Tuesday, November 25, 2014

AZMEX Fwd: Press Release National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers



Begin forwarded message:

Subject: FW: Press Release National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
Date: November 23, 2014 4:14:13 PM MST


Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2014 10:57 PM
Subject: Press Release National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
 
Attached is a PRESS RELEASE from the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers.
Please distribute as widely as possible.
 
As ever,
 
Zack Taylor, Chairman and Border Security Expert
NAFBPO.org

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

AZMEX UPDATE 19-11-14

AZMEX UPDATE 19 NOV 2014

Note: no info yet on amount of bond

Immigrants granted bail after latest court ruling

http://www.kvoa.com/news/immigrants-granted-bail-after-latest-court-ruling/

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -
A Tucson judge has granted bail to two immigrants suspected of drug crimes and believed to be in the country illegally.

Miguel Angel Valenzuela and Juan Angel-Carmona Pineda are among the defendants now allowed to seek bail after a 2006 law barring immigrants lacking legal status was overturned. They were granted high, cash-only bonds Wednesday.

A federal appeals court ruled the law was unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court so far has let that decision stand.

The law denied bail to immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and of committing a certain felonies. The two men are likely not getting out of jail because of their high bail amounts.

The state says it will appeal the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to the Supreme Court.

end




Note: Following a sample of a couple business days on the border.
No, seldom to never any reports of IA's taken in.


CBP officers seize nearly 1.5 tons of marijuana from tractor-trailer
Posted: Nov 19, 2014 1:01 PM MST
Updated: Nov 19, 2014 1:01 PM MST
By Elizabeth WaltonCONNECT

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/27429908/cbp-officers-seize-nearly-15-tons-of-marijuana-from-tractor-trailer

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Customs and Border Protection officers arrest man as he attempts to smuggle nearly two tons of drugs across border into the U.S.

The incident happened on Nov. 17, at the Port of Nogales Mariposa crossing. According to CBP officials, the truck, driven by Jose Enriquez-Anzar was pulled for a non-intrusive inspection, when officers reported an anomaly in an x-ray of the trailer. A drug sniffing canine was brought in and alerted to possible drugs in the 'empty' trailer.

CBP officers searched the trailer and discovered 139 bundles of marijuana hidden behind a false wall. According to CBP officers the drugs weighed 2,946 pounds and were worth an estimated $1,473,000.

Both the drugs and the tractor-trailer were seized and Enriquez-Anzar was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations for processing.

end



275 pounds of marijuana seized, 3 women arrested
Posted: Nov 19, 2014 5:24 PM MST
Updated: Nov 19, 2014 5:28 PM MST
By Phil BensonCONNECT

DOUGLAS, AZ (CBS5) -
Three women were arrested at the Port of Douglas on Monday after they allegedly tried to smuggle more than 275 pounds of marijuana into Arizona.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred the woman's vehicle for a secondary inspection. A CBP narcotics detection dog alerted to the interior of the car, where officers said they discovered 171 packages of marijuana worth an estimated $137,500.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and turned the women over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Read more: http://www.kpho.com/story/27432740/275-pounds-of-marijuana-seized-3-women-arrested#ixzz3JZQ1rFQ5




Note: no info as to amount of bond

Police: woman arrested for smuggling pot
Posted: Nov 18, 2014 4:23 PM MST
Updated: Nov 18, 2014 10:40 PM MST
By Marc Martinez, FOX 10 NewsCONNECT

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/27420734/2014/11/18/police-woman-arrested-for-smuggling-pot

PHOENIX - Phoenix Police arrested a woman at Sky Harbor International Airport after TSA agents found marijuana in her suitcases.

Officers arrested 39-year-old Lauretta Blanton for possession of marijuana for transport and/or sale.
They removed her bags from the aircraft and took her into custody after TSA agents screening her bag found the drugs.

A police report says that they found 92 pounds of pot, with a street value of $40,000-50,000, inside heat sealed bags. The bags were placed inside of three suitcases and surrounded by mothballs on the flight bound for Pittsburgh.

Police say that Blanton told them she was taking the pot to Pittsburgh to a man she knew only as "Q" who was to pay her. Blanton was released on bond. No word whether police are searching for any other suspects.

end




Agents arrest 9, seize 228 pounds of pot

Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 2:51 pm | Updated: 2:58 pm, Tue Nov 18, 2014.
From staff reports
http://www.yumasun.com/news/agents-arrest-seize-pounds-of-pot/article_eb87e62e-6f6d-11e4-9376-1740c6378f5f.html

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested nine suspected smugglers and seized just over 228 pounds of marijuana worth about $114,000 Monday.
The nine individuals, who were reportedly carrrying backpacks full of pot, were tracked and arrested by agents patrolling near Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Agents transported the suspected smugglers and marijuana to Wellton Station for further processing.

End ( of free access)



Note: busy to the south also
These from Nogales, Son. only 5 rounds each?

Catch four with drugs and weapons in stolen car
Details posted on Wednesday November 19, 2014,
Written by Staff / The Journal
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=40902

Result of citizen participation and operating the State Police for Public Safety in coordination with the Navy, arrest 3 people and 1 minor in possession of drugs, firearms and stolen vehicle.
In the reports said it was in response to citizen complaints about the sale and distribution of drugs in the town of Empalme, so 9 kilograms of drugs and 2 firearms were secured.
Detainees are Leobardo Torres Verduzco 50; Jesus Donaldo Torres Lopez and Francisco Javier Verdi Badillo 20 and 60 years old respectively.
The arrest occurred in the modern colony when subjects boarded a Nissan Versa line, model 2012, which was driving the vehicle without license plates and was reported as stolen in Baja California 10 May 2013.
Leobardo Torres Verduzco was driving the car, carrying a pistol, .9mm caliber and 5 cartridges. Furthermore, carrying between 200 wrappings containing granulated white substance similar to "crystal".
The passenger was identified as Jesus Donaldo Torres Lopez, who with a long gun, AK-47 type with 5 cartridges, plus 6 bags with similar drug known as "crystal" substance.
Francisco Javier Verdi Badillo in the rear of the vehicle with a package wrapped in tape package containing green and dry grass with physical marijuana characteristics., Weighing 9 kilos 800 grams, which could make around 19,000 doses above 300 thousand pesos of value if have been distributed on the black market.

end



Note: chemicals from our friends in China?

Authorities seize 20 tons of precursor chemicals
Details posted on Tuesday November 18, 2014,
Written by Special
Mexico, DF.

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=40835

The PGR reported the securing of the substances used to manufacture drugs.
The Attorney General's Office (PGR), through its delegation in Michoacan, disabled 20 tons 260 kilos 994 grams and 26 milligrams; and 56,000 liters, 892 milliliters of various chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs.

The PGR said in a statement that the above was carried out in compliance with the Program and Disabling Narcotics Destruction and the provisions of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure.
The federal agency stated that these actions are a result of the operations performed by the Mexican Army, the Navy of Mexico, the National Security and Criminal Investigation Agency.

Also by the Attorney General of the State of Michoacán, the State Department of Public Safety, local police, besides the participation of the population through "citizen complaints" to combat drug trafficking.
Invalidation of solid and liquid chemical precursors, was conducted by a Mexican company dedicated to integrated waste management, which made the collection, transportation and disabling of the substances.
The PGR said that these actions were carried out under the supervision of a representative of the Internal Control Body of the federal agency, who found the weight and authenticity of chemicals and delegation staff and security personnel of the entity.

