were
arrested Tuesday and accused of being part of a syndicate that was
smuggling heroin and people from Mexico into the United States.

One of the employees, Deputy Alfredo Navarrette, a 10-year veteran of
the department, is also suspected of smuggling undocumented
immigrants. Authorities found two suspected illegal immigrants at his
house, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

Authorities said Navarrette, 37, was smuggling illegal border-
crossers to California.

"It's despicable," Arpaio said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

Two sheriff's detention officers, Sylvia Najera, 25, and Marcella
Hernandez, 27, were arrested Tuesday along with a Phoenix
construction company owner on suspicion of money laundering related
to the drug-trafficking network. Investigators claim that Hernandez
is romantically linked with the leader of the drug-smuggling
operation, identified as Lorenzo Arce-Torres, and is eight months'
pregnant with his child.

All three sheriff's employees were trained by federal Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agents.

The sheriff's drug-crimes unit conducted a yearlong investigation
into Navarrette and the other suspects after allegations of
corruption that date back to September 2000 surfaced, according to
Arpaio. The sheriff said they suspected Navarette since May 2010 but
didn't have enough evidence to act on.

The sheriff's investigation, coordinated with a multi-agency drug
task force, led detectives to believe that Hernandez operated a pair
of stash houses and orchestrated the movement of heroin in the
Valley, authorities allege. Ten pounds of the drug was seized in the
investigation, officials say.

The Sheriff's Office said more law-enforcement officers may be
implicated; the investigation is ongoing

Earlier Tuesday, Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies served search
warrants throughout the county, initiating a series of arrests. A
large number of police vehicles were at a house near 67th Avenue and
Van Buren Street.


Sheriff's officers caught in smuggling probe by KTAR Newsroom (May
24th, 2011 @ 4:21pm) Policy >> Comments:76

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tuesday morning's
drug busts were the results of an investigation of three MCSO
employees who were booked on several felonies, Arpaio said in a press
conference.

Former Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Interim Maricopa
County Attorney Rick Romley helped Arpaio with the investigation,
which was keyed up in the last few months as more information was
obtained.

Arpaio initially received a tip that Alfredo Navarrette, an
immigration customs deputy sheriff trained by Immigrations and
Customs Enforcement, had been involved in a human and drug smuggling
operation as early as 2000.

When serving search warrants across the Valley Tuesday, Navarrette's
home was found to contain illegal immigrants. He has been charged
with human smuggling. Arpaio later said that Navarrette was
transporting aliens to California and passing on MCSO information to
drug traffickers.

The other two officers involved, Sylvia Najera and Marcella
Hernandez, are detention officers who both worked at the Lower
Buckeye Jail and were trained by ICE. It is believed the two women
knew each other, Arpaio said.

"Today's arrest brings it closer to home," Arpaio said. "I've been
fighting drug and human smuggling for as long as I've been sheriff."

Hernandez is eight months pregnant with the child of the leader of
the trafficking organization, Arpaio said.

"No one's above the law and apparently no one is beyond the reach of
drug operations in Mexico," Montgomery said.

Navarrette was suspended for unrelated reasons prior to his arrest.
Seven other non-MCSO personnel were arrested during the execution of
the search warrants. All were involved with the human and drug
trafficking organization.

Despite today's arrests, Arpaio made it clear the investigation is
still underway.
"We're not done with the investigation," Arpaio said. "We're still
looking at other officers who could be involved."

AZMEX UPDATE 2 24-5-11

AZMEX UPDATE 2 24 MAY 2011

Note: Even more this shows the difference between U.S and Mexico,
between Arizona and Sonora. Corruption = gun control = crime.

