AZMEX EXTRA 26-7-13

AZMEX EXTRA 26 JUL 2013  

Donate 2.6  grenades per day in Sinaloa

During the Permanent Campaign Donation and Volunteer Registration Firearms have donated 273 grenades and 471 firearms

Alejandro Monjardín

26/07/2013

http://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones.php?id=884599

CULIACÁN._ Since starting the Permanent Campaign Donation and Volunteer Registration Firearms citizens have donated 273 grenades and 471 firearms, according to the Executive Secretariat of the State System of Public Security.

According to data on average SESESP grenades have donated 2.6 per day in 10 municipalities in the north and center of the state between April 1 and July 12.

The municipality where they received the highest number of grenades is Salvador Alvarado with 69, followed by Ahome 52, Icesave with 46, El Fuerte with 42 and the rest in the other municipalities.

Badiraguato is the only municipality where citizens did not donate grenades.

In total 291 authorities handed weapons allowed by the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives, of which 223 are handguns and 68 long guns.

For exclusive use of the Army, Navy and Air Force have ben donated 180 weapons, of which 87 are long guns and 93 handguns.

During the campaign there have been registered 141 handguns and 142 long guns.

The municipality of Ahome is the municipality in which the citizens as much donated 256 weapons in Salvador Alvarado were 119, in Guasave 117, El Fuerte 65, Choix 61, 43 Navolato in Sinaloa 29, at Angostura 20 and Badiraguato Mocorito 17 each .

In addition to the weapons in the modules delivered two cartridges and a magazine.

For donated weapons, 125 people were given a laptop and the rest received a thousand or 2,500 pesos in cash, depending on the type of weapon.

The campaign ended in Navolato first stage on July 12 and will resume on July 29 in Cosalá, then continue on the town's south end in Culiacan in November

DONATION OF WEAPONS

Ahome 256

Salvador Alvarado 119

Guasave 117

El Fuerte 65

Choix 61

Navolato 43

Sinaloa 29

Angostura 20

Mocorito 17

Badiraguato 17

291

WEAPONS ALLOWED BY LAW FEDERAL FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES WERE DONATED

223  HANDGUNS HAVE DONATED

68  LONG GUNS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED BY THE PUBLIC

FIREARMS REGISTRY

Long 142

Handguns 141

GRENADES DONATION

Salvador Alvarado 69

Ahome 52

Guasave 46

El Fuerte 42

END

AZMEX EXTRA 25-7-13

AZMEX EXTRA 25-7-13

Backgrounder from Stratfor.  A look at how things work, Mexico and Central America included.  

Not included are the 10K grenades recovered by Mex. army last year. 

As always, weapons tools of agendas or policy. 

Global Arms Markets as Seen Through the Syrian Lens

Security Weekly

THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013 - 04:04  Print   Text Size 

Stratfor

By Scott Stewart

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/global-arms-markets-seen-through-syrian-lens?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130725&utm_term=Sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=a58b52908de045909ed5bb12378365dc 

The many and diverse efforts to arm the various actors in the Syrian civil war are really quite amazing to watch. These efforts are also quite hard to decipher -- and intentionally so -- since many of the arms transfers occur on the murky gray and black arms markets. Indeed, it is quite doubtful that anyone, whether Syrian intelligence, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service or the CIA really has a complete picture of all the channels used to funnel arms into the conflict. Certainly, I cannot hope to catalogue all of them here. However, the efforts to arm all of the factions fighting in Syria do provide a great opportunity to discuss the global arms trade and its various facets.

The Nature of Weapons

To understand the global arms markets we must first understand some critical things about the nature of weapons. First of all, it is important to realize that weapons are durable goods. While certain types of weapons and weapon components have a limited shelf life -- such as battery-coolant units for the FIM-92A Stinger missile -- numerous other weapons remain functional for many decades. It is not unusual to find a militant or a soldier carrying an AK-47 assault rifle manufactured before he was born -- and in many cases even before his father was born.

Because of this durability, weapons provided to the anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s are still being used against coalition troops in Afghanistan. But 1980s-era weapons are not the only durable weapons in the theater: The Taliban is also attacking coalition forces in Afghanistan with British Lee-Enfield rifles sent to South Asia during the Victorian era. These antique main battle rifles with their larger cartridges and longer barrels have a demonstrated ability to engage targets at longer distances than the more modern AK-47.

But Afghanistan is not the only place where the durability of weapons is seen. Weapons provided by the United States and the Soviet Union to rebels and governments during Central America's civil wars are still making their way into the arsenals of Mexican drug cartels, and M-40 recoilless rifles provided by the United States to the government of Libya before Moammar Gadhafi's 1969 coup proved to be a very effective weapons system in the battle of Misurata, and today are being shipped from Libya to the rebels in Syria.

Sometimes, weapons can even outlast the countries that manufactured them. East German MPiKMS and MPiKM assault rifles are still floating around the world's arms markets more than two decades after the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist.

It is important to recognize that ammunition is also an important facet of the global arms trade. Ammunition tends to be less durable than weapons, and is also consumed at high rates. This means that while weapons are durable, they can only remain functional if sufficient supplies of the appropriate ammunition are available. One of the reasons weapons like the AK-47 have proliferated so widely is the ease and low cost of finding compatible ammunition for the rifles. In the case of Syria, the rebels can both purchase ammunition for weapons like the AK-47 and seize it from the government.

Weapons are also fungible, or interchangeable. An AK-47-style rifle manufactured in Russia is essentially the same as one manufactured in Pakistan or Egypt, and an M16-style rifle manufactured in China can easily replace an M16 manufactured in the United States. Indeed, in a place like Afghanistan or Syria, it is not unusual to find AK-47-style rifles manufactured in various countries and decades being carried within the same rebel group. Journalist C.J. Chivers has done a wonderful job chronicling the proliferation of the AK-47 in his book The Gun and in his blog.

External link:

The Gun blog

Stratfor is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Weapons are also goods that tend to retain their value and are easily converted to cash. Combined with their durability and fungibility, this explains why they so readily flow to conflict zones where there is an increased demand for them. Buying weapons from a place where there is an oversupply and then selling them in a place where there is a heavy demand can be highly lucrative. After the fall of the Soviet Union, arms merchants like Viktor Bout became incredibly rich buying excess Soviet weapons for very low prices in places like Ukraine and selling them for much higher prices in places like Liberia. In addition to cash, guns can also be exchanged for commodities such as diamonds, drugs and even sugar.

Arms Markets

There are three general types of markets for arms. The first is the legal arms market, where weapons are bought and sold in accordance with national and international law. The legal arms market also includes military aid sent by one government to another in accordance with international law. The parties in a legal arms deal will file the proper paperwork, including end-user certificates, noting what is being sold, who is selling it and to whom it is being sold. There is a clear understanding of who is getting what and under what conditions.