It was explained that the prohibition of chemical precursors derived from the seizure of 61 laboratories conducted from January to October this year.

end

Monday, November 17, 2014

AZMEX EXTRA RIFLEGATE 15-11-14

AZMEX EXTRA RIFLEGATE 15 NOV 2014

Note: As stated before, there is something very very wrong here.

Believe this situation needs an immediate Congressional investigation.

Some questions for our congressional staffers:

1. How many rounds (bullets) have gone through each rifle?
2. Does the agency have the records for each rifle?
3. If not, why not?
4. What is the average round count for M4's used by the U.S. Army and USMC?
5. What is the average MTBR (mean time between repairs) for these weapons?
6. Why are we hearing that it takes a "specialist" to do such simple tasks such as replacing a firing pin?
7. When it was a very basic part of cleaning / field stripping?
8. Have the "pool" weapons actually been "sighted in" by competent personnel?
9. If so, with the exact same ammunition as the agents carry in the field?
10. Or has the "sighting in" been just "pencil whipped" as so often happens with govt. agencies?
11. Has Colt and/or FN Herstal been contacted as to why so many M4's are "unserviceable"?
12. If indeed true, why have the weapons have become "unserviceable" with so little use?
13. Is there a detailed list of the alleged defects, part by part?
14. Have the end users (BP Agents) been adequately trained with the M4?
15. If not, why not?
16. Training & maintenance These are rifles, not ICBMs.
They were designed from the very start to be easily maintained. What happened?


THE INVESTIGATORS
Nov 14, 2014 5:41 PM
by Michel Marizco and Lupita Murillo

http://www.kvoa.com/news/bp-union-says-2-000-m4-rifles-taken-out-of-service/

BP Union says 2,000 M4 rifles taken out of service

Border Patrol Union spokesman Shawn Moran says the Border Patrol inspected nearly 5,000 of its agent's M4 rifles and found 2,000 needed to be replaced.

News 4 Tucson Investigators first brought you the story about agents' M4 rifles being taken away, forcing agents to go without a rifle, or share with other agents.

Moran says the issue has been going on for at least a month.

The agency has 1a6,300 rifles in its armories.

end

Saturday, November 15, 2014

AZMEX UPDATE 14-11-14

AZMEX UPDATE 14 NOV 2014

Note: As with surveillance cameras everywhere, just watch them going past.


Ever present observers: Drones now patrol half of US-Mexico border
Matt York/Associated Press
Border Drone
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone lifts off Sept. 24 at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. The U.S. government now patrols nearly half the Mexican border by drones alone in a largely unheralded shift to control desolate stretches where there are no agents, camera towers, ground sensors or fences. There are plans to expand the strategy to the Canadian border.

Posted: Friday, November 14, 2014 8:24 am
Associated Press

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/arizona_news/ever-present-observers-drones-now-patrol-half-of-us-mexico/article_52dcf81e-6c12-11e4-b4c3-a78b1f7d0e3a.html

SIERRA VISTA, The U.S. government now patrols nearly half the Mexican border by drones alone in a largely unheralded shift to control desolate stretches where there are no agents, camera towers, ground sensors or fences, and it plans to expand the strategy to the Canadian border.

It represents a significant departure from a decades-old approach that emphasizes boots on the ground and fences. Since 2000, the number of Border Patrol agents on the 1,954-mile border more than doubled to surpass 18,000 and fencing multiplied nine times to 700 miles.

Under the new approach, Predator Bs sweep remote mountains, canyons and rivers with a high-resolution video camera and return within three days for another video in the same spot, two officials with direct knowledge of the effort said on condition of anonymity because details have not been made public.
The two videos are then overlaid for analysts who use sophisticated software to identify tiny changes — perhaps the tracks of a farmer or cows, perhaps those of immigrants who entered the country illegally or a drug-laden Hummer, they said.


About 92 percent of drone missions have shown no change in terrain, but the others raised enough questions to dispatch agents to determine if someone got away, sometimes by helicopter because the area is so remote. The agents look for any sign of human activity — footprints, broken twigs, trash.


About 4 percent of missions have been false alarms, like tracks of livestock or farmers, and about 2 percent are inconclusive. The remaining 2 percent offer evidence of illegal crossings from Mexico, which typically results in ground sensors being planted for closer monitoring.

The government has operated about 10,000 drone flights under the strategy, known internally as "change detection," since it began in March 2013. The flights currently cover about 900 miles, much of it in Texas, and are expected to expand to the Canadian border by the end of 2015.

The purpose is to assign agents where illegal activity is highest, said R. Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency, which operates nine unmanned aircraft across the country. "You have finite resources," he said in an interview. "If you can look at some very rugged terrain (and) you can see there's not traffic, whether it's tire tracks or clothing being abandoned or anything else, you want to deploy your resources to where you have a greater risk, a greater threat."

If the video shows the terrain unchanged, Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher calls it "proving the negative" — showing there isn't anything illegal happening there and therefore no need for agents and fences.

The strategy was launched without fanfare and expanded at a time when President Barack Obama prepares to issue an executive order by the end of this year to reduce deportations and enhance border security.
Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, applauded the approach while saying that surveillance gaps still remain. "We can no longer focus only on static defenses such as fences and fixed (camera) towers," he said.

Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who co-authored legislation last year to add 20,000 Border Patrol agents and 350 miles of fencing to the southwest border, said, "If there are better ways of ensuring the border is secure, I am certainly open to considering those options."

Border missions fly out of Sierra Vista, home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, or Corpus Christi, Texas. They patrol at altitudes between 19,000 at 28,000 feet and between 25 and 60 miles of the border.

The first step is for Border Patrol sector chiefs to identify areas that are least likely to attract smugglers, typically far from towns and roads. Analysts scour the drone videos at operations centers in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Riverside, California; and Sierra Vista. After an initial survey, the drones return within a week for another sweep.

Privacy advocates have raised concerns about drones since Customs and Border Protection introduced them in 2006, saying there is potential to monitor innocent people under no suspicion. Lothar Eckardt, the agency's executive director of national air security operations, said law-abiding people shouldn't worry and that cameras are unable to capture details like license plate numbers and faces on the ground.

Eckardt looked on one September morning as a drone taxied down a runway in Sierra Vista, lifted off with a muffled buzz, and disappeared over a rocky mountain range into a blue Arizona sky. About a dozen computer screens line the wall of their trailer, showing the weather, maps and real-time images of the ground below.
Eckardt said there is "no silver bullet" to border security but that using drones in highly remote areas is part of the overall effort. If there's nothing there, he said, "Let's not waste the manpower here. Let's focus our efforts someplace else, where they're needed."

end

AZMEX UPDATE 15-11-14

AZMEX UPDATE 15 NOV 2014


San Luis RC (just south of Yuma, AZ)
First dengue death

In many parts of the city brigades of fumigators are observed. Health officials claimed to have registered only 20 confirmed cases of dengue.
Tribune San Luis
November 13, 2014
By Joel Galindo Olea
http://www.oem.com.mx/tribunadesanluis/notas/n3604727.htm

San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.-A male individual originally from the state of Sinaloa; He became the first person dies of dengue in San Luis Rio Colorado; so health officials are still analyzing lab tests of some samples and autopsy to determine the cause so far unknown, these that contributed to the complication of the epidemiological situation and accelerating damage to health , resulting in the fatal outcome; it General Hospital director of the Health Department of the state government of Sonora, Dr. Sergio Kelly Barraza said.

