Tuesday, March 31, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 27-3-15

AZMEX UPDATE 27 MAR 2015


Note: Sanctuary in the U.S.?

CBP: Prison escapee caught at Nogales border station
Posted: Mar 24, 2015 3:50 PM MST
Updated: Mar 24, 2015 3:50 PM MST
By Jackie Kent

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/28605527/cbp-prison-escapee-caught-at-nogales-border-station

NOGALES, AZ (Tucson News Now) - A Mexican man wanted in connection with a homicide investigation was among several people caught by border agents over the past few weeks.

Tucson Sector agents said a man allegedly escaped from prison and was arrested at a Nogales border patrol station while trying to cross into the U.S on March 18. Agents confirmed his identity with Mexican authorities and turned him over to Sonoran State police.

In unrelated arrests over the past few weeks, officials said agents apprehended several convicted sex offenders from Mexico and El Salvador. They targeted three people convicted of child sex crimes, including felony sexual conduct with a minor, molestation and lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, according to a CBP news release. Two people convicted of sexual battery and forcible rape were also taken into custody, the release said.

The public can anonymously report suspicious activity to the border patrol by calling (877) 872-7435, toll free.

end


Broker: Arizona at risk of growing more medical marijuana than market demands
BY COOPER RUMMELL,
March 25, 2015 @ 9:34 am

http://ktar.com/22/1819566/Broker-Arizona-at-risk-of-growing-more-medical-marijuana-than-necessary

PHOENIX -- Concerns are growing over the potential for Arizona to face an overabundance of medical marijuana.

In 2014, there were 63,417 active medical marijuana cardholders and more than 1 million square feet of working cultivation facilities for the plant. But according to data gathered by Benchmark Commercial Real Estate, the amount of land the state has approved for potential pot cultivation is much larger than what is needed in the current medical marijuana market.

"We were a little bit surprised to find out that there is 26 million square feet of land that is attached to approved cultivation properties," Roy Ginnell, broker and owner of Benchmark Commercial, said.

Ginnell said he and his team have spent nearly a year collecting data from Arizona's medical marijuana cultivation sites and dispensaries. He said he believes if all of the land that is approved to grow pot were currently being used, it could have a negative impact on the medical marijuana industry.

"We're already five-fold the amount of square footage under permit than what is needed to source medicine for the patients and cardholders here in the state," he said.

Ginnell said it comes down to simple supply and demand economics: If too much pot is grown, medical marijuana prices will plummet, which is temporarily good for consumers but bad for the industry as a whole.

"To have (prices drop) any further, I think you would see the potential for groups going out of business," he said. "If price wars continue to happen, they're likely to have to fold up shop."

END



Posted: Mar 25, 2015 4:25 PM MST
Updated: Mar 25, 2015 4:25 PM MST
Sierra Vista smuggler with $54K of marijuana arrested at Port of Naco
Written By Anthony Victor Reyes

http://www.kvoa.com/story/28616656/sierra-vista-smuggler-with-54k-of-marijuana-arrested-at-port-of-naco

CBP locate 109 pounds of marijuana inside a Chevrolet truck

NACO - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a 21-year-old Sierra Vista man after he attempted to smuggle 109 pounds of marijuana through the Port of Naco on Tuesday, March 24.

The officers located 82 packages of marijuana after a full inspection of the man's Chevrolet truck. The narcotics had an estimated value of about $54,000.

The vehicle and drugs were processed for seizure and the suspect was referred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

end


Note: things haven't stopped south of the fence either. Computer english - sorry

Published March 26, 2015, 5:02 a.m.
Soldier killed in Sonoyta
One killed and another was wounded military balance aggression suffered near Sonoyta, Sonora.
Again they are military attacked by thugs
CAMPOS-RUBIO Alfonso

http://nuevodia.com.mx/2015/03/matan-a-soldado-en-sonoyta/

Caborca, Sonora - New Day

For the second time in the past two days, soldiers of the 17th Infantry Company Drawn (CINE), based in Sonoyta, were victims of organized crime to return to being ambushed in the desert area, which yielded as a military balance without killed and another seriously injured, but this time managed to arrest some, reported the PEIS.
Researcher spokesman Sonora State Police said earlier, around 05:30 pm on Wednesday 4 of this were riddled the military elements when passing through the gap located about ten kilometers to the west of Sierra del Humo, where detected pick-ups, with California plates.
So they proceeded to investigate the reason for their presence, only to receive several machine guns, one of whose bullets injured a soldier, achieving the arrest of a suspect and the seizure of 50 kilos of marijuana.

AGGRESSION AGAINST reiterate SOLDIERS
As for the recent attack on the military, this was raised at 13:30 pm last Tuesday around Sierra Awl, about 64 kilometers east of Sonoyta, in the municipality of General Plutarco Elias Calles, where they observed a several civilians on the hill, so he approached to investigate, they were greeted with bursts of AK-47 machine guns, 39 caliber 7.62 mm, better known as "goat horn".
Which left a toll the death of one soldier and severe injuries to another of the game, who helicopter was transferred to Naval Hospital, the Ministry of the Navy of Mexico, in the neighboring municipality of Puerto Peñasco, where is torn between life and death, recovering lot of percussive long gravel weapon, so far managed to arrest, nor any confiscation, added the insider.

END




Published March 26, 2015, 1:54 a.m.
Running a man with bursts of shrapnel
One person was killed with machine guns in Guaymas, Sonora.
The body was found in the bush near Bácum

http://nuevodia.com.mx/2015/03/ejecutan-a-un-hombre-con-rafagas-de-metralla/

CAMPOS-RUBIO Alfonso
GUAYMAS - New Day
With multiple wounds caused by projectile gun, fired with machine gun AK-47, 7.62 caliber 39 mm, less known as "goat horn", was executed on ex-convict for vehicle theft and drug dealing in life be named Ephraim Jesus Avitia Ibarra, 32, reported the Sonora State Police Investigator. This, said spokesman PEIS, occurred around 11:30 pm last Tuesday in the vicinity of the Yaqui community Tórim in this municipality. Where between Mount was detected's body Avitia Ibarra, who had his dwelling in the colony White House, the ethnic population Bácum, recovering several percussive rubble of that size without so far arrest was achieved some added informant .

END




Military gunmen kill one else is hurt
Details Published on Thursday March 26, 2015,
Written by Staff / The Journal

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=48048

CABORCA.