The second arms market is that involving illicit, or gray arms. Gray arms transactions involve a deceptive legal arms transaction in which legally purchased arms are shifted into the hands of someone other than the purported, legal recipient. One of the classic ways to do this is to either falsify an end-user certificate, deceiving the seller, or to bribe an official in the purported destination country to sign an end-user certificate but then allow the shipment of arms to pass through his country to a third location. This type of transaction is frequently used in cases where there are international arms embargoes against a particular country (like Liberia) or where it is illegal to sell arms to a militant group such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

In one example of a gray arms deal, Ukrainian small arms were sold to Ivory Coast on paper but were then transferred in violation of U.N. arms embargoes to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Another example occurred when the government of Peru purchased thousands of surplus East German assault rifles from Jordan on the legal arms market ostensibly for the Peruvian military. Those rifles then slipped into the gray arms world and were dropped at airstrips in the jungles of Colombia for use by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The third market is the illegal, or black arms market. In this market, the weapons are clearly transferred in violation of national and international law and there is no attempt to cover the impropriety with devices such as forged end-user certificates. Black arms transfers can involve regimes, such as when the Gadhafi regime in Libya furnished weapons to terrorist groups like the Abu Nidal Organization or the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Nation-states will often use the gray and black arms markets in order to deniably support allies, undermine opponents or otherwise pursue their national interests. This was clearly revealed in the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s, though Iran-Contra only scratched the surface of the untold tons of arms that were smuggled during the Cold War. But other times, the black arms market can involve non-state actors or even organized crime groups. The transfer of Libyan weapons from militia groups to Tuareg rebels in Mali or of weapons from the conflicts in the Balkans to criminals in Europe exemplify this.

Some weapons are also made in an unregulated manner, such as the homemade rockets and mortars made by Palestinian militant groups or the Syrian resistance. The cottage industry of illicit arms manufacture in Darra Adam Khel Pakistan has long supplied militants and tribesmen on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Weapons Flows to Syria

Currently, Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime is being supplied through the legal arms market by Russia. At the same time, they are being supplied by Iran, but since Iran is forbidden from exporting weapons under U.N. Resolution 1747, these transactions are illegal or occurring on the black arms market.

Similarly, the Iranian and Syrian weapons provided to the al Assad regime's ally, Hezbollah, are illegal under U.N. Resolution 1701. Advanced Chinese weapons have also found their way into Hezbollah's arsenal, such as the C-802 anti-ship missile used in a July 2006 attack on the Israeli corvette Hanit. It appears Hezbollah received these weapons from Iran, which has purchased some of the missiles from China and manufactured its own copies of the missile.

The rebel groups in Syria are quite fractured. The weapon flows to these groups reflect this diversity, as do the number of different actors arming them. To date, the United States and EU countries have resisted directly arming the rebels, but covert efforts facilitate the flow of arms from other parties to the rebels have been going on for well over a year now.

One of the functions of the U.S. presence in Benghazi, Libya, was to help facilitate the flow of Libyan arms to Syrian rebels. From the American point of view, sending weapons to Syria not only helps the rebels there, but every SA-7b shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile sent to Syria to be fired at a regime helicopter or MiG fighter is one less missile that can find its way into the hands of militants in the region. Promoting the flow of weapons out of Libya to Syria also makes weapons in Libya much more expensive, and can therefore reduce the ability of local militia groups -- or regional militant groups such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or Boko Haram -- to procure weapons from Libya.

Even though the U.S. and Turkish governments are involved in the process of passing arms from Libya to Syria, it is nonetheless a black arms channel. The Austrian Steyr Aug rifles and Swiss-made hand grenades in rebel hands were purchased by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through legal channels but then diverted to the Syrian rebels several years later via black market channels. I have not seen any of the documentation pertaining to the Croatian weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and then channeled to the Syrian rebels via Jordan, so it is difficult to judge if they were arms sold legally to the Saudis and then diverted via an illicit gray arms transaction or if the entire transfer was clandestine and hidden in black arms channels.

Obviously, the weapons supplied by the Islamic State of Iraq to Jabhat al-Nusra and other jihadist rebel groups is another case of black arms transfers. But some rebel groups have purchased weapons with cash on the black market in Lebanon and Turkey while other rebel groups have even purchased weapons from corrupt officials in the Syrian regime. Of course, the rebels have also captured some sizable arms depots from the government.

As one steps back and looks at the big picture, it becomes clear that as these diverse channels move instruments of war into Syria, their individual themes are being woven together to orchestrate a terrible symphony of death. It may be years before the symphony is over in Syria, but rest assured that shortly after its final crescendo, economic forces will work to ensure that the durable and fungible weapons from this theater of war begin to make their way to the next global hotspot.

Read more: Global Arms Markets as Seen Through the Syrian Lens | Stratfor 

Follow us: @stratfor on Twitter | Stratfor on Facebook

AZMEX UPDATE 25-7-13

AZMEX UPDATE 25 JUL 2013 

Border-crossers report armed robbery

Posted: Friday, July 26, 2013 9:22 am

By JB Miller

For the Nogales International 

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/border-crossers-report-armed-robbery/article_84cf41da-f60f-11e2-8196-0019bb2963f4.html   

Three illegal border-crossers who managed to escape a pursuit by Border Patrol agents say they were subsequently robbed at gunpoint by masked bandits somewhere near the Santa Cruz/Pima county line.

Then they were captured by the Border Patrol.

 

Marcos Morales, 33, and Nieves Perez Hernandez , 31, both from Guatemala, and Lazaro Cardenas Dias, 24, from Mexico, told Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies that they entered the U.S. illegally on Monday, July 15.

Four days later, on July 19, they were chased by Border Patrol agents, whose numbers included a K-9 unit and a helicopter. 

"They lost the agents and continued walking to a ridge when at about 9 p.m. two males jumped out of the bush with a high powered rifle," said Lt. Raoul Rodriguez of the Sheriff's Office.

The bandits robbed them of their food, clothing and cell phones.

The men described their assailants as wearing green camouflage jackets and ski masks. However, because they were forced to look at the ground, they said, they were unable to give any further description.

The men were eventually apprehended by Border Patrol agents, who notified the Sheriff's Office of the reported robbery on Monday, July 22.

Since the incident had occurred four days earlier and the exact location of the hold-up was unknown, deputies were unable to locate any suspects, Rodriguez said.

Note:  following all Yuma  

Agents arrest 4, seize 175 pounds of marijuana

July 24, 2013 4:08 PM

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested four people suspected of smuggling and seized 175 pounds of marijuana worth about $87,500 on Monday.

Agents patrolling the desert southwest of Gila Bend equipped with night vision spotted four people walking along a known drug smuggling route through the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.

Agents approached the individuals, all citizens of Mexico, and arrested them.

The case was then turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/agents-88824-pounds-marijuana.html#ixzz2a6otEjsY

BP agents find 285 pounds of pot after pulling men from river

July 25, 2013 10:25 PM

BY CHRIS McDANIEL - @YS_CMCDANIEL

Three men reportedly struggling to stay afloat as they swam to Mexico across the Colorado River Thursday were pulled from the water by a Yuma Sector Border Patrol boat crew. The men, all Mexican citizens, were then promptly arrested for being in the U.S. illegally.

Border Patrol agents also found about 285 pounds of marijuana worth about $142,500 hidden in brush nearby. 

According to the Border Patrol, agents following footprints near the Colorado River and County 8th Street observed five individuals attempting to swim west toward Mexico from the Arizona side of the river. 

A Border Patrol boat unit was sent to the area, which is just to the east of Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico. Once on scene, the boat unit saw two people safely swim to the Mexican side of the Colorado and exit the river. 

Three other men still in the river were reportedly having difficulty swimming, so the agents with the boat unit pulled them onboard their vessel. The agents then arrested the trio after determining they were Mexican citizens illegally present in the U.S. 

The men were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

While the three men were pulled from the water, agents searched the brush on the U.S. side of the border to ensure there were no other people inside the United States illegally. During their search, the agents found the large quantity of pot wrapped up in black trash bags.

Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/agents-88846-river-border.html#ixzz2aAdNd3Df

Officers seize more than $300K in meth and cocaine

July 25, 2013 10:27 PM

BY CHRIS McDANIEL - @YS_CMCDANIEL

An American man was arrested and more than $300,000 worth of meth and cocaine was seized by Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of San Luis Wednesday.