Explained the state official; last weekend entered a 35-year-old who had symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and fever; section where intensive care was provided through hydration and seeing he had improved, he was discharged on Sunday.

Continued Dr. Sergio Kelly Barraza; that was yesterday; around 7:30 pm when this person again went to the General Hospital, who already had deteriorated in the digestive tract where the laboratory results confirmed the diagnosis of dengue.

"The unfortunate thing is that despite all the efforts made by specialists, this person had no response to treatment, for an analysis of platelets in just a few hours spent in 35-7000 platelets so already presented deterioration in his health derived from kidney and liver "failure; said the director of the General Hospital.

also; Kelly Barraza said that before this unfortunate death of the person, it is possible that there could be other more contagion that could aggravate the patient, together with the dengue.

"We are going to learn later from the laboratories of the Department of Health from the state capital, Hermosillo, Sonora, where the causes that contributed to the complication of dengue epidemiological picture presented and accelerating deterioration is determined resulting in the fatal outcome "; the doctor explained in a press conference.

Finally; Dr. Sergio Barraza Kelly shared with the media that are officially 20 dengue cases in San Luis Rio Colorado that have been confirmed; of which ten have been by the laboratories of the Ministry of Health, while the remaining ten by the Epidemiological Association have coordinated their work with health authorities.

end



AZMEX UPDATE 9 NOV 2014

Note: SLRC is just south of Yuma, AZ

Dengue concerns prompt county to issue mosquito prevention tips
A health worker in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., sprays against mosquitoes in efforts to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever in the city.

Posted: Saturday, November 8, 2014 6:20 pm | Updated: 11:41 pm, Sat Nov 8, 2014.
FROM BAJO EL SOL
Posted on Nov 8, 2014by Amy Crawford

http://www.yumasun.com/news/dengue-concerns-prompt-county-to-issue-mosquito-prevention-tips/article_60641736-67af-11e4-ae16-2753187fff27.html

The appearance in San Luis, Ariz., of a mosquito that can carry dengue plus confirmed cases of the illness in Mexico has prompted the Yuma County Health Department to issue tips to the public for preventing the spread of the insects.
Mosquitoes breed in standing water, say health officials, and residents can go a long way to curb them by emptying or removing receptacles in their yards that can trap water.
Eggs of Aedes aegypti, a mosquito variety that can carry dengue, were found in mosquito samples collected last month in San Luis, Ariz., by the Yuma County Pest Abatement District.
There have been at least four confirmed cases of humans contracting dengue in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., although county health department officials say no cases so far have been reported on this side of the border. Humans contract dengue from bites by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that got it from biting from other, already infected humans.
"San Luis (Rio Colorado) has identified cases of dengue, so we're just trying to be proactive," said Maria Nunez, deputy director of the health department.
Whether they are dengue carriers or of other varieties, mosquitoes need standing water to lay their eggs, health officials say, and even a small puddle is sufficient for breeding.
The arrival of cooler temperatures does not necessarily make concerns about mosquitoes a moot point, said Joey Martinez, a vector control specialist for the health department.
"There can still be a risk," he said. "As long as standing water doesn't freeze, mosquitoes can still breed."
He added that mosquitoes also can breed indoors, in drinking glasses and plant and flower vases filled with water, pet water dishes, and puddles from plumbing leaks

The department is offering these tips to the public for eliminating mosquitoes:
• Empty, remove or cover any receptacle in the yard that can contain water, particular discarded cans or bottles.
• Discard or move old tires that can trap water.
• Change the water in flower or plant vases twice a week.
• Screen or cover rain barrels and openings to water tanks.
• Repair leaky plumbing and outside faucets.
• Clean clogged rain gutters.
• Change the water in bird baths twice a week.
• Stock ornamental ponds with mosquito fish.

END

Thursday, November 13, 2014

AZMEX POLICY 13-11-14

AZMEX POLICY 13 NOV 2014


Lawsuit by Career ICE Attorney Exposes Obama Anti-Enforcement Campaign
By Jessica Vaughan, November 11, 2014

http://cis.org/vaughan/lawsuit-career-ice-attorney-exposes-obama-anti-enforcement-campaign

Last week Patricia Vroom, an attorney with an exemplary 26-year career at ICE filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Arizona that depicts in shocking detail how a tightly-knit band of her superiors apparently bullied her and other career lawyers to force compliance with the Obama administration's immigration enforcement suppression scheme. In addition to describing a hostile work environment spoiled by sexual harassment, threats, insults, and other deplorable behavior of these top managers, Vroom's complaint provides alarming examples of how personnel were told to ignore the law and routinely release and dismiss charges on entire categories of criminal aliens, including certain convicted felons, drunk drivers, DACA applicants, and illegal juveniles from the border surge.

The complaint has enough juicy scenes for a night-time television drama, but what it reveals about the Obama administration's reckless disdain for immigration enforcement is especially troubling. It is the latest in a series of lawsuits that demonstrate a disturbing pattern of abuse of authority among favored and ideologically driven senior staff in DHS agencies.Vroom describes some specific examples of how the so-called prosecutorial discretion policies have been implemented, and of the effort to destroy professional integrity in ICE's legal division:


Beginning in May 2009, this clique of top supervisors launched a "purge" of senior chief counsels, targeting them for "harassment, reassignment of duties to much less desirable ones, public humiliation, and brutal scapegoating" in order to place cronies in those key positions to carry out administration policy changes. Like other senior ICE attorneys, Vroom says she was targeted after the now-disgraced acting head of ICE, John Sandweg, "screamed" to her supervisor that the Phoenix office, which she ran, was "all f***ed up" for not implementing "prosecutorial discretion" to their satisfaction.


Morale in ICE's legal division is tied for lowest among all the DHS agencies, along with ERO, the division that is responsible for identifying and removing aliens. ICE lawyers report in the annual morale survey that they lack trust in ICE senior leadership.


Vroom was instructed by a superior to implement a program known as the Arizona Identity Theft Initiative, whose purpose was to drop and release hundreds of cases of illegal aliens convicted of felony identity theft in Arizona, even those whose crimes were so serious that they served several years in state prison and who under the law are subject to mandatory ICE detention before removal. The justification from ICE headquarters was that such aliens "had simply been using a fake ID to get and keep employment." I have reported previously on this dubious initiative, and have been told by other ICE sources that some of the beneficiaries were immigration activists in Arizona.


Vroom reports that she was criticized by superiors for too carefully scrutinizing cases and giving too much "pushback" on the 2013 order to release criminal aliens under the infamous "Criminal Alien File Review Project", in which 2,200 ICE detainees were released, ostensibly due to ICE budget mismanagement. It was later reported that administration officials misled Congress and the public regarding the criminal records of those released.

The complaint describes how the same supervisory attorneys forced Vroom to drop a slam-dunk removal case against an alien who had been convicted of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on two occasions in order to register to vote. One supervisor derided her for not understanding the prosecutorial discretion and "efficiency" goals of the administration.

After an applicant was found to be ineligible for the DACA legalization (the executive amnesty for the so-called "Dreamers") due to a conviction for identity theft in Arizona, Vroom was ordered to "threaten" her local ICE colleagues to drop the deportation charges, apparently so that top officials in Washington who wanted the alien to stay could keep their hands clean of the case.

