AZMEX F&F EXTRA 2 31-1-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 2 31 JAN 2012

More indicted in slaying of border agent
Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Tuesday,
January 31, 2012 12:00 am

Federal prosecutors have won indictments against additional
defendants in the case against those accused of killing U.S. Border
Patrol Agent Brian Terry, newly released documents show.

All the names are blacked out in the new November 2011 indictment
except two: Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, who was wounded at the scene of
Terry's slaying and has been incarcerated since then, and Rito Osorio-
Arellanes. The records don't clarify what the relationship is between
the two, but a person identified as Rito Osorio-Arellanez was
arrested "near Rio Rico" on Dec. 12, 2010, just two days before Terry
was killed, a federal indictment says. He was indicted Jan. 5 on a
charge of re-entering the country after being deported, on Sept. 11,
2008.

In November, prosecutors in the Terry murder case asked that the re-
entry-after-deportation case be dismissed entirely because he had
been indicted in the Terry murder case.

That same month, U.S. District Judge David Bury declared that the
case is unusually complex, noting that prosecutors had provided
defense attorneys nine CDs and 1,300 pages of material related to the
case, including ballistics testing, fingerprint analysis and DNA
testing.

Bury asked prosecutors to prepare the newly released documents after
the Arizona Daily Star and five other Arizona news organizations
intervened in the case in December, asking that the entire case be
unsealed.

On Jan. 12, Bury ordered that prosecutors unseal and release certain
types of documents - indictments as well as orders and minute entries
issued by the court - but he declined to unseal the entire case file.
Bury said prosecutors asked that the case remain sealed until all
those indicted have been arrested.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/more-indicted-in-
slaying-of-border-agent/article_ea7ce394-b33a-529a-
b8ae-9215d948d2f4.html#ixzz1l3Wlq8ic

Executive Branch - POLITICS
In new 'Fast and Furious' report, Democrats clear Justice appointees
of wrongdoing
By Mike Levine
Published January 31, 2012

| FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/31/in-new-report-two-justice-
officials-call-fast-and-furious-criticism-absurd/

Jan. 25, 2011: A cache of seized weapons used in the ATF gun-
running operation 'Fast and Furious' is displayed at a news
conference in Phoenix.

Democrats investigating the failed gun-running probe known as
"Operation Fast and Furious" are laying the blame at the feet of
officials in Arizona, saying in a new report that lawmakers from both
sides of the aisle have "obtained no evidence" implicating high-level
political appointees in Washington.

At the same time, the report reveals that two top Justice Department
officials, in previously undisclosed interviews, insisted they would
have taken action if they had the relevant details, and said it is
"absurd" and unfair to suggest they knew early-on about the tactics
of Fast and Furious.

Titled "Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona," much of
the report is a historical overview of "gunwalking operations" dating
back to 2006, and in a letter to Republicans accompanying the report,
the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said he told his staff "to
focus on the facts we have discovered rather than the heated and
sometimes inaccurate rhetoric."

"It is clear that ATF agents in Phoenix and prosecutors in the
Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office embarked on a deliberate strategy not
to arrest suspected straw purchasers while they attempted to make
larger cases against higher-level targets," the report reads.

"Although these officials claimed they had no probable cause to
arrest any straw purchasers at the time, allowing hundreds of
illegally purchased military-grade assault weapons to fall into the
hands of violent drug cartels over the course of five years created
an obvious and inexcusable threat to public safety on both sides of
the border."

The report adds that problems arose during investigations even under
the Bush administration, as hundreds of weapons were lost in Mexico,
but "rather than halting operations after flaws became evident, (ATF
agents in Arizona) launched several similarly reckless operations
over the course of several years, also with tragic results."

The report comes two days before Attorney General Eric Holder is set
to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, and it also covers a series of recent interviews by
congressional investigators of two high-ranking Justice Department
officials.

Specifically, the report discloses that Holder's current chief of
staff, Gary Grindler, met with investigators two weeks before
Christmas and told them that, contrary to some allegations, he did
not learn substantive details of "Fast and Furious" during a March
2010 briefing with ATF officials.

Grindler, who as acting deputy attorney general, was the department's
No. 2 at the time of his briefing in March 2010, said he is
"extraordinarily confident" the ATF officials who briefed him did not
tell him firearms were being allowed to go to Mexico.

"That is just an absurd concept," Grindler told congressional
investigators on Dec. 12, 2011, according to the new report. "If that
had been told to me, I would not only have written something, but
done something about it. ... I would have stopped it."

For much of the past year, the committee, led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-
Calif., has been investigating how "Fast and Furious" came to be and
how two weapons tied to the program ended up at the murder scene of
Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010. The majority has
produced several reports from its investigation.

At issue are tactics used by investigators from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to target major gun-runners
in Arizona. Launched in late 2009, "Fast and Furious" planned to
follow gun purchasers in hopes that suspects would lead them to the
heads of Mexican cartels. But ATF lost track of hundreds of high-
powered weapons, and many of those guns surfaced at crime scenes in
Mexico and the United States.

Previously released notes from the briefing show Grindler jotted down
the name "Operation Fast and Furious." In addition, he was told that
at least two suspects used cash to buy nearly 450 weapons costing
tens of thousands of dollars, and he noted many guns bought in the
United States were surfacing in Mexico.

Republicans have said that amount of information "should have raised
red flags," as Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, put it during a
November 2011 Senate hearing with Holder.

At the hearing, Grassley took issue with suggestions that Grindler
was never told of "unacceptable tactics."

"If by unacceptable tactics you mean watching straw buyers illegally
buy guns without seizing them before they get to Mexico, isn't that
exactly what he was told?" Grassley asked Holder, who said he didn't
know what Grindler was told.

Meanwhile, Issa has previously suggested officials within the Justice
Department's Criminal Division, such as Deputy Assistant Attorney
General Jason Weinstein, could have done more to stop "Fast and
Furious."

In a letter to Holder in October, Issa noted that Weinstein and
others approved wiretap applications, which he said "contain rich
detail of the reckless operations tactics being employed by your
agents in Phoenix."

"Although (Criminal Division head Lanny) Breuer and his top deputies
were informed of the operational details and tactics of 'Fast and
Furious,' they did nothing to stop the program," Issa wrote.

But in his interview with congressional investigators, Weinstein
called that "not a fair criticism," saying his general practice was
to read an application's cover memo and only examine the underlying
information if the cover letter raised questions or issues, according
to the Democrats' new report.

"I first heard of possible gunwalking in 'Fast and Furious' when the
whistleblower allegations were made public in early 2011," Weinstein
told congressional investigators on Jan. 10, according to the report.
"Had I known about gunwalking in 'Fast and Furious' before the
allegations became public, I would have sounded the alarm about it."

As for Breuer, he testified at a Senate hearing in November 2011 that
he also first learned of the tactics "when the public disclosure was
made" by ATF agents early last year.

But days before the hearing, Breuer acknowledged he learned in April
2010 that ATF had launched a "gunwalking" investigation four years
earlier called "Operation Wide Receiver," and after learning about it
he directed Weinstein to bring their concerns to ATF leadership.
Breuer has since said he regrets not having said anything to Holder
or others within the department at the time.

During his recent interview with congressional investigators,
Weinstein said he "reacted pretty strongly to" learning about "Wide
Receiver."

"Had I seen anything at any time during the investigation of 'Fast
and Furious' that raised the same concerns, I would have reacted,"
Weinstein told investigators, according to the new report. "And I
would have reacted even more strongly because that would have meant
it was still going on and that 'Wide Receiver' was not in fact an
isolated incidence as I believed it to be."

Nevertheless, on Feb. 2, 2011, as Breuer was meeting with Mexican
officials, the Criminal Division head "suggested allowing straw
purchasers (to) cross into Mexico" so Mexican authorities can arrest
and prosecute them, according to notes from the meeting released
Friday night. But documents obtained by the House oversight panel
don't indicate that any such action was ever taken, according to the
Democrats' new report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/31/in-new-report-
two-justice-officials-call-fast-and-furious-criticism-absurd/
#ixzz1l3XNgTFZ

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 31-1-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 31 JAN 2012

Brian Terry border case: 2nd suspect revealed
Unsealed federal records name man
by Dennis Wagner
Jan. 30, 2012 09:55 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Federal court records unsealed at the request of The Arizona Republic
and other media outlets identify a second suspect in the December
2010 murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Naco.

The U.S. District Court documents name Rito Osorio-Arellanes, 41, who
is believed to be a brother of the only previously named defendant,
Manuel Osorio-Arellanes.

document Department of Justice documents on Terry murder

Both men are under indictment in the slaying of Terry, 40, who died
during a shootout with border bandits who prey on illegal immigrants
and drug smugglers. A third defendant has yet to be identified in
public records because he remains at large.

The case has taken on magnified significance because two AK-47s at
the scene were traced back to Operation Fast and Furious, which
allowed weapons traffickers to ship firearms to Mexican cartels.

Because the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona is enveloped in that
scandal, federal prosecutors in San Diego are pursuing the indictment
against Terry's accused killers. They had persuaded a U.S. district
judge in Tucson to seal the entire record until this week, when
TheRepublic and other outlets convinced a judge to open some
documents, saying the public had a right to inspect them.

The unsealing at The Republic's request ended more than a year of
complete secrecy in the case. In releasing the records, Judge David
Bury ruled that constitutional law gives the public and the media "a
right to attend criminal trials and to inspect related judicial
records."