Note: from NSSF Bullet Points
May 23, 2011
Vol. 12 No. 21
This Week:
Summit
Government Relations
Industry News
Education & Safety
Violent Crime Drops as
Firearms Ownership Rises
FBI RELEASES PRELIMINARY FIGURES FOR 2010 . . . The FBI today
released its Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2010,
showing a decrease of 5.5 percent in the number of violent crimes
brought to its attention in 2010 compared to the previous year.
Violent crime, which includes murder, forcible rape, robbery and
aggravated assault, decreased in all four regions of the country and
in both cities and non-metropolitan areas. For decades, violent crime
in the United States has been dropping. Final figures for 2009 showed
violent crime at its lowest level since 1984. At the same time,
firearms ownership and use has been increasing, putting the lie to
anti-gun organizations' claims that more guns lead to more crime. The
largest surge in firearms sales occurred from late 2008 into 2010,
and, according to an NSSF report, an estimated 34.4 million people
went target shooting in 2009, the largest number ever. Read more.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-
preliminary-annual-crime-statistics-for-2010

AZMEX EXTRA 2 24-5-11 Maricopa cty busts

AZMEX EXTRA 2 24-5-11

Note: Corruption on this side of border? Who would have thought?
Maybe things like this can explain law enforcements lack of interest
in many of these cases. Bad/incompetent/corrupt management, lazy, on
the take?

3 in Sheriff's Office accused of drug, human smuggling
May. 24, 2011 12:55 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/
2011/05/24/20110524phoenix-area-maricopa-sheriff-search-warrants-
abrk.html

Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies served search warrants throughout
the county Tuesday morning and made a series of arrests as part of an
investigation involving at least three Maricopa County Sheriff's
employees suspected of being involved in human and drug smuggling
operations.

An officer at the scene where one of the warrants was served
confirmed to a 12 News reporter that the operation involved a
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputy suspected of smuggling drugs or humans.

The targets of the investigation, conducted by a task force of state
and local agencies, include a Sheriff's deputy and a pair of
detention officers.

The Sheriff's Office would not confirm any details related to the
investigation including the identities of the deputies or how many
other suspects might be involved.

A large number of police vehicles were at a house near 67th Avenue
and Van Buren Street.

The Sheriff's Office said it plans to release more details at a news
conference Tuesday afternoon.


Sheriff's Deputies Arrest 3 Officers In Sweep
POSTED: 11:18 am MST May 24, 2011
UPDATED: 1:43 pm MST May 24, 2011
http://www.kpho.com/news/28007976/detail.html

PHOENIX -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, including Sheriff
Joe Arpaio and a County Attorney Bill Montgomery will hold a press
conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the arrest of three sheriff's
officers and many others.
A yearlong investigation into a drug and human smuggling operation
involving illegal immigrants with ties to Mexico led to the arrests,
according to the Sheriff's Office.
Deputies spent Tuesday morning serving search warrants at more than a
dozen locations.
For updates, return to KPHO.com and CBS 5 News at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
and 10 p.m.


Several Agencies Raid Valley Properties
Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 12:16 PM MST
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 7:41 AM MST
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/swat-raids-property-05242011

PHOENIX - The Pinal County Sheriff's Office raided a building near
67th Avenue and Baseline Tuesday morning.

Armored vehicles were seen along with 25 deputies and K-9s
surrounding the area.
Several agencies are assisted the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
includiing Pinal, Goodyear and Tempe police departments.

Locations included:
67th Ave. and Baseline Road
W. 67th Ave., just south of Interstate 10
69th Ave. and Pierce
67th Dr. and Roosevelt
59th Ave. and Latham St.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will hold a news conference
Tuesday.


3 MCSO officers arrested in drug, human smuggling investigation


MCSO says it served search warrants at three locations in west Phoenix.
Photographer: ABC15
Posted: 9:16 AM
Last Updated: 1 minute ago
By: Deborah Stocks
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/
report%3A-mcso-serving-search-warrants-in-phoenix
PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says three of their
officers have been arrested after an investigation into a drug and
human smuggling operation.

Air15 video showed Goodyear police SWAT vehicles assisting in the
early Tuesday undercover operation at a home near 69th Avenue and
Pierce Street.
At a home near 69th Avenue and Cypress Street, a neighbor told ABC15
that an undercover agent said drugs were being sold from the home,
including five pounds of heroin a day.