Vroom states that in September 2014 ICE attorneys were ordered to begin exercising "prosecutorial discretion" in cases of aliens convicted of DUI if they were "old" cases and if the alien had U.S. family members. When a number of attorneys objected to a particular example of such a criminal alien, the supervisor said, "We [ICE leadership] don't give a s*** about that. Let it go."

This account is corroborated by what I have been told on separate occasions by several other ICE sources, that juveniles who arrived in the recent border surge are not to be considered for removal, despite the administration's claims that they are "in deportation proceedings", It confirms reports from my sources who have said that this directive came from the White House early in 2014, before the magnitude of the surge became widely known. According to a recent disclosure, only 13 percent of the surge juveniles who have had court dates in recent months were ordered removed, and most of those were because the juvenile did not show up for the hearing.
The senior ICE managers named in Vroom's lawsuit who are responsible for imposing these policies and intimidating the career ICE personnel who resisted the policies are:

Peter Vincent, ICE's principal legal advisor and senior counselor for international policy, supervising 1,000 ICE attorneys, until he resigned in late October. In the complaint he is accused of numerous instances of sexual harassment, among other allegations;

Riah Ramlogan, deputy principal legal advisor;

Jim Stolley, field legal operations manager;

Sarah Hartnett, field legal operations manager;

Matt Downer, field legal operations manager.


END

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

AZMEX EXTRA2 11-11-14

AZMEX EXTRA2 11 NOV 2014

Note: Updated. In a confrontation with cartel associates armed with rifles, a pistol is of very limited value, leaving the Border Patrol Agents essentially defenseless.


1 hour 56 minutes ago by Michel Marizco and Lupita Murillo
N4T Investigators: Are border agents being disarmed?

http://www.kvoa.com/news/n4t-investigators-are-border-agents-being-disarmed-/

That's one of the questions being asked after the News 4 Tucson Investigators broke the story earlier this week that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is taking rifles away from some of its agents.

The U.S.-Mexico border consistently proves to be a passionate issue for viewers and readers, alike, especially in Southern Arizona, long an unsecured slice of the 2,000 mile boundary with Mexico.

Our story showed that Customs and Border Protection removed some M4 rifles, citing safety concerns with the weapons. But agents and people within the law enforcement community told us those rifles are not being replaced.

That leaves agents, even senior agents, having to share their weapons. They told us that having to personalize settings on a rifle, like the sights, for example, takes time to do correctly and a poorly sighted weapon can cause an agent their life in a gunbattle.

The question is raised, why is the Border Patrol taking these M4s now?

This year marks a shift in policies for the agency. After several cross-border shootings, like the killing of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez in Nogales, Sonora, in October 2012, the agency reviewed its use-of-force policies.

An internal report last year revealed that some agents fired their weapons out of frustration, not out of fear. The agency's clarification of its use-of-force policies also specified that agents should not place themself in harm's way in order to justify firing their weapon.

Then Customs and Border Protection decreed that it will try out body cameras on agents following allegations of abuse.

These preceded the news that the agency has removed some M4s from its arsenal. This morning, Reason.com wrote, "Hmmm...Amid concerns that Border Patrol is dangerous and out of control, the government may be quietly taking guns away from agents. Interesting."

http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/11/is-the-dangerous-scandal-ridden-border-p

Over at the Local 2544 website, the site for the union representing Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector, this headline appeared: "Anybody have an M-4 we can borrow?"

The union criticized the Office of Border Patrol, stating, "Border Patrol M-4 rifles are being deadlined at an alarming rate and not all are being replaced ... How is it the a Border Patrol Agent can't get an M-4 that is "sighted in" for him or her? Every LE Agency we talk too, scoff at the idea of officers sharing weapons, especially a weapon that needs to be "sighted in".

http://www.local2544.org/anybody-have-an-m4-we-can-barrow/

For its part, the agency has not given much information about how many rifles were taken, what problems were found with those removed, or whether they'll all be replaced.

In fact, it took the Border Patrol four days to email a four-sentence statement. The KVOA News 4 Investigators asked the agency about the deadlining of its rifles on Monday, Nov. 3. The agency responded near the end of the business day Thursday, Nov. 6, with this statement:

"CBP's Offices of Border Patrol and Training and Development are jointly inspecting the serviceability of M4 carbines throughout Border Patrol Sectors nationwide. Some of inspected M4 carbines were deemed unserviceable and removed from inventory to alleviate safety concerns. Inspections will continue to ensure the unserviceable M4 carbines are repaired or replaced for reintroduction into the field. No further information is available at this time."

We'll continue pressing the agency for answers into the rifle deadlining and report on our findings.

END

AZMEX EXTRA 11-11-14

AZMEX EXTRA 11 NOV 2014

Note: This puts the BP agents at a very serious, possibly fatal disadvantage in any confrontation with drug cartel escorts, enforcers or scouts. A rifle not sighted by the person employing it is likely to miss the target. Consequences can be crippling or fatal. The "deadlining" the M4's and not replacing them is very suspect .


From BP Local 2544, AZ

Anybody have an M-4 we can borrow?
Everyday we are reminded of how mismanaged our Agency is but this takes the cake.

Imagine you are at work. Your company only has limited amount a pens. Some people use them, some don't. But as the years pass, some pens become broken and some run out of ink. The managers at your company act surprised "We didn't know that they would get broken we didn't know they would run out of ink!". To remedy the problem, they replace half as many pens that were thrown away.

Now imagine your a Border Patrol Agent and it is not a pen but a M-4 rifle! Imagine it's not about some report your doing but about protecting your life!

Border Patrol M-4 rifles are being deadlined at an alarming rate and not all are being replaced. Again we have to ask "HOW DID THESE PEOPLE GET IN CHARGE?" Did they honestly think that these rifles would last for ever and they wouldn't need to be replaced. How is it that managers didn't see this coming?

How is it the a Border Patrol Agent can't get an M-4 that is "sighted in" for him or her? Every LE Agency we talk too, scoff at the idea of officers sharing weapons, especially a weapon that needs to be "sighted in".

Millions of dollars are spent on "feel good" programs ran by good ole boy managers and sending managers to foreign countries to do who knows what while the Agent on patrol gets the shaft. This is a slap in the face to every Agent who does the day to day job of patrolling the border and protecting our nation.

Disclaimer: The Border Patrol will not accept donated weapons but thank you to the Gun Shops and citizens who have offered.

http://www.local2544.org/anybody-have-an-m4-we-can-barrow/


end

Monday, November 10, 2014

AZMEX EXTRA 10-11-14

AZMEX EXTRA 10 NOV 2014

Note: does not come even close to passing the smell test. Something very, very wrong here.
For all those not familiar or competent with firearms, it is difficult to express how serious this is.
Nothing from BP Local 2544 yet. http://www.local2544.org


N4T Investigators: Border Patrol stripping agents of their rifles

http://www.kvoa.com/news/n4t-investigators-border-patrol-stripping-agents-of-their-rifles/
.
The News 4 Tucson Investigators have uncovered that some U.S. Border Patrol agents have lost a key part of their arsenal. And that has agents who patrol along the border here, extremely worried.

We learned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Offices of Border Patrol and Training and Development are inspecting the quality of agents' M4 carbines throughout Border Patrol sectors nationwide. But agents tell us, some of those M4s have not been replaced. And, we've learned, agents are required to share rifles amongst each other.

