AZMEX UPDATE 13-11-11

AZMEX UPDATE 13 NOV 2011

Note: AZ, SON Drug activity. In the northern Sonora area, the
Mexican Army has been making some real impacts on the balance of
trade last few months, seizing tons of pot and much other drugs. But,
maybe doing too much?

Sierra Vista cops bust drug smugglers, seize $2.9 mill worth of pot
CREATED 4:03 PM
Web Producer: Brian Pryor
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/133717173.html

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Sierra Vista Police seized 8,000 pounds of
marijuana being smuggled in a semi truck carrying cattle and a nearby
ranch.

An officer with the department's K-9 unit conducted the stop on
Highway 90 near Highway 82. The canine alerted to the vehicle and
officers found 200 bales of marijuana concealed in the vehicle.

Authorities arrested 39 year-old Juan Alberto Miranda-Torres, a
Mexican national from Nogales, Sonora. Miranda-Torres was booked into
the Cochise County Jail.

Officers also searched a ranch located in the 2300 block of Sands
Ranch Road. As officers arrived four people fled on foot and three
were found and arrested. The search resulted in approximately 200
bales of Marijuana stored in a vehicle and trailer on the property.
Investigators believe that the ranch was used to package and smuggle
pot.

In total the pot seized carries a street value of $2.9 million
dollars, the vehicles and cattle were also seized during the incident.

Juan Miranda-Torres was charged with Possession of Marijuana for
Sale, Transporting Marijuana for Sale and Possession of Marijuana.
The three subjects at the property who tried to flee; Jorge Armando
Martinez-Madero, 39, Luis Alfredo Islave, 28, and Javier Rubio-Nunez,
30, all Mexican citizens were charged with Conspiracy to Commit
Possession of Marijuana for Sale and Conspiracy to Commit
Transporting Marijuana for Sale. All subjects were booked into the
Cochise County Jail.

A second search warrant was served in the 300 block of Mustang Road
in Huachuca City. There was no one home at the time of the service
of the warrant but evidence found in the search indicates the home
owner is involved in the distribution and sale of Marijuana. Over
$50K in cash and several vehicles were seized from the property.

Note: just south of Yuma

Seize 8.6 tons. SLRC marijuana
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2011 14:32 DRAFTING \ theOfficial
SAN LUIS RC

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=19136:aseguran-86-tons-de-
marihuana-en-slrc&catid=58:justicia&Itemid=181

Elements of the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) said more than
8 tons of marijuana in the Military Checkpoint "Cocopah" in the
municipality of San Luis Rio Colorado.

Through a press release, the military base reported that troops
belonging to the territorial command established in the checkpoint
"Cocopah", located at km 176.5 of the highway Sonoyta - San Luis Rio
Colorado, Son., Secured 8 tons 600 kilograms of marijuana.
This seizure was a result of the review to a tractor truck with name
for the transport of LPG, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Tijuana, in which
was located 830 packages they were found hidden in a special
compartment within the tank.
For this review we used an ALL TERRAIN vehicle delivered to the
Mexican Army and Air Force under the Merida Initiative last October,
which is evidenced troops training in the use of such equipment and
strengthens the ability to intercept illicit drugs using cutting edge
technology and non-intrusive procedures which guarantee respect for
human rights.
This action was achieved arrest driver of the vehicle which was
available to the Federal Public Ministry and the
enervante.Comentarios (0)
Last Updated (Saturday 12 November 2011 14:47)

Note: doing maybe too much? Or just going back to long standing
traditions? Wars tend to be a bit brutal.

Major change at the 60th Infantry Battalion
Details Posted on Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:06
Written by Martin Alberto Mendoza
http://www.diariodelyaqui.mx/portal/secciones/principal/8553-cambian-
a-comandante-del-60-batallon-de-infanteria

Carlos Sanchez was concentrated Mederos Hermosillo

Mederos Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Sanchez, commander of 60 Infantry
Battalion, was concentrated at the headquarters of the Fourth
Military Zone based in Hermosillo, and until yesterday afternoon had
not yet arrived in the new military command to take that responsibility.

This was learned unofficially, because the Ministry of National
Defense (SEDENA) has not issued any statement about it, however,
sources close to the institute revealed that Mederos armed Sanchez
and was notified of the change.

It is mentioned that this happened since the first of November, due
to regular movements are specified in the military that day or the
15th of each month, but it was from the previous week and since then
the military high command began to take leave officials of other
institutions.

Although still in the military installations of 60 Battalion, ensures
that only awaits the arrival of his successor in order to deliver the
military command in an act that is not known whether it will have
formal character.

So far not officially know the reasons for their removal, however,
there were countless complaints and accusations of abuse,
arbitrariness and burglaries committed by soldiers under his command.

Not only the public was affected by these abuses and verbal, physical
and psychological, but because of illegal searches and destruction,
but also municipal policemen were victims of these repressive actions.

This after they were forced to descend patrols in which they
traveled, lay down their arms and be psychologically tortured to
reveal their alleged links with criminal groups, but never criminally
proceeded against them.

Housewives, employees and even owners of some shops, also were
affected, some for theft in their homes and others from beatings and
theft of their belongings.

One of the most affected was the colony Villa Bonita, and Alameda,
where they raided without warrants for wrongfully abusing its
inhabitants, who not only their belongings but frisk their cell
phones and in other cases seized appliances and to clothing.

One of the most notorious cases was the outrage committed against the
officer first removed from the Municipal Police, Juan Pedro Acosta
Palomares, to cause a smooth stroke after his home on two occasions
this year.

In the first of the raids, which occurred on February 21,
appropriated a bag containing 40,000 pesos, and the September 14 re-
entered the same house down the alley located between Child Heroes
Honduras and Jesus Garcia, seizing 5 000 pesos and a lot of clothes.

None of the citizen complaints that were filed in the Attorney
General of the State (PGJE) and to the Federal Public Ministry
prospered, and thus never initiated any criminal proceedings against
soldiers.

Men crash pick-up, leave behind pot haul
Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 9:17 am
Nogales International |
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/men-crash-pick-up-leave-
behind-pot-haul/article_ae8853ec-0c80-11e1-9ea4-001cc4c03286.html

Authorities are looking for two men who fled their vehicle after
crashing into a wall in a Nogales subdivision, leaving behind 718
pounds of marijuana.
At approximately 2 p.m. on Nov. 4, a Santa Cruz County Metro Task
Force officer working in the Monte Carlo subdivision attempted to
stop a grey 2000 Dodge pick-up after allegedly spotting several
bundles of marijuana in plain view.

"The vehicle failed to stop for the agents and fled, subsequently
colliding into a wall on dead end Cananea," said Lt. Raoul Rodriguez
of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.
The two male occupants fled the truck and an "extensive" search was
conducted to find them, Rodriguez said. "However, these efforts went
unrewarded."
Metro said the 77 bundles of pot had an estimated street value of
approximately $250,000.

Nogales police seize meth load
$484,000 worth of meth
Police pulled $484,000 worth of meth from this truck on Monday.
Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 9:15 am
By JB Miller
For the Nogales International | 0 comments
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/nogales-police-seize-meth-
load/article_96ca8c66-0c80-11e1-918a-001cc4c03286.html

Nogales police said they seized $484,000 worth of methamphetamines on
Monday during a traffic stop on Interstate 19.
An NPD officer working with a dog on interdiction detail performed
the stop shortly after 11 a.m. after he observed a Ford pick-up with
an equipment violation at Kilometer 12.5.
"The canine was deployed to search the car and the canine alerted to
the presence of narcotics," said Lt. Carlos Jimenez of the Nogales
Police Department. "The car was searched thoroughly and 22.1 pounds
of methamphetamines were discovered concealed in the car."
The driver, 40-year-old Ruben Barnett-Leal, of Nogales, Sonora was
taken into custody and the truck was impounded.
"The suspect, evidence and the investigation was turned over to the
Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force for further action," Jimenez said.

AZMEX BACKGROUND 12-11-11

AZMEX BACKGROUND 12 NOV 2011

Note: not limited to Mexico

Mexican democracy tested by drug lords in politics
Nov. 12, 2011 11:07 AM
AP
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/12/20111112mexican-
democracy-tested-by-drug-lords-politics.html

MORELIA, Mexico -- Three major political parties are campaigning in
the Mexican president's home state, but it's the groups that aren't
on Sunday's ballot that have everyone worried: the drug cartels.

In hilly, rural Michoacan, a state known for its avocados, marijuana
and meth, the mobsters are putting Mexico's halting democracy to a
test, using violence and bribes to influence elections for governor,
the legislature and all 113 mayors.

While many other Mexican states have been penetrated by narco-
politics, nowhere is that influence as overt as in Michoacan, where
the electoral season so far has featured the kidnapping of nine
pollsters, the gunning down of a mayor, and the withdrawal of at
least a dozen candidates frightened off the campaign trail by
organized crime.

"Organized crime is getting involved in discouraging candidates, to
force (elections) with only one candidate," said Fausto Vallejo,
gubernatorial candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or
PRI. "And that is happening not only to the PRI, but in all the three
political parties."