Virginio Quezada, 34, a U.S. citizen presently living in San Luis, Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, was referred to a secondary inspection when he attempted to drive across the border in a Chevrolet van.

A working dog indicated the possible presence of contraband inside the vehicle, and after further scrutiny, officers reportedly found 20 packages of meth valued at $323,950 hidden behind the vehicle's dashboard.

Quezada also allegedly possessed more than two ounces of cocaine. 

The drugs and vehicle were seized. Quezada was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/cocaine-88841-meth-quezada.html#ixzz2aAdZjquq   

AZMEX POLICY 26-7-13

AZMEX POLICY 26 JUL 2013

Major Rifts Forming Over US Border Security Funding

Jul. 25, 2013 - 06:00AM   |    By PAUL McLEARY   

  http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130725/DEFREG02/307250019/Major-Rifts-Forming-Over-US-Border-Security-Funding  

Senate Immigration Bill Slammed During US House Hearing

WASHINGTON — Tied up with the broader fight over the best way to deal with 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US is another issue: How to tighten and strengthen the process by which people enter the country while clamping down on ways in which people and goods flow illegally across land and sea borders.

Coming up with solutions to these longtime issues is complicated and expensive, as the $46 billion Senate immigration bill passed on June 24 makes clear.

The bill calls for about $40 billion to hire more than 18,000 new Border Patrol officers, which would double the size of the force. It also adds billions in new security gear and infrastructure, such as a 700-mile border fence and dozens of expensive day/night surveillance cameras and radars planted along the border with Mexico.

The House is taking a very different approach, and is working its way through five separate bills that deal with immigration and border security issues. Its pending Border Security Results Act of 2013 focuses on security and technology.

And there's where the fireworks begin.

Speaking before the House Homeland Security subcommittee on July 23, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, one of the Hill's most active proponents for border security reform, offered a full-throated condemnation of the Senate bill.

Cornyn said the upper chamber's bill "could go down as one of the most massive wastes of funds in the history of the federal government" since it "blindly throws more than $46 billion in resources at the border, and contains absolutely no mechanism to ensure that these resources will be effective or properly implemented."

Cornyn slammed other provisions in the bill that would "require DHS [Department of Homeland Security] to blindly purchase billions of dollars of specific equipment" for surveillance without including any mechanism for measuring if the technology was effective in slowing the flow of people, drugs and counterfeit items across the southern border.

The Senate bill calls for four more drones on top of the 10 that Customs and Border Protection already flies, 30 marine vessels, 17 more Huey helicopters, 10 converted and five new Black Hawk helicopters, and hundreds of ground sensors and surveillance systems, both fixed and mobile.

The DHS's previous attempt to use technology to gain "operational control" over the border failed when the Boeing-led Secure Border Initiative (SBInet) plan was canceled in 2011 after burning through $1 billion buying cameras and sensors that were rife with performance issues, and proved too costly to purchase and maintain.

The department has had trouble coming up with a program to replace SBInet, and has yet to issue contracts to industry to upgrade the sensor and surveillance technology along the border.

The government appeared set to award a new contract for a series of integrated fixed towers — upgraded versions of what the Boeing program struggled to deliver — this year, but pushed back the award to December.

The new program is expected initially to be worth about $1.1 billion, and has had a host of defense industry giants chasing the contract.

In May, DHS issued down-select notices to General Dynamics, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and the American arm of the Israeli company Elbit to continue participate in the Integrated Fixed Tower program.

Although companies such as Boeing and Telephonics were known to have been in the running, company reps have not been able to confirm whether the company received notices.

The DHS fiscal 2014 budget request asked for $77.4 million for the Integrated Fixed Tower program.

Cornyn lauded the House's Border Security Results Act of 2013, which includes provisions for a set of independently verified border security metrics that would allow congressional overseers to measure progress in obtaining the elusive goal of "operational control" over the border.

Cornyn traveled to the other side of Capitol Hill after his proposed amendment to the Senate's bill was voted down in June. His amendment was similar to what is offered in the House bill, calling for a 90 percent apprehension rate on the border along with other law enforcement measures before other parts of the bill — most significantly, a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants — could begin to take effect.

Testifying before the committee, Jayson Ahern, former acting commissioner of customs and border protection and assistant commissioner for field operations, also assailed the Senate's desire to hire 18,000 agents.

Before bringing new people on, he said, "a more prudent first step would be to evaluate how the current deployment of personnel is being utilized, and determine ... how to reassign agents to where the threat has moved versus what appears to be arbitrary increases."

Specifically, as the threat of smuggling moves from land to the sea, the government needs to consider how many agents it has that can operate in the maritime environment, and how many are trained to fly drones, he said.

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., chairwoman of the committee, also pulled few punches when assessing the Senate bill, saying in her opening statement that "doubling the Border Patrol and tearing down hundreds of miles of fence just to rebuild it appears tough until you look deeper and ask the tough questions: Did the chief of the Border Patrol say that's what they needed to get the job done, or did senators come up with those nice round numbers to get additional votes?"

When the House and Senate finally reach the point where they go to conference on an immigration bill, the issue of undocumented immigrants will most likely hold the attention of most of the public. But for the defense industry and Border Patrol agents doing their work in the desert, the issue of how much to spend, and on what, will no doubt loom large.

END

AZ

AZMEX UPDATE 24-7-13

AZMEX UPDATE 24 JUL 2013

Note:  "Phony Scandal"  =  Hundreds, and no doubt more,  Hispanics killed by criminal gangs with weapons provided by the Obama administration.  

Note:  two following TXMEX

Another guilty plea in Panama Unit case

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_f899318c-f486-11e2-9414-0019bb30f31a.html   

  

Alexis Espinoza walks out of federal court after his arraignment Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, in McAllen. photo by Ildefonso Ortiz/iortiz@themonitor.com

Posted: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 12:32 pm

The Monitor

Alexis Espinoza pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to a drug conspiracy charge in the Panama Unit case.

Espinoza, a former Mission police detective, was arrested by federal authorities Dec. 12, 2012, after a raid at the Police Department. Court records allege that Espinoza and eight other lawmen would seize drug loads and turn them over to convicted drug trafficker Fernando Guerra and his son, who would then sell them and split the profits.

Click here for more background information on the case.

END

Man who threatened Hidalgo County sheriff executed in Mexico

Posted: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 8:36 pm

Ildefonso Ortiz | The Monitor

Posted on July 23, 2013

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_82ae0414-f401-11e2-9164-001a4bcf6878.html 

McALLEN — A man executed in Reynosa at the hands of members of organized crime has been identified as the same man who had made threats against Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño and deputies serving beneath him.

Mexican authorities in Ciudad Victoria and Reynosa confirmed the body of Roberto Carlos "El Loco" Medina — a member of a violent gang comprising criminal immigrants with ties to Mexican drug cartels — showed signs "consistent with an execution," but declined to comment further on his slaying.

Treviño said Tuesday that his department was working with the FBI, which was coordinating contact with Mexican authorities to further investigate the death of Medina.

Medina's body was found by Reynosa municipal authorities Thursday afternoon along a dirt road near Colonia Ernesto Zedillo; the body's hands had been tied behind its back with a single gunshot wound to the forehead, Treviño said.

While the body had a Mexican ID card with the name Jorge Garcia Garcia, the man's mother is the one who properly identified him in Mexico.

Medina was the same Partido Revolucionario Mexicano gang member connected to Mexican organized crime who in September 2012 had made death threats against Treviño, his family and investigator Alfredo Avila, who had been looking at Medina in connection to a kidnapping case, the sheriff said.