Agents of different corporations, coordinated with the Department of Defense personnel are carrying out an operation to find those responsible for the armed attack suffered on Tuesday military elements, which left as a result a military died and another injured.
The events took place around 13:30 pm in the vicinity of the Sierra Awl, located 64 kilometers southeast of Sonoyta, when military personnel conducting surveillance tours.
Being in that place the soldiers placed a few civilians agazapas on the hill, so when trying to address them they attacked the military personnel.
The place was a military dead and another injured, one was airlifted to Rocky Point Naval Hospital where reported their health as stable.
Staff Expert Services of the Attorney General of the State secured in place several shell casings of rifle and handgun bush hammered.
At the scene came the Deputy Public Common Law who ordered the lifting and transporting the body to perform the steps of law

END



Authorities located the body of a man shot dead
Details Published on Thursday March 26, 2015,
Written by Staff / The Journal

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=48058

Bácum.

Otherwise the body of a person who drowned in an irrigation canal was also located.
Agents of the State Police Investigator inquire about the facts which killed one person male whose body was found about 11:30 am on Tuesday in a property located in the community of Río Yaqui Tórim.
The deceased was identified today as Jesus Avitia Ephraim Ibarra, 32 years old, who had established the colony White House and had history on charges of vehicle theft and drug dealing.
The victim was found in the bush and had several injuries caused by firearm projectiles. In place of the staff made of Expert Services of the Attorney General of the State secured several long gun shell casings.
In Navojoa Navojoa tera leading to Huatabampo elements Fire Department recovered the body of Jesus Aldaco Flores, 38 years old, who died of asphyxiation by drowning.
The victim, who had registered in the Allende colony, was found floating on the waters of the canal, after firefighters implemented an operational search after receiving a complaint that the now deceased, on January 20, fell Canal de Las Pilas, off street boulevard Guillermo Chavez and Eduardo Bours.
At the site of the discovery was attended by the Deputy Public Common Law who ordered the lifting and transporting the body to perform the steps of law.

end




Caen urban narcos traps PEI
Details Published on Thursday March 26, 2015,
Written by Staff / The Journal

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=48063

Hermosillo.

Confiscated them several portions of the synthetic drug known as 'crystal'.
Elements of State Police Investigator assigned to the department of corruption of minors detained in different events, two people in possession of several wrappers glass and cocaine.
In the first incident, arrested Maura Dionicia Urias Bejarano 28 years old, residing in the colony Gomez Morin.
The arrest was made PEI agents yesterday around 10:30 hours after they received a complaint that in South Sierra Street and Avenue of the Masters of that colony, a person's sex was women selling drugs.
When investigating that complaint, the agents placed Maura Dionicia walking on the street Sierra South, so to address it and check your belongings, they found 10 plastic wrappers containing the synthetic drug known as "crystal", which gave weighing approximately 2.3 grams and plastic wrappings 08 inside which was cocaine, which gave an approximate weight of 13.1 grams.
In the second event, the items assigned to the department, around 13:10 pm yesterday, arrested John Leobardo Ruiz Espinoza 31 years old, residing in the fractionation La Caridad, who has previous convictions for offenses of the health and the health in their mode of drug dealing in their hypothesis simple possession of methamphetamine.
The arrest was carried out by agents to walk the streets San Attalus and Lucrecia Light Ayon Colony Los Angeles, they located John Leobardo, who saw the official unit showed marked nervousness, so the effect you review, finding among his belongings seven plastic wrappers containing "crystal", which gave an approximate weight of 20 grams and a gram scale scale in black unmarked.
The detainees and the seized drug, were made available to the Public Prosecutor attached to the Center of Strategic Operations, who in the coming hours will define its status Common Law.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

AZMEX EXTRA 26-3-15

AZMEX EXTRA 26 MAR 2015

Note: The measures against citizen's human rights, increasing under the PRI as expected. In real life, associates of organized crime groups are seldom penalized. "Fines" should stop the drug cartels in their tracks.


Up to eight years in prison for carrying weapons without permission
Details Published on Thursday March 26, 2015,
Written by Special / The Journal

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=48049

Mexico, DF.

Reinforce the fight against the 'black market', is the objective in the Senate.
The Senate passed the bill in committee to tighten sanctions on those who possess weapons and explosives, ranging from 30 day fines up to eight years in prison for transferring ownership of a gun without a permit. The legislation voted at the meeting of the Commission for Legislative Studies Second, headed by Alejandro Encinas, which also covers those weapons that clandestinely enter national territory firearms (not reserved for use by the Army, Navy and Air Force) is imposed in three to 10 years in prison and 180-300 days fines.

The project, which includes the minutes sent by the deputies, it is argued that the purpose of this amendment to the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives is to strengthen the fight against the black market, updating the fines.

The reform seeks to address the need to revise the laws relating to the commission of crimes which affect or may affect the lives and safety of people through increased fines, to make them consistent with the current context of the country.

Also achieve a comprehensive scheme of graduated fines proportionally according to the degree of danger they represent the conduct classified as misdemeanors or felonies.

It was approved that are punishable by 30 to 120 day fines for holders of guns without having applied to the Secretariat of National Defense, and to holders of cartridges or ammunition in an unauthorized or unlicensed way.

END



Note: $1 a box?

Feds seize 5K rounds of ammo from Pharr (TX) couple
Posted: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 9:00 am
JARED TAYLOR | STAFF WRITER
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/feds-seize-k-rounds-of-ammo-from-pharr-couple/article_6e502dfe-d266-11e4-9eda-0f4c076647d3.html

PHARR — Federal agents on Monday arrested two Mexican nationals after discovering 5,860 rounds of assault rifle ammunition that had been destined for Mexico, court records state.
Homeland Security Investigations agents received permission to search a home Monday in the 100 block of West Dicker Road, according to a criminal complaint.

Francisco Javier Mendoza Esquivel, a Mexican national in the country illegally, let agents into the property and said he had 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition in a tool box outside. Agents found about 4,000 rounds of ammo inside the house and another 1,860 rounds in a tool box outside the residence, the complaint states.
Mendoza, 37, told agents he's a convicted drug smuggler in the country illegally — making it against the law for him to possess ammunition.

Mendoza's girlfriend, Carolina Grimaldo Cruz, a Mexican national with permanent residence in the United States, had purchased the ammo via the Internet and it had been delivered to his house on Monday, the complaint states. Grimaldo, 38, told agents that Mendoza asked her to buy the ammunition so he could go target shooting on a ranch.

Mendoza told agents he expected to be paid $100 for every 100 boxes of ammunition he was able to smuggle into Mexico, the complaint states.

The couple remains in federal custody ahead of a court hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge set for Friday.

jtaylor@themonitor.com

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 20-3-15

AZMEX UPDATE 20 MAR 2015

Note: A day north of the former border.

Huge pot growing operation found in Apache Junction
Posted: Mar 18, 2015 5:33 PM MST
Updated: Mar 18, 2015 5:33 PM MST
By Phil BensonCONNECT

http://www.azfamily.com/story/28557265/huge-pot-growing-operation-found-in-apache-junction?autostart=true

The operation was found in an Apache Junction industrial park. (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
A search uncovered 469 marijuana plants, PCSO said. (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
An investigation led authorities to a man in Scottsdale. (Source: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -
A search warrant served on a building at an Apache Junction industrial park uncovered a huge marijuana growing operation, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.

