Note: 8 Galil and 7 M4's? Rocky Point, Son
Weapons delivered to Penasco police
Details Posted on Friday, March 30, 2012 7:20
Written by Azucena Mazon / El Diario
WEAPONS WERE HAND DELIVERED BY MAYOR ALEXANDER ZEPEDA.
Puerto Penasco
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/index.php/local/noticia-local/
puerto-penasco/1190-entregan-armamento-a-policias-de-penasco
With an investment of 390 thousand pesos Subsemun resources were
dedicated to arms to elements of Public Safety in Puerto Peñasco.
The armament consists of 15 semiautomatic and automatic weapons
caliber 5.56 x 45, Gali model and M4 were delivered to local agents
by Mayor Alejandro Zepeda and public safety director Lazaro Hernandez
Bravo.
There the police commander said Lazar Hernandez that such weapons
will be used only by members who met the requirements issued by the
Department of Defense and the State Government to pass through the C3
and approve the special training course.
In presenting the weapons the mayor Alejandro Zepeda said that
besides equipment and training this year police stations were
rehabilitated and new units were delivered, and wage increases.
Asked officers to follow all instructions and use these weapons
responsibly, only when some event arises that threatens his life.
Feds seize more than 10K rounds of ammo
(March 30th, 2012 @ 3:18pm)
http://www.ktar.com/6/1522311/Feds-seize-10K-rounds-of-ammo
NOGALES, Ariz. -- Federal authorities in southern Arizona say they've
seized more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition from a tractor-trailer
headed to Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nogales Port were
screening travelers Thursday night.
A 47-year-old Mexican man driving a big rig claimed he lost the key
to one of the locked compartments officers wanted to search after a
canine team alerted to the presence of ammunition.
Officers forced open the locked compartment and discovered the
ammunition in a mixture of 9 mm, and .38- and .45-caliber rounds.
Also found were 63 magazines including an assortment, such as those
used in AK47 assault rifles and high-capacity magazine drums.
The driver was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. His name
wasn't released.
RETURN ARMS TO MUNICIPAL POLICE IN MOCORITO
Friday March 30, 2012
http://www.riodoce.com.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=12992
Army personnel returned arms to the Municipal Police Mocorito, after
the alleged incident for inspection for evidence of links to the
clashes that have occurred in the municipality.
With this, the police returned to their normal duties after the
military gave their approval and their weapons returned last night
because they could not see that there were irregularities in them.
Staff of 42 Infantry Battalion disarmed Mocorito Municipal Police
after a confrontation in which two soldiers were injured, although
not established the link between the two.
Yesterday, General Moses Melo Garcia told the media that disarmament
was a routine check to see if the weapons of law enforcement officers
were being used by members of organized crime groups.
During the inspection, the director of the Municipal Police, Manuel
Tavarez Soto, was transferred to the facilities of the 42 Infantry
Battalion to answer questions from the military. However, according
to Gov. Mario Lopez Valdez, he was released from the afternoon of
yesterday, found no irregularities against him.
This morning, the newly installed military personnel in the
municipality of Mocorito to start enforcement work.
Five Juárez officers slain may have been set up
By Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera and Lourdes Cardenas \ El Paso Times
Posted: 03/30/2012 12:00:00 AM MDT
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20287030/5-juarez-officers-slain-
were-ambushed-at-party
JUAREZ -- The five Juárez police officers shot and killed Wednesday
night might have been set up by other officers who might have been
working for drug cartels, authorities said Thursday.
"One of the lines of investigation is related to the possibility that
the officers were set up from inside the department," said state
prosecutor Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas. "This is a hypothesis, but it is
not a secret that in many cases hit men receive information from
somebody close to the victims."
The officers -- three men and two women -- were shot and killed at a
party by several gunmen. Two other officers were taken to a hospital.
One of them is in stable condition, and the other one is still
fighting for his life, said Juárez Police Chief Julián Leyzaola.
All of the officers were off duty when they were they were surprised
by the gunmen.
According to the state prosecutor's office, 26 casings normally used
by AK-47s and six casings from a 9mm were found in the home where the
attack occurred.
The officers killed were identified as Brenda Angelica
Ulloa, 28; Maria del Socorro Romero Olague, 34; Juan Manuel Rodríguez
Ceballos, 35; Blas Alfredo Barrera Debora, 46; and Martin Graciano
Ayala, 43.