Beyond identifying Rito Osorio-Arellanes as a defendant, the unsealed
records provide scant new information. Other court documents show
that Rito Osorio-Arellanes was arrested for illegal entry near Rio
Rico just two days before Terry's slaying. It is unclear whether he
was released from jail and was present for the shootout or remained
in custody when the slaying occurred, and is under indictment as a
suspected conspirator with the rip crew.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/
2012/01/30/20120130brian-terry-border-case-2nd-suspect-
revealed.html#ixzz1l3VLRFoY

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 2 29-1-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 2 29-1-12

Note: For those who haven't seen it.

Changes in wake of probe of Fast and Furious
By Pete Yost The Associated Press Arizona Daily Star |
Posted: Sunday, January 29, 2012 4:00 pm | Comments

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is tightening procedures for
responding to information requests from Congress in the aftermath of
a troubled arms trafficking investigation.

In Operation Fast and Furious, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives allowed hundreds of weapons to flow across
the border into Mexico.

The Justice Department told three congressional committees in a
letter Friday night that it has improved coordination between agents
and their managers in carrying out arms trafficking investigations.

Attorney General Eric Holder probably will face questions about the
changes when he testifies Thursday before the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee. That committee has been investigating
the department's mistakes in the probe since early last year.

In a letter last February to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top
Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the department said
that ATF had not authorized the sale of assault weapons to a straw
purchaser and that the agency makes every effort to intercept weapons
that have been purchased illegally.

Yet in Operation Fast and Furious, both statements turned out to be
incorrect because the ATF office in Phoenix had undertaken a risky
tactic known as "gun-walking" in an unsuccessful effort to track
small-time illicit gun buyers to the heads of major arms trafficking
networks.

Many of the guns wound up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.,
including the scene of a killing near Nogales, Ariz., where U.S.
border agent Brian Terry was slain. Two guns connected to Fast and
Furious were found at the scene of Terry's murder.

Some ATF agents with direct knowledge of what had gone on with
Operation Fast and Furious were talking to Grassley's office. In
contrast, the Justice Department was relying on information from top
ATF officials in Washington and the U.S. attorney in Phoenix, who all
incorrectly denied that ATF was allowing weapons purchases by "straw"
buyers to transport guns into Mexico.

In the letter to Congress on Friday night, Deputy Attorney General
James Cole said the department must solicit information directly from
employees with detailed personal knowledge of the subject matter at
issue and consult records relevant to the inquiry if such records are
available.

"Recognize that, in some instances, the employees with the most
relevant information may already have made protected disclosures on
the subject to Congress or others," the letter said.

The department emphasized its commitment to protecting the rights of
whistleblowers, but added that the Whistleblower Protection Act does
not bar the department from seeking relevant information directly
from employees who have made protected disclosures.

Doing so, the letter said, is necessary "to ensure the accuracy and
completeness" of information provided to Congress.

The ATF has expanded the opportunities for employees to raise work-
related concerns and stressed the need for supervisory level
officials to be receptive to those concerns, Cole's letter adds. In
other changes, the ATF:

• Told all of its agents that they must take all reasonable steps to
prevent a firearm's criminal misuse and that early intervention may
be necessary to prevent trafficking.

• Has improved coordination between field agents and headquarters
personnel in Washington.

• Engaged in training for agents in Arizona and New Mexico with a
renewed emphasis on intercepting illicit weapons shipments.

• Is giving agents a direct line of communication to the agency's
second-in-command.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/
changes-in-wake-of-probe-of-fast-and-furious/
article_1865f4a4-4ac0-11e1-8be4-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1ktWm5oc7

AZMEX POLICY 29-1-12

AZMEX POLICY 29 JAN 2012

Note: A demographic critical to our issues, now and even more in the
future.

Arizona Latino leaders, White House officials meet
by Daniel González - Jan. 28, 2012 09:21 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

A White House meeting in Phoenix on Saturday with local Latino
leaders to discuss a wide range of issues ended up being dominated by
concerns over President Barack Obama's immigration policies.

The daylong meeting was intended to give local Latino leaders the
chance to discuss issues such as jobs, health care and education with
senior White House officials. But many of the people who showed up
came to vent their frustration with the president's failure to pass
immigration reform and the record number of deportations that have
taken place since Obama took office three years ago.

The meeting, one of more than two dozen Hispanic summits the White
House is holding in cities across the country, highlights the
challenges Obama will have courting politically important Latino
voters in the November presidential election.

Latinos played a key role in Obama's election in 2008, in part
because Obama promised to swiftly pass immigration reforms that would
have provided a path to citizenship for millions of illegal
immigrants, the majority of whom come from Mexico and other Latin
American countries.

But getting Latinos to vote for him for re-election in November may
be more difficult.
"Our vote cannot be taken for granted, and yes he is going to have a
difficult time getting the Latino vote, because he has deported more
than 1 million people since he has been in office. That (has resulted
in) record-breaking deportations and separation of families," said
Dulce Matuz, 27, of Phoenix, who is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Matuz, who graduated from Arizona State University in 2009 with an
engineering degree, is one of many people who attended the meeting to
advocate for the Dream Act, legislation that would allow some illegal
immigrants brought to this country as minors to gain legal status if
they attend college or serve in the military.

The Obama administration sent more than a dozen senior officials
representing several federal agencies, including the Department of
Homeland Security, the Labor Department, Health and Human Services,
and the Environmental Protection Agency, to meet with local Latino
leaders.

Saturday's meeting came three days after Obama visited Intel Corp. in
Chandler to tout an economic-recovery and job-creation plan unveiled
during his State of the Union address.

Saturday's meeting, held at ASU's downtown Phoenix campus, drew about
300 educators, business people and community leaders.

Participants broke up into groups to discuss issues after being given
the opportunity to set their own agenda.

The more than two dozen sessions covered job creation, mortgage
fraud, educational attainment, health care, social media and many
other issues, but the ones that drew the most people centered on
immigration.

At one session, Chris Jones, the principal at Central High School in
Phoenix, recounted how the undocumented brother of one of his
students was placed on a bus by immigration officials and dropped off
at the border in Nogales.

The brother had been supporting the family, Jones said.
"That is not the America I want," Jones told White House officials.

During the same session, Alejandra Chacon, 21, a Phoenix resident who
is studying business at ASU, told White House officials that her
parents in Mexico have been waiting 15 years for green cards to come
to the United States legally.

White House officials told participants that Obama pushed hard to
pass immigration reform and the Dream Act, and he remains committed
to trying to pass reforms in the future.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a White House official, also said the Obama
administration has recently made several changes in its deportation
policy that focus more attention on deporting criminals as opposed to
students and illegal immigrants who otherwise have not committed
crimes and have long ties to this country.

But Matuz, the undocumented ASU graduate, said the policy changes
have not made her any less afraid of being deported.

She also questioned the timing.
"What I find ironic is that these policy changes come at a time when
he is running his campaign for re-election. Why didn't he do these
policy changes back in 2008?" she said.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/
2012/01/28/20120128arizona-latino-white-house-meet.html#ixzz1krrFW9bO

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 29-1-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 29 JAN 2012

Note: Out here in AZ, he like some others, was always on the wrong
side. What we out here didn't know were his activities in DC.

Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history
by Dennis Wagner - Jan. 28, 2012 10:21 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

The career path of former U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke can be charted
through an ascending string of jobs from Arizona's Supreme Court to
the U.S. Senate, White House, Department of Homeland Security and
Justice Department.

It is a resume that spans more than two decades in three branches of
government.

Then, suddenly, it nose-dives on Aug. 30, 2011, when Burke resigned
as U.S. attorney amid a scandal over a gun-smuggling case known as
Operation Fast and Furious.

Since that day, the gregarious public servant has gone silent, and
nearly invisible, except that his name appears prominently in Justice
Department documents, congressional hearings and news reports.

Burke's political downfall may have been shocking, but an Arizona
Republic analysis of his career suggests that the cause -- firearm
politics -- has been a pet theme through most of his 23 years in
government.

The end came after federal records and testimony revealed that Burke
last year pressed colleagues and superiors to deny that the Justice
Department knowingly allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico under
his watch, and that two of those weapons wound up at the murder scene
of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

In e-mail exchanges with DOJ officials, Burke incorrectly described
allegations about Fast and Furious by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa,
as "categorically false." He also reviled congressional investigators
as "stooges" for gun-rights zealots.

Burke finally quit his post after testifying in secret to
congressional investigators about the case.

He was not the only federal official to suffer fallout. At the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, national Director
Kenneth Melson was reassigned and Arizona's top agent, William
Newell, was transferred. On Capitol Hill, Grassley called for the
removal of Lanny Breuer, second in command of the Justice Department,
and many in Congress have said Attorney General Eric Holder should be
fired.

But, of all the officials caught up in America's so-called "gun-
walking" scandal, Dennis Kiernan Burke is the only one to lose his job.

A resignation letter to President Barack Obama said simply, "It is
the right time to move on to pursue other aspects of my career and my
life."

The question: Has he hit bottom yet, and can he rise again?

'A stand-up guy'

Since leaving his skyscraper office in downtown Phoenix, Burke has
turned down all interview requests, leaving his lawyers to describe
him as a "stand-up guy" who didn't intentionally mislead Congress or
the public.

An inspector general probe is still under way, as well as
congressional investigations.

Friends say Burke, who had been touted as a possible candidate for
governor or Congress, is lying low, volunteering full time with a
rape-crisis network and playing golf. All of them speak of him with
glowing adjectives: articulate, positive, hardworking, decent, funny,
loyal.