An undercover agent told ABC15 the operation would ultimately involve
17 locations.
Multiple undercover agents from Colorado and California were
investigating, along with the Arizona Department of Public Safety,
ABC15 learned.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery are
scheduled to hold a news conference later this afternoon to discuss
the yearlong investigation.
Check back for updates on this developing story.

AZMEX

AZMEX EXTRA 24-5-11  F&F

Judge postpones trial for 20 in alleged gun ring
Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 5:32 am | Comments

A judge has postponed the trial for 20 people accused of participating in a ring that brought more than 700 guns to be smuggled into Mexico for use by a drug cartel.
The trial was set for June 7, but U.S. District Judge James Teilborg moved it to Feb. 28.
Records show that two rifles purchased by a man accused of buying guns for the ring were recovered at the scene of a December shootout near the Arizona-Mexico border that left a Border Patrol agent dead.
Prosecutors say the ring bought more than 700 guns to be smuggled into Mexico for use by a drug cartel.
Authorities say the ring is believed to have supplied the Sinaloa cartel with guns.
The 20 accused people pleaded not guilty to the charges.


Monday, May 23, 2011

AZMEX UPDATE 23-5-11

AZMEX UPDATE 23 MAY 2011

Note: this movement gaining momentum, could go either way. If
citizens actually had real weapons things probably would be much
different.

"We look for weapons to pressure politicians"
The poet says Javier Sicilia citizens seek legal weapons to take
tools with which to pressure governments and reestablish the country
ACTIVIST. The mobilizations in Mexico are similar to those of the
Middle East, because they are rotten States
Monday May 23, 2011
Salvador Frausto | El Universal
salvador.fraustro @ eluniversal.com.mx
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/36899.html

Javier Sicilia has been closely following the news coming from
distant countries. European social events and civil unrest in the
Middle East and Africa called the attention of the man who leads the
latest wave of public protests to demand peace, justice and democracy
in Mexico.

The poet notes, like millions around the world, young Spanish, French
and German demands for employment conditions and inviting not to vote
for mainstream parties. Look for citizens of Egypt, Libya, Yemen,
Bahrain, Algeria and Tunisia demanding the resignation of corrupt
governments. Sees some similarities between what happens there and
what happens here.

"The state as we know, the one that emerged from the Enlightenment as
intended., from the French Revolution, has come to an end We are
facing historic changes, we are at a historical turning point of
national crisis. Now the state is no longer fulfilling their
vocation, and they are not serving the citizens, it is crumbling, we
are building something new that I don't know clearly what it is, but
the current state is not working, "says the man made in a stream of
Catholicism that shows concern for the social and the mystical.

"There is a complaint in Europe and in Mexico by the party-but in
Europe there are at least democratic, functioning institutions, the
demonstrations in Mexico are more similar to the protests that have
developed in the Middle East, because they are rotten States,
criminal cover-up, leaving citizens in the hands of the crime,
leaving things in the hands of police and military who are often
criminals, "he says in an interview with El Universal.

Pushing change

Activist eyes light up when he recalls the case of the boy died from
beatings at the hands of the Egyptian police. And then people in the
streets shouting "We are all Khaled Said." And then the resignation
of President Hosni Mubarak. A people make a difference. "When
citizens can be killed, and everything goes unpunished, it is a state
that does not work, I wish we were as in Europe, but we are as the
Middle East," he says.

The poet's words convey anger and despair. His son Juan Francisco was
killed at age 24, apparently by a gang of criminals connected to
organized crime. The tragedy occurred in Temixco, Morelos, 28 March.
It happened after a series of marches that became a social movement
that demands justice and peace. But political reforms to empower
citizens.

Another string of protests starting in Cuernavaca on June 4 and will
tour 12 states. Hispanic organizations in the United States will make
their own route for the same reason. Everyone will be in Ciudad
Juarez, on 10 March. There materialize a compact city and deploy
again to the federal government, legislators and parties to push for
change.

united citizens

"This fight goes to the civic unity that would enable a demand the
Mexican government to make fundamental changes, because now the state
is a submissive state, which serves the interests of employers,
political parties and criminals. We are involved in a stupid war that
has not given us security, in contrast, has left us more insecurity,
"he says.