The stakes in Sunday's vote are heightened by the fact that President
Felipe Calderon is from Michoacan, and made his home state the launch
pad for his war against the drug cartels five years ago. His sister,
Luisa Maria "Cocoa" Calderon, is running for governor and pledges to
deepen her brother's offensive.

She is running for Calderon's conservative National Action Party, and
is leading in most polls on what is seen as a highly symbolic race,
the last state election before the presidential ballot next July.

So far, the reigning Knights Templar cartel, along with the remnants
of the La Familia cartel, have threatened candidates, run for office
themselves, and sponsored protests, sometimes paying residents in
return for their loyalty.

The PRI, which ruled Mexico for 71 years until it was unseated in
2000, is running an energetic campaign to reclaim the presidency next
year, and a victory in Michoacan would be a huge boost. Calderon
accuses the PRI of promising to make deals with drug cartels in
exchange for peace.

Accusations that some candidates are cartel members in disguise have
prompted many candidates to ask federal prosecutors for letters
stating there are no criminal charges or investigations against them
- a sort of 'proof of purity' letter now in fashion.

Michoacan both produces drugs and is a key trafficking route, and the
cartels have focused much of their attention on mayoral offices,
notes political analyst Raymundo Riva Palacio.

The traffickers "have understood that it costs less, and guarantees
them more, to control local politics and local police," he said.

Given the cartels' power, it is hard to see why anyone would risk
being a mayor in Michoacan.

When the mayor of Apatzingan was pressed by local media about a
string of kidnappings in his town, he practically broke down.

"I want to go away, I want to resign this job, because I wasn't made
for this. I can't even ensure the safety of my own children, who are
also in danger," Mayor Genaro Guizar said in an emotional interview
with the Milenio television station.

On Nov. 2, Ricardo Guzman, mayor of La Piedad, was gunned down
outside a fast-food restaurant while handing out fliers for Luisa
Maria Calderon, the gubernatorial front-runner. Four candidates for
local posts immediately asked for increased protection.

Those who knew him say Guzman resisted the cartels and paid a price
for it. In March, gunmen killed La Piedad police chief Jose Luis
Guerrero, just a couple of months after he took the job.

His successor, Miguel Angel Rosas Perez, was recruited from the
better trained federal police, but he too came under attack, when
more than 40 men drove to his police station in a 10-vehicle convoy
in July, sprayed it with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and then
lobbed grenades at it. Rosas Perez survived.

Protected only by underpaid, poorly armed local police, mayors make
easy targets. Nationwide, 25 have been killed in the past five years.

German Tena, leader of the National Action party in Michoacan, says
six of his party's candidates have dropped out of mayoral races.

"In those six, there were some threats, warnings not to run, and in
others, fear ... . In all six cases there was fear of drug cartels,"
Tena said. "The criminals are supporting PRI candidates. In some
towns and cities they are protecting them, supporting them, and
inhibiting our candidates and those of the PRD," the leftist
Democratic Revolution Party which currently holds the governorship of
Michocoan.

The PRD has seen two mayoral candidates drop out. "They resigned for
personal and health situations, but of course there is a version that
it could have been because of pressure from these organized crime
groups," said the party's state leader, Victor Baez.

The PRI denies its candidates are the favorites of drug cartels, and
Vallejo, the party's candidate for governor, says all the PRI state
and municipal candidates hold new 'proof of purity' letters.

But such letters are no guarantee of anything. Saul Solis, a former
police chief in Michoacan, had one when he ran unsuccessfully for
Congress in 2009 as a Green Party candidate despite being an alleged
cartel lieutenant. Solis is now under arrest, accused of various
attacks, one of which killed an officer and four soldiers.

Julio Cesar Godoy Toscano of Michocoan was elected to Congress in
2009, only to turn fugitive after being charged with aiding drug
trafficking and money laundering.

Federal efforts to arrest narco-politicians here in the past have
been an embarrassing failure. In 2009, prosecutors ordered the arrest
of 12 Michoacan mayors and 23 other state and local officials on
allegations that they had protected the La Familia cartel. But by
April, every one of them had been acquitted. Prosecutors filed a
complaint against one judge for improperly acquitting the officials,
but mayors say the charges were weak and often based on a single
informant.

Average citizens don't see the federal government making much headway
in Michoacan. "Safer? Every day we feel less safe, but we can't even
talk about it, because they're always listening," said a mechanic
named Josue sitting at a small restaurant in Maravatio, a farming
town. Josue asked his last not be used for fear of reprisals.

The remote mountain town of Arteaga is the hometown of Servando
Gomez, alias "La Tuta," founder of the Knights Templar cartel, a
pseudo-religious drug gang known as a major trafficker of
methamphetamine. But residents here know Gomez as a former grade-
school teacher and a humble man who is said to have helped people pay
their medical bills.

Vallejo, the PRI candidate, says Michoacan cartels try to win over
residents by casting themselves "in the social angle, like Robin Hood."

"Sometimes they will punish a guy who beats his wife," Vallejo said.
"They'll tell they money lender, even 'you're charging too much, it's
not fair what you're charging. And you, lime grower, pay your workers
better.'"

In places like Apatzingan the cartel is so strong it has rallied
hundreds of supporters to demand the withdrawal of federal police,
ostensibly for abusing townspeople with unjustified shootings and
searches. Some marchers painted "Templars 100 percent" on their
clothing.

Gen. Manuel Garcia, Michoacan's public safety secretary, said the
cartels paid people to protest. Their control, he said, "is by money,
or fear, or both."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2011/11/12/20111112mexican-democracy-tested-by-drug-lords-
politics.html#ixzz1dXuwkOpV

AZMEX EXTRA 11-11-11

AZMEX EXTRA 11 NOV 2011

Note: Just a matter of time?

The Senate of Mexico asks to extradite those responsible for Fast and
Furious
The petition to the federal government to require the United States a
punishment to the full extent of the law to the officers involved in
operations for the transfer of weapons
Notimex
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?
m=nota&seccion=portada&cat=28&id_nota=782545

The Senate asked the federal government of Mexico to require its U.S.
counterpart to punish to the fullest extent of the law to those
responsible for operating fast and furious and wide receiver.

This, to express its strong rejection of these operations for the
transfer of weapons that U.S. government agencies orchestrated
through the border with Mexico, since violate the principles of
shared responsibility and full respect for the jurisdiction of each
country.

Similarly, the Senate demanded that the Mexican government to
integrate the preliminary investigation and the judicial authorities
to record those operations, to initiate the extradition of those
responsible.

However, the full Senate commended the action taken by the U.S.
President, Barak Obama, to regulate the sale of guns in the states
bordering the Mexican Republic.

Thus, the senators applauded the initiative presented by the American
legislator John Cornyn, which prohibits granting resources to
operations for controlled delivery of weapons to suspected traffickers.

However, they regretted that Congress has objected to the proposal of
the prosecutor, Eric Holder, seeking help to stop traffic in illegal
weapons from that country to ours.

Therefore, the Senate urged the U.S. and Mexican governments and
outlines actions to strengthen bilateral cooperation against
organized crime based on the principles of sovereignty and
responsibility.

Similarly, U.S. legislators invited to continue joining efforts "to
strengthen the capacity of our governments in the spirit of
cooperation shown in the last parliamentary meeting Mexico-United
States."

Meanwhile, the president of the Committee on Foreign Relations, North
America, Adriana Gonzalez, said that 'Wide Receiver' and 'Fast and
furious'' undoubtedly hurt the cooperation "to combat organized
crime, making it necessary to condemn once more.

PAN Senator Luis Alberto Villarreal Garcia, said that under no
circumstances should we not continue the strong rejection of
programs, which 'will last for years claiming lives of Mexicans. "

Meanwhile, PRI Sen. Fernando Baeza questioned the proposals as' how
are we going to ask U.S. authorities to enforce the law if we have
not made a preliminary inquiry into the facts of Fast and Furious and
Wide Receiver. "

The legislator said that the operation is an offense in Mexico, and
ordered that in addition to the preliminary investigation and
appropriation 'should have been applied for the extradition of
persons who have violated the Mexican legal system. "

'So if you're going to ask that they (the U.S.) apply the law also
require that the Mexican authorities do not tolerate this and
relevant prosecutions, "said the Senator from Chihuahua.
2011-11-10 19:26:00

AZMEX EXTRA 10-11-11

AZMEX EXTRA 10 NOV 2011

Ex-official leaked Fast, Furious memo
Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2011
12:00 am | Comments
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ex-official-leaked-
fast-furious-memo/article_4ef5790a-c9be-5df3-a909-9bbfa6ad1e68.html