During a routine business check Saturday night, a sheriff's deputy noticed a strong odor of raw marijuana coming from one of the structures in the area of 4800 block of South Desert View Drive. The Pinal County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force was notified.

A search of the building uncovered 469 marijuana plants in varying stages of growth, sheriff's investigators said.

Each plant has the potential of producing about four ounces of marijuana with an estimated street value of $287,000.

As the investigation unfolded, authorities said they identified Ross Niemann, 30, of Scottsdale as a suspect.

A search warrant executed on his home led to the discovery of "a usable quantity of marijuana and various pieces of drug-related paraphernalia," according to a PCSO news release.

Investigators said they also found items linking Niemann to the large marijuana grow near Apache Junction.
Niemann was not taken into custody at the time the search warrant was executed.

The investigation is ongoing.




1,079 pounds of marijuana seized after pursuit on Interstate 10
Posted: Mar 19, 2015 1:24 PM MST
Updated: Mar 19, 2015 1:25 PM MST
By Tami HoeyCONNECT

http://www.azfamily.com/story/28565316/1079-pounds-of-marijuana-seized-after-pursuit-on-interstate-10?autostart=true

TUCSON, AZ (3TV) -
Two people have been arrested for the alleged possession and transportation of more than a thousand pounds of marijuana.

On March 18, an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) canine officer attempted to stop a white-colored pickup truck for a traffic violation. This happened on northbound SR 90 (Benson area). The driver of the pickup failed to yield, and sped away with the officer in pursuit.

The pickup truck entered onto westbound Interstate 10 at a high rate of speed. Attempts were made to spike the tires of the pickup, and at milepost 280 (Vail area), the pickup ran over the spikes.

With the tires deflated, the truck drove off the road and through the right-of-way fence. As it came to a stop, the two male occupants in the pickup fled on foot.

Multiple agencies began an intense search for the suspects. During the search, the nearby Acacia Elementary School was placed on lock down for about an hour.

About two hours later, the two suspects, Lance Schilling, 19, and Brent Jackson, 26, both from Phoenix, were taken into custody. From the pickup, officers seized 1,079 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value of $540,000.

Schilling and Jackson were booked into the Pima County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana, transportation for sale of marijuana, and felony flight.

END



Arizona Department of Public Safety Canine Officer Seizes Nearly $200,000 in Cash on Traffic Stop
DPS continues interdiction efforts with another seizure
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 -
http://www.azdps.gov/Media/News/View/?p=564

On March 17, 2015, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) recovered $196,040 after the driver of a passenger car was stopped for traffic violations on Interstate 40 and milepost 199 near Flagstaff. The Highway Patrol officer observed numerous indicators of criminal activity and a search of the vehicle was conducted. The search led to the seizure of the cash which was believed to be connected with a crime and charges filed against the driver.

DPS will continue these interdiction efforts in order to continue its overall mission to protect human life and property.

The investigation remains ongoing.





Feds seize $104K in meth at border station
Posted: Mar 19, 2015 4:00 PM MST
Updated: Mar 19, 2015 4:03 PM MST
By Phil Benson

Meth found hidden in tires at Arizona border station. (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
TUCSON, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

An Arizona teen and a Mexican national were arrested in separate meth seizures at a southern Arizona border inspection station.

A 24-year-old man from San Luis, Sonora, Mexico, was taken into custody Wednesday after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection narcotics detection dog alerted agents to the vehicle's spare tire.
Officers said they found 30 packages of meth valued at almost $103,000.

Earlier in the day, a narcotics detection dog alerted agents to the front seat of a 17-year-old man's vehicle. Officers said they found more than half a pound of meth with an estimated value of $1,650.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, and referred both subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Read more: http://www.kpho.com/story/28566978/feds-seize-104k-in-meth-at-border-station#ixzz3UsNA60Ro

Friday, March 20, 2015

AZMEX SPECIAL 20-3-15

AZMEX SPECIAL 20 MAR 2015

Note: Yes, legal immigration, seasonal employment, can work. The Bracero program not perfect, but overall worked well.


Thousands come to Nogales on way to temporary work
From the front: Alejandro Torres Villella, 40, Luis Angel Gonzalez Reynaga, 22, and Juan Carlos Temblador, 23, all temporary workers from a mid-size town in Nayarit, Mexico, are on their way to Chinook, Mont. where they will be calving on a ranch. Gonzalez said they were told they would be paid around $1,100 biweekly.

Posted: Friday, March 20, 2015 8:11 am | Updated: 9:14 am, Fri Mar 20, 2015.
By Murphy Woodhouse
Nogales International

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/thousands-come-to-nogales-on-way-to-temporary-work/article_67d1051c-cf13-11e4-83d1-3f408919c7cd.html

To keep out of the rain, dozens of Mexican men leaned against the walls of the downtown Burger King Wednesday night as they waited for 15-passenger vans to come and pick them up.

They kept a close eye on their tightly packed suitcases, which contained most of what they would need for the next six or more months as they work as temporary employees for U.S. farms and businesses as far flung as Slidell, La.; Rupert, Idaho and Chinook, Mont. Some would complete their journey by van, others by plane.

Miguel Angel Cabrera, a 21-year-old from the central state of Guanajuato en route to Idaho to lay irrigation in alfalfa and potato fields for the fourth year running, was on the phone with family members. He wanted to let them know he had made it safely to the United States and that he'd soon be hard at work with his father and sending money home.

"It's a good opportunity, and you've got to know how to take advantage of it," Cabrera said of the temporary worker program that had brought him across the border.

The crowd at Burger King was just a small slice of the Mexican nationals who work seasonally in the United States on any given year on either H-2A visas, which are for agricultural work, or H-2B visas, which are for any other temporary work. Last year, U.S. consular offices in Mexico issued about 155,000 such visas, roughly 57,000 of which were for non-agricultural work, according Julianne Parker, a vice consul in Monterrey, Mexico.

Nearly 310,000 H-2A and H-2B visa holders were admitted into the country in Fiscal Year 2013, according to Department of Homeland Security statistics. Nationals from 63 countries are allowed to participate in the program, though Mexicans are far and away the most represented nationality, according to Parker and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, which helps manage the programs.

While the lion's share of temporary Mexican workers are processed at the U.S. consulate in Monterrey, a little shy of 10,000 come through Nogales each year and are largely destined for agricultural work in the Western United States, said Megan Phaneuf, section chief for the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, Sonora. Few are from Sonora, she added.