Sicillia is a man concerned with social transformation. In the 80
committees involved in Christian Base (CEB), which have some overlap
with the liberation theologians. Christian intellectual formation
includes the idea that people can and should drive change. "Citizens
do not have any weapons. So we are asking for political reform, to
have instruments of pressure against the ruling class, in order to
reestablish the country. "

The Mexico with the dream of activists of the movement led by
Sicillia may revoke the mandate of a president, a state governor, a
secretary of state. The deputies and senators could be judged
corrupt. citizens candidates would be possible.

Sicilia believes that political parties should agree to nominate a
presidential candidate of unity. "With an agenda that meets the
demands of citizens, that the parties agree to save the 2012" calls.

On May 8, before a vibrant Zocalo, Sicily called for the resignation
of Genaro García Luna, Secretary of Public Security. Still holds the
same position. "García Luna has already spent a lot of money, as was
long, and has accumulated much power, if it continues to accumulate
power will lead us to a police state and we citizens do not want that."

He adds: "You do not want someone accumulate so much power, power
must always rotate, their strategy has backfired, but if we had the
revocation of the mandate, citizens choose whether Garcia Luna must
leave office."


Note: The same tactics increasingly in use here also. Too many
occasions where they have authentic uniforms, equipment and
vehicles. All this points out yet again the need for protocols and
procedures between citizens and law enforcement here so citizens can
verify it is really law enforcement they are encountering. Situation
is actually worse in many rural areas.

Bloody Mexican Gangs Make It 'Official,' with Uniforms, Insignia
By Kelley Vlahos
Published May 23, 2011
| FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/23/bloody-mexican-gangs-make-
official-uniforms-insignia/?test=latestnews

Reuters
May 19: Federal police stand guard outside the Attorney General's
office (PGR) in Cuernavaca after the arrest of Victor Valdez, known
as "El Gordo Varilla" (The Big Stick).
There are places in Mexico where residents don't know who the real
police are.
Shadowy kidnappers and men committing grisly crimes in broad daylight
are often dressed in formal police or military gear, suggesting no
difference between the good guys and the bad guys, between the drug
cartels and the government trying to stop them.
According to a growing number of reports out of Mexico today, the
major drug trafficking operations (DTOs) – like Los Zetas, the Gulf
Cartel, La Familia Michoacana and its latest incarnation, Caballeros
Templarios (Knights Templar), are not only donning uniforms but
brandishing insignias, badges, even decals on their vehicles that are
indistinguishable from that of the federal or local police forces.
"This has been going on for about five or six years and perhaps even
longer – members of Mexican cartels impersonating the cops … or
dressed in some sort of dark, scary uniforms," said Howard Campbell,
a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas El Paso.
"They want to wear the disguise that will allow them to carry out
their activities more successfully," noted George Grayson, author of
"Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?"