Dennis Burke, the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, has admitted he
leaked a memo related to Operation Fast and Furious in a move being
scrutinized by Congress and Justice Department internal investigators.
Burke resigned Aug. 30 in the wake of the expanding controversy over
the gun-smuggling investigation that allowed about 2,000 firearms
from Phoenix-area gun shops to be smuggled into Mexico.
It emerged Tuesday that on Aug. 16, two weeks before Burke resigned,
he had admitted to Justice Department internal investigators that he
leaked the document, which has been investigated by congressional
Republicans, especially U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.
The memo has not been made public, but Grassley said it includes
information critical of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives agent who blew the whistle on Operation Fast and Furious.
A set of talking points also accompanied the leaked memo, Grassley said.
"This looks like a clear and intentional violation of the Privacy
Act, as well as an attempt at whistle-blower retaliation," Grassley
said during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Later in the day, Burke's attorneys sent a letter to Cynthia
Schnedar, the Justice Department's acting inspector general, and
released the letter publicly. In it, Burke said a reporter contacted
him and mentioned a memo written by the whistle-blower, Special Agent
John Dodson.
"It was clear to Dennis from their conversation that the reporter had
either seen the memo or had it read to him," the letter says.
"Dennis' intention was to give context to information that the
reporter already had to explain that investigations similar to
Operation Fast and Furious had been previously proposed by ATF," it
goes on. "The investigation proposed by Agent Dodson was closed, and
the memo did not contain any grand jury or otherwise classified
information."
Burke's admission did not satisfy Grassley, who put out a statement
late Tuesday.
"The Justice Department should not be allowed to continue
scapegoating the one person who has resigned," Grassley said in the
statement. "We're in contact with Mr. Burke's attorneys and will
continue to seek additional information about the document leak and
retaliatory talking points."
The exchange over the leak in Tuesday's hearing was notably halting
and awkward, as Grassley and Attorney General Eric Holder
acknowledged their own previous discussion of the leak, and Holder
tried to avoid discussing the subject in public.
"In a different time in Washington. I'm not sure that information you
just said would have been shared with everyone here, but so be it,"
Holder said.
Grassley interjected: "You understand that I told you over the phone
conversation that if you want me not to ask these questions, to have
your staff work with my staff, and give the details so that I would
know that this would be an inappropriate question to ask at this
hearing."
Holder responded: "There were a couple of leaks, and those leaks are
under investigation by the inspector general, by the Office of
Professional Responsibility, and I'm not in a position to comment on
an ongoing investigation."
Contact reporter Tim Steller at 807-8427 or tsteller@azstarnet.com

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ex-
official-leaked-fast-furious-memo/article_4ef5790a-c9be-5df3-
a909-9bbfa6ad1e68.html#ixzz1dJZJ5Vns

AZMEX EXTRA 9 -11-11

Note;  weakest link?

Fast and Furious memo remains secret despite leak

Fast and Furious memo remains secret despite leak

Tim Steller, Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 12:30 pm | Comment

Matt York / The Associated Press

Former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke admitted Tuesday that he leaked a document related to an ATF whistleblower.

Related Documents

• Related: Burke admits leak

Everyone's writing about a document that they haven't seen.

Former U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke admitted publicly late Tuesday that he had leaked a memo by ATF whistleblower John Dodson. Burke's admission was first reported here, and also covered here and here and, in my new story here.

This answered a question that was awkwardly discussed in a Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

But it didn't answer the question on the mind of many people covering or interested in Operation Fast and Furious. What's in the memo?

Burke's attorneys gave some clues as to the contents in their letter to the Acting Inspector General, Cynthia Schnedar (attached).

"We write to address questions relating to the disclosure of a memorandum written by ATF Special Agent John Dodson," the letter says.

"As Dennis told your office on August 16, 2011, he provided the memo to a reporter he had known for some time in response to the reporter's request. The reporter, who initiated the contact with Dennis, was working on several stories involving Operation Fast and Furious. It was clear to Dennis from their conversation that the reporter had either seen the memo or had it read to him."

"Dennis's intention was to give context to information that the reporter already had to explain that investigations similar to Operation Fast and Furious had been previously proposed by ATF. The investigation proposed by Afent Dodson was closed, and the memo did not contain and Grand Jury or otherwise classified information. Congress had already released to the public other reports from this investigation."

The letter goes on to mention that the memo "was never even used by the reporter."

Grassley said during the Tuesday hearing that the leak appeared to have violated the Privacy Act and amounted to whistleblower retaliation. 

But until the memo and talking points become public, we're all talking about something we haven't seen. Some leak!

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/senor-reporter/fast-and-furious-memo-remains-secret-despite-leak/article_101d6302-0b07-11e1-98e8-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1dGMxnBv4

AZMEX POLICY 9-11-11

AZMEX POLICY 9 NOV 2011

Note: take a look at map on website below. More confirmation on
fluid situation in NW Mexico, but also believe it over simplified.
Such as there still seems to be three groups operating on AZ - Son.
border, although the Sinaloans are the dominant group.

The Zetas are the criminal organization that controls the most territory
Cuitlahuac Salinas Martínez, head of the SIEDO, said the Sinaloa
cartel is the second most entities operating in the country
Aurora Vega, Adriana Luna and staff

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=seccion-
nacional&cat=1&id_nota=781921

MEXICO CITY, November 9 .- The Zetas are a criminal organization that
controls more territory in respect of the other six cartels operating
in the country, according to the PGR.

This group dominates at least 11 states of the Republic.

Separately, the V Military Region considered that the western part of
the country has become a flash point for the actions of organized crime.

Los Zetas the group of more territory

The Attorney General's Office (PGR) places cartel Los Zetas criminal
organization that has a greater presence in the country than the six
other organizations associated with the movement of drugs, according
to a presentation given by the holder of the Deputy Attorney
Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (SIEDO), Cuitláhuac
Salinas Martínez.

According to graphs shown by the official at the National Institute
of Penal Sciences (INACIPE), Los Zetas dominate several states from
north to south.

"(The) cartel Los Zetas are more to the trend of the Gulf of Mexico,
closer to that area and south. There are some divisions in relation
to their leaders, but we also have a pyramid structure, "he said.

It also exposed the names of the seven major criminal organizations
in Mexico: "The Juarez cartel La Familia Michoacana and The Knights
Templar, the Beltran Leyva cartel, the Pacific and Sinaloa, the
Arellano Felix cartel Los Zetas and the Gulf ".

In the statement of the officer it was observed that the Zetas have a
presence in most parts of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Durango, Coahuila,
San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Veracruz, Colima, Oaxaca, Tabasco,
to Quintana Roo.

In competition followed by the Sinaloa cartel that maintains a
presence throughout the Pacific coast and in parts of central Mexico.

International Forum

Salinas Martínez's presentation was part of the international
conference "Organized Crime and new models of criminal charges." In
this forum said that currently operate seven drug cartels and the
organization most beaten and reduced is the Beltran Leyva brothers,
who has a minimal presence in Sinaloa, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco,
Colima, Nayarit and Morelos.
"Los Beltrán is a group that has been severely affected by government
action to very specific areas and already very limited influence,"
said the owner of the SIEDO.

At the Arellano Felix cartel is located just one area of ​​
operation: the state of Baja California.

While the Gulf cartel is only located in a catchment area in
Tamaulipas and part of Nuevo Leon.

While the Knights Templar and La Familia Michoacana considered as one
group, and placed them in the states of Mexico, Morelos, Mexico City
and Michoacan.

Army is concerned about the western region

The western region has become a flash point for safety by the actions
of organized crime. The Army acknowledged concern of states such as
Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas.

In an interview, the Brigadier General of Military Region V, which
covers the states of Colima and Aguascalientes, besides the three
previous states - Genaro Fausto Lozano, said military forces are
carefully watching the movements made by the criminal groups that are
disputing these territories.

"The different groups that are operating in the area (are) Los Zetas,
Jalisco cartel New Generation, Resistance, and are those in the three
states (Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas)," he said.

Similarly, maintaining detailed attention in the canyons of
Zacatecas, and Tlaltenango Juchipila and Valparaiso.

"We have Tepic in Nayarit. In Jalisco, the region of El Salvador, Las
Cañadas and Tecatitlán area. "

He also stated that they are aware of groups that arise, but they
have not been as consistent as the criminals who fight for the plazas.

However, murders like the mayor of La Piedad, Michoacan, forced the
Army to strengthen surveillance "in areas with an already hot" as are
the boundaries between Jalisco and Michoacan, specifically "still
working on Ayotlan, La Barca .

"The whole area is an area that draws our attention permanently. We
are still working there at the moment we have troops deployed, but
that was the subject at this time. "

Report on drugs

Fausto Lozano, accompanied by Gilberto Hernandez, general of the
Fifteenth Military Zone, heard the report of the activity against
drug trafficking by military personnel during October:

1,174 marijuana plants were burned and 39 poppy, also seized nine
tons of marijuana and 82 of seed, as well as 113 kilos of cristal, 28
kilos of cocaine and a kilo, 500 grams of heroin.

They were also confiscated 18,205 liters of precursor chemicals and
were dismantled three narcolaboratorios. They seized 153 firearms, 29
grenades, also arrested 153 suspects and repelled three armed
aggressions.

Humanitarian aid

In addition, the entities of Jalisco and Colima were 1,500 uniformed
troops supporting the DNIII-E Plan for the victims of Hurricane Jova.