"There's a lot of agents that are pretty upset over it," said Art del Cueto, president of the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector union. "We know it's a dangerous job. We know what we signed on for but we want to have as much of the equipment as we need to perform the job."

The M4 carbine is used by the U.S. military and by Border Patrol agents. It's even used by the Border Patrol's tactical unit, BORTAC. Agent Brian Terry was carrying the M4 when he was shot and killed in December 2010.

Del Cueto tells us that because some of those M4s have not been replaced, agents are pooling their weapons, which makes it difficult to personalize the settings on a rifle, such as the sights.

"The problem is they are now pool guns so what happens is instead of having their individual ones they have sighted in they're having to use a pool weapon that you don't know who used it before you," del Cueto said.

Customs and Border Protection released a statement to the News 4 Tucson Investigators last week, stating: "CBP's Offices of Border Patrol and Training and Development are jointly inspecting the serviceability of M4 carbines throughout Border Patrol Sectors nationwide. Some of (the) inspected M4 carbines were deemed unserviceable and removed from inventory to alleviate safety concerns. Inspections will continue to ensure the unserviceable M4 carbines are repaired or replaced for reintroduction into the field. No further information is available at this time."

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada grew worried when told of the delay in redistributing rifles to agents.

"This is a concern for the officers and for the community as well," he said. "We want to make sure that they have all the equipment that they need to be able to provide the safest environment we possibly can."

Jeff Prather is a former drug enforcement agent who now runs the Warrior School in Tucson. He says agents have reached out to him about the rifle shortage.

He said agents stand the risk of being over-powered on the border.

"Cartels have always been better equipped, the paramilitary forces, the corrupt Mexican soldiers and federales at times," Prather said.

He says agents have contacted him and told him about their concerns about sharing the weapons.

"And now they're seriously concerned. Because if they're concerned enough to reach out and contact me and reach out so we get this message out, they are not only frustrated but they are in fear for their lives."

Prather believes removing some of the rifles maybe politically motivated. He says he was told that many of these guns are being removed for issues that are easily repaired like the firing pin and bolt.

He broke down a M4 as he spoke.

"This weapon is designed to be able to be in a battle situation, changed out rather quickly even so fast that modern weapons have areas to hold spare bolts," he said.

That makes him suspicious that the agency could be disarming its agents.

For now, union president Del Cueto says agents just want their rifles back.

"I hope they replace these weapons as soon as possible or give us some kind of answer as to how they plan on replacing them," he said.

end




Arizona Border Patrol Agents Fear Shortage of Weapons
Monday, 10 Nov 2014 02:55 PM
By Andrea Billups

Some Border Patrol agents say they are becoming increasingly suspicious after their M4 carbine weapons have been taken away from them for inspection with some never returned.

An investigation by TV station News 4/KVOA

in Tucson found numerous examples of agents saying they were forced to share weapons after having to surrender theirs for inspections, raising fears that they are now not properly armed.

"I hope they replace these weapons as soon as possible or give us some kind of answer as to how they plan on replacing them," Art del Cueto, who serves as president of the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector Union, told KVOA.

Del Cueto said of the sharing arrangements: "The problem is they are now pool guns so what happens is instead of having their individual ones they have sighted in they're having to use a pool weapon that you don't know who used it before you."

In a statement to KVOA investigators, Customs and Border Patrol officials said the inspections are a part of an ongoing program nationwide for the M4 weapons. "Some of (the) inspected M4 carbines were deemed unserviceable and removed from inventory to alleviate safety concerns. Inspections will continue to ensure the unserviceable M4 carbines are repaired or replaced for reintroduction into the field. No further information is available at this time."

While agents register concern about being properly armed, a new report has found that Arizona is no longer the deadliest place for border crossings, with deaths there falling to a 15-year low, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Raleigh Leonard, the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector Division chief, credits 10 new rescue beacons placed in high immigrant traffic areas for helping to reduce deaths among those trying to come into the U.S, the Monitor noted.

"I think we can all agree that crossing the border is an illegal act, but nothing that should be assigned the penalty of death," Leonard told the Monitor.

The area remains dangerous, however. One Mexican man was killed by a Border Patrol agent late last month, the third such shooting in a year, the Arizona Daily Star reports.

The man, who was part of a group traveling a known drug smuggling corridor, was wearing a bulletproof vest, carpet booties to disguise footprints and carrying a pistol.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.Newsmax.com/US/Arizona-Border-Patrol-weapons/2014/11/10/id/606439/#ixzz3IjU3W4De

Friday, November 7, 2014

AZMEX I3 7-11-14

AZMEX I3 7 NOV 2014


Note: Gotten very little media in AZ. Video at link.


Mother of fallen Mesa police Sgt. Brandon Mendoza sends letter to President Obama
Nohelani Graf
11:00 PM, Nov 6, 2014
5:02 AM, Nov 7, 2014
mesa | southeast valley

15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/mother-of-fallen-mesa-police-sgt-brandon-mendoza-sends-letter-to-president-obama

MESA, AZ - The mother of a fallen Mesa police officer is trying to get President Obama's attention again as he vows to move forward with immigration reform.

Mary Ann Mendoza is the mother of Sgt. Brandon Mendoza who was killed in May by a wrong-way, drunk driver who also died.

Raul Silva Corona reportedly crossed the border illegally, was charged with assault and burglary in Colorado and released rather than deported.

"The man who killed my son would have been eligible for the amnesty program even though he had two felony charges against him in '94." Mendoza said.

She wrote to the President in May, shortly after her son's death, and is following up with a second letter she feels is more eloquent while still making a firm point.

Her hope is to meet with President Obama to share her personal story of loss, and that of so many others she has met, at the hands of an illegal immigrant repeat offender.

"I'm not going to let his death be in vain, something has to be done in remembrance of him." Mendoza said.

She says she believes in a path to citizenship for families who are trying to better their lives but she'd like to see a no chance rule for illegal immigrants who are caught committing a new crime.

She also believes car sales should be outlawed for someone who can't legally get a license.

Mendoza isn't sure she'll get a response the second time around but that won't stop her from trying to effect meaningful change in the law.

She is also working to keep her son's legacy alive by helping organize an annual community dinner that Sgt. Mendoza created with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley.

The Mendoza Thanksgiving Dinner will be held November 20 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at 221 West 6th Avenue in Mesa. Call 480-844-0963 to donate or become a volunteer.

END




PD: Phoenix auto body shop owner staged crashes, collected claims

Posted: Nov 06, 2014 2:21 PM MST
Updated: Nov 06, 2014 2:27 PM MST
By Phil BensonCONNECT

http://www.kpho.com/story/27319191/pd-phoenix-auto-body-shop-owner-staged-crashes-collected-claims?autostart=true

PHOENIX (CBS5) -
The owner of a Phoenix auto body shop and another man were arrested Thursday on suspicion of staging car accidents and collecting on fraudulent insurance claims.

Guillermo "Willie" Altamirano, 33, who owns Champion Auto Body, was a key member of an organized crime syndicate that allegedly staged crashes to collect at least $200,000 in fraudulent claims, Arizona Department of Insurance investigators said.

The group reportedly relied on forged drivers' licenses from Mexico and Guatemala plus disposable cellphones and prepaid credit cards to purchase auto insurance under fictitious names.