He pointed to a rash of successful prison escapes two years ago in
which members of Los Zetas dressed in police and federal uniforms to
help spring fellow members from jail. According to reports, the Zetas
pretended to carry out "inspections" and, with aid from guards on the
inside, were able to get to the inmates, open the cells and allow
them to just walk away.
In one of the most notorious cases, Zetas dressed up like members of
the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) and had successfully released
their friends from a prison in the northern state of Zacatecas within
five minutes.
"They accomplished a blitzkrieg of a prison escape, aided by those
uniforms," said Grayson, who noted that "there is a big black market
for military uniforms" and other official gear, including weapons, in
Mexico today.
More recently, Mexican police are still looking for the gunman behind
the brazen daylight murder of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) special agent Jaime Zapata in February in San Luis Potosi.
Reports say Zapata and fellow ICE agent Victor Avila, who was wounded
in the attack, may have stopped their armored SUV and rolled down the
driver's window before they were shot, suggesting they believed they
were being approached by friendly forces. Police are looking at
members of Los Zetas as possible suspects in the case, according to
news reports.
Subterfuge like this is not new – even insurgents in Afghanistan have
been known to use official military or police uniforms in bold
attacks against coalition forces. In Mexico, where the reputation of
the police is almost as bad as the gangs themselves, it is smart
strategy. It confuses witnesses.
"The default position is you always suspect the police are engaged in
illegal activity, so it would not surprise the average Mexican one
scintilla to see a 'police officer' committing a crime," Grayson said.
But Campbell points out that the DTOs are not only employing the
uniforms and insignia as tactical deception. They are using them out
in the open to identify themselves in places where the gangs have
nearly total control. Increasingly, the gangs are becoming the
government, and they are taking their new roles very seriously, he
added.
"They might as well wear uniforms because they are the people in
charge," said Campbell, noting the uniforms serve at least two
different functions -- to intimidate local residents and to reflect a
system of hierarchy and pride among members.
A video released in April by the Mexican blog Videos Policiacos shows
at great length the official patches and insignia of the Zetas, the
Gulf Cartel, Knights Templar and their regional affiliates emblazoned
on hats, shirts, flak jackets, trucks and SUVs – plus endless caches
of weapons, helmets and other security gear – including gold-plated
AK-47s and diamond encrusted handguns.

Experts say this is only a reflection of how badly the Mexican
government's war against DTOs is failing today. Last year, Mexican
lawmakers admitted that some 71 percent of municipal governments in
Mexico were under the influence of criminal organizations. The drug-
related death toll in 2010 hit a new high of 15,273, compared to an
estimated 2,800 in 2007, according to numbers released in January.
Government officials continue to insist that the drug war is working
and that the high body count reflects the government taking the fight
directly to the cartels.
Alejandro Poire, President Felipe Calderon's spokesman for security
issues, told The Dallas Morning News recently that 20 out of 37 top
cartel leaders identified by the government have been brought down in
the last two years. "These criminal organizations have been weakened,
have been significantly weakened," Poire said.
Though Poire denies it, experts like Campbell say the northeastern
gulf state of Tamaulipas – where a total of 183 bodies in mass graves
were found this spring -- is completely overrun by DTOs, particularly
Los Zetas. Similarly, multiple cartels have been fighting for control
of Ciudad Juarez, a murder-wracked city in Chihauhua state located
right across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Recent reports have highlighted the Zetas' control of Nuevo Laredo, a
Tamaulipas city also near the Texas border. In effect, the gang taxes
and regulates the operation of local businesses through extortion,
steals from or rations local resources like gasoline and imposes
order through an elaborate network of spies and enforcers, says
Campbell.
The gangs outfitting themselves like the government is just another
way for them to announce that the official Mexican leadership has
lost its authority in those places.
"This is not only about drug running," Campbell said, "but about
becoming regional powers repackaging the Mexican government."

AZMEX SPECIAL 23-5-11

AZMEX SPECIAL 23 MAY 2011 Background


Flight brings plight: About 25% of Juárez homes sit empty, as
residents flee drug war violence
by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera \ El Paso Times
Posted: 05/23/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18118887?source=most_viewed


