AZMEX UPDATE 23-1-17

AZMEX UPDATE 23 JAN 2017


AGUA PRIETA, SONORA
Posted in Agua Prieta
45 / a Military Zone; A year of work.
Jan 23, 2017
WRITTEN BY ABRIL MONDRAGÓN

Http://laverdaddeaguaprieta.com/site/index.php/agua-prieta/item/1206-45-a-zona-militar-un-ano-de-trabajo

45 / a Military Zone; A year of work.
In order to maintain the welfare and social security of the Mexican people in the Northwest of the Country, the Secretariat of National Defense through the Commanders of the Second Military Region and 45 / a. Military Zone, reports on the work carried out in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2016.

The military personnel assigned to this territorial command, during the aforementioned period, arrested 222 criminals, as well as drugs, armaments, cash, vehicles, fuel, real estate, aircraft, which correspond to:

 48,575,468 Kilograms of marijuana.
 1,054,767 kilograms of cocaine.
 140,014 Kilograms of heroin.
 2,638,661 kilograms of methamphetamine.
 7,400 Kilograms of marijuana seeds.
 79 psychotropic pills.
 1 kilogram of opium gum.
 280 Vehicles.
 2 Aircraft.
 122 Long weapons.
 68 Short weapons.
 54,167 Cartridges of different sizes.
 636 Magazines.
 11 Grenades.
 $ 537,335.00 Dollars.
 85,366.00 Pesos.
 925 marijuana wrappers.
 1,878 Doses of cocaine.
 358 Dose of methamphetamine.
 170 liters of aviation gas.
 15,700 liters of gasoline.
 2 antennas.
 16 Properties.

In addition, 15 marijuana plantations with an area of ​​32,143 square meters were located and destroyed by the method of labor and incineration. Likewise, 42 areas that could be used as clandestine airstrips were disabled.

The detainees and the seizures were placed at the disposal of the corresponding authorities. With actions like these, the Armed Forces reaffirm their commitment to the people of Mexico to ensure and safeguard their well-being, through the activities that contribute to public needs in a prompt and timely manner.

Thank you for the collaboration of the population for their support in reporting anonymous and totally confidential illegal activities to the following telephone numbers and emails: Headquarters of the Military Region II (01) 686 557 1095 or to the email denuncia.45zm @ Mail.sedena.gob.mx, Headquarters of the 45 / a. Military Zone 01 (631) 3130316, (631) 3521252, 24 hours a day.

END



Men say they were kidnapped, tied to border fence
Nogales International
Jan 23, 2017 Updated Jan 23, 2017

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/men-say-they-were-kidnapped-tied-to-border-fence/article_fd448132-e190-11e6-be81-2317fe2d7acd.html

This map shows the location where a group of Sonoran ranch hands were reportedly tied to the border fence on Jan. 19.

Authorities discovered two Mexican men tied to the border fence west of Nogales and three more who said they had received similar treatment at the hands of armed kidnappers.

The men were discovered Thursday night by agents operating a remote surveillance camera at the Nogales Border Patrol Station, who spotted them in an area known as Green Canyon near Border Monument 125, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff Antonio Estrada.

Field agents dispatched to the scene encountered two men still tied to the U.S. side of the fence and three more who had managed to free themselves, Estrada said. A sixth member of the group had apparently fled the scene.

The men reportedly told agents they had been working at a ranch on the Mexican side of the border when they were accosted by a group of four-to-six unknown individuals armed with rifles. The assailants allegedly struck some of the ranch hands with their rifle butts before tying them to the fence.

Asked why the men would have been tied to the U.S. side of the fence if they were assaulted and kidnapped in Mexico, Estrada said: "They obviously wanted Border Patrol to pick them up."

The Border Patrol's Tucson Sector did not immediately respond to a request for information, and Estrada said the circumstances that led to alleged kidnapping weren't clear from the information received by his office.

"It could be a combination of things," he said. "It could be a rip-off, maybe they didn't pay their way through, maybe they didn't get permission to go through there, maybe they interfered… Who knows what the dynamics of that situation are."

The assault reportedly happened at around 6-7 p.m. and according to the sheriff's dispatch report, the Border Patrol encountered the victims at 9:45 p.m. that night.

All of the victims picked up by agents were from Sonora: two each from Nogales and Ciudad Obregon and one from Hermosillo, Estrada said. Four were taken to the hospital but he did not have information on their condition.

In June, three men were found tied to the fence west of Nogales after they apparently refused to cross drug loads.

Estrada said the incidents show how organized border crime activity in Mexico is "kind of spilling over to these mostly rural areas."

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