"He doesn't have enemies," said Robbie Aiken, a longtime friend and
vice president for federal affairs with Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
"All the things he's done, yet I've never really heard anybody say
anything negative about him."

But there are critics, especially among staunch Second Amendment
advocates, who paint Burke as a liberal apparatchik who was willing
to let criminals move weapons to Mexican cartels if it would help
justify new firearms restrictions.

"It's no coincidence that Dennis Burke, a longtime anti-gun policy
person, was made U.S. Attorney in mid-2009 ... the same month (sic)
that Fast and Furious begins," said Mike Vanderboegh, a gun-rights
blogger. "They picked precisely the right guy to run a clandestine
program." (The operation began a month after Burke's appointment was
confirmed.)

Curiously, the supporters and detractors agree on one point: They say
Burke became a scapegoat to protect higher officials in the Justice
Department or White House. Dave Workman, a gun-rights blogger,
described Burke as "the chief sacrificial lamb."

Sen. Grassley, in an October statement, said: "Mr. Burke is to be
commended, to some extent, for being the only person to resign and
take responsibility for the failed operation. Of course, I do not
believe he should feel obligated to be the only fall guy."

Phoenix attorney Andy Gordon, a close friend for nearly two decades,
said Burke may be loyal to a fault, protecting higher-ups in the
Justice Department. "DOJ threw him under the bus. That's my view,"
Gordon said.

Another friend, attorney Tim Nelson, said: "I don't know the workings
of the Obama administration, whether they were looking for a fall guy
or what. But it certainly looks that way."

Whether those evaluations are valid or not, associates agree Burke
was devastated to lose a dream job and see his reputation tainted by
scandal.

Kevin Burke, an older brother who serves as a county judge in
Minnesota, said Dennis is focused on defending himself as
investigations continue.

"He's certainly bummed," Judge Burke said. "You want people to
understand what you did and why you did it." Asked if Dennis
privately admits to making mistakes, Kevin answered, "I can
categorically deny that. The idea that he is going around saying,
'Boy, I really screwed up'? He's never told me that."

Strong work ethic and ambition

Since Dennis Burke got his law degree at the University of Arizona in
1988, he has flourished in high-profile government jobs, handling
politicians, journalists, lobbyists and lawyers with aplomb.

Born in 1962 in Chicago, the last of five children in an Irish-
Catholic home, Burke once credited his immigrant grandfather with
instilling a work ethic to match ambitions. When Dennis was just a
boy, the family moved to Phoenix, where he attended Catholic schools.
(As an adult, he once said his life motto was "Love your neighbor as
you do yourself" because "several nuns beat that into my head in
grade school.")

After graduation from Brophy College Preparatory, Burke earned a
bachelor's degree at Georgetown University and got an early taste of
national politics by serving as an intern for U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo,
D-Minn.

"He was kind of bitten by the Hill bug," said Kevin Burke, who is
president of the American Judges Association.

Former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., who hired Burke from law
school as a congressional intern, said the student stood out for
legal smarts and people skills. "Just really bright," DeConcini said,
"and he was good with Republicans."

Fresh out of law school, Burke won a coveted position as clerk with
the Arizona Supreme Court under Justice James Moeller.

Then, in 1989, he was hired as a low-level staff lawyer at the U.S.
Senate. Within a year -- at age 27 -- Burke was assigned to the
Judiciary Committee, eventually playing a behind-the-scenes role in
confirmation proceedings for three Supreme Court justices.

And he began working on gun control. DeConcini said Burke helped
draft the Anti-Drug Assault Weapons Limitation Act of 1989. A five-
year battle ensued, ending with President Bill Clinton signing the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made it
a federal offense to possess certain semiautomatic rifles
manufactured after the law's passage.

DeConcini said Burke fostered the measure in concert with a key
figure in the White House, policy analyst Rahm Emanuel, who years
later would become chief of staff for President Obama. Emanuel now is
mayor of Chicago.

"Dennis was the one who worked with everyone on the Judiciary
Committee to line up these members and votes," DeConcini said.
"Dennis had all these pictures of these guns -- the Streetsweepers
and the AK-47s. And it passed by one vote. A lot of it was not my
eloquence on the bill, it was stuff that Dennis had done."

The law was adopted shortly before Burke left his Senate job for a
position in the Clinton White House as a senior policy analyst for
law enforcement and drug issues, again working with Emanuel.

According to preserved e-mails, Burke continued handling firearm
issues, discussing whether executive orders could be used to extend
the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act requirement for background
checks.

In 1997, Burke became a federal prosecutor under U.S. Attorney Janet
Napolitano, getting firsthand experience with Mexican syndicates that
were smuggling narcotics and firearms. In an interview that year with
the Arizona Business Gazette, he identified earlier gun-regulation
efforts as the most fulfilling professional assignment he'd undertaken.

Over the next decade, he served as a chief deputy to Napolitano as
she became Arizona attorney general, governor and then director of
Homeland Security, where he again dealt with gun-running into Mexico.

Fast and Furious launched

On July 10, 2009, President Obama named Burke as his nominee for U.S.
attorney for Arizona. He was confirmed by unanimous consent in the
Senate on Sept. 15 of that year.

From the beginning, there were huge controversies: Senate Bill 1070,
Arizona's anti-immigration law, was under challenge in court. The
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was being investigated for alleged
civil-rights violations. Border security had become a political
firefight, with Arizona as a funnel point for smuggling amid growing
fear that Mexican violence would spill onto U.S. soil.

Authorities in both nations were blaming liberal U.S. gun laws for
arming the cartels. The assault-weapons law had expired in 2004.
Restoration of the statute had been on Obama's platform, and Burke
was among the public adherents.

During a news conference in 2010, Burke complained that scores of
guns from Arizona were being recovered in Mexico. "We have a huge
problem here. We have now become the gun locker of the Mexican drug
cartels." What Burke did not mention was that his prosecutors had
allegedly instructed ATF agents to let some of those weapons "walk"
across the border.

In fact, just one month after Burke's appointment as U.S. attorney
was confirmed by the Senate, Operation Fast and Furious was secretly
launched in Arizona.

According to congressional testimony and DOJ records, the idea was to
follow the firearms south so that drug lords who received them could
be identified and prosecuted. Over a two-year period, smugglers moved
as many as 1,400 weapons across the border. The problem: Those AK-47s
and .50-caliber rifles were being used for mayhem in Mexico, and U.S.
investigators had not devised a successful way to track them.

Agent Terry's death

Burke's supporters question whether he understood that the ATF
strategy knowingly let guns into Mexico, but critics say e-mails and
other Justice Department records indicate he knew exactly what was
going on.

For example, an ATF memo in January 2010 says Burke was briefed in
detail on Fast and Furious and expressed "full agreement" with a
strategy allowing "the transfer of firearms to continue to take
place ... in order to further the investigation and allow for the
identification of additional co-conspirators."

In an April 2010 e-mail to a colleague, Burke predicted that the
operation would have a huge public impact: "It's going to bring a lot
of attention to straw purchasers of assault weapons," he wrote. "Some
of these weapons bought by these clowns in Arizona have been directly
traced to murders of elected officials in Mexico by the cartels, so
Katie-bar-the-door when we unveil this baby."

However, available Justice Department documents do not include any
record where Burke explicitly acknowledged an awareness of the gun-
walking strategy, and it is unclear whether he believed a furor would
result because of the investigative tactic, or because so many U.S.
firearms were responsible for Mexico's cartel bloodshed.

At least some ATF agents bristled at the ATF operation, warning of
potentially fatal consequences. Those predictions proved true on Dec.
14, 2010, when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in a
midnight shootout with bandits near Nogales. Within hours, Burke was
notified that two guns found at the scene were linked to Fast and
Furious.

A man, who bought them 11 months earlier at a Glendale firearms
store, was promptly arrested on suspicion of illegal-weapons
purchases, along with other gun-buy suspects. Yet, at a news
conference announcing the busts, federal officials failed to reveal
the link with Terry's death and denied that guns had been allowed to
"walk" as part of the case.

ATF agents, horrified at what happened, became whistle-blowers,
leaking information to Congress. Last January, Sen. Grassley sent
letters to ATF, alleging that the bureau had knowingly allowed guns
into the hands of Mexican criminals and that two of those weapons
were tied to Terry's murder. Burke reacted by sending e-mails to DOJ
colleagues denouncing the senator's assertions as "categorical
falsehoods."

In early messages to DOJ superiors, he incorrectly claimed weapons
found at the murder scene were purchased before Fast and Furious
started. Later, he clarified that although Fast and Furious was under
way, the buyer was not being surveilled at the time he bought them.

Bitter denunciations

On Feb. 1,The Republic published the first mainstream news story on
the gun-running scandal and about a congressional inquiry into Fast
and Furious.

Burke e-mailed a top Justice Department official, complaining about
the bad publicity and about Grassley's letter. "They (ATF) got smoked
today in the Arizona Republic. Just smoked," he wrote. "They punted
going on the record to deny completely fabricated assertions that cut
at the heart of their agency and the mission of law enforcement."

ATF and Justice officials spent three days arguing over language for
a rebuttal to Grassley's letter. Burke, who wanted a hard-line
denial, complained bitterly to colleagues: "What is so offensive
about this whole project is that Grassley's staff, acting as willing
stooges for the Gun Lobby, have attempted to distract from the
incredible success in dismantling SWB (Southwest Border) gun
trafficking operations," he wrote. "Not uttering one word of rightful
praise or thanks to ATF -- but, instead, lobbing this reckless,
despicable accusation that ATF is complicit in the murder of a
federal law enforcement officer."