Medina was considered a person of interest in the kidnapping case and had two warrants for his arrest on the charge of making terroristic threats.

Court records show that Medina had also called Avila's department-issued cellphone to make threats against him and his family. Medina's relatives declined to comment when contacted Tuesday by The Monitor.

Medina has a lengthy criminal history, including drug charges, robbery, kidnapping and a 1999 capital murder charge that was dismissed for lack of evidence.

The Partido Revolucionario Mexicano gang has been described by authorities as a group of criminal immigrants illegally in the United States with direct ties to Mexican drug cartels and organized criminal syndicates across the border, particularly the Gulf Cartel.

The PRM is the same gang behind the a failed kidnapping attempt on behalf of the Gulf Cartel that led to the shooting of an Hidalgo County sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop in October 2011.

The sheriff classified that shooting as the first confirmed case of spillover violence in his county — a departure from prior assertions that drug violence had not crossed north of the Rio Grande — since the kidnapping had been an effort to recover a drug load stolen from the Gulf Cartel.

Mexican authorities have not released any information into Medina's slaying beyond confirming his death. The case is being undertaken by officials with Tamaulipas' attorney general, which investigates such homicides.

Medina's threats were not a unique circumstance for Treviño and his staff in recent years.

In July 2012, Gustavo Lozano, 41, called sheriff's dispatchers, saying he was a Mexican police officer and that deputies shouldn't have started a drug investigation against him. Lozano turned himself in to authorities Jan. 16 at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, where he claimed that people in Mexico had tried to kill him. The man sustained several self-inflicted wounds and after further investigation, investigators said his threats were baseless.

Lozano had sold an interview to a show with Univision network, where he claimed to be a hit man for a Mexican cartel and had been behind the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent — a claim the FBI found to be without merit, dismissing the claims in a written statement.

On Jan. 17, Lozano said he had been lying in his statements, and he publicly apologized during his arraignment hearing. He pleaded guilty in April and was sent to jail, but online court records do not specify the length of his sentence.

END

AZMEX UPDATE 23-7-13

AZMEX UPDATE 23 JUL 2013

Note:  busy times at the AZMEX border

Assures Osorio that is not backing down from security strategy

Interior Secretary condemned the violent events in Michoacan that left five dead and said he would go ahead to regain the peace and security of citizens

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2013/07/23/910241

23/07/2013 16:56 NOTIMEX

MATAMOROS, Tamps. July 23. - The Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, condemned the violent events in Michoacan that left five dead and stressed that this situation will not reverse the security strategy.

We will continue to regain peace and security of citizens and restore trade in the state, said at a news conference with Secretary of Homeland Security of the American Union, Janet Napolitano.

It is a fact that we regret, we reject, we repudiate and that of course is not going to turn back, but the opposite, we will give to those who have made this cowardly event  against a group of citizens who gathered, "he explained.

The head of the internal politics of the country considered that these acts of violence are in response to the security strategy implemented by the government of the Republic in Michoacan, to restore order, to restore peace and security.

"Let's go ahead and we will continue to find the results so far have been very favorable and, of course, reinforce in the subsequent days," said the official.

As part of Binational Mexico-US held Tuesday in Matamoros, the federal official reiterated that there will be no going back on the strategy to ensure the safety of Michoacan and property.

Let it be known that there will be no retreat, there will be no turning back. We will continue and, of course, is not going to allow that violate the property, safety and lives of Mexicans, "he said.

According to official reports, on Monday, about 200 people demonstrated in front of the city hall of Los Reyes, Michoacan, when men on board about four trucks opened fire with high-powered rifles and caused the death of five people and injuring other nine.

jgl

Note:  large seizures south of border still quite rare since last Dec. 

Seizure in Nuevo Nogales Sonora 

Details Published on Tuesday July 23, 2013,

Written by Cesar Barragan / El Diario 

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=16423

Nogales

Army Seizes over half a ton of marijuana, methamphetamine, vehicles and weapons.

Mexican Army troops conducted a raid on a safe house located in Colonia Nuevo Nogales in coordination with other federal authorities which claimed over half a ton of marijuana, methamphetamine, vehicles and weapons.

According to reports from the Ministry of National Defence, issued through the 45 area, indicate that the search warrant was achieved diligence in coordination with others, around 14:00 hours, in support of the Federal Public Ministry.

It was then that the armed forces and federal authorities went to the building marked with number 7B Nueva Galicia street in this sector, where they located and seized a total of 80 packages which contained marijuana pressed.

Reports say the narcotic threw a weight of 730 kilograms, also seized 437 doses of the same drug, ready for sale as well as 688 thousand methamphetamine other three marijuana plants,

seven guns, 105 rounds of ammunition, thirteen mags, a car and a quad.

END

Note:  in far south of Mexico.  

Note:  "Of the foreigners, nine are from Nepal, Bangladesh 9, 37 from Guatemala, 20 from  El Salvador and Honduras 3, all boys, including two minors.

It also provided assistance to four Honduran, 3 Salvadoran, Guatemalan and eight natives of  Nepal, including 5 children, explained the INM."

Rescued 94 migrants in Chiapas, the X-ray detected

The Universal | July 23, 2013 | 14:55 pm

http://www.eldiariodechihuahua.mx/notas.php?f=2013/07/23&id=06457b60c6c4897e98927041b835ea84

 

Tuxtla Gutierrez. - The National Migration Institute (INM) and the Ministry of Public Security of Chiapas rescued 94 migrants of different nationalities who were traveling in inhuman conditions and hidden aboard a box type vehicle.

Foreigners were detected through X-ray equipment to pass through the checkpoint that is located in La Pochota, at the exit of the state capital.

"Because of the crowded conditions in which they traveled, Beta Group staff provided care to migrants, 78 men and 16 women, including 7 minors, who had severe injuries to his hands and legs as well as symptoms of suffocation. Two of them received pre-hospital care, and the rest water and food.

Of the foreigners, nine are from Nepal, Bangladesh 9, 37 from Guatemala, 20 from  El Salvador and Honduras 3, all boys, including two minors.

It also provided assistance to four Honduran, 3 Salvadoran, Guatemalan and eight native Nepal, including 5 children, explained the INM.

Similarly, it was reported that the truck was driven by the alleged trafficker José Luis Gómez Arceo, from the State of Mexico, who was transporting aliens in the rear of the vehicle panels. Foreigners traveling from Comitan toward the Federal District .

"The migrants had paid different amounts for the move, according to their nationality. In the case of Central America, the rate was 4000-5000 dollars and Asians of 6000-8000 dollars.

"Three of migrant children traveling alone were attended by Officers Child Protection (opi's) INM for always ensure respect for human rights, pursuant to protocols established by the Migration Act," explained INM.

The suspected smuggler was made available to the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Immigrants  State Attorney's Office.

END

CBP snags more than $1 million in drugs at local ports

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/cbp-snags-more-than-million-in-drugs-at-local-ports/article_fa32cdd8-f3fe-11e2-917d-0019bb2963f4.html  

CBP officers and a drug-sniffing dog located a non-factory compartment within the front bumper of this sedan driven by Deniz Sneed of Nogales.

Posted: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 6:18 pm | Updated: 6:27 pm, Tue Jul 23, 2013.

Nogales International 

Port officers in Nogales seized more than $1 million in methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana during six separate incidents last weekend.