"They typically come from Southern Mexico," Phaneuf, said. "We're not seeing a lot of homegrown workers that are coming from Sonora. We're going to see folks from Michoacan, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Nayarit, Jalisco; the southern states of Mexico."

Most of those at the Burger King Wednesday night were from Sinaloa and on their way to gardening work in Louisiana.

With growing seasons starting across the country as temperatures rise, seasonal workers become a common sight in the spring at the fast food restaurant, as well as at the nearby McDonald's, which also functions as a spot to catch vans.

Though in town only briefly, the seasonal workers' presence can be felt at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry, where groups of 50 or more line up almost nightly in peak season, and in Nogales, Sonora, where hotels and other businesses cater to the annual influx.

Rules to follow

To bring in temporary workers from abroad, U.S. employers have to prove several things to the Department of Labor before they can submit a petition with USCIS.

Most importantly, they must show that there aren't enough "able, willing, qualified, and available" U.S. workers to fill the jobs at the advertised wages, according to the DOL website. They must also demonstrate that the temporary workers will not adversely impact the wages of "similarly employed U.S. workers" and that their positions are temporary.

"When they've certified all that they can come to Mexico and try to find other workers and those workers are tied to the employer that is petitioning for them," Parker said.

H-2B visas are capped at 66,000 annually, though there is no limit on agricultural visas, which have risen dramatically in recent years. More than 204,000 were issued in FY 2013, compared to less than 50,000 in the mid-2000s, according to government data and several reports on the programs. That figure represents a significant part of the roughly 2.6 million workers directly employed by farms.

In FY 2014, there were 5,488 employer petitions for H-2B workers and 6,672 for H-2A, the vast majority of which were quickly approved, according to data from the DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification.

For their part, Mexican workers who have been selected by employers or intermediaries have to go through several days of interviews, fingerprinting and other processes at U.S. consular offices before their visas are issued. Though some pay middlemen for assistance with paperwork, most of the costs are borne by employers.

"These workers don't have to pay to get put on these petitions... They don't have to pay for their visas, they don't have to pay for their transportation," Phaneuf said, adding that housing costs are also frequently covered. Parker clarified that only H-2A employers are required to cover visa and transportation costs, though many H-2B employers do nevertheless.

The workers interviewed for this story mostly cited anticipated wages of around $10 an hour, vastly outstripping the $10 they said they could earn in a day in their home communities. Parker said that temporary worker employers are held to minimum wage laws, and even those who pay piece rates must ensure that the money earned never falls below state or federal wage floors.

Cabrera said much of his money was going towards a house that is still under construction back in Guanajuato.
"It's coming together little by little," he said. "It will be two more years until it's finished."

Fair treatment

Over the roughly century-long history of formal temporary work programs in the United States, the arrangements have been criticized for putting foreign workers at the mercy of exploitative employers and lowering the wages and working conditions of U.S. employees.

During the Bracero Program, which lasted from 1942 to 1964, more than 4.5 million Mexicans worked temporarily in the United States. While many made good money that went back to families in Mexico, complaints of withheld wages, poor work and living conditions, heavy debts to company stores and other illegal practices were widespread.

Analogous criticisms have been made of the H-2 programs by groups like Farmworker Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which described them as a "modern-day system of indentured servitude" in a recent report. However, Parker and Phaneuf said there are policies in place to prevent the worst parts of that history from being repeated.

Parker said that consular offices can ask USCIS to review petitions if they hear complaints from workers about specific employers.

"We always ask them about their working conditions," she said. "Generally most of the good information we get is from guys who changed companies."

If sufficient evidence is gathered, petitions can be revoked for a year, which can spell significant crop losses or production declines for employers. However, Parker added that it "requires a lot of information" to do so.

"It's only a temporary fix on our end, but it is a pretty big detriment to the farmers or employers because they're not getting any workers," Parker said. "It is a pretty big tool that we have."

Additionally, consular staff can request that the DOL inspect employers if they believe there is sufficient reason to believe that abuses are occurring, though the department's staff for such inspections is "pretty small," Parker said.

When asked, none of the returning workers interviewed said that they had been mistreated by their employers and most said they intended to continue doing the work for the foreseeable future.

For Elvio Miranda, a 53-year-old from a small town in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, temporary work in the U.S. is a desirable alternative to low-wage lime picking at home, as well as crossing the border illegally in search of work.

"I don't want to have trouble with migration," Miranda said, referring to federal immigration agents.

end

Thursday, March 19, 2015

AZMEX EXTRA 19-3-15

AZMEX EXTRA 19 MAR 2015


Note: "Authorities agree"

Reiterates ban on armed civilians
Details Published on Wednesday March 18, 2015,
Written by Special / El Diario

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=47569

MORELIA, MICH.

Authorities agree that there are no longer any reason to continue operating self-defense groups.

The Coordination Group Michoacán, which integrate state and federal authorities, reaffirmed its position of not allowing armed civilians has made public security work and install checkpoints on state highways.

The governor Salvador Jara Guerrero and special control for security in Michoacán, Felipe Gurrola Ramírez, reiterated that after the dismantling of the dominant criminal group in the state there are no longer grounds for self-defense groups continue to operate in the state.

At the meeting held at Government House, Secretary of Public Security in the state, Javier García Ocampo, said yesterday met in the Nahua community of Ostula with community leaders of guards in the town of Aquila and community authorities in Coahuayana, Coalcomán and Chinicuila.

Military commanders and officers of the security areas at federal and state levels analyzed the objectives to be attacked in the state to continue dismantling outposts of criminal groups.

Before starting the meeting, Governor Salvador Jara Guerrero thanked the commanders of the military zones, located in Michoacan, for its rapid intervention to assist people affected by climate contingency last weekend.

END

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 18-3-15

AZMEX UPDATE 18 MAR 2015


Arizonans tell senators Southwest border 'is not secure'
JESSICA BOEHM/CRONKITE NEWS |
March 18, 2015 @ 2:25 pm

http://ktar.com/22/1817220/Arizonans-tell-senators-Southwest-border-is-not-secure

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told a Senate committee that many of his constituents along the border are afraid to leave their homes because of border security problems. (Cronkite News Photo/Jessica Boehm)
WASHINGTON -- Local law enforcement must be involved in securing "the rural parts of the Southwest border," which is still dangerously insecure, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told a Senate panel Tuesday.

"Sheriffs are a direct voice of trust in their respective counties so I think it's important that we continue that voice with the sheriffs," said Dannels, who told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee not to "ignore us."

Dannels' testimony came during a two-hour hearing that brought residents and officials from Texas and Arizona to Washington to share their "perspectives from outside the Beltway" on Southwest border security.

The committee chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said it was the first in a series of hearings and roundtable discussions focused on problems along the Southwest border. Witnesses Tuesday had plenty to share.

"I want to be crystal clear: The border is not secure," said Chris Cabrera, a Border Patrol agent who was testifying on behalf of the National Border Patrol Council.