It was reported that 14,060 people were driven from their homes
because of the risk and were transferred to 33 shelters run by
military personnel. They were provided 41,714 hot rations. 20,000
were distributed to 287 food pantries in both entities.

Also two thousand 399 households flooded in Manzanillo, Colima, and
in Cihuatlan and Melaque, Jalisco.

It was reported that 900 troops were supporting the security
operation in the Pan American Games, and from November 12 the
procedure is repeated for the area only the deployment will be in the
Guadalajara metropolitan area.

2011-11-09 08:45:00

Los Zetas son la organización delictiva que controla el mayor
territorio
Cuitláhuac Salinas Martínez, titular de la SIEDO, informó que el
cártel de Sinaloa es el segundo que opera en más entidades del país
Aurora Vega, Adriana Luna y Redacción

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&seccion=seccion-
nacional&cat=1&id_nota=781921

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 9 de noviembre.- Los Zetas son la organización
delictiva que controla más territorio respecto de los otros seis
cárteles que operan en el país, de acuerdo con la PGR.

Este grupo predomina en al menos 11 estados de la República.

Por separado, la V Región Militar consideró que el occidente del
país se ha convertido en un foco rojo por las acciones de la
delincuencia organizada.

Ubican a Los Zetas como el grupo de mayor territorio

La Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) ubica al cártel de
Los Zetas como la organización criminal que tiene mayor presencia en
el país respecto de las otras seis organizaciones asociadas con el
trasiego de droga, de acuerdo con una ponencia ofrecida por el
titular de la Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en
Delincuencia Organizada (SIEDO), Cuitláhuac Salinas Martínez.

De acuerdo con gráficas mostradas por el funcionario, en el Instituto
Nacional de Ciencias Penales (Inacipe), Los Zetas dominan varios
estados desde el norte hasta el sur.

"(El) cártel de Los Zetas están más a la tendencia del Golfo de
México, más hacia esa zona y el sur del país. Hay algunas
divisiones en relación con sus líderes, pero también tenemos una
estructura piramidal", dijo.

También expuso los nombres de las siete grandes organizaciones
criminales de México: "El cártel de Juárez, La Familia Michoacana
y Los Caballeros Templarios, el cártel de los Beltrán Leyva, el
Pacífico o Sinaloa, de los Arellano Félix, Los Zetas y el cártel
del Golfo".

En la exposición del funcionario se pudo observar que Los Zetas
tienen presencia en la mayor parte de Nuevo León, Tamaulipas,
Durango, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Veracruz,
Colima, Oaxaca, Tabasco, hasta Quintana Roo.

En competencia le sigue el cártel de Sinaloa que mantiene presencia
en toda la zona del Pacífico y en algunas partes del centro del país.

Foro internacional

La ponencia de Salinas Martínez fue parte del congreso
internacional "Delincuencia Organizada y nuevos modelos de
Imputación Penal". En este foro dijo que en la actualidad operan
siete carteles del narcotráfico y que la organización más golpeada
y disminuida es la de los hermanos Beltrán Leyva, quienes tiene una
mínima presencia en Sinaloa, Guerrero, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima,
Nayarit y Morelos.

"Los Beltrán es un grupo que ha sido muy afectado por la acción
del gobierno con zonas muy concretas y ya muy limitadas de
influencia", aseguró el titular de la SIEDO.

Al cártel de los Arellano Felix se le ubica a sólo una área de
operación: el estado de Baja California.

Mientras que el cártel del Golfo sólo es ubicado en un área de
influencia en Tamaulipas y una parte de Nuevo León.

En tanto a Los Caballeros Templarios y La Familia Michoacana los
consideró como un solo grupo, y los ubicó en los estados de México,
Morelos, Distrito Federal, y Michoacán.

Preocupa a Ejército el occidente del país

El occidente del país se ha convertido en un foco rojo de seguridad
por las acciones de la delincuencia organizada. El Ejército
reconoció especial preocupación por entidades como Jalisco, Nayarit
y Zacatecas.

En entrevista, el general de Brigada de la V Región Militar —que
abarca los estados de Colima y Aguscalientes, además de los tres
antes mencionados—, Genaro Fausto Lozano, explicó que la fuerza
castrense vigila cuidadosamente los movimientos realizados por los
grupos criminales que se disputan dichos territorios.

"Los diferentes grupos que están operando en la zona (son) Los
Zetas, cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Resistencia, y son los
que tienen presencia en los tres estados (Jalisco, Nayarit y
Zacatecas)", comentó.

De igual manera, detalló que mantienen especial atención en los
cañones de Zacatecas, Juchipila y Tlaltenango, así como en
Valparaíso.

"En Nayarit tenemos Tepic. En Jalisco, la región de El Salvador,
Las Cañadas y el área de Tecatitlán."

También expuso que tienen conocimiento de grupos de trasiego que
surgen, pero que no han logrado consistencia criminal como los que se
pelean las plazas.

Sin embargo, asesinatos como el del presidente municipal de La
Piedad, Michoacán, obligaron al Ejército a reforzar la vigilancia
"en zonas de por sí ya calientes" como lo son los límites entre
Jalisco y Michoacán, específicamente "seguimos trabajando en
Ayotlán, La Barca.

"Toda esa zona es un área que llama nuestra atención
permanentemente. Seguimos trabajando ahí, en este momento tenemos
tropas desplegadas, pero hasta ahí ese tema en este momento."

Informe contra el narco

Fausto Lozano, acompañado por Gilberto Hernández, general de la XV
Zona Militar, escuchó el informe de la actividad contra el narco
realizada por personal de la milicia durante octubre:

Se incineraron mil 174 plantíos de mariguana y 39 de amapola; se
aseguraron nueve toneladas de mariguana y 82 en semilla, así como 113
kilos de cristal, 28 kilos de cocaína y un kilo 500 gramos de heroína.

También fueron decomisados 18 mil 205 litros de precursores
químicos, se desmantelaron tres narcolaboratorios. Se aseguraron 153
armas de fuego, 29 granadas; también fueron aprehendidos 153
presuntos delincuentes y se repelieron tres agresiones armadas.

Ayuda humanitaria

Además, en las entidades de Jalisco y Colima estuvieron mil 500
uniformados apoyando con el Plan DNIII-E a los damnificados por el
huracán Jova.

Se informó que 14 mil 60 personas fueron desalojadas de sus viviendas
por el riesgo y fueron trasladadas a 33 albergues administrados por
personal militar. Se les proporcionaron 41 mil 714 raciones
calientes. Se distribuyeron 20 mil 287 despensas en ambas entidades.

También se desazolvaron dos mil 399 casas en Manzanillo, Colima; y en
Cihuatlán y Melaque, Jalisco.

Se informó que 900 elementos estuvieron apoyando el operativo de
seguridad en los Juegos Panamericanos, y que a partir del 12 de
noviembre se repetirá la operación para la justa Parapanamericana,
aunque sólo el despliegue será en la zona metropolitana tapatía.

2011-11-09 08:45:00

CONTROLAN ZETAS Y CÁRTEL DE SINALOA CASI TODO EL PAÍS: SIEDO
Redacción
Miércoles 09 de noviembre de 2011
http://www.riodoce.com.mx/content/view/11520/1/

Siedo. Zetas y Cártel de Sinaloa.

El titular de la Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en
Delincuencia Organizada (Siedo), José Cuitláhuac Salinas Martínez,
reveló este martes, en un foro organizado por el Instituto Nacional
de Ciencias Penales (Inacipe), que los cárteles de Los Zetas y de
Sinaloa son los que operan en una porción más amplia del territorio
nacional.

De acuerdo con el documento de la Siedo, Los Zetas, dirigidos por
Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, El Lazca, y Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales,
prácticamente controlan la mayor parte del país, lo mismo en zonas
del sur que en el norte de México, y tienen conexión con regiones de
gran movilidad comercial, como Nuevo Laredo y Reynosa, en Tamaulipas.

En tanto, el grupo que dirigen Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera, Ismael
El Mayo Zambada García y Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, El Azul,
controla la parte colindante con el océano Pacífico, desde una zona
de Baja California hasta las costas de Jalisco, aunque también opera
en Quintana Roo.

Durante su participación en el foro titulado Delincuencia organizada
y nuevos modelos de imputación penal, Salinas Martínez señaló que
los grupos del narcotráfico que operan en el país actúan con
estructuras empresariales piramidales, en las cuales los elementos de
menor nivel no conocen a los mandos y cada integrante desempeña
tareas específicas, lo que hace más difícil combatirlos.

Afirmó que los cárteles, a diferencia de hace 10 o 15 años, cuando
tenían una organización horizontal y todos se conocían, ahora son
como compañías con una estructura empresarial dedicada a
determinadas funciones, donde cada miembro tiene una función
específica. Explicó que debido a esa función determinada, dirigida
desde un mando piramidal, las estructuras inferiores no conocen a las
superiores y entonces tenemos un problema de vinculación en relación
con la autoría y la coautoría del sujeto.