The slayings are the deadliest attack on police officers since
Leyzaola became police chief in March 2011. This is also the first
time prosecutors said that infiltration of the police department by
criminals is being investigated.
On Thursday, Juárez Mayor Héctor "Teto" Murguía refused to answer
questions about any possible ceremony to honor the fallen officers.
"We will see," he said.
He also refused to discuss any future strategies to protect the lives
of other polices officers, who last month were taken to heavily
guarded hotels for their protection. The officers were sequestered
after eight of them were killed in January while on duty, and a narco
banner said one officer would be killed every day unless Leyzaola
resigned.
The banner accuses Leyzaola of favoring one cartel over another. The
Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels have been battling each other for
control of the drug-trafficking in the area. Since 2008, about 9,400
people have been killed.
The police were taken out of the hotels without notice three weeks ago.
"We are not going to discuss our further security strategies,"
Murguía said.
He said officers should avoid gathering in groups for their own safety.
"We have evidence that when officers let down their guard, when they
party as it happened yesterday, they are attacked," he said.
Murguía complained that a law doesn't allow officers to take their
weapons home.
"They (police officers) have all the right to have a good time, but
now they are the target of criminals, and they can't be caught off
guard," Murguía said.
So far this year, 18 officers have been killed.
Murguía spoke about the issue during an event to announce a new phase
in the city's overall strategy to reduce crime. At the news
conference, he and Leyzaola called the police officers "brave and
misunderstood" (valientes e incomprendidos).
"It is true that there were some bad elements that were not respected
by society, but it is also fair to recognize that our police today
are giving the most precious thing they have: their own life for the
peace of this city," Leyzaola said.
Murguia and Leyzaola stressed that there is an ongoing reduction of
all types of crime in the city, and they said that criminals are
being isolated.
"Before we had 2,000 crimes per month; now we have around 800,"
Leyzaola said. "It is true that we are not going to end
delinquency ... that would be utopia, but we are certain and
confident that we are going to isolate criminals."
Earlier in Washington, D.C., the assistant secretary of state for the
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said
that local and state law enforcement agencies in Mexico are
infiltrated by organized crime and that Juárez remains the most
dangerous city in the world.
"These kinds of comments drive away investments," said Murguía.
He also invited business owners, journalists and public officials to
visit Juárez.
He said Juárez is not the most dangerous city in the world. He said
it could be in the top five.
And the U.S. consul in Juárez said that the warning against U.S.
citizens traveling to Juárez continues.
"The are some indications that crime has declined," Thomas G. Rogan,
U.S. consul. "But it is still necessary to wait for more improvements
before visiting the city."
On Thursday, the modest green house on Colonia Oasis Revolución where
the officers were killed remained almost unchanged.
No police line protected the house. Thick streaks of dried up blood
could still be seen on the small, paved porch. Several crushed cans
of beer and bottles of wine coolers were spread throughout the
grounds. Three AK-47 bullet casings and a pair of sunglasses were
forgotten by the state's forensic team.
Neighborhood resident Carlos Medina identified the officer who owned
the house as Eva Austorga Mendoza, 26, who has lived there for almost
20 years.
Medina said Austorga lived with her mother, daughter and son. Most of
the family left almost a week ago to visit their family in Pachuca in
the state of Hidalgo. Her daughter goes to elementary school and her
son is 2 or 3 years old, he said.
Her whereabouts was unclear Thursday.
Medina said it was the first time Austorga had organized a get-
together with other officers. One neighbor who preferred not to be
identified said the party began about 3 p.m. The officers were
outside her home listening to music. Two uniformed officers stopped
by at some point to drink a beer, he said.
The neighbor said he was afraid to approach Austorga after she became
a police officer about 2åyears ago and had not talked to her very
much since then. But Medina said Austorga was a kind person and a
good mother.
"Everybody says things about police officers, but not all officers
are like that," he said.
Medina said he wasn't home when the attack took place but still
managed to see a police car drive away with the two wounded officers.
The violence had left his mother very afraid, he said.
Another neighbor who preferred not to be identified said she had
known Austorga for 10 years and had expressed concerns when she
learned Austorga was joining the police force.
"We felt very sad. We didn't want her to join because of the
violence," she said.
Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera may be reached at
a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.
Lourdes Cardenas may be reached at lcardenas@elpasotimes.com; 546-6249.