Cabrera said some people don't realize the extent of border issues because the Department of Homeland Security uses data that inaccurately shows that border patrol agents are "75 percent effective in apprehending illegal immigrants and drug smugglers."

A more realistic metric is somewhere between 35 - 40 percent - and that percentage is even lower when dealing with experienced criminals in the drug cartels, he said.

Dannels said trafficking of drugs and people has "diminished the quality of life" for residents of Cochise County and placed "unbearable strain" on the county's budget and resources.

Howard Buffett, chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, owns two ranches in southern Arizona, one on the Mexico border.

"When you live or operate close to the border, it's like living in another world," Buffett testified.

He said that security problems along the Southwest border have created "a serious humanitarian crisis," which has caused "people to die attempting to reach our country while putting our own citizens at risk."

"Those who live in communities along our border assume a higher risk to their personal safety that can be frightening and at times deadly," Buffett said.

Dannels laid the problem squarely at the feet of federal officials, whose changes to border priorities in the 1990s forced illegal activity into the rural areas along the border.

"I am not proud to say that today we are a product of the federal government's plan," Dannels said.

Dannels said that fear is rampant along the border - with many of his constituents afraid to leave their homes.

"It's just a horrible way to live when we live in the United States," he said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said at the hearing that the border can be secured through proper use of assets, strategies and technology.

"Those who say, well you just can't do it - they obviously are incorrect because every nation has the obligation to have a safe and secure border," McCain said.

He pointed to his introduction Tuesday of the "Arizona Borderlands Protection and Preservation Act," which would grant Border Patrol agents access to federal land anywhere along the Southwest border for security and surveillance activities.

Dannels had said earlier that federal efforts should focus on "border security first, immigration reform second."

The crime associated with illegal immigration has diminished the sense of security of people in the rural Southwest, he said, pointing to a sharp decrease in the population of Cochise County.

"People are leaving our county because of the way it is," he said. "They don't want to live in fear."

By bringing local stakeholders to the table, Dannels said the government will be able to create better solutions to the complex problems faced by Cochise County residents.

"Those that choose to live on our border should deserve the same freedom and liberty as those that live here in D.C., Iowa and beyond," Dannels said.

Fin

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 15-3-15

AZMEX UPDATE 15 MAR 2015

Note: How about a day in the life just south of the former AZMEX border.


Comment: On their way to sanctuary in the U.S.?

Arrested by PEI in Nogales for shooting of Choix, Sin. mayor.
Details Published on Saturday March 14, 2015,
Written by Staff / El Diario
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=47347

Nogales.

Two people involved in the armed attack on the Mayor of Choix, Sinaloa, Juan Raúl Acosta Salas, which injured five others were arrested by agents of the State Police on this border.

Reports indicate that the PGJE know about, Nora Espinoza Haimee Acuña, who is originally from Empalme, Sonora and Victor Agustin Reyes Macedo, a native San Blas, municipality of El Fuerte, Sinaloa.

These people are identifiedin the armed aggression suffered by the Mayor of the municipality of Choix, Sinaloa and five others accompanying him in events of March 6 this year.

Both people were taken, by air, to the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa pursuant to a search warrant, location and presentation delivered by the Deputy Public specializing in the crime of intentional homicide in Ahome
Common Law.

The armed aggression was raised on the road from Los Mochis to Choix, at the height of the Tetamboca community in the municipality of El stronger.

In this place armed men aboard a van from the GMC brand, line Yukon, gray, Model 2000, shot with an AK-47 rifle against passengers in a Suburban, model 2014, owned by the City of Choix.

In the vehicle traveling were Mayor Acosta Salas, who was the driver; and Maria Luz Lerma Lopez and Rosario Acosta Salas, wife and sister of Mayor respectively.

Also, Leonardo León Palafox, Assistant to the Mayor; Clemente Soto Miranda and Lauro Melchor Cotan Chavez, who is Treasurer and Director of Social Development of the municipality respectively. All of them, except for Rosario Acosta, were injured in said armed aggression.

After the attack, the attackers left the area due to a unit of the municipal police approaching , leaving the Yukon truck abandoned on a dirt road located about a kilometer away from where the armed attack occurred.

The Attorney General of the State of Sinaloa, Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez, reported that as a result of intelligence work and research conducted by staff of the Public Ministry and by a panel of the Ministerial Police, in coordination with the Attorney General of Sonora, the location was found in Nogales of Nora Haimee Espinoza Acuña and Víctor Agustín Reyes Macedo.

In his ministerial statement both say they are pair, living in Nogales, Sonora where engaged in drug dealing and confessed having participated in the acts for which they are accused.

end



Note: and a bit to the south-east.

Drug Violence in the Sierra Tarahumara leaves four executed
March 14, 2015
by Staff

http://riodoce.mx/narcotrafico-2/deja-narcoviolencia-en-la-sierra-tarahumara-otros-cuatro-ejecutados

Chihuahua, Chih. (Proceso.com.mx) .- Four men were executed this week in the town of Uruachi, located in the Sierra Tarahumara, officials said.

The most recent case occurred last Thursday 12th at La Finca community, when a group of armed men killed Balbanedo Ramirez Alvarez and Manuel Mendoza Bertin.

The bodies were found around 13:40 hours on the road to Los Táscates to Gosogachi, shot in the head.

Baldenedo Ramirez lived in the community of Gosogachi and Manuel Bartin in La Villa, in the same municipality.

On Tuesday, 10 were killed with guns Mario Alberto Salcido Marquez, 28, and Jose Adolfo Marquez , 23, in Las Tinajas community.

The District Attorney West came forward to say that the double murder was due to personal grudges victims with a rival group. For this case, so far, no arrests in these cases.

Mario Salcido died of hypovolemic shock by bullets and José Márquez from head trauma.

In that town, a month ago, three men were executed in an armed confrontation between criminal groups.

The facts were disclosed by citizens Uruachi and confirmed by the spokesman for the prosecutor Zone West, Alexandra Lara Meraz, who said that because of the remoteness of the place, they only have the names of the victims.

Residents of the community of Aracoyvo indicate that these criminal groups that have long are settled in that region.

The bodies were found in the creek Las Tinajitas near Jicamórachi, a town that was taken two years ago by an armed group.

The fear of the people by the climate of violence inhibited the following Monday to manslaughter registered on 11 February, dozens of families Aracoyvo not come to receive the monthly support of Progresa.