Con apoyo de una presentación multimedia, el titular de la Siedo dio
a conocer un mapa de las zonas de operación y de confrontación de
las organizaciones criminales. Sin embargo, al final de su ponencia –
titulada La estructura y modus operandi de la delicuencia organizada
en México: cárteles y otros grupos–, Cuitláhuac Salinas se negó
a proporcionar copia del documento a los medios de comunicación.

No obstante, se obtuvieron algunas imágenes del documento y en la
gráfica general se menciona que el cártel de los hermanos Arellano
Félix, encabezado por Enedina Arellano, su hijo, Fernando Sánchez, y
Manuel Aguirre Galindo, El Caballo, sólo tiene presencia en Baja
California, pero no se explica la forma en que se abastece de droga
para vender en esa entidad o enviarla a Estados Unidos,
principalmente al área de San Diego, California, una de sus zonas
históricas de operación.

En cuanto al cártel de Sinaloa, se menciona que ocupa una pequeña
parte de Baja California, todo Baja California Sur y parte de las
rutas de distribución de enervantes de Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora,
Durango y Coahuila (en las dos últimas entidades existen disputas con
Los Zetas), y que en Jalisco, Colima y Nayarit sostiene
enfrentamientos con grupos como Los caballeros templarios (o La
Familia), los Beltrán Leyva y Los Zetas.

Asimismo, opera en zonas de Oaxaca y Chiapas, en el lado del océano
Pacífico, y del lado del Golfo de México tiene células en Veracruz,
que operan con el nombre de Jalisco Nueva Generación o Matazetas.

Acerca del cártel de Juárez, que dirige Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
(hermano de Amado Carrillo, El señor de los cielos, fallecido en
julio de 1997), la Siedo ubica sus zonas de operación principalmente
en partes de Chihuahua (Ciudad Juárez es uno de sus bastiones),
Sonora, Quintana Roo, Durango y Coahuila.

La organización de los Betrán Leyva, de acuerdo con el mapa
elaborado por la Siedo, cuenta con células operativas en Sinaloa,
Durango, Coahuila, Nayarit, Colima, Guerrero, Morelos, estado de
México y en zonas limítrofes de Guerrero con Michoacán.

El cártel del Golfo centra su presencia en Nuevo León, Tamaulipas y
zonas de Veracruz, todas en disputa con sus antiguos socios Los
Zetas, quienes han extendido sus operaciones desde Nuevo León hasta
Tabasco, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, estado de México, Coahuila,
Durango, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas y
Quintana Roo.

Por lo que hace a Los caballeros templarios, la Siedo focaliza las
operaciones de este grupo en los estados de México, Michoacán,
Jalisco y Morelos.

Cárteles de impacto local

El documento presentado por el titular de la Siedo no reconoce como
cárteles a organizaciones como el autodenominado Cártel
Independiente de Acapulco, Jalisco Nueva Generación ni Cárteles
Unidos; tampoco menciona las zonas que disputan los grupos
criminales, porque considera que sólo tienen impacto a escala local o
estatal.

La Jornada

AZMEX SINALOA UPDATE 8-11-11

AZMEX SINALOA UPDATE 8 NOV 2011

Note: Interesting background on recent developments in Sinaloa and
Sonora.
As the level of inter/intra gang violence increases. Of most
interest perhaps is that most of the key players still originate from
Sinaloa. Local ex-pats tell us that worse is to come. Fallout
expected to affect Sonora and Arizona.

Published: 11/08/2011 5:34
By: Luis Gerardo Andrade landrade@frontera.info
http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Policiaca/
08112011/553113.aspx

He ordered 'El Sillas' to kidnap relatives of "el mayo'
The Ministry of National Defense presented Juan Francisco Sillas
Rocha, aka "El Sillas" or "El Rueda", an alleged lieutenant of
Fernando Sanchez Arellano, leader of the criminal organization of the
Arellano Felix.

TIJUANA, Baja California (PH)
Juan Francisco Sillas Rocha, "El Sillas", a lieutenant of Fernando
Sanchez Arellano, "El Ingerniero", kidnapped relatives of Ismael "El
Mayo" Zambada in retaliation for the kidnapping of his sister.

After being arrested last Friday, The Attorney General's Office (PGR)
on Monday introduced Chairs Juan Francisco Rocha, "El Sillas", 34,
who was also known as "El Rueda"

"El Sillas" was arrested on 5 November by the Mexican Army in
coordination with the municipal police and state authorities.

The arrest took place because the immediate reaction and
establishment of a siege by the authorities after the attack on two
people traveling aboard a vehicle on the Boulevard Insurgentes, who
were injured and taken to hospital of the locality.

According to the PGR, Juan Francisco Sillas Rocha, a native of
Culiacan, Sinaloa, is considered one of the most violent subjects and
responsible for countless murders he had his orders direct from "El
Ingeniero".

The same federal authority said that "El Sillas" ordered the
kidnapping of three women, relatives of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the
September 25, 2010 in Tijuana, in retaliation for the kidnapping and
disappearance of his sister, Lizeth Sillas Rocha, committed on July
30, 2010, in Nogales, Sonora.

On October 30, 2010 women were rescued by the Mexican Army, who were
in a safe house located in Real del Monte subdivision, the delegation
La Mesa.

The rescue was achieved after a clash between soldiers and members of
organized crime where a suspected gunman died.

That same night were arrested Kevin Jeovanny Serna Mendoza, "El cabo"
and Mario Alberto Trejo Cortez, "El Chuki" who were in possession of
23 rifles, ammunition and drugs.

The PGR explained that "El Ingeniero" ordered "El Sillas" since 2008
to maintain an intense struggle against Teodoro Garcia Simental, "El
Teo" for control the "square" in Tijuana.

Jesus Manuel Mariscal Ramirez, Alejandro Sotelo Pineda and Cristian
Ezequiel Sotelo Rodriguez, alleged members of the criminal group were
arrested along with "El Sillas".

With the detainees were five handguns, magazines, cartridges, two
vehicles, real estate and various media of communication.

The detainees and confiscated items were made available to the public
prosecutor of the Federation assigned to the Office of Special
Investigations into Organized Crime (OFDI).

The PGR said that in the coming hours, the Federal Public Ministry
shall decide on the legal status of individuals presented.

And with this arrest was significantly affected by operating
activities of the organization and command of the Arellano Felix
brothers, and their criminal structure.

Note: speaking of spillover. Cajeme, Son is off a side road from
HWY 15, coming up from Sinaloa.

Published: 11/08/2011 15:01 By: Eduardo Lopez elopez@elimparcial.com
Cajeme has highest number of executions: Attorney
With 71 executions so far in 2011 in Cajeme, is the municipality with
the highest number of violent cases, mostly related to organized
crime, said Abel Murrieta Gutiérrez.
http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Policiaca/
08112011/553275.aspx

Ciudad Obregon, Sonora (PH)
With 71 executions so far in 2011 in Cajeme, is the municipality with
the highest number of violent cases, mostly related to organized
crime, said Abel Murrieta Gutiérrez.

"There are 70 cases, so Cajeme is the municipality with the highest
number definitely," he said.

The prosecutor's statement was given two hours before, in the city
and the outskirts of a private hospital, another man was executed,
who became victim number 71 of organized crime.

"We will step in and search results, I have no doubt that these
people have to find other spaces, but crime is not just a police
factor, there are many things to accommodate for this (the Violence )
to eliminate it from the town.

AZMEX EXTRA 8-11-11

AZMEX EXTRA 8 NOV 2011

Tamaulipas border arms trafficking
Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. / VMC Agency / The Morning -08 November
2011
Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo and other border girl
http://www.elmanana.com/diario/noticia/tamaulipas/noticias/
burla_trafico_de_armas_frontera_tamaulipeca/1359094

INCIDENCE. In the United States passing over illegal arms is the most
significant, Bolivar Hernandez Garza admitted, the attorney general
of Tamaulipas. TOMORROW / VMC Agency

Of all the contraband that may occur in the 16 international bridges
in Tamaulipas Valley of Texas in the United States, the illicit arms
is the most significant, Bolivar Hernandez Garza admitted.

The Attorney General added that the municipalities through which this
effect occurs more arms trafficking, are those most densely
populated, ie, Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo and other border
towns of what is called the "little border".

During an interview after participating in the start of the "Campaign
Firearms Exchange" held at the Cultural Center Tamaulipas, considered
that this is recorded, derived from the geographical location of the
state, with whom he considered is the largest market in the world.

"I think (the arms) is not only Tamaulipas but is problem is for
the whole country, remember that the border of Mexico (United States)
is just over three thousand miles, which Tamaulipas has about 300,
and obviously that smuggling of any item is negative for the economy
of any organized society, the arms, is of greater significance,
"explained the Attorney General.

He noted that even if the border municipalities of Tamaulipas have
greater problems with regard to illegal arms trafficking, Bolivar
Hernandez, said that fortunately, the events where the public
participates in committing a crime with a gun are not significant
with the ordinary citizen.