In another missive, Burke wrote, "I am so personally outraged by
Senator Grassley's falsehoods. It is one of the lowest acts I have
ever seen in politics."

DOJ eventually issued a letter denouncing Grassley's allegations
about Fast and Furious as "false."

Holder has since acknowledged that the senator's assertions were
true, and that Fast and Furious was a flawed operation. Spurred by
those admissions, congressional investigators redoubled their
efforts, digging up more records and questioning witnesses under
oath. This past summer, Burke was called before congressional
investigators for two closed-door interviews.

According to subsequently released excerpts, Burke acknowledged
mistakes and accepted blame. "It should not have been done the way it
was done," he said, "and I want to take responsibility for that. And
I'm not falling on my sword or trying to cover for anyone else."

Motives debated

Attorneys Lee Stein and Chuck Rosenberg, who represent Burke, said
their client did not intentionally provide false information to
colleagues and superiors in the Justice Department.

"Dennis has cooperated with congressional investigators and the
(Justice) Department's inquiry into this matter," Stein said. "He
takes his public service seriously."

Critics say the constellation of facts points to Burke as a ramrod
behind Fast and Furious, working to provide political powder for more
firearm regulations.

In a Dec. 18 post, Second Amendment blogger John Richardson wrote:
"Looking at Burke's background and his attitude towards gun rights
and those who support them, I see this as even further confirmation
that the intent of Operation Fast and Furious from the very beginning
was to build support for another so-called assault-weapons ban. I
just don't think it was coincidental that Operation Fast and Furious
was centered in Arizona."

DeConcini, who has sought to help Burke behind the scenes with
members of Congress, said such inferences are "totally unfair," and
he insisted that Burke did not learn of the gun-walking strategy
until after Brian Terry's death.

Kevin Burke said it is absurd to suggest that his brother came up
with some "Machiavellian plan" to justify gun-control measures. He
said Dennis was dedicated to stopping firearm deaths -- not adding to
them -- and he would never have risked lives or his career on such a
gambit.

David Steele, a political consultant and friend, agreed: "The Dennis
Burke I know doesn't engage in that kind of political triangulation,"
he said. "The whole notion that he did this as a conspiracy for gun
control is laughable."

Epilogue

Investigations by Congress and the inspector general are ongoing.

Guns from Fast and Furious continue to surface at crimes scenes in
Mexico and the United States.

The case against those accused of killing Brian Terry is sealed in
federal court.

And Dennis Burke remains under a cloud.

His attorney Stein said the experience has been "sobering," but Burke
keeps busy volunteering with a rape-crisis network. "He's really been
using this time to reconnect with family and friends, and to try to
get through all this and decide what he'll do with the rest of his
life," Stein said.

Other friends say he understands how scandals work in the nation's
capital. "It's a tough town," said Aiken, who worked in the Reagan
administration. "Dennis knows that. He's a tough guy. And I suspect
he'll come out of this A-OK. (But) I don't think he was treated
altogether fairly."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/
2012/01/27/20120127dennis-burke-fast-furious-scandal-
career.html#ixzz1krikexUw

AZMEX POLICY 2 28-1-12

AZMEX POLICY 2 28 JAN 2012

Note: getting front page play in Mexico. For those not familiar,
the Latino community in FL. is primarily of Cuban descent . There
are many differences between them and the majority Mexican descent
Latino community in the U.S.
"The situation all the more important because President Barack Obama
has a lead of 69 - 25 in voter preferences of Latinos at the national
level and according to most analysts the Hispanic vote can be the
edge in at least 15 of the 50 states in the U.S."

U.S. is also guilty of drug trafficking, Mitt Romney recognizes
By: Newsroom | 28-Jan-2012 10:25
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?
m=nota&id_nota=805931&seccion=tras+la+silla+de+obama&cat=422

"Stop taking drugs because you are killing people," says the
candidate to youth. He blamed his country for Latin America due to
the high consumption of drugs in the United States.

Miami, Florida. January 28 .- "It is time for America to take
responsibility for the pain and suffering and torture and killings
occurring throughout Latin America," said Mitt Romney, the Republican
most advanced way to the nomination his party for the presidency of
his country.

During a speech at the group meeting prorrepublicano Hispanic
Leadership Network, the former Massachusetts governor said: "(If
elected president) campaign will very aggressively towards our young
people: stop taking drugs because you are killing people. (...) I
want to understand the tens of thousands of people who are killed
under the use of drugs in this country. We are not a good example and
that must change. "

Romney's proposal goes beyond the statement of responsibility made by
the drug use at the time by Barack Obama and Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton.

EU should look to Latin America rather than just to the right and
left-to Europe and Asia, Romney raised, because the South American
continent is a huge economic opportunity, political and even military
"."

For his part, the Republican candidate who pursues Romney, Newt
Gingrich, called the current situation in Mexico as "a civil war."

Both Romney and Gingrich agreed to denounce President Barack Obama's
disinterest in the region, which Romney said that "going in the wrong
political direction."

Romney blames US for damages of the drug

U.S. must take responsibility for "pain and suffering, torture and
death" in Latin America caused by the consumption of drugs in the
U.S., said yesterday Mitt Romney, now the leading contender for the
Republican presidential nomination.

If elected president, Romney expressed, "I will campaign very
aggressively towards our young people: stop and take drugs because
you are killing people."

"We are not a good example and that must change," said the former
governor of Massachusetts during a speech to attendees at the meeting
of the Republican group "Hispanic Leadership Network" (Hispanic
Leadership Network).

"Our young people are very humanitarian. They are concerned about
issues like global warming and that kind of thing. They care about
humanity ... I hope they understand that if they take one of those
drugs that get smuggled into this country they will be partly
responsible for deaths.

"I understand the tens of thousands of people who are killed because
of the use of drugs in this country," he added before pointing out:
"It is time the United States of America will assume responsibility
for the pain and suffering and torture and murders occurring
throughout Latin America. "

Romney's proposal picks up and delivers beyond a statement of
responsibility for the issue of drugs made at the time by President
Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Romney on Friday outlined a proposal for regional policy in Latin
America lead to a place of prominence in American foreign policy with
the appointment of a "special envoy" to budget and clear
responsibilities, but did not refer directly to Mexico at any time.

Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, discussed the current situation in Mexico
as a "civil war" and said that if elected would seek to change
Mexico's liability "Northern Command" of the U.S. Armed Forces (and
who is responsible also American and Canadian territory) to the
"Southern Command", like the rest of Latin America.

But while Gingrich emphasized his vision for Latinos in the U.S. and
played some Latin American issues as the relationship with Cuba and
Venezuela, Romney presented a vision of a new policy toward the
region, which he considers of utmost importance for the country.

The US should look to Latin America rather than just to the right and
left, into Europe and Asia. In Latin America, Romney said, there is a
huge economic opportunity, political and even military.

Both Romney and Gingrich agreed to denounce President Barack Obama's
disinterest in the region, and repeated accusations (one on a turning
away from Colombia when that country's government faced the hostility
of Venezuela) and the other on the "alignment" of the government
Obama government of Raul Castro in Cuba and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela
and about the coup in Honduras.

They openly expressed their hostility against the Cuban government
and even Romney expected to be settled in favor of democracy in Cuba
and the United States.

The former Massachusetts governor repeated his expressions on the
influence of Chavez and Castro in the region, arguing for a reboot of
the "Reagan doctrine" when the countries of Latin America "moved
toward democracy" and not like now he said, when "going in the wrong
direction."

Mitt criticized for rejecting his origin

The group rejected former Gov. Mitt Romney to appear as "Mexican -
American" although his father was born in Mexico was criticized
yesterday by Latino group leaders who expressed support for the
former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

"It seems that is 'dishonest' to be considered as Mexican-American
even though his father was born in Mexico," said an open letter
signed by a group of Latino Republican leaders, including former U.S.
Treasurer Rosario Marin and Al Zapanta, the Chamber of US-Mexico trade.

The case for Romney who refused to claim the idea of ​​being
Mexican because his father was born in Mexico, but was regarded as an
American all his life, led the signatories of the letter to question:
"Those of us born in the U.S., but with parental ancestors of Mexico,
Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba and other Latin American countries would we
be dishonest in ourselves as Americans? ".

The group held a press conference to announce their support in
addition to Gingrich, who is presented as a champion of Hispanics in
an area where other candidates are classified as anti-immigrant. In
his letter, Romney said that Gingrich's positions on migration, "is
not what we need."

The letter and the announcement of support for Gingrich is a phase of
the clash between former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Congressman
Gingrich for the critical Hispanic vote in Florida, which continued
on Friday, but nevertheless seemed to bring Romney the best part.

The former governor of Massachusetts on Friday introduced a roadmap
to Latin America and reiterated that his proposed migration control
"is not anti-immigrant" but is more concerned with legal immigrants.

Gingrich, meanwhile, insisted on the viability of the idea that young
people who grew up in the U.S. of illegal parents enter the military
as a path to citizenship.

Romney seems to carry far the best part in the struggle for the vote
in the Florida primary, despite Gingrich's attempts to reduce the
advantage and claim the conservative vote in contrast to Romney's
relationship with the traditional apparatus of the party.

But the Florida Republican primary is closed, whether it be only to
registered Republican voters, and the weight of the structure of the
game is considerable.