"Smugglers don't take time off, so we have to maintain our vigilance around the clock," said Guadalupe Ramirez, port director in Nogales for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The string of busts included the arrest Friday of 21-year-old Nogales resident Deniz Sneed. CBP said a drug-sniffing dog alerted to the front bumper of Sneed's Ford sedan when she tried to enter the United States through an unspecified port of entry. Officers subsequently discovered eight pounds of meth and more than three pounds of heroin worth nearly $167,000.

A short while earlier, officers had referred 22-year-old Dominic Aaron Damiano of Tucson for additional inspection of his Honda van as he attempted to enter the United States through an unspecified port of entry. After a drug-sniffing dog alerted to the presence of narcotics, officers removed more than 10 pounds of meth and more than seven pounds of cocaine from the van's firewall.

The drugs were valued at close to $227,000.

On Saturday, CBP officers arrested Rene Serrano-Verdugo, 50, of Nogales, Sonora, after a dog led them to nearly 55 pounds of marijuana hidden in a non-factory compartment within the gas tank of his GMC truck. CBP valued the pot at nearly $25,000.

Also on Saturday, officers arrested 44-year-old Elvia Elena Cruz de Bejarano, a Mexican national, after a drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to more than 21 pounds of meth, valued at nearly $326,000, in the rear quarter panels of her Toyota SUV.

The arrests continued on Saturday when a dog pointed officers at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry to the front seats of a GMC sedan driven by Francisco Javier Avelar-Valenzuela, 41, of Empalme, Sonora. The seats turned out to contain nearly 17 pounds of meth worth more than $263,000.

On Sunday, officers at the Mariposa Port of Entry referred Kellie Marie Christensen, 25, of Peoria, Ariz. for an additional inspection of her Buick SUV. A drug-sniffing dog alerted to several locations inside and outside of the vehicle, CBP said, leading to the seizure of more than 93 pounds of marijuana.

The weed was valued at more than $42,000. 

All of the suspects were referred to federal investigators and the drugs and vehicles were processed for seizure, CBP said.

Ramirez complimented his personnel for their work at the Nogales ports.

"Our officers work very hard to catch the bad guys, while also working to make sure that legitimate trade and travel moves as smoothly as possible," he said.

end

AZMEX I3 23-7-13

AZMEX I3  23 JUL 2013 

Note:  debatable conclusions.

Decreasing Mexican immigration will change illegal immigration dynamics, says CSIS

July 21, 2013 | By David Perera

http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/decreasing-mexican-immigration-will-change-illegal-immigration-dynamics-say/2013-07-21?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal  

A slowing Mexican population growth rate, economic growth and governance improvements mean that unauthorized Mexican immigration to the United States will continue its decline--changing the dynamics of U.S. and Mexican immigration policy, says a July report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The report (.pdf), authored by Carl Meacham and Michael Graybeal, both of the CSIS Americas Program, acknowledges that an increase in the cost of illegal immigration created by U.S. policing efforts and organized crime's involvement in human smuggling have contributed to the recent decrease of unauthorized immigration into the United States. But, it argues that "profound demographic and economic changes in Mexico" are also behind the decline and that those changes will result in a significant drop in supply of illegal Mexican workers in the near future.

As evidence, report authors cite economic reforms during the presidency of Felipe Calderón, who stepped down after his term expired in December 2012 after undertaking the first major restructuring of Mexico's labor code since its creation in 1931. Current President Enrique Peña Nieto has signaled his intention to continue reform, report authors say, noting a new law that would open up the country's telecommunications sector to competition and permit foreign investment in state petroleum monopoly Pemex.

In a recent survey on Federal IT Reform, Senior government IT executives laid out their vision for the coming year, detailing challenges and identifying priorities. To read more about these timely results click here to download the summary today.

Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox!

Wage growth in China means Mexico's lower transportation costs to the United States have helped it regain a competitive edge, and Mexico's economy is projected to grow this year at a rate of 3.3 percent, the report says.

Authors also note a slowing in population growth, from more than 3 percent during the 1960s to just 1.2 percent in 2011, according to World Bank statistics.

The poverty and labor force excess that drove illegal Mexican migration, in other words, are lessening in force (although more than one-third of the Mexican population still lives in poverty). Such conditions are still very strong in Central America, as are security threats. Although El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have experienced robust economic growth, "their demographic characteristics resemble those of Mexico that, two decades ago, promoted outward flows," and employment statistics suggest that economic growth hasn't resulted in sufficient progress for those nations' poor, which vary from more than 45 percent of the populace to 65 percent (the latter in Honduras).

A rise in the proportion of Central Americans transiting through Mexico to reach the United States as a percentage of total illegal immigration along the southwestern border will transform migration from a binational Mexican-U.S. issue to a multinational one where Mexico could emerge as an important player, authors say.

They recommend the United States deepen its partnership with Mexico and multilateral financial situations so that better border security, governance and economic reforms can take root within Central America itself as a means of easing the pressures that drive its citizens to migrate.

For more:

- download the report, "Diminishing Mexican Immigration to the United States" (.pdf)

Related Articles:

U.S. sends aid directly to Mexican state and local governments

Mexican president's planned national gendarmerie draws skeptics

Mexican migration to U.S. estimated to reach early-2000s levels again soon

Read more: Decreasing Mexican immigration will change illegal immigration dynamics, says CSIS - 

FierceHomelandSecurity http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/decreasing-mexican-immigration-will-change-illegal-immigration-dynamics-say/2013-07-21#ixzz2Zp1ciEZZ 

AZMEX POLICY 22-7-13

AZMEX POLICY 22 JUL 2013

Note:  Interesting appointment, also the rest of the story, but all in Spanish for those interested.   

Mexican 42nd Military Zone gets new commander

 |  Borderland Beat Reporter badanov

By Chris Covert

Rantburg.com

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/ 

The new commander of the Mexican 42nd Military Zone said last week that the Mexican Army will permanently be deployed to the sierras to fight drug trafficking and cultivation, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account which appeared last week in Norte Digital news website, General de Brigada Ricardo Diaz Palacio attended a drug incinerating ceremony in Cuauhtemoc municipality, attended also by Chihuahua state governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez.

According to reports, General Diaz Palacio took over command of the Mexican 42nd Military Zone July 1st, which is a normal date for command shuffling in the Mexican Army, after having been commander of the 29th Military Zone in Minatitlan, Veracruz in 2011 just before he received his second star, thru 2012.  He had been intelligence chief in the Matamoros army garrison in Tamaulipas before being assigned to the 29th Military Zone  As a Brigadier General he was also chief of operations for the Mexican Army general staff in 2008.

General Diaz Palacio takes over command of the 42nd Military from General General Miguel Andrade Cisneros, who was appointed as commander last December.

The July 1st date in this context means that new appointments to military regions and zones are the first under the new Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), so actions taken by the army after this date will could set the tone for the army for the rest of the term of newly inaugurated president Enrique Pena.

General Diaz Palacio's remarks about a permanent army deployment mirror remarks made by other army commanders, including the statement that the Mexican Army "works alone" and in coordination with state and local security forces.  The remarks about permanent army deployments seem to reverse a campaign promise made by President Pena about the military being sent to the barracks as a measure to reduce violence.

Indeed in remarks he made while he was in Mexico City on SEDENA's general staff in 2008, he discounted the charge long made by the Mexican left that the presence of the army in a region increases violence in the region

Violence in southern Chihuahua state, part of Mexico's Triangulo Dorada or Golden Triangle has seen a sharp increase since the end of spring.  One of the worst problems in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality has been that of criminal groups forming road blocks, especially between Guadalupe y Calvo municipal seat and Parral de Hidalgo.  At least two ambushes involving armed criminals against civilians have taken place in just the last 45 days along that stretch of road.