Victims also were shot in the head. They are: Sergio Antonio Aguilar Rivas, 27; Guadalupe Alcalá Meraz, 62, and Omar Alcala Ponce, 32.

end

Saturday, March 14, 2015

AZMEX POLICY 9-3-15

AZMEX POLICY 9 MAR 2015


AG Brnovich Letter on In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
March 9, 2015

Hon. Raul Grijalva
Hon. Ann Kirkpatrick
Hon. Ruben Gallego
1218 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

To Raul Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, and Ruben Gallego, members of congress:

Thank you for your letter dated March 3rd, 2015, concerning in-state tuition for those without lawful status in the United States. In November of 2006, Proposition 300 was approved with more than 70% of the vote, reserving cetiain taxpayer funded benefits to citizens, legal residents, and persons who otherwise have lawful immigration status. The voters were clear on this subject:

"A person who is not a citizen of the United States, who is without lawful immigration status and who is enrolled as a student at any university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or at any community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district in this state is not entitled to tuition waivers, fee waivers, grants, scholarship assistance, financial aid, tuition assistance or any other type of financial assistance that is subsidized or paid in whole or in patt with state monies." (A.R.S. § 15-1825(A)).

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, which you cite with authority, makes clear that "[D]eferred Action does not confer lawful status upon an individual." In Arizona
Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that "DACA recipients enjoy no formal immigration status." Indeed, the Constitution reserves this power for Congress.

("The Congress shall have the power to ... establish a uniform rule of naturalization." Article I, Section 8, Clause 4).

As the Attorney General I have taken an oath to uphold and enforce the law and to defend the Constitutions of Arizona and of the United States. Here, the people of Arizona have spoken
unambiguously and their elected and appointed representatives, including the community colleges and my office, are bound to follow.

Sincerely,
Mark Brnovich
Attorney General of Arizona

Monday, March 9, 2015

AZMEX UPDATE 9-3-15

AZMEX UPDATE 9 MAR 2015

Note: some samples from around the border.


Note: "foreign" drug smugglers! Watch the video

Drug smugglers throw bales of marijuana at Arizona police during high-speed chase
BY KTAR.COM, |
March 9, 2015 @ 6:45 pm
http://ktar.com/22/1814583/Drug-smugglers-throw-bales-of-marijuana-at-Arizona-police-during-highspeed-chase

Foreign drug smugglers with a stash house in Mesa, Ariz. found themselves in a high-speed chase with the Pinal County Sheriff's deputies last week.
Desperate to slow law enforcement on their tails, the criminals at one point begin heaving bales of marijuana from their vehicle while exceeding 100 mph.

Though not seen on the police dash-cam, the criminals were ultimately caught on foot.

end



Gunmen open fire on Mexican border mayor's convoy
Posted: Monday, March 9, 2015 11:14 am
Christina R. Garza Staff Writer

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/gunmen-open-fire-on-mexican-border-mayor-s-convoy/article_6ffb1ff6-c677-11e4-8eb0-2394bff784f6.html

Matamoros Tamaulipas Mayor Leticia Salazar survived an assassination attempt unharmed Sunday night when her convoy of vehicles was hit by a barrage of bullets Sunday night, according to reports from the Associated Press.
According to reports the attack occurred around 8 p.m. as Salazar traveled in a reinforced bullet (resistant) vehicle, along with two other vehicular escorts down Gonzalez and 21st streets.
Salazar's conservative National Action Party condemned the attack and called on the federal and state government to catch the attackers.
Gerardo Danache, legal advisor for the Chambers of Commerce for both Matamoros and the state of Tamaulipas called the assassination attempt on Salazar an unfortunate incident and a reflection of the violence, Mexico has been facing,
"We condemn these actions because they are against civilized living and request the intervention of the Mexican federal government because the violence in Tamaulipas is out of control and the life of everyone including the mayor is valuable," Danache said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety as advised Spring Breakers not to travel to Matamoros due to drug-related violence.

end



Comment: does the U.S really want a national police force given the current level of corruption in DC?

Mexico official: 14 police officers arrested for kidnap, extortion
Posted: Monday, March 9, 2015 7:46 am
Associated Press
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/mexico-official-police-officers-arrested-for-kidnap-extortion/article_4fdebda8-c65a-11e4-ab42-b7c77f26ad5d.html

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Mexican troops have detained 15 federal police officers on charges of kidnapping the owner of a construction company in the northern border city of Matamoros and demanding a $2 million (31 million peso) ransom, a government official said Saturday.
The official with the federal Attorney General's Office said the officers were arrested late Thursday as they prepared to receive the money they had demanded for earlier releasing the businessman.
The official, who agreed to reveal details of the case only if not quoted by name because he wasn't authorized to talk with journalists, said the family had alerted the military to the kidnapping and ransom demand. Soldiers and marines then mounted an operation that led to the arrest, he said.
The federal police officers face charges of kidnapping and extortion, the official said.
The officers are part of a group sent this year to bolster a security operation in Matamoros, which is across from Brownsville, Texas.

end



Chihuahua mountain crime boss killed in shootout, officials say
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
POSTED: 03/05/2015 11:44:24 PM MST

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_27658330/chihuahua-mountain-crime-boss-killed-shootout-officials-say

The suspected leader of a crime group was killed in a shootout with Chihuahua state police Tuesday evening in the mountains in the southwestern corner of the state, officials said Thursday.

Bernardo Portillo Torres, 24, was a suspected in the deaths of three people who were found in a burned pickup in the Urique area. The state attorney general's office said the burned bodies have not been identified but could possibly be three Urique police officers recently abducted by gunmen.

Bernardo and his brother Benito Portillo Torres are suspected of running a drug gang in the mountain region, officials said.

Authorities said Bernardo Portillo was killed in a gun battle that erupted when police tried to stop the brothers and others riding in Ford F-150. Benito Portillo and the others escaped.

In the truck, police found a grenade, two rifles, a 9mm handgun and tactical vests.

END

AZMEX POLICY 7-3-15

AZMEX POLICY 7 MAR 2015

Note: As the U.S. firearms industry can testify, not the only legitimate business' affected.


Dollars can be a dirty word at banks on US-Mexico border
March 7, 2015 @ 11:01 am

http://ktar.com/23/1813924/Dollars-can-be-a-dirty-word-at-banks-on-USMexico-border

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The clamor to crack down on laundering drug money was loud in 2010 when Wachovia National Bank was found to have let $110 million from Mexico be sent through its accounts. It grew two years later when HSBC Holdings PLC agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle violations that included letting hundreds of millions of dollars from drug cartels flow through one of the world's largest banks.

Now there is growing sentiment along the U.S.-Mexico border that vigilance has gone overboard and is hurting law-abiding businesses. American banks, wary of the potential for massive penalties, have closed Mexican accounts or saddled customers with new restrictions.

The challenge is particularly acute for Mexican companies whose customers pay dollars. In Mexico, banks refuse to take their greenbacks even after the government lifted 4-year-old caps on cash deposits of the U.S. currency in September.

Roberto Castro, chief executive of one of the largest Mexican pharmacy chains on the U.S. border, compares the approach to chemotherapy.