Acting on a tip from Farmers Insurance, an undercover operation began in April at the 1536 West Broadway auto body shop.

Arizona Department of Insurance agents took an undercover vehicle into the shop for collision-related repairs. Agents had a pretext policy on the vehicle, which was supplied for the investigation by Farmers Insurance and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Altamirano took over the claim on the vehicle and allegedly caused additional damages to the vehicle to offset the deductible on the policy.

Farmers Insurance issued a check for $3,625.83 under the name of Champion Auto Body, as well as the name used by the undercover agent whose signature was forged when the check was cashed.

In another incident, Altamirano, using a fictitious Mexico driver's license under the name of Victor Delgadillo, filed a hit-and-run claim with State Farm. He reported that his vehicle, a 1988 Volvo, was damaged by a hit-and-run driver while it was parked at the YMCA parking lot at 67th Avenue and Campbell.

State Farm paid Champion Auto Body and Victor Delgadillo $4,122.23 on the claim, investigators said. Altamirano was charged with conspiracy, assisting a criminal syndicate, fraud schemes, theft and forgery.

Rigoberto Lara-Corral, 48, the suspected ringleader of the operation, was also arrested and booked into jail on six counts ranging from conspiracy and participating in a criminal syndicate to forgery and identity theft.

Lara-Corral is accused of conspiring with others to submit fraudulent insurance vehicle claims against several companies. Lara-Corral is accused of supplying vehicles, fraudulent Mexico drivers' licenses, prepaid credit cards, prepaid cell phones and forged Arizona motor vehicle titles.

Lara-Corral, an undocumented Mexican National, is in the U.S. illegally awaiting a deportation hearing.

A third man, Juan Alejandro Villa, 25, was arrested Sept. 24 for his alleged participation in the ring, which included filing at least five false claims worth nearly $20,000.

The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

Officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Phoenix Police Department assisted in making the arrests on Thursday, which occurred early in the morning at three locations.

State Farm and Farmers Insurance cooperated in the investigation.

Read more: http://www.kpho.com/story/27319191/pd-phoenix-auto-body-shop-owner-staged-crashes-collected-claims#ixzz3IPSxzjJn

AZMEX EXTRA 1-11-14

AZMEX EXTRA 1 NOV 2014

Note: the PRD is to the progressive left of the PRI. "control and disarmament"


Mexico ranks 5th worldwide in arms trafficking
JUAN ARVIZU ARRIOJA
El Universal
19:34Friday 31 October 2014

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/in-english/2014/mexico-ranks-5th-worldwide-in-arms-trafficking--96821.html


65% of illegal guns are in the hands of organized crime and 35% of civilians for personal protection.

In a decade, Mexico went from ranking 22nd worldwide in arms trafficking to the fifth, the president of the Bicameral Commission on National Security of Congress, Senator Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez (PRD), said at a meeting with German parliamentarians.

He noted that criminal organizations as well as citizens buy arms on the black market for an estimated amount of 127 million dollars annually.

65% of illegal guns are in the hands of organized crime and 35% of civilians for personal protection, said Encinas to the members of the German Committee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Nonproliferation.

Encinas highlighted that the policy against illegal arms in Mexico should be reanalyzed and replanned: the absolute prohibition, control and registration, and free access to a new modality of control and disarmament.


http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Nacional/31102014/904411-Mexico-5to-lugar-en-trafico-de-armas-Encinas.html



UN REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PEACE, DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ARMS TRADE TREATY IMPLEMENTATION COURSE LAUNCHED THIS WEEK IN COSTA RICA

http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/ODAPublications/ODAUpdate/


From 8-10 October 2014, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in San José, Costa Rica, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) piloted a practical training course on implementing the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The course trained national operators dealing with the control of imports and exports of conventional arms, alongside relevant officials from other Central American States who also attended to share their experience.

The training toolkit aims to assist Member States in their efforts to create national control lists and responsibly evaluate the risks involved in conventional arms transfers. Training modules were piloted on various topics, including the technical aspects of conventional arms and their trade, legal requirements of treaty implementation, and arms transfer risk assessments. The course also features a unique practical simulation, where participants play various roles to review transfer 'cases', and apply tools introduced in the classroom to determine whether the transfers should be 'authorized'. In addition, a model end-user certificate drawing on global best practices is provided to Member States as a starting point for strengthening arms transfer controls.

The training course is available in Spanish or English for interested Member States throughout Latin America and the Caribbean which been highly active in supporting the ATT.
So far, the following 15 Member States have ratified the Treaty: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.

Having secured the requisite 50 ratifications, the Treaty will enter into force on 24 December 2014. The training course complements a broader package of UNODA tools and resources, which are available to support Member States in their efforts to implement the ATT.

fin

Monday, November 3, 2014

AZMEX UPDATE 2-11-14

AZMEX UPDATE 2 NOV 2014



Note: Not to forget all the "civilians" also. Video at link.
Dozens turn up to remember fallen officers killed by illegal immigrants

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/Clip/10803945/dozens-turn-up-to-remember-fallen-officers-killed-by-illegal-immigrants




Note: Much money, earned them a trip to the DF. Never to be seen again?
Take note also of the people from the middle east.


Busted with 1 million dollars and 700 laser visas
Details posted on Sunday November 2, 2014,
Written by Staff / El Diario
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=40031

Nogales. Sonora

A million dollars and 700 laser visas were secured him a family Chulavista colony personnel Seido,by personnel, the property they also took custody of people from the Middle East and Guatemala.

Elements of the Deputy Attorney Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (Seido) reported that family arrested in raid Esther Alicia Pinedo Rivera, 38, allegedly 'coyote'; and her husband Pastor Alberto Lopez Gomez, 41, and daughter Judith Lopez Pinedo, 23, residing at calle Segundo Paseo Esplendoroso number 44 B.

During the operation performed the morning of last weekend, when federal agents surprised her at her home the alleged "coyote" and when inspecting the property, located four people from the Middle East and further 700 visas laser, a million dollars and several cash deposits.

The family was moved to Mexico City for arraignment
The family and especially Esther Alicia, are being investigated on charges of organized crime, smuggling of migrants, money laundering exchange, conspiracy against the USA. The DEA is charging.

end


Note: another version, add Chinese.

Arrested in Nogales to 'coyotes' who had 700 visas
In the operation, federal agents arrested three persons and rescued nine others.
FELIPE LARIOS GAXIOLA
2/11/2014 7:17 PM

http://www.milenio.com/policia/arrestan_polleros_Nogales-arrestan_polleros_visas_EU-rescatan_migrantes_Nogales_0_401960000.html

Hermosillo
Agents of the Federal Police in Nogales arrested the members of a family who used to enter illegally migrants to the United States.

During a raid on a house in the colony Chulavista, federal investigators arrested two women and a man, whom they seized them $ 1 million and 700 possible counterfeit laser visas.

According to the report, in the operation were arrested Esther Alicia Pinedo Rivera, 38, her husband, Pastor Alberto Lopez Gomez, 41, and daughter, Judith Pinedo Lopez, 23.

Similarly, were rescued from the safe house several people from China and five children in Central America.
The smugglers were sent to Mexico City and will be charged with offenses of organized crime, smuggling of migrants, money laundering and conspiracy against the United States.