According to a news account which appeared last week in El Diario de Juarez, at least four roadblocks have been reported by armed groups on the road between the two municipalities, specifically near Mesa de San Rafael, despite an increase in the numbers of federal security forces in the region.  Criminal groups at those blocks are allowing only the elderly, women and children through, which indicates those groups may be using the roadblock for recruiting purposes for men.

The fear of roadblocks in the area is so acute, according to a separate news account which appeared in El Diario de Juarez, an air service had been established between the two points for passengers only.  Also bus drivers are refusing to take on any male passengers because of recruiting efforts in the region.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

END 

El General Luis Ricardo Díaz asume la Comandancia de la 42 Zona Militar

PROTOCOLARIO de toma de posesión y de protesta de bandera del nuevo comandante Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios.

El Sol de Parral

2 de julio de 2013

POR RAÚL HERRERA

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldeparral/notas/n3038637.htm  

PARRAL, CHIH., (OEM).- En presencia del gobernador del estado, César Duarte Jáquez, nombran como nuevo comandante de la 42 Zona Militar al General de Brigada, Diplomado de Estado Mayor, Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios, en lugar de Miguel Andrade Cisneros.

Díaz Palacios estuvo durante poco más de un año al frente de la 29 Zona Militar en Minatitlán, estado de Veracruz.

Ayer en las instalaciones del 76 Batallón de Infantería se llevó a cabo el acto protocolario de toma de posesión y de protesta de bandera del nuevo comandante Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios.

El General tomó el lugar del anterior General Miguel Andrade Cisneros, quien estuvo a cargo de esta zona militar desde el 21 de mayo de 2012, cuando tomó protesta. De momento, la SEDENA no ha revelado el nuevo cargo de Andrade Cisneros en la capital de la República.

Entretanto, en nuestra ciudad el nuevo Comandante, previo al evento, se reunió en un desayuno con funcionarios municipales y estatales, así como presidentes municipales de la región de Allende, Santa Bárbara y Zaragoza, destacando la presencia del gobernador César Duarte Jáquez.

Luego recibió el nombramiento por parte del General de División, Diplomado de Estado Mayor, Augusto Moisés García Ochoa. El General de Brigada DEM, Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios, recibió a los altos mandos que conforman la 42 Zona Militar, concluyendo el evento con la toma de protesta de Bandera.

Durante su mensaje, el mandatario estatal, César Duarte, reconoció la labor del Ejército en las diferentes acciones que se llevan a cabo para combatir la violencia que aqueja al país. El jefe del Ejecutivo Estatal destacó que han logrado importantes resultados, pero falta mucho por hacer, por lo que impulsó a los efectivos castrenses en todos sus rangos, a continuar con esta loable labor en el bien de Chihuahua y el país.

Díaz Palacios se reservó dar a conocer los pormenores de su traslado a esta zona militar y por parte del personal de Comunicación Social de la SEDENA, se dijo que en los próximos días tendrán una acercamiento con los medios de comunicación, con el fin de seguir manteniendo ese acercamiento tan estrecho que dejó el Comandante Miguel Andrade Cisneros. 

FIN

Homicidios a la baja en la entidad

El gobernador César Duarte, dijo ayer que todavía falta mucho por hacer, pero en estos resultados influye mucho la participación ciudadana.

EL GOBERNADOR RECONOCE QUE AÚN FALTA MUCHO POR HACER

El Sol de Parral

2 de julio de 2013

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldeparral/notas/n3038639.htm  

POR RAÚL HERRERA

PARRAL, CHIH., (OEM).- En los últimos tres años disminuyen los homicidios hasta un 87 por ciento en la entidad. El gobernador César Duarte, dijo ayer que todavía falta mucho por hacer, pero en estos resultados influye mucho la participación ciudadana y la coordinación que ha tenido el Ejército con las diferentes corporaciones policiacas.

Durante la toma de protesta del nuevo Comandante de la 42 Zona Militar, General de Brigada Diplomado de Estado Mayor, Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios, el jefe del Ejecutivo añadió que en estos tres últimos años se han logrado importantes avances en materia de seguridad; sin embargo, reconoció que aún falta mucho por hacer.

Duarte Jáquez destacó que hace tres años, para estas fechas, se tenían en el estado 5,500 homicidio y actualmente suman alrededor de 700; lo que demuestra una importante disminución.

El Gobernador dijo que para continuar combatiendo la inseguridad es necesario tener coordinación entre Ejército y las diferentes corporaciones policiacas de los niveles de gobierno.

Gracias por compartir con ustedes el entusiasmo que sentimos por la permanente renovación y dinámica del Ejército; sin duda es la institución que ha consolidado la paz y tranquilidad, ya que ha mostrado la política pacifista del país. El ejército es lo mejor que puede dar a su propia patria la paz y tranquilidad.

A las fuerzas castrenses se les ha encomendado siempre las más altas responsabilidades: desde establecer la estrategia de integridad de nuestro territorios, pero sin duda, también establecer el baluarte que consolidad la paz, sobre todo hoy en día por el fenómeno que el país vive.

De igual forma, añadió que la participación del Ejército ha sido, sin duda, fundamental para fortalecer desde los municipios y estados esta estrategia de paz y prevalencia de nuestra condición constitucional, que se debe mantener como el símbolo mayor de la democracia y la libertad; pero siempre garantes en ese sentido.

Finalmente, el mandatario reconoció que hay mucho por hacer y lograr; pero los avances son tangibles; "sin el apoyo del Ejército nada de esto se pudiera lograr", puntualizó y remató: "por eso estamos a favor de la paz y del orden constitucional".

Insistió que aún falta mucho por hacer y que es necesario que continúen trabajando de manera más intensa en el combate que encabezan las fuerzas castrenses, para regresar la tranquilidad a las calles de Chihuahua. 

FIN

Asume Policía Naval seguridad en el sur

El gobernador se reunió con el embajador de El Salvador, Carlos Antonio Ascencio, a quien le refrendó su compromiso de atender y proteger a migrantes centroamericanos durante su paso por la Entidad.

Diario de Xalapa

9 de mayo de 2013

http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldeorizaba/notas/n2976300.htm  

Redacción/Diario de Xalapa

Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.- En Veracruz garantizamos la tranquilidad de las familias, y hoy es un día histórico, ya que la Policía Naval, apoyada por elementos de la fuerzas estatales acreditables, resguardará las tareas de seguridad en el sur de la Entidad, integrando una sola fuerza de combate a la delincuencia, aseveró el gobernador Javier Duarte de Ochoa.

Al dar inicio del Mando Único Policial en el sur de la Entidad, acompañado por el comandante de esta fuerza, capitán de Navío y de Infantería de Marina DEM Miguel Ángel Ruiz Castillo, el mandatario señaló que la implementación de esta medida representa un paso determinante para hacer más eficaz la respuesta de la sociedad y de su gobierno frente a la delincuencia.

"Los veracruzanos nos sumamos al llamado del presidente de la República, Enrique Peña Nieto, para fortalecer el Programa Nacional para la Prevención Social de la Violencia y la Delincuencia".

Señaló que, con la finalidad de que existan criterios objetivos de confiabilidad y seguridad en beneficio de todos los habitantes de la zona sur de la entidad, la Secretaría de Marina-Armada de México, en coordinación con la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (SSP), asume el mando y operación del servicio público de la policía preventiva municipal, extinguiendo la Policía Intermunicipal Coatzacoalcos-Minatitlán-Cosoleacaque-Nanchital y la policía municipal de Acayucan, a petición expresa de su cabildo. "Se trata de una estrategia de probada eficacia en otras partes del Estado".