He stated that the fact that its geographical position, Tamaulipas is
involved in a serious problem such as the illegal arms trade is the
result of the closeness he has with the United States, considered the
world's largest market, for marketing of drugs and -Other crimes.

About the work that the Attorney General in the fight against
kidnapping, head of the agency considered that the crime has fallen
on hard times in recent months, derived from the training and
professionalism shown by all members of that group.

AZMEX UPDATE 8-11-11

AZMEX UPDATE 8 NOV 2011 Misc.

Note: Some good news for locals, this one been way too long to
happen. A good day for folks in Douglas & AP.

El Periodico de Agua Prieta
Federales capture "el 2000"
http://elperiodicodeap.com.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=3368:capturan-federales-a-
el-2000&catid=34:noticias&Itemid=78

He is accused of several massacres, he also behind bodies that
appeared in the Puerto San Luis
Elements of the Federal Police arrested "el 2000" and brought him to
Mexico City, he is blamed several massacres and dismembered bodies
have been found in the Puerto San Luis.

Francisco Hernandez Garcia (a) "el 2000", "Panchito", or "Cabeza de
Vaca" is part of a list published in 2009 where the Attorney
General's Office offered a reward of 15 million pesos for data that
would lead to his capture.

Despite the secrecy with which this fact has been saved by the
Attorney General's Office (PGR), it was possible to know that
"Panchito" was arrested by federal investigators and transported to
the facilities of the Office of Special Investigations in Crime
Organized (OFDI) in Mexico City.

"el 2000" is considered one of the main contributors to the cartel of
the "Beltran Leyva brothers," originating from the neighboring state
of Sinaloa, established his reputation as a murderer and
bloodthirsty, been linked with several of the most notorious murders
in recent years in the region, including the slaughter in Cananea and
Arizpe in 2007 and the appearance, more recently, of bodies dumped in
Puerto San Luis, a few meters from the border with Chihuahua.

In the beginning, Hernandez Garcia was part of the so-called Sinaloa
cartel, with whom he had serious differences and ran off to the gang
headed by Arturo Beltran Leyva (a) "El Barbas" or "el jefe de
jefes", who died in 2009 after a violent clash with elements of
special forces of the Navy.

His detention has continued to compete secrecy, however, sources
close to the Attorney Genera of Justice said that his capture was
achieved after extensive intelligence work of the federal forces in
Ciudad Juarez, where he operated for some time.

Note: good luck on this one

Pima County morgue to begin charging rent
Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 12:18 pm | Comments

Bodies left too long at the Pima County morgue will be charged rent.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $75-
per-day fee to solve the problem of cadaver overcrowding.
In the past, the county has run out of room to house dead bodies
primarily because of migrant deaths.
The Arizona Daily Star ( http://bit.ly/thmYIR) reports many of the
cases are from other counties for which Pima County provides
services, like autopsies. Those counties would be responsible for the
body fees.
"We may not even use these fees. This is not a money revenue
generator for us or anything like that," said Dr. Gregory Hess, Chief
Medical Examiner for Pima County in an interview Tuesday with The
Associated Press.
Hess said he anticipates charging the fee only in rare cases, most
commonly when a responsible party needs to be prodded to make
decisions on burials for migrants and indigents.
Pima County does forensic work for eight other counties. It needed a
mechanism in place for counties to pick up remains that stay too
long, because the county can't continue to build storage or run out
of room, Hess said.
Although there are bodies that have been in the Pima County Forensic
Science Center since 2009 and 2010, the morgue isn't over capacity
right now, he said.
"We just need to have a mechanism to provide an incentive for people
to pick up these remains if for some reason they're not picking them
up," Hess said.
For a private burial, the Forensic Science Center would be able to
charge funeral homes $75 a day to store a body, beginning three days
after the center gives the OK to transfer the remains from the morgue
to the funeral home.
That isn't likely to be done often, said John Chapman, general
manager at Adair Funeral Homes, because bodies typically move faster
than that since they need to be sent to the funeral home so it can
begin its work. But it can happen, such as in cases when the family
of a decedent may avoid making a timely decision, especially if the
person wasn't a close relative, he said.
The fee will be reviewed in three months by people and governments
impacted by the fees.
___
Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/pima-county-
morgue-to-begin-charging-rent/
article_c042a9c3-2a39-5426-9138-4886c95ba28c.html#ixzz1dAQS7W2X

6 gunmen die in shootout with rivals in Juárez
by Aileen B. Flores \ El Paso Times
Posted: 11/04/2011 02:31:40 PM MDT
http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_19265234

More than 400 rounds were fired Thursday in a battle in which six
people died in Juárez, authorities said Friday.

According to the Chihuahua state police, the confrontation began
about 8:45 p.m. Thursday in the Cuesta neighborhood, near the Sierra
Misiones and Montes Urales streets. Two men were killed inside a car
with Texas plates, and a woman was killed inside another vehicle.

The clash continued in the Del Real neighborhood at the intersection
of Tecnológico Avenue and Tláloc Street, where three men were
killed. Police were able to identify one of the victims as Roberto
Zamora Herrera, 24.

Investigators said they collected 442 bullet casings from the crime
scenes.
Four vehicles and six weapons were seized.

The confrontation is one of many registered in the city since the
drug war between drug cartels began in 2008. More than 12,000 people
have died because of the drug war in Chihuahua state since 2008.

Aileen B. Flores may be reached at aflores@elpasotimes.com; 546-6362.

Mexican military: Communications equipment seized in Reynosa
November 08, 2011 7:34 AM
Naxiely Lopez
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/reynosa-56412-seized-mexican.html

The Mexican military seized antennas and other communication devices
during an operation Sunday in Reynosa.

Soldiers from Mexico's 8th military zone seized nine receiving and
transmitting antennas, six voltage regulators, six repeaters, five
duplexers, two vehicle-type radios and a portable radio in various
locations throughout the city, according to a news release from
SEDENA — Mexico's ministry of defense.

These seizures were part of operation "Noreste," which seeks to
generate a climate of peace, trust and harmony for the population,
officials said.

Soldiers turned the communication equipment over to the proper
authorities.

Monitor staff writer Naxiely Lopez compiled this report.

Note: an ongoing problem and not only in Mexico

There is corruption among cadets
Details Posted on Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:42
Written by Martin Mendoza
http://www.diariodelyaqui.mx/portal/secciones/principal/7837-son-
corruptos-desde-cadetes

Of the 75 students of the academy had 36 false documents

Thirty-six cadets from the Municipal Police Academy could be out the
fourth generation that will graduate on 25 November, as a result of
false certificates of high school that they had to be admitted as
candidates earlier this year.

Although the matter has been handled with remarkable secrecy and
stealth, unofficially it was established that the matter "exploded"
last weekend at the end of the period of academic training of future
public servants.

In trying to locate the academy's director, Armando Rivera, to know
his stance on this serious situation, he was not located in the
building of the Municipal Public Security Ministry.

For corporate counsel, lawyer Saul Montoya, the issue is delicate,
and does not know all the details but said, adding that it seems the
authenticity of the documents is not confirmed.

"I have no interference in the matter, a matter of discussion with
the headmaster to give his version and also to know how it is
realized," he said when approached yesterday afternoon when he
descended from the upper floor the police building.

Some cadets were concerned about their peers, because not only could
they be left out and instead of 75 new police officers will only be
39, unaware why they did not realize in time the authenticity of the
documents of the suspended cadets.

Officers who participated in the training period as instructors, they
regretted that all their work may be a waste for those aspiring
guardians of public order.

This, he added, is not only because they had the responsibility to
verify the legitimacy of the certificates which tried to prove that
they had completed high school, by staff who was responsible for
making the selection of aspiring cadets.

There were cadets who upon being questioned about the situation,
refused to talk about it, saying they were not authorized to do so,
but without revealing from where that order came. Were implemented
only say they can not say anything.

It was established that the graduation ceremony which will be the
fourth generation of police graduates of the Academy of Municipal
Public Security Ministry, is scheduled to be held next Friday 25
November, yet undetermined location.

AZMEX SPECIAL 8-11-11

AZMEX SPECIAL 8 NOV 2011

Note: The same government that has made it almost impossible for the
women of Mexico to defend themselves. U.S. aid money needs to be
made contingent on restoration of firearms and self defense rights
for the people of Mexico. Mexican women are not afraid of firearms
nor defending themselves. (personal observations and about 80%
response in various polls)

Mexico apologizes for not protecting women
By Ricardo Chavez \ Associated Press
Posted: 11/08/2011 12:00:00 AM MST
http://www.elpasotimes.com/communities/ci_19286198
JUAREZ -- Mexico's government publicly apologized on Monday for
failing to prevent the killings of three women in Juárez and for the
negligence of officials in investigating the crimes.
The apology is a response to a 2009 ruling by the Interamerican Court
of Human Rights that besides seeking an apology, also asked Mexico to
reopen investigations into the cases and to erect a memorial site in
the empty lot where the bodies were found in 2001.
The state of Chihuahua has been plagued by the unsolved slayings of
hundreds of women since 1993. After failing to receive justice in
Mexico, the families of three of the dead women asked the
international court to take up their cases. The court only ruled on
those three cases.
"We apologize. It is our obligation to investigate these crimes,"
said Interior Deputy Secretary Felipe Zamora at an event in the half-
finished memorial.
The Mexican government recognizes "the inconsistencies, errors and
negligent acts of public officials in charge of the probes," he added.
Relatives of slain women nearby shouted demands for justice.