It was reported that for months the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigating Lopez Gomez and Lopez Pinedo Pinedo Rivera.

end






Comment: A look at what is coming for the U.S. with the corrupt BHO administration

Flawed legal system encouraging Mexico's criminals, says former foreign minister
October 30th, 2014
05:05 PM ET
By Madalena Araujo, CNN

Mexico's brutal cycle of violence and crime is fueled by a legal system that continuously fails to investigate, arrest and penalize its criminals, former Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda told CNN's Michael Holmes, in for Christiane Amanpour, on Thursday.

"In general, in Mexico, the rule of law does not really lead to punishment for those who commit crimes. There are no investigations. There are very few trials and very few sentences, let alone prison," he said.

Protests have broken out across the country following the disappearance of 43 students more than a month ago. They were allegedly taken by the police before staging a demonstration in the south western town of Iguana, never to be seen again.

The incident has brought into light the underlying issues of rampant narco-crime and endemic corruption. Castaneda explained why offenders in Mexico have a "very high level of confidence" they will not be brought to justice.

"So when the army kills 22 people in Tlatlaya, or 43 students from Ayotzinapa disappear, the people who did that, whoever they may be, have very little to fear because they know that the ones who did similar things before have not been punished," he said.

Kidnappings and mass graves have also become commonplace in Mexico, with several discovered in the country since the students vanished. But why has this particular case sparked so much outrage?

"So if you take these two things, the army executing 22 people and the local police executing or disappearing and doing away with 43 people plus six who were killed in front of everybody, that's a lot of people who are dying at the hands of the authorities in Mexico, either local authorities, state authorities or federal authorities," Castaneda said.

He also told Holmes that the situation is partly to blame on President Enrique Peña Nieto's government, "which has done so well on so many other fronts," he said, but "in this area of law and order and drugs and fighting the cartels and organized crime is simply pursuing former President Felipe Calderon's policies."

"Those policies led to a real massacre, a disaster in Mexico, more than 70,000 people died; 25,000 disappeared."

"And President Peña Niter has neither changed policies nor punished those responsible for the extraordinary levels of violence of the previous administration."

END

Sunday, November 2, 2014

AZMEX BACKGROUND 27-10-14

AZMEX BACKGROUND SPECIAL 27 OCT 2014

Note: A major factor, but not the only one, in the long time blood feuds in the area.
Also, much of AZ and other parts of the U.S. seem to be saturated with the dope.


The history of Mexican heroin
Details posted on Sunday October 26, 2014,
Written by Especial/ El Diario

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=39666

Mexico, DF.

In the last days a question in government security offices and newsrooms of various media in Mexico: why violence increased in hilly areas of states like Sinaloa, Michoacan and Guerrero? Among the responses appeared one word: heroin.

In these regions is most poppy production areas, whose bulb a paste with this drug and others, such as opium and morphine produced is extracted. Also there is most of the labs that process, as well as initiate transport routes to the US market, both by road and by air.

Specialists say that at least three cartels want to control the region, but so far the balance tips in favor of the Sinaloa cartel.

This interest seems to agree with a fact that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) repeats several years: Mexico occupies an increasingly important role in international heroin trafficking place.
In fact, the World Drug Report 2013 indicates that Mexican heroin production is estimated to be 30 times that of Colombia, which for decades was the leading exporter in the Americas.

One thing that surprised many but that is part of the reality in the country, says the expert Alberto Islas, director of security consultancy Risk-Evaluation. "Mexico has always been a major producer of heroin. The UN is hardly aware but with old data because there is a government report to tell you how much poppy planted there and how much has been eradicated in Mexico, "he says.

That is, the analyst insists, production of heroin (heroína café) as it is known among the cartels and drug consumers produced in Mexico, may be even greater than that estimated by UNODC.

Hitler, Korea and Vietnam
The relationship between Mexicans and poppy paste is old, because the first records of this flower growing in the mountains of Sinaloa, in northwestern Peru, corresponding to the late nineteenth century.
Specialists like Luis Astorga, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, located in Chinese immigrants who first used it for opium gum.

In those days the production was low, almost for personal consumption. The situation changed during World War II when the US government encouraged the cultivation of the plant in Mexico, because of supply sources in Asia had been cut. The gum poppy was essential for American troops, because it was used to produce morphine for treating the wounded in combat. This continued during the American war in Korea, and the first stage of the conflict in Vietnam.

Thus, the area shifted to other products such as apples, corn and tomatoes but poppy cultivation continued, especially in the region known as the Golden Triangle, a mountainous area at the confluence of the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua.

There were born the most heads of several drug cartels, El Chapo Guzman and Ismael Zambada García, El Mayo, the Beltran Leyva brothers, Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Aguilar and Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, El Jefe de Jefes.

Nixon
The situation changed when the administration of President Richard Nixon changed US policy towards drugs and persecution against producers who sent marijuana and heroin to the United States began.

The poppy flower, then virtually disappeared from the sight of the Mexicans, recognized specialists.
In Mexico's decision resulted in a series of military operations in the mountainous regions of Sinaloa and Guerrero, which has intensified since 1977 called Operation Condor.
Before operating these flower adorned public gardens in places like Mexico City, Oaxaca and Guadalajara, and was commonly found for sale in markets.

Drug production in Mexico is growing
Thereafter, the presence of the plant was limited to the mountains guarded by drug cartels. But so far the military operations of the Mexican government have failed to reduce acreage of the flower, analysts and official estimates.

For example the report to Combat Trafficking of the Secretariat of National Defense (Department of Defense) reports that in 2007, soldiers destroyed 11,393 hectares planted with poppy. Five years later, in 2012, the figure was 14,347 hectares.

Why?
The Department of Defense figures show an increase in poppy cultivation area, says the specialist Islands. "Where production is growing in Nayarit, Durango, Colima and Guerrero" he says.

Why? Several factors. The UNODC report said that in Colombia the poppy cultivation area was reduced, while increased in Mexico where there are 12,000 acres "with a corresponding greater potential heroin production," the statement said. Most of the territory is in the area controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, according to reports from the National Public Safety Commission.

But the increase in heroin production can trigger a new dispute between cartels, says the BBC Guillermo Garduño Valero, a researcher at the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM).
"The war will continue, now the gangs are going to contest not only the markets for cocaine or marijuana," he says.

end




La historia de la heroína mexicana
Detalles Publicado el Domingo 26 de Octubre de 2014,
Escrito por Especial/ El Diario

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=39666

México,DF.

En los últimos días una pregunta recorre las oficinas de seguridad gubernamentales y las redacciones de varios medios de México: ¿por qué aumentó la violencia en las zonas montañosas de estados como Sinaloa, Michoacán o Guerrero? Y entre las respuestas apareció una palabra: heroína.
En esas regiones se encuentra la mayoría de las zonas de producción de amapola, de cuyo bulbo se extrae una goma con que se elabora esta droga y otras, como el opio y la morfina.

También allí se encuentra la mayor parte de los laboratorios que la procesan, así como también inician las rutas de transporte hacia el mercado estadounidense, tanto por carretera como por vía aérea.
Especialistas advierten que al menos tres carteles pretenden controlar esta región, aunque hasta el momento la balanza se inclina a favor del cártel de Sinaloa.

Tal interés parece coincidir con un dato que la Oficina de Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito (ONUDD) repite desde hace varios años: México ocupa un lugar cada vez más importante en el tráfico internacional de heroína.