Gingrich and Romney addressed the attendees at the conference "Latino
Leadership Network" (Hispanic Leadership Network), a group
prorrepublicano.

Latinos make up as much as 13 percent of the population of Florida,
one of the most politically important states in the U.S. and was
considered a reliable Republican stronghold, but changing
demographics have changed the situation even among the Latino
population being mostly pro-Republican way to be mostly Democrats.

The situation all the more important because President Barack Obama
has a lead of 69 - 25 in voter preferences of Latinos at the national
level and according to most analysts the Hispanic vote can be the
edge in at least 15 of the 50 states in the U.S..

excelsior.com.mx

Estados Unidos también es culpable del narco, reconoce Mitt Romney
Por: Redaccion | 28-Ene-2012 10:25

"Dejen de tomar drogas porque ustedes están matando gente", exige
el precandidato a jóvenes. Responsabilizó a su país del dolor en
Latinoamérica debido al alto consumo de estupefacientes en la Unión
Americana.

Miami, Florida. 28 de enero.–"Es tiempo de que Estados Unidos
asuma la responsabilidad por el dolor y el sufrimiento y la tortura y
los asesinatos que ocurren a lo largo de América Latina", aseguró
Mitt Romney, el republicano más adelantado rumbo a la candidatura de
su partido para la Presidencia de su país.

Durante un discurso en la reu nión del grupo prorrepublicano Red del
Liderazgo Hispánico, el ex gobernador de Massachusetts afirmó:
"(De ser electo Presidente) haré campaña de forma muy agresiva
hacia nuestra gente joven: dejen de tomar drogas porque ustedes están
matando gente. (...) Quiero que entiendan las decenas de miles de
personas que son asesinadas en virtud del uso de drogas en este país.
No somos un buen ejemplo y eso debe cambiar".

La propuesta de Romney va más allá de la declaración de
corresponsabilidad por el narco hecha en su momento por Barack Obama
y la secretaria de Estado, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

EU debe ver hacia Latinoamérica en vez de hacerlo sólo a derecha e
izquierda —hacia Europa y Asia—, planteó Romney, pues al sur del
continente americano hay una enorme oportunidad económica, política
y hasta "militar".

Por su parte, el aspirante republicano que persigue a Romney, Newt
Gingrich, calificó a la actual situación en México como "una
guerra civil".

Tanto Romney como Gingrich coincidieron en denunciar el desinterés
del presidente Barack Obama en la región, de la que Romney dijo que
"va en la dirección política equivocada".

Romney culpa a EU por daños de la droga

Estados Unidos deben responsabilizarse del "dolor y los
sufrimientos, las torturas y la muerte" causados en América Latina
por el consumo de drogas en Estados Unidos, dijo ayer Mitt Romney, el
por ahora principal aspirante a la candidatura presidencial republicana.

De ser electo presidente, expreso Romney, "haré campaña de forma
muy agresiva hacia nuestra gente joven: dejen de y tomar drogas
porque ustedes están matando gente".

"No somos un buen ejemplo y eso debe cambiar", afirmó el ex
gobernador de Massachusetts durante un discurso ante los asistentes a
la reunión del grupo republicano "Red del Liderazgo
Hispanico" (Hispanic Leadership Network).

"Nuestros jóvenes son gente muy humanitaria. Están preocupados por
temas como el calentamiento global y ese tipo de cosas. Se preocupan
por la humanidad ... espero que entiendan que si toman una de esas
drogas que llegan de contrabando a este país serán parcialmente
responsables por muertes.

"Quiero que entiendan las decenas de miles de personas que son
asesinadas en virtud del uso de drogas en este país", agrego antes
de puntualizar: "Es tiempo que Estados Unidos de América asuma la
responsabilidad por el dolor y el sufrimiento y la tortura y
asesinatos que ocurren a lo largo de América Latina".

La propuesta de Romney recoge y lleva más allá a declaración de
corresponsabilidad por el tema de drogas hecho en su momento por el
presidente Barack Obama y la secretaria de Estado Hillary Rodham
Clinton.

Romney delineó el viernes una propuesta de política regional que
llevaría a Latinoamérica a un sitio de preeminencia en la política
exterior estadunidense, con el nombramiento de un "enviado
especial" con presupuesto y responsabilidades claras, pero no se
refirió directamente a México en momento alguno.

Newt Gingrich, por su parte, se refirió a la actual situación en
México como "una guerra civil" y dijo que de ser electo buscaría
cambiar a México de la responsabilidad del "Comando Norte" de las
Fuerzas Armadas estadunidenses (y que se hace cargo también del
territorio estadunidense y canadiense) al "Comando Sur", como el
resto de América Latina.

Pero mientras Gingrich hizo énfasis en su visión para los latinos en
Estados Unidos y tocó algunos temas latinoamericanos, como la
relación con Cuba y Venezuela, Romney presentó una visión de una
nueva política hacia la región, a la que considera de la mayor
importancia para su país.

EU debe ver hacia Latinoamérica en vez de hacerlo sólo a la derecha
e izquierda, hacia Europa y Asia. En América Latina, dijo Romney, hay
una enorme oportunidad económica, política y hasta militar.

Tanto Romney como Gingrich coincidieron en denunciar el desinterés
del presidente Barack Obama en la región, y repitieron acusaciones
(uno sobre el alejamiento respecto a Colombia cuando el gobierno de
ese país enfrentaba la hostilidad de Venezuela) y el otro sobre el
"alineamiento" del gobierno Obama con los gobiernos de Raúl
Castro en Cuba y Hugo Chávez en Venezuela respecto al golpe de estado
en Honduras.

Ambos expresaron abiertamente su animosidad contra el gobierno cubano
y Romney asentó incluso que esperaba estar en favor de democracia, en
Cuba y en Estados Unidos.

El ex gobernador de Massachusetts reiteró sus expresiones sobre la
influencia de Chávez y Castro en la región, al abogar por un
reinicio de la "doctrina de Ronald Reagan", cuando los países de
América Latina "se movieron hacia la democracia" y no como ahora,
afirmó, cuando "van en la dirección equivocada".

Critican a Mitt por rechazar su origen

El cortés rechazo del ex gobernador Mitt Romney a presentarse como
"mexicoamericano" aunque su padre nació en México fue criticada
ayer por líderes de grupos latinos que expresaron su apoyo al ex
presidente de la Cámara baja, Newt Gingrich.

"Parece que encuentra 'deshonesto' considerarse como
mexicoamericano aunque su padre nació en México", indicó una
carta abierta firmada por una grupo de dirigentes republicanos de
origen latino, incluida la ex Tesorera de Estados Unidos Rosario
Marín y Al Zapanta, de la Cámara de Comercio Estados Unidos-México.

El alegato de Romney que rehusó reclamar la idea de ser mexicano
porque su padre nació en México, pero se consideró como un
estadunidense toda su vida, llevó a los firmantes de la carta a
cuestionarlo: "aquellos de nosotros nacidos en Estados Unidos, pero
con ancestros parentales de México, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba y otros
países latinoamericanos ¿seríamos deshonestos en asumirnos como
estadunidenses?".

El grupo realizó una conferencia de prensa además para anunciar su
respaldo a Gingrich, que se presenta como un campeón de los hispanos
en un campo en el que los demás aspirantes son calificados como
antiinmigrantes. En su carta, dicen a Romney que por sus posiciones
en torno a la migración, "no es lo que nosotros necesitamos".

La carta y el anuncio de apoyo a Gingrich son una fase más del choque
entre el ex gobernador Mitt Romney y el ex diputado Gingrich por el
crítico voto latino en el estado de Florida, que prosiguió el
viernes, aunque pese a todo Romney parecía llevar la mejor parte.

El ex gobernador de Massachussetts presentó el viernes un plan de
trabajo hacia América Latina y reiteró que su propuesta de control
de migración "no es antiinmigrante" sino que se preocupa más de
los migrantes legales.

Gingrich, por su parte, insistió en la viabilidad de la idea de que
los jóvenes que crecieron en Estados Unidos de padres ilegales
ingresen a las Fuerzas Armadas como camino a la ciudadanía.

Romney parece llevar hasta ahora la mejor parte en la lucha por el
voto en las primarias de Florida, a pesar de los intentos de Gingrich
de reducir la ventaja y reclamar el voto conservador en contraste con
la relación de Romney con el aparato tradicional del partido.

Pero la elección primaria republicana en Florida es cerrada, si sea
solo con votantes republicanos registrados, y el peso de la
estructura del partido es considerable.

Gingrich y Romney se dirigieron a los asistentes a la conferencia de
la "Red del Liderazgo Latino" (Hispanic Leadership Network), un
grupo prorrepublicano.

Los latinos constituyen tanto como 13 por ciento de la población de
Florida, uno de los estados políticamente más importante en Estados
Unidos y uno que era considerado como confiable reducto republicano,
pero cambios demográficos han modificado la situación incluso entre
la población latina que de ser mayoritariamente pro-republicana paso
a ser mayormente demócrata.

La situación importa tanto más porque el presidente Barack Obama
tiene una ventaja de 69 25 en las preferencias electorales de los
latinos a nivel nacional y de acuerdo con la mayoría de los analistas
el voto hispano puede resultar el margen de ventaja en al menos 15 de
los 50 estados de la Unión estadunidense.

excelsior.com.mx

AZMEX POLICY 28-1-12

AZMEX POLICY 28 JAN 2012

Note: Miguel Nassar Haro, Old Mexico hands will remember him. Tough
guy, in tough days, but probably did more that anyone else to keep
Mexico out of the evil empire orbit way back then.
Yes, that was very a real threat. Broke a lot of eggs, sometimes
those that didn't need breaking. But working under PRI, bad things
happened also. At this point does Mexico need another Nassar Haro
given that so much of the government apparatus is still
dysfunctional? Will Leyzaola Perez become the next? We may soon
find out.