Memorial for murdered, missing women unveiled in Juárez
By Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera / EL PASO TIMES
Posted: 11/07/2011 09:37:45 PM MST
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19284152?source=rss

A $1.2 million monument in Juarez was dedicated to three of the eight
young women who were found dead in 2001 in an empty land lot just in
front of the city's association of maquiladoras building. (Jesus
Alcazar / El Paso Times)
›› Photos: Juárez memorial
JUAREZ -- The family members of murdered and missing young women on
Monday interrupted with calls for justice the ceremony to inaugurate
a memorial for the victims of the Campo Algodonero case, one of the
most devastating instances of gender crimes in the city.
The relatives called the construction of the monument a waste of
money, which cost around $1.2 million to construct and was dedicated
to three of the eight young women who were found dead in 2001 in an
empty land lot just in front of the city's association of
maquiladoras building.
In the ceremony, Felipe de Jesús Zamora, a ranking legal and human
rights representative with Mexico's Department of the Interior, said
the Mexican government recognized they had failed in its duty to
investigate the disappearance and deaths of Claudia Ivette González,
Laura Berenice Ramos and Esmeralda Herrera, as well as having
violated their relatives' right to justice.
The relatives of several murdered and missing women, who refused to
sit down during the event in protest, interrupted, criticized and
responded to Zamora's comments as he spoke, pointing out that the
deaths and disappearances continued and the crimes were still
unpunished.
"After 10 years you come to inaugurate a mausoleum that will become
a tourist center for the rest of the world's morbid fascination,"
said José Luis Castillo, the father of 14-year-old Esmeralda
Castillo, who has been missing since 2009. "We don¹t want a
mausoleum, we don't want you to find our daughters dead, we want you
to open lines for an investigation and find our daughters alive." In
2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Mexican
government to meet a list of several reparations -- the construction
of the memorial being one of them -- as part of its sentence in the
case of González and others v. México, better known as the Campo
Algodonero (cotton field, in Spanish) case. The Mexican government
was found to have failed to protect the slain women, investigate
their cases and help relatives find justice.
Vicki Caraveo, legal representative of the group Mothers in Search
for Justice, said the monument was low on the list of priorities,
pointing out that it was urgent to restructure the victims'
assistance program, improve the training of investigative authorities
and respond more rapidly to new notices of missing women.
Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera can be reached at
a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.

Note: don't forget this infamous case either.

Demonstration to honor slain activist Wednesday in Juárez
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Posted: 12/20/2010 12:00:00 AM MST
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_16898169?IADID=Search-
www.elpasotimes.com-www.elpasotimes.com

Woman activist slain in Chihuahua: Quest to find daughter's killer
drove self-made investigator
›› Photo gallery: Activist Rubi's Mom
Activists calling for justice in the murder of Marisela Escobedo
Ortiz will conduct a march Wednesday in Juárez.
A coalition of advocacy organizations and relatives of victims is
organizing the protest demonstration, said Judith Galarza, a veteran
activist.
Escobedo's public murder in front of the governor's palace in
Chihuahua City made headlines around the world and elicited the
condemnation of Amnesty International and the United Nations.
She was protesting the release by Chihuahua state judges of a suspect
in her daughter's 2008 slaying when a man wielding a gun shot her at
close range on Thursday. Security cameras recorded her murder.
Other mothers and relatives of young women murdered in Juárez had
reported being threatened, harassed and assaulted, but Escobedo is
the first to be assassinated.
Two days after Escobedo's death, her common-law husband's business in
Juárez was burned intentionally and her brother-in-law was abducted.
Chihuahua state officials said Sunday that they are continuing to
investigate.
President Felipe Calderón issued a statement on Twitter saying "it is
lamentable that judges in Chihuahua freed Rubi Frayre's confessed
killer. This impunity caused Marisela Escobedo's murder."
Rubi Marisol Frayre, Escobedo's daughter, allegedly was killed in
Juárez by her boyfriend Sergio Barraza in 2008; her remains were
found at a hog ranch.
Barraza apologized publicly for the slaying, but three judges ordered
his release in May because they said there was no evidence to convict
him.
In an unusual move, Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Duarte requested the
suspension of the three state judges who set Barraza free.
Escobedo investigated her daughter's case and traveled to the state
of Zacatecas in
2009 to locate Barraza for the police; the suspect allegedly had
joined the Zetas.
Marisela Ortiz, co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (May
Our Daughters Return Home), said Escobedo was "great defender of
human rights."
The nonprofit group that advocates an end to violence against girls
and women in Juárez also condemned Escobedo's murder. In a statement,
Nuestras Hijas said, "We vow to continue this human rights struggle."
In November, Paula Flores and the mother of another young woman
murdered in Juárez announced plans for her organization, Fundacion
Maria Sagrario, to leave the region because of ongoing threats and
intimidation against her family. Flores was featured in a new
documentary titled "La Carta" (the Letter).
Recently, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the Avon Foundation
announced a $50,000 grant for Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas (Justice
for Our Daughters), which advocates an end to violence against girls
and women.
The money for the grant comes from the Global Fund for Women and
Girls, a privately funded initiative managed by the State Department
and established by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The Avon Foundation, in partnership with the State Department,
contributed $500,000 to the global fund to combat gender-based violence.
Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas "plans to hold workshops with women
working in (Juárez) maquiladoras to educate them about the types of
violence against women, their rights, and how they can gain access to
available resources for victims," according to the U.S. Embassy.
According to officials, more than 1,000 girls and women were murdered
in Juárez over the past 17 years, an unprecedented number for the city.
Last week, Mexican officials announced that a parcel at Ejercito
Nacional and Paseo de la Victoria, near the U.S. consulate, will
serve as the site for a monument to honor the memory of slain women
in Juárez.
The bodies of eight young women were discovered in a cotton field at
that site in November 2001.
The InterAmerican Court of Human Rights (Organization of American
States) had ordered the Mexican government to reinvestigate the 2001
"cotton field" murders, compensate families of the three victims who
petitioned the court, and erect a memorial for the victims.
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com;
546-6140.

AZMEX I3 6-11-11

AZMEX I3 6 NOV 2011

Immigration officials back away from deportation program
Effort quickened process but raised rights issues
by Daniel González - Nov. 6, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/06/20111106immigration-
arizona-deportation-program.html

Federal immigration officials have quietly backed away from a program
in Arizona and other Western states aimed at quickly and efficiently
deporting illegal immigrants rather than keeping them in costly
detention centers.

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, including thousands from
Arizona, have been deported under the program over the past several
years. Called stipulated removal, it allows the government to quickly
deport illegal immigrants held in detention centers as long as they
forgo a hearing before a judge to review their legal rights and to
determine if they want to fight their case.

The phaseout follows controversies and concerns.

Immigration officials hailed the program as cost-effective
deportations for people who wanted to go home. Critics worried that
the government was strong-arming immigrants to accept deportation
without regard for their due-process rights.

Immigration officials changed course in September 2010 after a
federal appellate court ruled that an immigrant held in an Eloy
detention center had his rights violated. After that, speedy removals
were offered only to illegal immigrants with lawyers, who could help
them fight their cases. Lawyers are not provided at taxpayer expense
in deportation proceedings.

Since then, immigration officials have not deported a single illegal
immigrant through the program in Arizona, said Vincent Picard, a
spokesman for ICE in Phoenix. Picard could not provide statistics for
other states.

ICE officials did not publicize the dramatic policy change. Many
immigrant lawyers and critics of the program were unaware the change
had been made.

Time and money

In a deportation proceeding, an illegal immigrant has the right to
appear in front of an immigration judge to decide whether to contest
the case. The immigrant also has the right to hire a lawyer.

But under stipulated removal, an immigrant who doesn't want to fight
deportation gives up the right to a hearing. The immigrant also gives
up the right to an appeal. Once the immigrant agrees to those
stipulations, the judge signs a deportation order, even if the
immigrant is not in the courtroom.

Supporters of stipulated removal, which remains in effect in other
parts of the country, say it benefits both the government and illegal
immigrants. The program can save time and money.

The illegal immigrant is typically deported within a day or two. In
comparison, an illegal immigrant facing deportation can spend weeks
or even months in detention. In 2011, the average time was 29 days,
according to ICE statistics.

The average daily cost of detention in 2011 was $112.83, said
Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman.

"Such agreements between ICE and the alien are advantageous to the
government in that it relieves the immigration court of the need to
have a hearing, saves ICE additional detention costs, and allows the
alien to return to his/her country expeditiously," Picard said in an
e-mail.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy at the Center for Immigration
Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that favors strict
immigration enforcement, said the program should be expanded, not
scaled back.