"You kill the bad cells but you also kill the good cells," said Castro, whose father founded Farmacias Modernas de Tijuana SA, known as Farmacias Roma, in 1964. "They need to be more targeted in their strategies to combat money laundering."

Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain, both Arizona Republicans, called for hearings in February, saying security concerns should be balanced against the need for access to banks in border communities. California's Imperial Valley Press editorialized that border banking may become "a niche operation, where choices become very limited."

U.S. regulators are warning banks against being indiscriminate. Two Treasury Department agencies urged them in November to avoid closing accounts of entire categories of customers and recommended a case-by-case review.

"We do not tell banks how to conduct their business," Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry told bankers at a conference on Monday. "We certainly do not direct them to provide services to some customers and not to others."

In Mexico, businesses cheered when President Enrique Pena Nieto scrapped $14,000 monthly caps on dollar deposits in Mexican banks, saying the anti-money laundering measure hurt law-abiding companies. Relief turned to dismay when businesses learned banks didn't want their greenbacks anyway.

Mexican Sen. Marco Antonio Blasquez said bank executives told him they worry a surge in dollar deposits would alarm U.S. regulators and banks with whom they partner.

"The Mexican banking system is scared," Blasquez told about 200 business owners at Tijuana Chamber of Commerce offices in January.

Mexicans like Hugo Torres, whose storied Rosarito Beach Hotel is popular with Americans, have had to be creative. In 2013, Bank of America closed his account in San Diego after 25 years without explanation. He scatters dollars among Mexican banks in small amounts.

"We have something like 10 banks," he said. "This has gone overboard."

Major U.S. banks won't say how many accounts they closed on the border. JPMorgan Chase & Co. says its U.S. branches shut fewer than 5,000 business accounts of companies based outside the country with up to $20 million in annual sales since 2013 but wouldn't say how many were based in Mexico.

Business chambers say they fielded many complaints in the last two years. "I hear about it all the time, but it's all anecdotal," said Richard Dayoub, president of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

The Mexican Banks Association, the country's main industry group, didn't respond to requests for comment.

Roma found a workaround, but Castro says it sacrificed millions of dollars a year. The family-owned company, which doesn't disclose revenue or profits, does 21 percent of sales in dollars, largely in cash. American retirees who live on Mexico's beachfront and Southern Californians come for medications that Castro says are priced 40 percent lower than U.S. pharmacies.

Roma no longer pays suppliers and employees in dollars, as it did when it opened its first store in the Mexican city bordering San Diego, but landlords still insist on payment in U.S. currency.

"Being from Tijuana, you grow up thinking in dollars," Castro says. "I speak in dollars. If you ask how much something weighs, I answer in pounds. If you ask about the weather, I answer in Fahrenheit. We have the American chip."

When Mexico limited dollar deposits, Roma was among a cadre of large companies that was able to negotiate exemptions. But it came with a price.

Roma's pact with HSBC's Mexican unit deeply cut into profits because the bank dictated less favorable exchange rates on dollar-paying customers, Castro said. Roma also had to limit individual dollar sales to $250, upgrade computer systems and train employees on reporting requirements.

HSBC ended exemptions for Roma and other Mexican companies in December 2012, when it got hit with the $1.9 billion money-laundering fine in the U.S.

Roma suddenly had nowhere to put its dollars. Its U.S. bank, which Castro asked not be named to preserve its relationship, agreed to take them but only for a few months. Armored truck companies charging 5 percent commission shuttled loads of hundreds of thousands of dollars to San Diego, startling U.S. border inspectors.

Roma found another Mexican bank, Grupo Financiero Banorte SA, to accept unlimited dollar deposits under similar terms it negotiated with HSBC. The agreement crimps profits, but Roma feels it has no choice.

Last year, Roma's U.S. bank limited deposits to $20,000 a month, a pittance for a chain of 52 stores. For Castro's father, also Roberto, it's as if the U.S. currency is poison.

"Who wouldn't want dollars? But it seems like they are being treated like drugs," he said.


END

AZMEX EXTRA 6-3-15

AZMEX EXTRA 6 MAR 2015

Note: Rough country, about 30 miles south of the line, between Lukeville & Nogales
Area of numerous fights and of bodies left along the roads, sometime almost daily.
Trails lead into BANWR, or the reservation.



Aggressors who attacked soldiers had weapons and tactical gear
Details Published on Friday March 6, 2015,
Written by Marco A. Manriquez / The Journal

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=46824
Caborca.

Weapons, magazines and 50 kilos of marijuana was seized.

After a soldier was fatally wounded last Wednesday, during a clash near the boundary, in the region known as El Plomo, north of Caborca, while the military forces trying to stop two suspicious vehicles, another element of the Department of Defense was reported out of danger though it will take over 15 days to fully heal, according to medical diagnosis.

During the operation, the military managed to take one of the drug dealers who shot at them, plus a double cabin pickup Toyota brand, line Tacoma, model 2013, dark color.

Inside the vehicle, soldiers found 50 kilograms of marijuana, two firearms a AK-47 called "goat horn" and a 9mm pistol.

They also confiscated four AK-47 magazines; 9 other unspecified, and 3 for a 9 mm .; 100 rounds of .38 Super cartridge; 220 for the "goat horn"; and 224 more of .223 caliber (AR-15) also seized was tactical equipment such as 3 ballistic vests, 5, camouflage pants, plus camisoles(?) and other apparel.

As reported in yesterday's edition, in this medium, the incident when military surveillance was conducted on a trail in that region (10 kilometers west of Sierras del Humo).

end

Monday, March 2, 2015

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 25-2-15

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 25 FEB 2015

Note: Many of those directly provided by U.S. govt. either through aid packages, or BATFE (F&F) to drug gangs.
The AR15/M16 platform is omnipresent throughout Mexico.
From govt to drug cartels is often a very short trip.

Also of interest, but so far very little info, the weapons from Asia and Europe.
It has become very difficult to get good info on firearms and munitions recovered in the past couple years.

Have not been able to verify the current status of the Russian provided AK and ammunition manufacturing facility in Venezuela if it is actually in production.
It could be an ideal venue for providing sanitized AK103's to NGO's in the region.
Would AK's and ammunition to the cartels in Columbia and Mexico be on the Maduro agenda?

Left out of the article was the number of grenades recovered. Last report was about 10k.

thx



70% of weapons seized from narco's in Mexico come from USA
Details Published on Tuesday February 24, 2015,
Written by Special / El Diario
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/nota.php?nota=46214

Mexico, DF.

Most of the high-powered arsenal that is in our country is reserved for the exclusive use of the Army.

United States is the main supplier of weapons to drug trafficking in our country. At least seven of 10 weapons seized from the cartels in recent years out of US gun shops and came to Mexico through the border.