JUAREZ -- Most of the houses in Villas Residencial have no doors, no
windowpanes, and graffiti covers graffiti on every wall. Everything
that could be resold -- electrical wiring, sewer lids, anything made
out of copper -- is gone.
Rows upon rows of houses have been abandoned in this housing project
located on the southeast side of the city. People left because of the
lack of security or the lack of work. The few who stayed have nowhere
else to go.
"Back home, you either work at the mines or with the narcos," said a
maquiladora worker from Parral who preferred not to be identified.
About a quarter of the homes in Juárez are empty due to the massive
exodus of people who have fled the current wave of violence, and the
urban planning mistakes of the past. Now, the abandoned neighborhoods
attract vandalism, breed new criminals, weigh down financially on the
city and represent one of the biggest obstacles for its recovery.
Citywide, the number of people who have left Juárez in the last three
years is about 230,000, according to one study.
Urban planning experts believe restoring these areas is a crucial
step to get Juárez back on its feet, but while some projects are in
the process of taking off, the
task remains a largely unsolved challenge.
In some ways, empty housing units are both the cause and consequence
behind some of the city's most substantial problems today.
For one, they attract crime. Empty houses are often vandalized or
serve as hideouts for thieves and drug addicts; in some cases, hit
men have even used them to dump bodies. To avoid the risk, new
residents will not move in, triggering a vicious circle of more
desolation and crime.
For the city administration, it has meant continuing to shoulder the
high cost of maintaining the massive network of utilities that run
through these mostly unoccupied areas, at a time when the departure
of thousands of taxpaying homeowners and businesspeople has caused
the city coffers to settle critically low.
But urban development experts say the problem with housing started
years before.
Abigail García, coordinator of plans and programs at the Municipal
Institute of Planning and Research, or IMIP, said residential
construction in Juárez soared in the 1990s thanks to federal policies
that made low-income housing credits widely available as a measure of
economic stimulation.
The boom in residential real estate was also meant to accommodate the
growing number of people moving into the city, which had become a
magnet for thousands of jobseekers from all around Mexico.
"Juárez received and received and received people from all over the
country, and they needed a place to live. But now some people have
left and returned to their places of origin, and others don't want to
buy a home because of the uncertainty regarding their jobs. And it's
all because of the insecurity," said Victor Manuel Ortega, president
of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry, or CMIC, in Juárez.
But García said there was no research supporting the push for more
houses, and population growth rates also seemed to contradict the
construction trend.
"Given the economic growth of the city, the logic was that their
gamble would be successful. But there was no study suggesting that
these houses would be occupied," she said.
Figures from Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography,
or INEGI, show that while Juárez had one of the highest population
growth rates in the country for several decades -- the city grew by
21 percent between 1990 and 1995 -- the pace began to slow down in
the early 2000s. In the first five years of the last decade, the
population grew only 7 percent.
Ortega said residential construction was justified by the industrial
plants that continued to arrive in Juárez and required new homes for
their employees.
"It definitely wasn't a miscalculation, because there wasn't a
miscalculation from the part of the industrial plants or from the
restaurants and from every other business," he said. "These were
unoccupied houses meant for the people who came in on an annual basis."
But César Fuentes, regional director of Juárez's Northern Border
College, said factors other than need were involved, such as politics
and powerful interests in the last 50 years that often trumped
technical decisions regarding the planning of the city.
"When the municipal government wanted to expand to the southeast, we
argued it was an inefficient move in terms of expanding water and
drainage infrastructure, especially when there were plenty of
undeveloped areas within the city. However, the decision to grow
outward was approved by the city government because of its ties with
the owners of that land," he said.
"In the case of Juárez, the powerful groups that control the land
keep strong ties to the political parties because they fund their