En mi gobierno, dijo, es prioritario dar pasos firmes para proteger la vida y los bienes de todos los veracruzanos. "El compromiso irrenunciable de mi gobierno es responder al clamor de la ciudadanía, de estudiantes, profesionistas, empresarios, trabajadores y las familias que demandan gozar de un ambiente de libertades y bienestar".

En respuesta a una de las mayores inquietudes de los involucrados en esta acción, la seguridad laboral de los expolicías municipales, el gobernador dejó claro que se garantizarán en todo tiempo los derechos y la antigüedad de los elementos que dejan de prestar sus servicios.

Además, a aquellos que lo deseen, se ofrece su incorporación a la nueva Policía Estatal Acreditable, siempre y cuando acrediten cada uno de los requisitos que establece el Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública para incorporarse a la misma.

"He instruido a la Secretaría de Finanzas y Planeación (Sefiplan) para que se realice el deslinde y finiquito que por derecho corresponde a los elementos de las corporaciones de la Policía Intermunicipal que se extingue, lo que aplicará de igual manera a la Policía Preventiva del municipio de Acayucan".

En la sala de juntas de la Dirección General de Construcciones Navales, Astilleros de la Marina N° 3, Duarte de Ochoa apuntó que el mantenimiento del bienestar común no podrá alcanzarse plenamente como sociedad, "a no ser que actuemos con determinación frente a quienes atentan contra nuestro derecho de vivir en paz".

En este sentido, recordó que desde el año pasado se puso en marcha el programa Coatzacoalcos Seguro, por lo que "ahora acudimos al llamado de los habitantes de esta región para garantizar, aun más, su seguridad".

En presencia de líderes industriales, comerciales y sociales, el Ejecutivo estatal expresó que el Mando Único Policial entra en funciones de forma inmediata en los municipios de Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlán, Cosoleacaque, Nanchital y Acayucan; acción con la que el sur de Veracruz mantendrá su marcha firme de crecimiento económico y progreso.

"En nuestro Estado, nadie puede estar por encima de la ley. Sabremos responder con buenos resultados a la confianza de los ciudadanos de esta gran y orgullosa región. Unidos y seguros, vamos hacia adelante", concluyó.

Presentes, el secretario de Seguridad Pública, Arturo Bermúdez Zurita; el procurador general de Justicia del Estado, Felipe Amadeo Flores Espinosa; el comandante del Sector Naval Militar de Coatzacoalcos, contralmirante CG DEM Carlos Manuel Fernández Monforte Brito, y el comandante de la XXIX Zona Militar, general de Brigada DEM Luis Ricardo Díaz Palacios.

También el delegado estatal de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR), Ramón Estrada Rodríguez, el coordinador estatal de la Policía Federal, comisario Jorge Bravo Flores, y el Delegado Estatal del Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional (Cisen), Luis Felipe Castillo López.

Además, los presidentes municipales de Coatzacoalcos, Minatitlán, Acayucan, Nanchital y Cosoleacaque: Marcos César Theurel Cotero, Leopoldo Torres García, Judith Fabiola Vázquez Saut, Alfredo Yuen Jiménez y Cirilo Vázquez Parissi, respectivamente, la diputada federal Patricia Guadalupe Peña Recio y representantes de las diversas cámaras, organizaciones y asociaciones empresariales de la zona.

FIN  

AZMEX UPDATE 22-7-13

AZMEX UPDATE 22 JUL 2013  

Note:  busy Monday on the AZMEX line.

Cash hidden in laundry soap seized at Nogales crossing

Customs and Border Protection

A California woman was arrested Saturday for trying to smuggle $100,000 in cash into Mexico in a laundry detergent box, officials said. 

37 minutes ago  •  Arizona Daily Star

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/cash-hidden-in-laundry-soap-seized-at-nogales-crossing/article_de90f990-f310-11e2-bd86-0019bb2963f4.html   

A California woman was arrested Saturday for trying to smuggle $100,000 in cash into Mexico in a laundry detergent box, officials said.

Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis DeConcini Port in Nogales were conducting outbound inspections and selected a Honda sedan, driven by Blanca Gabriela Medina, 29, of El Monte, Calif., for an additional inspection.

Officers searched the vehicle and found 10 packages of cash hidden in a box of Gain detergent, the agency said in a news release.

The vehicle and cash were processed for seizure. Medina was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

end

4 arrested at Douglas port in smuggling attempts

1 hour ago  •  Arizona Daily Star

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/arrested-at-douglas-port-in-smuggling-attempts/article_bac02934-f309-11e2-916a-001a4bcf887a.html  

Four Phoenix area residents were arrested for attempting to smuggle more than $52,000 worth of marijuana through the Douglar port of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers Friday sent a 27-year-old Phoenix woman for an additional inspection of her Chevrolet truck. Officers searching the vehicle found 77 pounds of marijuana hidden in the quarter panels.

On Saturday, officers arrested a Phoenix man and his two female passengers after a CBP dog alerted to the back seat of a Chevrolet sedan containing 27 packages of marijuana weighing nearly 28 pounds.  

All four people were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. The drugs and vehicles were seized.

end

Teen migrant dies in desert near Sells

3 hours ago  •  Associated Press

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/teen-migrant-dies-in-desert-near-sells/article_1ea8740c-f2fa-11e2-8846-0019bb2963f4.html   

A young man from Mexico is dead after a group of border crossers got lost in the Arizona desert, the U.S. Border Patrol says.

The 18-year-old was among nine immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to the Border Patrol.

A member of the group called 911 Thursday, saying they were lost after a smuggler abandoned them. He said the 18-year-old had died after being in distress because of heat and insufficient water, the Border Patrol says.

A search began, and a Border Patrol plane spotted the group near Sells four hours later.

The cause of death is under investigation and the other immigrants were to be returned to Mexico, the agency said.

The Border Patrol isn't releasing the dead man's identity, spokesman Jeremy Copeland says.

end

'Dreamers' cross Nogales border in test of federal policy

Photo by Perla Trevizo, Arizona Daily Star

"Dreamers" from across the United States arrived at Morley Gate,the Pedestrian crossing in Nogales, Sonora, this morning wearing caps and gowns and looking for entry into the United States.

42 minutes ago  •  Perla Trevizo Arizona Daily Star

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/dreamers-cross-nogales-border-in-test-of-federal-policy/article_fbf8b4fa-f310-11e2-bcfe-0019bb2963f4.html  

NOGALES — Nine "dreamers" from across the United States arrived at Morley Gate,the Pedestrian crossing in Nogales, Sonora, this morning wearing caps and gowns and looking for entry into the United States.

The group, made up of undocumented men and women who had left the country or had been deported, carried documents asking for humanitarian parole, or, if that was denied, requests for asylum.

Supporters chanted "bring them home" and "undocumented, unafraid" as group members crossed one by one in Arizona and were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

"They are eight courageous dreamers knocking on the door of the U.S. asking to come home," said Margo Cowan, a Tucson attorney representing the group.

A ninth person, Rosie Rojas, from Tucson, joined the group at the last minute.

The National Immigrant Youth Alliance, which organized the crossing, is asking the Obama administration to grant discretion and allow the group to return to the United States.

Department of Homeland Security prosecutors are looking at the case.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they could not comment on specific cases but under immigration law all applicants for admission bear the burden of proof to establish they are eligible to enter the country.