Muere Miguel Nassar Haro, ex titular de la DFS
Falle ció a los 87 años. Aunque fue acusado de torturar, asesinar,
desa pa re cer opo si to res y promover la "guerra sucia", nunca fue
declarado culpable
Andrés Becerril
Miguel Nassar Haro combatió a secuestradores y a guerrilleros en la
década de los 70
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&buscado=1&id_nota=805757

Go to the Excelsior website for the story. We will have it also if
someone wants.

Arriving in Los Pinos, offers Vázquez Mota to be worthy commander of
the armed forces
The Editor
January 28, 2012
http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=296353

MEXICO, D.F. (Approved) .- In the Army generals and admirals of the
PAN's presidential candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota, offered today if
she will win the election next July 1st, knows she will be "a worthy
commander in chief of the armed forces."

The PAN candidate met with military commanders as part of the
Network of Public Servants with Josefina, who thanked them for their
support and promised to get to the Presidency will gain their support
and commitment.

The meeting was held this morning in the auditorium of the Sindicato
Único de Trabajadores de la Música, where there were over 2 000
supporters of the PAN candidate, who will contend in the internal
election of PAN on 5 February vs. Santiago Creel and Ernesto Cordero.

At the conclusion of the event, Vázquez Mota referred to
'spot' (campaign ad) where it appears as whitish-be candidate is
frontrunner, which said it was a production error.

She added that called on the Federal Electoral Institute to withdraw
the campaign ad, and said she will abide by the provisions by the
electoral authority in this regard.

She explained that her team gave the IFE correction and that the ad
is fixed in social networks.

Note: This tactic worked with last "chief", will see what happens
this time

Hitmen carry out threat: killing three police officers in Juarez in a
day
January 28, 2012 ·
http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=296354

MEXICO, D.F. .- Another element of the Municipal Police was killed
this morning when he left his job, bringing the total to three
officers killed in the corporation within 24 hours at the border.

The officer Julian Juárez Baena, belonging to the Cuauhtemoc
district, left his headquarters on board a late model Chevrolet
Silverado.

Upon reaching his home he was surprised by a commando that riddled
his vehicle

The police report indicates that the execution took place in the
streets Cártamo y Garambullo de la colonia El Granjero, at
approximately 9:00 pm.

Yesterday, a couple of officers was killed after being ambushed as
they left work.

The victims were identified as Yadira Montserrat Rodriguez Martinez,
25, and Adrian Farrera Ruiz, 35, both married, who were aboard a
white Honda car when they were surprised by two young men were shot
at least 100 times with AK-47 rifles or "goat horn", according to
police versions.

Coincidentally, the attacks came after threatening messages came to
the Municipal Public Security Secretary, Julian Leyzaola Perez, that
warned him that if he captured a suspected member of the New Juarez
Cartel, the criminal group would kill an officer every day.

With the murder of police officer this morning add 11 police officers
killed this year, three in the last 24 hours.

AZMEX I3 26-1-12

AZMEX I3 26 JAN 2012

Note: As pointed out before on occasion, driver's license primary
form of ID for purchasing firearms.

NM license data points to fraud
By Barry Massey January 26, 2012 1:46 pm
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2012/01/26/nm-license-data-points-to-
fraud/?subscriber=1

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - An Associated Press investigation has found
that addresses of dozens of the same businesses and homes across New
Mexico were used over and over again by people to get driver's
licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud by immigrants
trying to game the system.

In one instance, 48 foreign nationals claimed to live at a smoke shop
in Albuquerque to get a license. In another case, more than a dozen
claimed to live at an automotive repair shop over a one-year period.
The scenario has been repeated at other addresses since New Mexico
changed its law in 2003 to allow illegal immigrants to get the same
driver's license as a U.S. citizen - one of just two states allowing
that.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is pressing the Legislature to scrap
the law because of public safety concerns about widespread fraud. She
contends New Mexico has become a magnet for out-of-state immigrants
seeking a license, which can be used to board airplanes, conduct
financial transactions or get another license in some other state.
The governor's proposal will be considered by a legislative committee
on Thursday.

Having an address in New Mexico is a critical part of getting a
license. Applicants without a Social Security number must prove their
identity with multiple documents such as a passport or notarized
English translation of a foreign birth certificate. They also must
show New Mexico residency with other documents, including property
lease agreements, utility bills and bank statements. Of the more than
90,000 licenses issued so far to foreign nationals, it's impossible
to know how many are illegal immigrants because the state doesn't ask
a person's immigration status.

The AP analyzed license data since 2003 and found a striking pattern
at addresses across the state that suggests the license system is
being abused.

Seventeen people with different last names used a car repair shop's
address in Albuquerque for licenses during nine months in 2007; only
four additional licenses were issued to people using that same
address in 2008 and 2009.

Thirty-one people listed a mobile home address in Albuquerque to
obtain licenses over 29 months and sometimes the licenses came in
quick succession. One a week was issued on average at that address
during a two-month stretch at the end of 2008. But no additional
licenses have been issued since then.

Those claiming the smoke shop address as their legal residence in New
Mexico obtained licenses from May 2005 through 2010. Only two of the
four dozen individuals had the same last name - making it highly
unlikely that they were part of the same family.

Critics say it's obvious what is happening.

"This is yet another sign of how New Mexico's driver's license has
been compromised and is not secure," said Scott Darnell, a spokesman
for Martinez. "When business addresses are being used as residential
addresses by a large number of foreign nationals for the purpose of
obtaining a driver's license, it's highly concerning and it points to
the presence of fraud that has persisted in this program for some time."

Supporters of the current policy say the government can crack down on
fraud without repealing the law and hurting immigrants who are
working and raising families in New Mexico. They argue licenses bring
a vital benefit to the state and make New Mexico a safer place.

"Many of these folks have U.S. citizen children who depend on their
parents' ability to drive them around legally, be insured, register
their vehicle, have an identification for purposes of picking up
medication for their kids," said Marcela Diaz, executive director of
Somos un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant rights group in Santa Fe. "These
driver's licenses are a good thing not just for our community but a
good thing for the state."

The licensing patterns found by the AP don't conclusively prove fraud
- tenant turnover in rental property, for example, could account for
some licenses. And there can be legitimate reasons for multiple
licenses to be issued at the same address. Fifty-six licenses went to
an address in Alamogordo that state officials say is housing at
Holloman Air Force Base used by foreign military personnel stationed
there.

But the broader pattern raised enough questions for the Martinez
administration to send investigators to knock on doors and check on
dozens of addresses that were used repeatedly for licenses.

Investigators found at least one person at an address with "first-
hand knowledge" that the location had been used purposely to help
immigrants get driver's licenses, according to Darnell. That case is
still open.

In another instance, investigators couldn't find an Albuquerque area
address used by 17 people for licenses. The closest location to the
fictitious address was a scrap yard, which had no home on the property.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal
immigrants to obtain a driver's license. Utah grants immigrants a
special driving permit that cannot be used as identification.

In New Mexico, repeal of the immigrant license issue became a hot-
button political topic when Martinez - a former prosecutor - made it
a centerpiece of her 2010 campaign for governor and it remains an
emotional issue in this year's legislative session.

The AP requested the license data to try to determine whether there
was evidence to back up Martinez administration claims of fraud in
the immigrant license system.

There are 170 addresses in New Mexico at which 10 or more licenses
have been issued to different foreign nationals from 2003 through
August 2011, according to the AP analysis. The addresses account for
2,662 licenses - representing nearly 3 percent of the total issued to
foreign nationals during that period. Those are licenses issued to
individuals for the first time and do not include renewals.

Albuquerque, the state's largest city, accounts for most of those
addresses but others are scattered across the state in communities
from Santa Fe and Portales to Farmington and Gallup.

Topping the list was a case familiar to investigators and
prosecutors. The state granted 66 licenses to foreign nationals who
used the residential address of an Albuquerque woman from 2004 to
2009. She's is in prison after pleading guilty in 2010 to felonies
for providing fraudulent residency documents to illegal immigrants to
obtain driver licenses. All of those licenses have been canceled.

An aging computer system does not permit the Motor Vehicle Division
to detect automatically when multiple licenses are issued at the same
address, agency officials say. However, the state has beefed up its
scrutiny of applications from foreign nationals.

Since May 2008, agency investigators review all applications for
possible fraud and criminal charges have been brought in what state
officials describe as organized fraud rings that obtained driver's
licenses for foreign nationals from China, Poland, Mexico and other
countries.

Martinez points to those abuses as a reason why New Mexico should no
longer issue licenses to illegal immigrants. But her proposal failed
last year in the Senate after passing the House. Democrats hold
majorities in both chambers.

Despite rejecting a Martinez-backed measure, the Senate approved what
Democratic leaders called a compromise. It would have toughened
penalties for license fraud, required fingerprinting of immigrants
applying for licenses and canceled all previously issued licenses to
foreign nationals who didn't renew them within two years. The
governor opposed the alternative proposal, however.

AZMEX UPDATE 28-1-12

AZMEX UPDATE 28 JAN 2012

Note: this tactic had worked before, we will see what happens this
time.