campaigns, so their interests will be protected by whatever
administration is in charge."
Fuentes said one problem of this unhinged growth in housing was that
residential development did not go hand in hand with the creation of
schools, health centers, supermarkets or community centers in those
areas, which he sees as one of the causes behind family
disintegration, school dropout rates and crime in the city.
"Now we see areas in the west and southeast where there are no high
schools, for example. Whether it is because of their economic
situation or the distance from education centers, young people have
no opportunities. This influences whether they stay in school or not,
and can turn them into easy prey for drug traffickers," he said.
The result was a cancerous growth in the number of houses being built
in the city, which was only accentuated by the recent exodus of
people fleeing from the violence.
According to INEGI figures, there were 70,434 unoccupied dwellings in
2005 -- last year, the number reached 111,103, or about 24 percent of
all private homes. A recent study from a social sciences research
center in Juárez found that about 40 percent of them had been abandoned.
For the construction sector, the collapse of the housing market meant
a near complete shutdown. Ortega said that construction investments
in the city have dropped almost 90 percent since the crisis started.
Out of the city's almost 400 construction companies, only 30
currently have work, he said.
Urban planning experts in the city believe that repairing abandoned
areas and attracting new residents is a crucial step in restoring the
city's social fabric.
García thinks efforts should focus on building health centers,
schools and commercial areas in the locations lacking them. Some of
the empty houses could be repurposed into community centers, small
libraries or rental homes for temporary populations, she said.
State, city and housing officials have already announced or begun
several initiatives to fill those homes. The city government
announced last month that it will restore and give away 100 homes to
outstanding municipal police officers.
Chihuahua's branch of the National Workers Housing Fund Institute, or
Infonavit, recently began offering a home-repairing credit to
potential home buyers who take an existing damaged home.
And López, with the city's urban development department, said that
the municipal government has begun a pilot program to rehabilitate
Riveras del Bravo, a neighborhood with one of the highest vacancy
levels east of the city. López said the repairs include fixing street
holes, parks and lighting posts, while the federal government will
invest in community, sports and education centers.
But observers and the general public believe these efforts haven't
been enough.
Claudia, a 27-year-old housewife who lives in Riveras del Bravo and
prefers not to give her last name, said she saw city workers clean
half a dozen houses, but hasn't seen them since then. The street
lights went on briefly during a visit from Juárez Mayor Héctor "Teto"
Murguía, but the streets have been dark ever since.
Meanwhile, neighbors continue to abandon their houses since the
killing of three men last year, their slayings marked by three small
crosses on the sidewalk. Claudia said thieves target maquiladora
workers in the early morning and banners have appeared on a nearby
convenience store warning residents and merchants that they will soon
be asked for an extortion fee.
"My 7-year-old son has heard gunshots in the streets and now he
doesn't like to go out because he's afraid he'll get shot," she said.
Some believe government officials are lacking coordination to
implement neighborhood restoration programs, but besides that,
Fuentes said the local government couldn't if it wanted to because of
its tight budget.
And given the city's security crisis, a large part of municipal
resources currently go to security-oriented programs.
López said another problem is the legal status of abandoned houses,
as it can take several months for housing authorities to repossess
them. So far, Infonavit has recovered 2,500 and estimates it will
have 15,000 by the end of the year, López said.
Ultimately, Fuentes said, it all comes back to reversing the city's
security crisis. Without security, people will not migrate to Juárez
looking for work as they once did, houses will remain unoccupied and
that will continue to fan the flames of violence and other crime, he
said.
"If we don't see any improvements in security, it is difficult to
move forward," he said. "We can think of many things (to solve the
empty housing problem), but I don't see how it could be done. If we
don't have security, who's going to want to come to Juárez?"
Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera may be reached at
a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.