Read more in tomorrow's Star

AZMEX SPECIAL 22-7-13

AZMEX SPECIAL 22 JUL 2013  

Note:  also very popular out here is "El Senor de los Cielos"  a narco soaper  on Telemundo.  (KTAZ, Ch. 39)      KTVW, Ch 33 the Univision outlet in Phx usually finishes at top of ratings for the valley.  There are several other Spanish language TV stations broadcast and/or cable accessible in Phx area.  Numerous radio stations also. 

Univision Set to Finish July Sweep In First Place In Demos

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 22, 2013 @ 2:32pm PDT

Tags: Amores Verdaderos, Randy Falso, Sabo Gigante, Univision

  

http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/univision-set-to-finish-july-sweep-in-first-place-in-demos/

Univision will finish the July 2013 sweep ratings derby at No. 1 in both the 18-49 and 18-34 demographic groups, beating all of the English-language broadcast networks – a sweep first for the Spanish-language network. During the sweep, Univision is delivering an average audience of nearly 3.6 million total viewers, 1.8 million Adults 18-49, 874,000 Adults 18-34, and 1.1 million Persons 12-34 in primetime. Those stats also put Univision in first place for the sweep among 12-34 year olds — with a 30 percent lead over nearest competitor, Fox. While fourth placed among viewers of all ages (ahead of Fox), Univision leaps to the top of the pack with 18-49-ers, who are the currency of most scripted entertainment programming ad sales. In that age bracket,  Univision will wrap the sweep 21 percent ahead of second place broadcaster, Fox.

Univision's Los Angeles and New York stations are key to the win — the country's No. 1 and 2 most watched in the country, respectively, during primetime among 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54, during the ratings derby.

Fueling those wins, Univision's variety show Sabo Gigante (Giant Saturday) is up 16 percent in 18-49 year to year, and its highest rated primetime novella, Amores Verdaderos (True Love) outstrips first-run airings of many English-lanugage programs in key demos.

"Finishing the February sweep as the No. 4 network, ahead of NBC, made a major impact. Wrapping up July – during a time when other networks are investing more than ever in summer programming – as the No. 1 network among both Adults 18-49 and 18-34 for the first time, is making history," said Univision CEO Randy Falco who, before joining the Univision, spent 30 years at NBC.

With a median age of 37 years old, Univision continues to deliver the youngest viewers during primetime among the top five broadcast networks. It's winding up the sweep more than 17 years younger than the average of ABC (55), CBS (58), NBC (54) and FOX (47).

END

AZMEX ACTIVITY 22-7-13

AZMEX ACTIVITY 22 JUL 2013

Note:  for convenient comparison to media reports, if any.  

07/15/13 - 0000~2400hrs - 10 Groups, 25 Bodies  

2 minutes of condensed audio  (click on link below)  Note change to MP3 audio format 

http://www.secureborderintel.org/BorderBlotter/BorderAudio071513.mp3

Groups of:  1,6,1,4p,1,2,1,2,1,6

(P= "46" Drug Packers, A= Armed individuals, U= UltraLight Sighting, LV= Load Vehicle, B=Bailout. UDA= Illegal Alien)

Significant Events in Audio:

-- There were MANY groups being worked during this 24 hour period where the size of the group could not be determined.

-- Note: excessive temperatures in the desert continue to result in multiple 911 distress calls from Illegal aliens 

             suffering from dehydration. The Border Patrol stated priority mission in the summer time is Search & Rescue,          with enforcement taking a secondary role.

--  Note: Continued monsoon storm conditions limit tracking/detection efforts. Generally, when the "flood of water"

     subsides, the "flood of people" in the pipeline rushes to catch up. 

end

07/16/13 - 0000~2400hrs - 12 Groups, 39  Bodies - Rain, wind, flooding, sheared off power poles 

5 minutes of condensed audio  (click on link below)  Note change to MP3 audio format 

http://www.secureborderintel.org/BorderBlotter/BorderAudio071613.mp3

Groups of:  1,1,1,4,1,3,3,1,4,9,1,1

(P= "46" Drug Packers, A= Armed individuals, U= UltraLight Sighting, LV= Load Vehicle, B=Bailout. UDA= Illegal Alien)

Significant Events in Audio:

-- There were MANY groups being worked during this 24 hour period where the size of the group could not be determined.

-- Note: excessive temperatures in the desert continue to result in multiple 911 distress calls from Illegal aliens 

             suffering from dehydration. The Border Patrol stated priority mission in the summer time is Search & Rescue,          with enforcement taking a secondary role.

--  Note: Continued monsoon storm conditions limit tracking/detection efforts -  No discernable activity/participation by       DHS "High-Flyer" reconnaissance aircraft has been detected during the last week.    

end

07/17/13 - 0000~2400hrs - 24 Groups, 68  Bodies - Storms, "S&R", "10-7" Body, "LP/OP"  

10 minutes of condensed audio  (click on link below)  Note change to MP3 audio format 

http://www.secureborderintel.org/BorderBlotter/BorderAudio071713.mp3

Groups of:  8,1,1,1,1,2,4,1P,"S&R",8,1,"LP/OP", "10-7" dead body, 5-"Bailout", 8,2,2,4,2,5,6,2,1,4P

(P= "46" Drug Packers, A= Armed individuals, U= UltraLight Sighting, LV= Load Vehicle, B=Bailout. UDA= Illegal Alien)

Significant Events in Audio:

-- There were MANY groups being worked during this 24 hour period where the size of the group could not be determined.

-- Note: excessive temperatures in the desert continue to result in multiple 911 distress calls from Illegal aliens 

             suffering from dehydration. The Border Patrol stated priority mission in the summer time is Search & Rescue,          with enforcement taking a secondary role.

--  Note: Continued monsoon storm conditions limit tracking/detection efforts -  No discernable activity/participation by       DHS "High-Flyer" reconnaissance aircraft has been detected during the last week.    

-- 0900 - Request for air support - Search & Rescue - location & disposition unknown

-- 1100 - Omaha aircraft discovers a mountain top "LP/OP" - complete with tents & solar panels - location unknown

-- 1100 -  BP agent discovers a "10-7" dead body in the desert  near the border road 

        - 5 miles east of the POE at Lukeville

-- 1300 -  "Bailout" - 5 individuals absconded - location unknown  

end

07/18/13 - 0000~2400hrs - 21 Groups, 99 Bodies - Search & Rescue - "10-7" Dead Body

7 minutes of condensed audio  (click on link below)  Note change to MP3 audio format 

http://www.secureborderintel.org/BorderBlotter/BorderAudio071813.mp3

Groups of:  3,2,9,5,1,20,2,25+,1,2,1,6P,2,5P,5P,4,3,1,S&R-"10-7",1

(P= "46" Drug Packers, A= Armed individuals, U= UltraLight Sighting, LV= Load Vehicle, B=Bailout. UDA= Illegal Alien)

Significant Events in Audio:

-- There were MANY groups being worked during this 24 hour period where the size of the group could not be determined.

-- Note: excessive temperatures in the desert continue to result in multiple 911 distress calls from Illegal aliens 

             suffering from dehydration. The Border Patrol stated priority mission in the summer time is Search & Rescue,          with enforcement taking a secondary role.

--  Note: Continued monsoon storm conditions limit tracking/detection efforts -  Very limited activity/participation by         DHS "High-Flyer" reconnaissance aircraft has been detected during the last week.    

-- 2200 - Search & Rescue effort finds a group of IAs in distress - 1 "10-7" dead body - location unknown  

BORDER PATROL "10-CODES"  (link) 

         

BORDER VIDEOS & STATISTICS (link)  

WEAPONS INVOLVED INCIDENTS (link)

end

end