The Attorney General's Office (PGR) confirmed this hypothesis from a detailed investigation and analysis of arms 8,540 firearms taken from organized crime groups, 447 of them in the last year.

In its Second Report, PGR revealed some of the details of these investigations made by the Specialized Investigation of Terrorism, Arms Stockpiling and Trafficking (UEITA) of the Deputy Attorney Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (SEIDO) in coordination unit with the Bureau of Alcohol, Snuff, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of the United States.

"The scans have allowed us to know the trend of the type of weapon that is acquired and used by organized crime and identity of people involved in the smuggling of weapons from the United States to Mexico," the report said.

Many of the findings were not disclosed because they are part of the research, but the PGR confirmed that 70 percent come from the United States and the rest of Asia and Europe.

The SEIDO designed software to systematize data of the weapons arsenal, most of which are high power, thus facilitating traceability to the United States.

Just last week announced the capture of three people who sold weapons to cartels from the United States and entered Mexico through the border from Nogales, Sonora.

In Mexico and the United States it is presumed that the tunnels located in the border area, which are used for the smuggling of drugs and people north side, are also used for transferring money and arms in the opposite direction.

It is recalled that, at the time, the US administration launched the "Fast and Furious" with intent to trace the weapons coming out of the armories of the border and Mexico reached operational. The action failed after the trail of thousands of assault rifles went missing.

Two of the guns that were admitted intentionally to Mexico were used in the murder of Jaime Zapata, Service agent immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, for its acronym in English) in February 2011.

High power
PGR investigations show that the arsenal with which has organized crime is the same firepower than any elite police force in the world, and even equate to the armed forces.

Of the 8,450 weapons that have been secured, just over 70 percent are long guns and the rest are handguns. Of the 447 taken in the last year, 325 were long guns and 122 are handguns.

The classification made as to the guns shows that 48.9 percent are 7.62x39 caliber assault rifles as those used by AK-47 AKA the Goat Horn, while 22.8 percent are .223 caliber weapons, which correspond to the AR-15 semiautomatic rifles.

END

AZMEX POLICY 25-2-15

AZMEX POLICY 25 FEB 2015

Note: A busy AZMEX day. Several articles of interest.

Mexico presides over the conference on arms trade treaty
Editorial Mexicana Organization
February 25, 2015
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/notas/n3718839.htm

MEXICO: Mexico City presides over the work of the Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on Arms Trade, the first legally binding global agreement, which regulates the sale of conventional weapons, reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the Presidency of Mexico seeks to contribute to neutral and transparent decision making on key institutional and procedural issues under the treaty regime that will allow their full and effective implementation way.

He said that at a meeting the main issues that will provide structure to the treaty, among which are the rules, format, mandate and future configuration of the Permanent Secretariat and financial regulation were addressed.

And technical issues critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the treaty, such as the national reports that States Parties must submit to guarantee the legal trade in weapons and prevent their diversion.

This treaty is the first legally binding global agreement that regulates the trade in conventional weapons, and establishes a legal framework for accountability and transparency in international transfers of these weapons.

Following the entry into force of the treaty, on December 24, 62 States have ratified it and 130 have signed.

The SRE explained that the formal meeting was held in preparation for the First Conference of States Parties (1CEP) of the Treaty on Arms Trade (ATT) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Participating delegates from 82 states, as well as officials from international organizations, regional organizations and representatives of civil society.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry said it was agreed that the next meeting of the preparatory process will take place in Vienna on 20 and 21 April, and in Geneva, from 6 to 8 July. Mexico City will host the First Conference of States Parties from 24 to 27 August.

The delegation consisted Mexico's ambassador to Mexico in Trinidad and Tobago, Mario Arriola Woog; Director General for the United Nations, Minister Ana Paola Barbosa, as well as officials from the ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs.
Notimex

- See more at: http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/notas/n3718839.htm#sthash.t4wtWZsb.dpuf





They will define carrying of weapons by foreigners
Alberto Morales and Juan Arvizu | El Universal
Wednesday February 25, 2015

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2015/impreso/definiran-portacion-de-armas-a-extranjeros-223619.html

politica@eluniversal.com.mx

President Enrique Peña Nieto sent the Senate a bill to reform the Firearms Act with which the Secretariat of National Defense may give temporary permits to carry weapons for security officers accompanying foreign heads of state, Government, Ministers or equivalent official visits.

This long as the case of revolvers or pistols semiautomatic operation, whose caliber does not exceed 40 mm or equivalent.

According to the initiative, foreign public officials may carry only the weapons they use in their country of origin as part of the team assigned by the institution to which they belong.

Only "in exceptional cases authorize the entry and possession of other weapons, subject to the opinion of the Secretariat of National Defense the need to use is justified".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for processing that permits from the Department of Defense, at least 15 days before the start of the visit at the request of the State or subject to applicable international law.

Enrique Berruga, former deputy foreign minister, said that today there is no bilateral treaty or agreement governing the entry of armed security elements from other countries to Mexico.

He explained that at the time of a view of Heads of State, an agreement between the logistics between security teams, where the number of agents and the type of weapons they will use is specified is performed.

Former Deputy Secretary recalled that Mexico, as host country, is responsible for the security of the leaders and personalities, which is in charge of the Presidential.

The initiative also raised amend the Law on Firearms to customs officials and foreign migration enter and carry their weapons of charge at the point of customs and immigration location country who are selected for the implementation of a new scheme cooperation.

Explained that the possession of weapons will be necessary for the implementation of customs and immigration pre-inspections that may be in place at borders and points of entry.

The initiative states that the Department of Defense shall grant temporary possession of weapons to foreign immigration or customs accredited public servants.

END




Reform Act of arms improve competitiveness: SRE
Natalia Gómez Quintero | El Universal
11: 38Ciudad of Mexico | Wednesday February 25, 2015

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2015/reforma-a-ley-de-armas-mejorara-competitividad-sre-1080019.html

Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said the initiative on amendments and additions to the Federal Firearms Act to the Senate is part of a major effort to generate shared prosperity and improve competitiveness in North America

The Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade said the initiative on amendments and additions to the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, sent yesterday to the Senate, he enrolled in a major effort to generate shared prosperity and improve competitiveness the region of North America.

"One tool that streamlines to promote mobility of goods, services and people has been so in different parts of the world has been implemented as via a pre release and that basically allows immigration and customs authorities work together providing a single procedure, "he said.

At a press conference said that the generation of these so-called pre offices are essential in a relationship with the dynamism with North American countries-Mexico, United States and Canada and with the aim of generating shared prosperity.

"In this logic the initiative fits that customs and immigration officials in the three countries, are an essential part of their function carrying weapons, so the pre release implies is that the laws are harmonized to allow each other they can do in their work, "he said.

end