'Bravest woman in Mexico' seeks asylum in United States
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
May 23, 2011 -- Updated 1156 GMT (1956 HKT)
Marisol Valles Garcia, pictured in October, was the only person who
accepted the top police job in Praxedis, Mexico.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/05/23/
mexico.female.police.chief/?hpt=T2

Marisol Valles Garcia says threats forced her to leave, gave her
"fear that will last a lifetime"
She was police chief for four months in the border town of Praxedis
G. Guerrero
Her idealism drew international attention
Attorney: "She represented the average person saying, 'No more'"

Editor's note: Tune in to AC360° Monday at 10 p.m. ET to see Ed
Lavandera's report about Marisol Valles Garcia.
El Paso, Texas (CNN) -- When the cell phone rang, the words "private
number" flashed on the screen. Marisol Valles Garcia knew who was
calling. The threatening, mysterious voice on the other end of the
line had hounded her for almost four months.
But this phone call had a starkly sinister tone. The man said
something he'd never said before. He was coming to pick up the 21-
year-old police chief at the station. "Some people" wanted to see
her, he said.
The same day -- March 1 -- her mother spotted strange cars driving
past the family's home. Valles Garcia knew it was only a matter of
time before they closed in.
She called her husband and told him to grab their 1-year-old son.
Four months after headlines around the world heralded her as the
"bravest woman in Mexico," Valles Garcia plotted a hasty escape
across a remote border crossing in West Texas.
Terrified of being tortured or killed, she fled the country without
packing a suitcase.
With her parents, sisters, husband and son, Valles Garcia crossed a
footbridge into the United States and asked for asylum.
"I came here for the security my country cannot provide for me," she
told CNN in a recent interview. "The fear will never go away. What I
experienced is a fear that will last a lifetime."
A few days after she left Mexico, Valles Garcia learned her mother's
house had been ransacked. She is hiding in the United States while
she awaits a ruling in her asylum case, and agreed to speak with CNN
in El Paso, Texas.
The asylum process is a lengthy legal road that could take up to
three years, El Paso attorney Carlos Spector said, and there's no
guarantee U.S. authorities will grant the request.
But Spector said one thing is certain: Going back to Mexico would be
a death sentence.
"I have no doubt she will be killed," said Spector, who calls Valles
Garcia "the Rosa Parks of Mexico."
"She is a trophy for the cartels. She represented the average person
saying, 'No more,'" he said.
Last October, Valles Garcia took a job no one wanted. She became
police chief in the small Mexican border town of Praxedis G. Guerrero.
The previous police chief had been murdered. Drug cartel assassins
cut off his head.
Nationwide, the Mexican government says there have been more than
34,600 drug-related deaths since President Felipe Calderon began a
crackdown on cartels in December 2006.
Praxedis, located only about 35 miles away from Ciudad Juarez, is in
a region that has seen some of the bloodiest conflict, as rival
cartels fight over smuggling routes into the United States.
The idealistic criminology student's rise to police chief in one of
Mexico's most violent areas thrust Valles Garcia into the
international spotlight. News reporters from around the world came to
Praxedis, a town of only 3,000 people, to tell the story of the woman
who dreamed to make a difference.
"We had a beautiful idea. That's why I accepted the job," Valles
Garcia said. "We wanted to re-establish people's confidence in the
police."
But just weeks into her new job, the threatening phone calls started,
Valles Garcia said.
At first, the man on the phone tried to convince her to work for both
sides.
To many public officials in Mexico, it is a familiar offer, commonly
referred to as "plata o plomo" (silver or lead) -- a not-so-subtle
demand to accept the drug cartel's bribes, or be on the receiving end
of bullets.
Valles Garcia refused the offers for months. Knowing she could not
take on the drug cartels with her tiny police force, her mission at
the police department was focusing on prevention.
She hired 13 female police officers. They refused to carry weapons
and the young police chief never used body guards, unlike many other
public officials in Mexico.
"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia told CNN shortly after she
started the job. "It's like all human beings. There will always be
fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility
and security."
Her vision was training the police force to focus on pushing children
to stay in school and helping single mothers find steady-paying jobs.
It was a lucrative offer in a town full of women widowed by the drug
war, where many families were scrambling to survive. Valles Garcia
hoped the same circumstances that made so many young people fall prey
to drug cartels' offers of making easy money would bolster her police
force's success.
"We were helping the people they (the cartels) were recruiting from,"
Valles Garcia said. "I don't think they liked that. We were trying to
help them make a better life."
But perhaps naively, Valles Garcia said, she didn't expect to be run
out of her hometown by the narco underworld.
"I thought we made it clear to the drug cartels, we were going to be
focused on social issues," said Valles Garcia. "We weren't going to
attack them. That was the job of the state and federal police."
But the threats kept coming.
Eventually, Valles Garcia became so frightened that she asked her
father to drive her to work.
Now, she fights back tears as she acknowledges that she can never
return to the only place she's ever lived -- a violent, corrupt world
where many of her friends and family remain.
"My whole life was in Mexico," Valles Garcia said. "I hope Mexico
becomes what it once was, a safe, fun place with life."
Valles Garcia is devastated that she can't go home, and disappointed
she couldn't finish her three-year term as police chief of the small
town where she was born and raised. But still, she's proud of her
accomplishments.
"We at least made a difference, gave people a little hope," she said.