Officer slayings increase: Juárez killings may point to surge in
violence, experts say
by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera \ El Paso Times
Posted: 01/28/2012 12:00:00 AM MST

The recent wave of police slayings in Juárez may signal increased
bloodshed reminiscent of the early stages of the current safety
crisis, experts said Friday.

Two police agents were ambushed and gunned down Friday morning,
bringing to seven the number of officers killed so far this year,
officials said.
The two officers -- a man and woman -- were killed by a group of
armed men when they headed into work, said Adrián Sánchez, a police
spokesman.
Their names have not been released.

Two police commanders also were killed earlier this month. On
Wednesday, two other police officers were shot after finishing their
shift, and another officer was killed earlier.

Friday's killings follow Wednesday's discovery of about 10 banners,
allegedly signed by members of the so-called New Juárez Cartel, in
different parts of the city.

The messages, addressed to Juárez Police Chief Julián Leyzaola,
threaten to kill a police agent every day to force Leyzaola to resign.

Leyzaola dismissed the signs and said threats are not going to stop
his efforts to fight criminals.

Sánchez said his agency had mounted an operation to find the
officers' killers. He added that for now, police weren't linking
Friday's slayings to the banners.
"We aren't linking them to anything," he said.

Hours after the slayings, Leyzaola met with Juárez Mayor Héctor
"Teto" Murguía at city hall behind closed doors, a city spokesman
said. Details of the meeting are unknown, but it is likely they
discussed Friday's police casualties, the spokesman said.

A police news release on Friday asked anyone with information on the
attacks to contact the authorities. "The police officers of Juárez
continue to do their work, even when the cost is something as
precious as their lives," it said. "Crime will end when citizens
decide to end it by fighting it through their reports."

Juárez City Manager Héctor Arcelús said he thought the recent
slayings were connected to the police department's recent work. "It
is definitely a reaction of organized crime. The mayor's instructions
were to fight crime and we have. In no way will we discontinue our
intent to do so," he said.

Arcelús said municipal authorities are discussing the safety of
police officers, but he did not mention the adoption of any new
security measures.
"We have identified several measures, but because of safety concerns,
we're not revealing them," he said.

Police officers have told local media that they would feel safer if
they could carry their 9mm handguns after work hours. Because of city
guidelines, police officers must must return their handguns when
their shifts end.

Arcelús said local authorities have discussed the measure but did not
add any details. Since 2008, when a war broke out between the Juárez
and Sinaloa drug cartels, more than 9,300 people have been killed in
Juárez.

University of Texas at El Paso Professor Howard Campbell said the
recent attacks on the municipal police bring back memories of the
early days of 2008, when hit lists with the names of specific police
officers began to appear throughout the city.
"Those threats were carried out, and these (slayings) are very
similar," he said.

Campbell added that the attacks could be the beginning of a new surge
in violence.
"Obviously this is an attack on Leyzaola, but I would guess it's also
a struggle to control drug sales and other criminal enterprises like
extortion rackets and the informal economy," he said. "I'm sure
Leyzaola is going to fight back, and that's the ominous part. This
thing could explode again."

Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical intelligence at a
geopolitical analysis company, Stratfor, agreed that the slayings
could lead to a rebound in violence, but that it would probably be
smaller in dimension and would eventually lead to a downturn.
"I seriously don't think the remnants of the VCF (Vicente Carrillo
Fuentes cartel) have the power they had in '08," he said.
"They are significantly weaker and will continue to be weakened as
law enforcement reacts to these killings."

In a recent report, Stratfor attributed a recent decrease in violence
in Juárez to what seems to be the Sinaloa cartel's consolidation of
power in the region and dominance over its rival Juárez cartel.

Stewart said the slayings showed that the New Juárez Cartel -- which
he said is likely to be a "rebranding" of the Juárez cartel after
heavy losses to its leadership last year -- is still fighting to hold
on to its territory.
"The VCF is trying desperately to hold on to their plaza," he said.
"Sinaloa is basically like a boa constrictor choking them out."

But Campbell thought Stratfor overestimated the Sinaloa cartel's grip
on the region and said it was too early to say Juárez was on its road
to recovery.

"Summertime is usually the most violent time in the city. We also
have to consider the effects of the (coming Mexican presidential)
elections and the fact that the Sinaloa cartel doesn't seem to be
supreme," Campbell said. "This war seems to continue and the
potential is there for things to get back as they were."

Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera may be reached a.martinez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6129.

The army fighting kills six criminals in Veracruz
The scene is secured five rifles, a handgun, 59 magazines for
different weapons, a thousand 516 cartridges
Notimex
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=seccion-
nacional&cat=1&id_nota=805998

THE Apothecary, View January 28 .- Six suspected criminals were
killed by the Mexican Army after holding gun battles in different
municipalities of the state, according to the National Defense
Secretariat (SEDENA).

According to a statement, on January 26 after conducting a ground
survey of the ranch near the boundary, belonging in the town of
Panuco, gunmen opened fire on troops who repel aggression after shot
dead five suspected criminals .

The scene is secured five rifles, a handgun, 59 magazines for
different weapons, a thousand 516 cartridges of different calibers
and two vehicles.

Also, the Department of Defense announced that the January 27
military personnel were attacked with firearms in the municipality of
Puente Nacional, so after a confrontation hold a suspect died and six
others were arrested.

These men were seized with three rifles, 43 magazines for different
weapons, 876 rounds of different calibers, 12 kilograms of marijuana
and five vehicles.

While in Coatzacoalcos, located south of the state, members of the
Mexican Army released a person who was deprived of his liberty,
arresting four suspected kidnappers.

It was reported that after conducting a ground survey in Colonia Las
Palmas in this town, was located at this group of subjects who were
seized eight rifles, two handguns, two hand grenades, 27 magazines
for different weapons, 492 rounds and two vehicles.

The Department of Defense said that the bodies of the deceased, were
arrested and secured arsenal available to the appropriate authority
to initiate a preliminary investigation of law.

JGL
2012-01-28 14:18:00

ATTORNEY GENERAL HORNE ANNOUNCES ARRESTS CONNECTED TO MULTI-MILLION
DOLLAR HAUL OF COCAINE FROM MEXICAN CARTEL

PHOENIX (Friday, January 27, 2012)--Arizona Attorney General Tom
Horne today announced the arrests of 14 of 15 suspected members of a
large-scale marijuana and cocaine trafficking organization. This
organization has smuggled over 19.1 kilograms of cocaine and 2,952
pounds of marijuana into the United States since December of 2010 with
a Tucson, Arizona street value estimated to be between $2,631,600 and
$2,126,400.

This criminal enterprise has been active for more than ten years in
smuggling large amounts of marijuana and cocaine into the United
States through the Nogales Port of Entry. The organization was
utilizing tracker trailer dump trucks with scrap metal as cover,
backpackers, and vehicles with hidden compartments to smuggle the
marijuana and cocaine multiple times per week, and smuggle large
amounts of US currency back into Mexico. Once in the United States,
the marijuana and cocaine were being stored at various Nogales, Rio
Rico, Tucson, and Phoenix area stash houses.

"This is yet another in a growing list of examples why the Arizona
border with Mexico is not secure," Horne said. "For this criminal
operation to exist for the better part of a decade trafficking
millions of dollars worth of poison into Arizona is outrageous and
helps to define the critical nature of this problem. The level of
violent criminal activity near the border and throughout much of
Arizona at large is a direct result of the drug trade, and it simply
cannot continue. In the meantime, the policy of the federal government
remains to peddle the fiction that the border is as secure as it has
ever been. It clearly is not, and I reiterate my call to the
administration to do more to address this crisis."

On December 10, 2010, law enforcement seized 2,873 pounds of
marijuana in a belly-dump trailer pulled by a tractor. On May 14,
2011, law enforcement seized 77.7 pounds of marijuana hidden in the
tires of a truck. On May 31, 2011, law enforcement seized $15,300 in
U.S. currency of illegal drug proceeds hiding in a vehicle during a
traffic stop. On June 11, 2011, law enforcement seized 10 kilograms of
cocaine hidden in a car. On June 15, 2011, law enforcement seized of
9.1 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a false compartment in a car. On
July 21, 2011, law enforcement seized 5 total packages of cocaine,
weighing 5.644 oz (1/3 lbs). On September 29, 2011, law enforcement
seized 6 pounds of marijuana believed to be a sample of a 300 pound
load.

On January 26, 2012, simultaneous search and arrest warrants were
executed on suspected members of the drug trafficking organization and
their stash houses.

The 15 suspected members were indicted on charges ranging from
Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, Conspiracy, Transportation of
Marijuana for Sale; Transportation of Cocaine for Sale; Money
Laundering; Use of a Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in
a Drug Related Transaction or to Facilitate the Violation of any
Felony Provision; and Weapons Misconduct. The remaining defendants are
not being identified at this time, because grand jury secrecy requires
their names be withheld until they have been served.

Agencies working in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement
Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
Homeland Security Investigations Strike Force are the U.S. Border
Patrol, U.S. Marshal's Service, Nogales Police Department, Tucson
Police Department, Department of Public Safety, and the Arizona
Attorney General's Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant
Attorney General Nanette Morrow. These charges are merely allegations,
and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven
guilty.