De hecho, el Reporte Mundial sobre Drogas 2013 indica que la producción mexicana de esta droga se estima que es 30 veces mayor a la de Colombia, que durante décadas se mantuvo como el principal exportador en el continente americano.

Un dato que sorprendió a muchos pero que es parte de la realidad en el país, asegura el especialista Alberto Islas, director de la consultora en seguridad Risk-Evaluation.
"México siempre ha sido un productor importante de heroína. La ONU apenas se da cuenta pero con datos viejos porque en México no hay un reporte gubernamental que te diga cuánta amapola hay sembrada y cuánta se ha erradicado", afirma.
Es decir, insiste el analista, la producción de heroína café, como se conoce entre los carteles y consumidores a la droga elaborada en México, puede ser aún mayor a la que estima la ONUDD.

Hitler, Corea y Vietnam
La relación entre los mexicanos y la goma de amapola es antigua, pues los primeros registros de cultivo de esta flor en las montañas de Sinaloa, al noroeste del país, corresponden a fines del siglo XIX.
Especialistas como Luis Astorga, investigador de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, ubican a inmigrantes chinos como los primeros que utilizaron la goma para obtener opio.
En esos días la producción era escasa, casi para consumo personal. La situación cambió durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial cuando el gobierno de Estados Unidos fomentó el cultivo de la planta en México, pues sus fuentes de abastecimiento en Asia se habían cortado.
La goma de amapola era fundamental para las tropas estadounidenses, porque se utilizaba para elaborar la morfina con que calmaban a los heridos en combate.

Esta situación se mantuvo durante la guerra estadounidense en Corea, y la primera etapa del conflicto en Vietnam.
Así, la flor desplazó a otros productos como manzana, maíz o tomate y su lugar lo ocuparon los cultivos de amapola especialmente en la región conocida como el Triángulo Dorado, una zona montañosa donde confluyen los estados de Sinaloa, Durango y Chihuahua.

Allí nacieron la mayoría de los jefes de algunos carteles de narcotráfico, como El Chapo Guzmán, Ismael Zambada García, El Mayo, los hermanos Beltrán Leyva, Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Aguilar o Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, El Jefe de Jefes.

Nixon
La situación cambió cuando el gobierno del presidente Richard Nixon cambió la política estadounidense hacia las drogas, y se inició una persecución contra los productores que enviaban marihuana y heroína a Estados Unidos.
La flor de amapola, entonces, virtualmente desapareció de la vista de los mexicanos, reconocen especialistas.
En México la decisión se tradujo en una serie de operaciones militares en las regiones montañosas de Sinaloa y Guerrero, que se intensificaron a partir de 1977 cuando inició la llamada Operación Cóndor.
Antes de esos operativos la flor adornaba jardines públicos en lugares como Ciudad de México, Oaxaca o Guadalajara, y era común encontrarla a la venta en los mercados.
La producción de drogas en México está en crecimiento
Después de ello la presencia de la planta se limitó a las montañas vigiladas por carteles de narcotráfico. Pero hasta ahora las operaciones militares del gobierno mexicano no han conseguido reducir la superficie de cultivo de la flor, según analistas y estimaciones oficiales.
Por ejemplo el informe Combate al Narcotráfico de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) señala que en 2007 los soldados destruyeron 11.393 hectáreas sembradas con amapola. Cinco años después, en 2012, la cifra fue de 14.347 hectáreas.

¿Por qué?
Las cifras de la Sedena revelan un aumento en la zona de cultivo de amapola, afirma el especialista Islas. "Donde crece la producción es en Nayarit, Durango, Colima y Guerrero", asegura.
¿Por qué? Hay varios factores. El informe de la ONUDD señala que en Colombia se redujo la superficie de cultivo de amapola, y al mismo tiempo aumentó en México donde hay unas 12.000 hectáreas "con un correspondiente potencial mayor de producción de heroína", indica el documento.
La mayor parte del territorio se encuentra en la zona que controla el Cartel de Sinaloa, según informes de la Comisión Nacional de Seguridad Pública.
Pero el aumento en la producción de heroína puede desatar una nueva disputa entre carteles, asegura a BBC Mundo Guillermo Garduño Valero, investigador de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM).
"La guerra va a seguir, ahora las mafias se van a enfrentar no solamente por los mercados de cocaína o marihuana", dice.

FIN

AZMEX UPDATE 31-10-14

AZMEX UPDATE 31 OCT 2014

Note: More "great" news. The mosquito that carries Dengue Fever has been reported in SLRC, just south of Yuma, AZ



Note: Guess where many of the unaccompanied "children" are coming from?

Now more than 82,000 possible cases of chikungunya in El Salvador
This dengue like disease appearing in the country in June, no pause despite intense campaigns by health authorities. Photo: Courtesy Organización Editorial Mexicana
October 30, 2014

http://www.oem.com.mx/tribunadesanluis/notas/n3589522.htm

San Salvador.- The number of suspected cases of chikungunya fever reached 82,058 and with 149 confirmed in El Salvador, the Ministry of Health (Health Ministry).

This dengue like disease appearing in the country in June, no respite despite intense campaigns by health authorities to eliminate the breeding sites of mosquito that transmits the virus.

Until last week 71,548 suspected cases of chikungunya were recorded and in the last seven days 10,510 people registered more with clear signs of having the virus, the Health Ministry said.

"It is useless for us to go and fumigate if people do not eliminate mosquitoes in their homes," he told local media the director of a unit of Health of San Salvador, Susana Calderon.

El Salvador also faces the dengue epidemic and so far this year recorded 15,341 confirmed cases, 6,378 more than in the same period of 2013.

Also, 49,448 suspected cases were reported, while last year they recorded 27,289. (Sports)

- See more at: http://www.oem.com.mx/tribunadesanluis/notas/n3589522.htm#sthash.7pyauj1Z.dpuf






Note: Heroin is said to be as available as marijuana in Phx area.

BP agents seize $530K in drugs

Blythe Station agents stopped a vehicle on Interstate 10 near the California-Arizona state line and allegedly found 27 cellophane-wrapped packages of illegal drugs hidden within the vehicle's rear seats (seen here) worth almost half a million dollars. Marks on the packages were edited out in the photo by the Border Patrol before dissemination to the media.

Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2014 3:13 pm | Updated: 6:27 pm, Thu Oct 30, 2014.
From staff reports
http://www.yumasun.com/news/bp-agents-seize-k-in-drugs/article_c59990a6-6082-11e4-891b-0017a43b2370.html

Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agents seized 189.5 pounds of marijuana, nearly 25 pounds of heroin and almost 30 pounds of methamphetamine worth a combined $532,590 during two separate incidents Wednesday.

During the first incident, agents in Maricopa County tracked a group of individuals walking north toward Intestate 8 and arrested two men hiding under a tree next to four backpacks of marijuana. A third man, whose footprints matched those found around the bundles, was located and arrested shortly afterward. All three men reportedly admitted to entering the U.S. illegally and were turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, along with the marijuana, which was worth an estimated $94,750.

During the second incident, Blythe Station agents stopped a vehicle on Interstate 10 near the California-Arizona state line and reportedly obtained permission from the driver to search the vehicle. During the search, agents allegedly found 27 cellophane-wrapped packages of illegal drugs hidden within the vehicle's rear seats. Eleven of the packages contained $348,440 worth of heroin, while 16 contained meth valued at approximately $89,400. The drugs and driver were taken to the Blythe Station for processing.

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