Indictment charges include:

ILLEGALLY CONDUCTING AN ENTERPRISE; in violation of A.R.S. §
13-2312;
CONSPIRACY; in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1003;
TRANSPORT FOR SALE, IMPORT INTO THIS STATE OR OFFER TO TRANSPORT FOR
SALE OR IMPORT INTO THIS STATE, SELL, TRANSFER OR OFFER TO SELL OR
TRANSFER MARIJUANA IN AN AMOUNT OVER THE STATUTORY THRESHOLD, in
violation of A.R.S. § 13-3405;
TRANSPORT FOR SALE, IMPORT INTO THIS STATE OR OFFER TO TRANSPORT FOR
SALE OR IMPORT INTO THIS STATE, SELL, TRANSFER OR OFFER TO SELL OR
TRANSFER COCAINE IN AN AMOUNT OVER THE STATUTORY THRESHOLD, in
violation of A.R.S. § 13-3408;
MONEY LAUNDERING, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-2317;
USE OF A WIRE COMMUNICATION OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION IN A DRUG
RELATED TRANSACTION, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3417;
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA FOR SALE IN AN AMOUNT OVER THE STATUTORY
THRESHOLD, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3405;
MISCONDUCT INVOLVING WEAPONS, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3102
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3405

Names and photos are attached.

<http://www.azag.gov/press_releases/jan/2012/Contriband.jpg>;
<http://www.azag.gov/press_releases/jan/2012/DrugDumpTruck.jpg>;

###

AZMEX UPDATE 27-1-12

AZMEX UPDATE 27 JAN 2012

Note: A report from EPT on homicide rates and counts in Mexico over
past several years.
Very interesting details if accurate, and illuminating to say the
least. Also true that not all the mayhem related to drug business.
As in Guerrero for example.
Not sure if it will forward ok
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_19824147

Re: AZMEX UPDATE 26-1-12
Had a tip that a bunch of rifles had arrived for local cops in Sinaloa.
Should be the FX05, not XM05 But in this report from Noroeste it
looks like Beretta AR160's also. Younger, sharper eyes?? Report
has it at 677 including a few bolt guns, 1800 mags and million plus
rounds
http://www.noroeste.com.mx/index.php?id_seccion=70

Note: more interesting arms bust than usual in Sonoyta, Sonora Just
south of beautiful downtown Lukeville, AZ Maybe a thousand feet or
so south.

Roots SIEDO gets two with arsenal
Friday January 27, 2012 12:06 El Diario de Sonora
PUERTO PENASCO / ROCKY POINT
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=21951:arraiga-siedo-a-
dos&catid=94:puerto-penasco&Itemid=308

Under heavy security they were transferred to the Federal District by
SIEDO the two people arrested with an arsenal in Sonoyta are treated
to presumed members of the Sinaloa Cartel.
It was at 6:30 in the afternoon when the Sonoyta detainees held by
units of the Federal Preventive Police and State Police personnel
Investigating with the Mexican Army and municipal police were
transferred from Sonoyta to Puerto Penasco and then to Mayan Palace
airport bound for the Federal District, for a stay of forty days,
according to a statement released by the Attorney General's Office.
The two men arrested and now available to the Office of Special
Investigations into Organized Crime work for the Sinaloa Cartel,
according to preliminary inquiries and are being investigated for
their alleged role in organized crime and violation of the law on
firearms and explosives .

It was last Tuesday when the Mexican Army to conduct reconnaissance
on Avenue F, in the vicinity of Ejido Hombres Blancos in Sonoyta,
inspected a vehicle manned by individuals who had six rifles, two
machine guns three plastic grenades, 18 magazines, 156 links
disjointed, seven metal belts connected with a capacity for fifty
cartridges each and more than a thousand cartridges of different
calibers.
The PGR reported that the relocation and charges due to an injunction
to continue the investigations of the safest possible way for the
community.

Note: Even body armor requires extensive paper trail for export. As
is true for most all military related items, including many
designated "dual use".

Tucson body-armor maker wins international registration
Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star |
Posted: Friday, January 27, 2012 1:04 pm | Comments

Tucson-based Bourque Industries says it has been issued an
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) registrant code, a
step towards foreign sales of the company's proprietary line of
aluminum-alloy body and vehicle armor.

Bourque said the ITAR registrant code for the company's Kryron
Terminator Armor Systems line was issued by the U.S. Department of
State on Jan. 5 and received by the company this week.

The company is awaiting final certification of its Terminator Level
III body-armor system by the National Institute of Justice.

In September, Bourque opened a 20,000-square-foot industrial space on
the southeast side that the company said could employ some 200 people
once the company's armor is certified and production ramps up

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/tucson-body-armor-
maker-wins-international-registration/article_51dfded8-4922-11e1-
bccb-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1kh8bo4Qp

Several Tucsonans arrested in drug-smuggling bust
Veronica M. Cruz, Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star |
Posted: Friday, January 27, 2012 12:40 pm

Members of a large-scale drug-trafficking ring accused of smuggling
cocaine and marijuana through Nogales have been arrested, officials say.

The group is responsible for smuggling over 19 kilograms of cocaine
and 2,952 pounds of marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico since
December 2010, according to a news release from the Arizona Attorney
General's office.

It had smuggled drugs through the Nogales Port of Entry in dump
trucks with scrap metal, backpacks and hidden compartments in
vehicles for over 10 years, the release said.
The drugs were kept in stash houses in Nogales, Rio Rico, Tucson and
Phoenix.

Search and arrest warrants were served on the suspects and stash
houses Thursday and 14 of the 15 people were arrested, the release said.

All 15 of those arrested have been indicted on several charges
including money laundering, illegally conducting an enterprise,
transportation of cocaine and marijuana for sale, use of a wire
communication or electronic communication in a drug related
transaction and weapons misconduct, the release said.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/several-tucsonans-
arrested-in-drug-smuggling-bust/
article_e8a20ca4-491f-11e1-9ef3-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1kh9AmpzJ

Posted: Friday, January 27, 2012 8:39 am | Updated: 9:42 am, Fri Jan
27, 2012.
Manhunt in Patagonia leads to arrest, marijuana seizure
By JB Miller
For the Nogales International
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/manhunt-in-patagonia-leads-
to-arrest-marijuana-seizure/
article_8c34d3b0-48fd-11e1-9617-0019bb2963f4.html

A manhunt in a normally quiet area of Patagonia had residents on edge
Monday afternoon as law enforcement officials surprised a Mexican
national who was allegedly sitting on close to 550 pounds of marijuana.

At approximately 4 p.m., a number of unmarked vehicles as well as a
Pima County Sheriff's Office patrol car descended on a neighborhood
at North Avenue and North Third Avenue.

Patagonia Marshal Joe Patterson said police had gathered information
in Tucson and then come down to Patagonia to conduct a "knock and
talk." In addition to the Pima County Sheriff's Office, agents from
the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Border Patrol were present and,
according to witnesses, had been seen in town hours prior to the
knock and talk.

When law enforcement neared the house in question, the action began.

"As they approached a subject took off running," said Patterson, who
added that law enforcement personnel were not sure which way the man
had fled, and therefore began combing the general area, which
included neighbors' yards and property belonging to the Patagonia
Community Montessori School.

The man, who was later described as only a Mexican citizen with the
last name of Sanchez, was eventually found hiding underneath a boat
just north of the house he had run from.
"The subject wouldn't comply to come out and they used the dog to get
him out and he was bit on the arm," said Patterson.

Captain Ike Isakson of the Patagonia Volunteer Fire and Rescue
Department said emergency personnel were dispatched at approximately
5 p.m. and treated the man for his injuries before he was transported
to Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales.

Law enforcement officials later located the marijuana in the house.

Soldiers ambushed in Reynosa, sources say
January 26, 2012 11:11 PM
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/sources-58295-reynosa-thursday.html

Several Mexican soldiers were killed when gunmen ambushed them
Thursday afternoon in Reynosa, said sources outside law enforcement
familiar with organized crime.

The ambush came in response to heavy casualties the military
inflicted on gunmen Thursday morning, the sources said.

The clashes continued a violent week along the northern Tamaulipas
border, which had experienced weeks of relative calm until a reported
push by the Zetas drug cartel to take over Gulf Cartel territory in
Reynosa and Matamoros.

In Thursday's clashes in Reynosa, roads were blockaded and gunbattles
pitted the Mexican military against gunmen, and rival groups of
gunmen against each other.

In the morning, gunmen fought the Mexican military for more than 30
minutes in the Aztlan and Las Lomas de Infonavit neighborhood. The
exchange of fire included hundreds of rounds and more than a dozen
grenades. At least seven gunmen were killed, said a source outside
law enforcement familiar with organized crime in Mexico.

Tamaulipas Ministerial Police agents refused to disclose information
on the shootouts.

About 5 p.m., a firefight broke out between rival gunmen in the
Jarachinas neighborhood. It became a three-way battle when the
Mexican military arrived.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., gunmen drew Mexican soldiers into an ambush
near the Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena Middle School, also known as
Secundaria 60, said a source outside law enforcement. When soldiers
sent to investigate a suspicious-looking vehicle emerged from their
truck, members of organized crime ambushed them, setting off an
intense firefight. At least four gunmen died and an unknown number of
soldiers were injured or killed.

Thursday also saw bloody clashes in San Fernando, Tamps., and the
state capital of Ciudad Victoria.

At least four gunmen were killed amid fighting in parts of San
Fernando, said sources outside law enforcement.

And in Ciudad Victoria, gunmen battled the Mexican military along
main avenues and other city streets. Several soldiers were gunned
down outside the state government offices housed in a building known
as the Crystal Tower, a source outside law enforcement confirmed.