Offering stipulated removal only to immigrants who hire their own
lawyers bogs down the judicial process and defeats the purpose of the
program: to quickly remove illegal immigrants with no legal grounds
to remain in the U.S. who want to go home, Vaughan said. It also
clogs up immigration courts, making less room for immigrants with
strong legal cases to remain in the U.S.

"I see the greater use of stipulated removal as expediting the
inevitable, with the result being swifter access to hearings for the
people who are more likely to benefit from them," she said.

Phillip Crawford, a former field director for ICE's enforcement and
removal operations in Arizona, said it is a shame that stipulated
removals have been curtailed.

The program, he said, had several levels of "safeguards" to ensure
that the rights of illegal immigrants were protected and that
participants understood what they were signing. Each case was
reviewed by ICE officers during processing at detention centers, by
ICE prosecutors and by an immigration judge who has the power to
reject the deportation if the judge believes the immigrant had legal
grounds to remain.

He also said the program targeted illegal immigrants from Mexico
convicted of aggravated felonies with little chance of legally
remaining in the U.S.

"It was an excellent program," Crawford said.

Rights protected?

Critics say stipulated removal circumvents immigrants' rights and
largely targeted immigrants who had not committed crimes.

A 30-page report released in September by the National Immigration
Law Center accused government officials of pressuring illegal
immigrants to accept quick deportation by threatening long detention
stays if they tried to fight to remain in the U.S. The government
also often didn't provide adequate interpretation and translation to
immigrants who didn't speak English, the report said.

The report found that 80 percent of those deported through the
program hadn't committed crimes.

The report also found that 96 percent of those deported didn't have
lawyers. Therefore, the report concluded, many of those without
criminal records may have been eligible to remain in the U.S. if they
had had a chance to fight their case.

Instead of deportation, the non-criminals also may have qualified for
less-severe voluntary departure, which gives immigrants the chance to
return to the U.S. if they qualify for a green card, said Karen
Tumlin, managing attorney for the Law Center. Instead, by accepting
stipulated removal, immigrants are generally barred from coming back
to the U.S. for as long as 10 years and face felony charges for
illegally re-entering the country.

The report was based on 20,000 government documents obtained through
a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Tumlin said she was unaware that ICE had stopped offering stipulated
removals to immigrants unless they had a lawyer. The Arizona Republic
discovered the new policy in September, when it began examining the
Law Center report.

"If that's true, it would be welcome news," Tumlin said.

The change, she said, alleviates concerns that the quick removals
were violating the due-process rights of illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants placed in deportation proceedings can sometimes
fight their case in court if they meet certain conditions, such as
having resided in the U.S. for a long period of time, having no
criminal record and having children born in this country.

Evolving program

Launched in 1995 to help alleviate overcrowding in federal, state and
local detention centers, the stipulated-removal program was rarely
used until President George W. Bush's administration began ramping up
immigration enforcement in 2004. The high rate continued during the
first two years of President Barack Obama's administration. According
to ICE, 32,635 people were deported in 2010.

From 2004 to 2010, immigration officials deported more than 160,000
under the program, according to the National Immigration Law Center's
September report.

The report found that more than 24,000 came from the detention center
in Eloy, the highest number of any facility in the country.

Internal government e-mails obtained through the Freedom of
Information lawsuit and posted online by the National Immigration Law
Center show that in 2005 alone, 5,787 illegal immigrants from Mexico
detained in Eloy were deported through the program and that
stipulated removals accounted for more than 50 percent of all
deportations at the center.

In September 2010, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
immigration officials at Eloy had violated the rights of Isaac Ramos.
Ramos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico with prior criminal
convictions, had agreed to stipulated removal while being detained in
Eloy in 2006. The court ruled that the government failed to make it
clear to Ramos that he was giving up his right to talk to a lawyer,
who could have explained the process and the penalties. The court
also ruled that the immigration judge who signed Ramos' deportation
order failed to determine if Ramos had agreed to stipulated removal
"voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently," as required.

Ramos, who is married to a legal permanent resident and has two U.S.-
citizen children, had argued that he should be allowed to return to
the U.S. since his rights to due process were violated. The court,
however, denied that request.

Since backing away from using stipulated removal, ICE has worked out
a different approach in Arizona, Picard said.

Illegal immigrants who do not have legal representation and do not
want to contest their cases are given the option of attending "prompt
hearings," Picard said.

Held in front of immigration judges, the hearings ensure that
immigrants facing deportation are advised of their "full array" of
rights under the law, he said. Immigration judges also confirm that
the immigrants are aware of any possibility to legally remain in the
U.S.

"Only if the judge is satisfied that the aliens are removable under
the charges filed against them, and are making a knowing and
intelligent waiver of their rights, will the judge order their
removal," Picard said.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2011/11/06/20111106immigration-arizona-deportation-
program.html#ixzz1cw78o2oX

AZMEX POLICY 5-11-11

AZMEX POLICY 5 NOV 2011

Mexico is a step from narcopolitica said Manuel Espino
Organized crime is not content to buy politicians, looking to those
who occupy positions of privilege, he says
José Eduardo Cabrera Ruiz, correspondent
http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?
m=nota&id_nota=780674&seccion=especial-nacional-los-
presidenciables&cat=289

Merida, Yucatan., November 5 .- Former PAN national leader Manuel
Espino said in this city that is very likely that through the
political parties organized crime will strain the electoral processes
in 2012.

Espino Barrientos who arrived in town to meet with members of social
networks and PAN promoters recalled to his former fellow of the PAN
had made sure that was not far off the day the narcos came to the
politicians and now looks to the growing number of murders of mayors,
deputies and even candidates for governor.

He said that Mexico is just one step from to live openly the
"narcopolitics" because organized crime is not content with the
purchase of politicians but for those who occupy positions of
privilege, the problem for which no party has a shield.

He later dismissed the strategy of President Felipe Calderon against
organized crime, because in his opinion, the violence will never be
able to fight with violence but with more social programs, attention
to employment and new projects for entrepreneurs, students,
housewives and a new culture for society as intended to promote from
his political project "Starting Over."

"My respects to Calderon, it is clear that the path is wrong," he said.

At the same time added that he will remain with PAN "until death" and
that his expulsion from the PAN was due to an excess of freedom of
expression, but not corrupt or dishonest, so he thinks in three years
if he decides to return to the white and blue (PAN).

In a hotel in this city Espino Barrientos anticipated that he would
meet two-time mayor of Mérida Ana Rosa Payan Cervera who promotes
citizen support network for Josefina Vazquez Mota in Yucatan.

He also dismissed the secret reports of the U.S. Embassy in Yucatan
Policy, specifically about Ana Rosa Payan Cervera, reportedly
released by Wikileaks, that she was supported by Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador (PRD) when she ran for governor of the state.

Espino said emphatically: "They say many lies, I know because it was
Ana Rosa, endorsed her, I lived it," but refused to disclose the
reasons.

Ana Rosa Payan Cervera, a former mayor of Merida and former director
of the National DIF in January 2007 announced his retirement from the
National Action Party after the National Executive Committee rejected
her appeal to overturn the primaries held last December 17 and the
which was won as the candidate of the state government by former
Secretary of Social Development Xavier Abreu Sierra.

Follow Special: 2012 presidential candidates
JGM
2011-11-05 18:40:00

AZMEX I3 5-11-11

AZMEX I3 5 NOV 2011

Note: Numbers a bit dubious, for among other reasons, folks on the
line tell us it has a lot to do with how BP is or is not deployed.
Do it "right" and the numbers will go down for sure. Of course
increased numbers of BP and recession play a major part also. Maybe
he and Nappy should have ridden a little further out of Nogales?
Peck Canyon anyone?

Tucson Sector arrests at border fall 40 percent last year
by Daniel González - Nov. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/05/20111105border-
tucson-sector-arrests-fall-40-percent.html

NOGALES - The number of illegal immigrants arrested by the Border
Patrol in the Tucson Sector fell by more than 40 percent last year, a
significant drop that indicates illegal immigration has slowed
considerably in Arizona.

Official statistics won't be released for several weeks, but Alan
Bersin, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told
Border Patrol agents in Nogales this week that arrests in the Tucson
Sector fell to 123,000 last fiscal year. Arrests in the Nogales
station, the largest in the Tucson Sector, fell by 43 percent to 18,000.

"Ladies and gentlemen, know that you are engaged in a historic
enterprise here," Bersin told the agents. The drop in arrests, he
said, shows that illegal immigrants "are not coming through here
anymore, and when they do, they are getting apprehended."

Bersin, who toured the border near Nogales on horseback Sunday with
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and
members of the agency's horse patrol, reiterated the numbers in an
interview with The Arizona Republic. "This is the year we close the
lid on this sector," Bersin told The Republic.

Last year's 123,000 arrests is the lowest level in the Tucson Sector
since 1993, a remarkable turnaround for a region that, Bersin said,
"was out of control" just a few years ago.
"It was out of control because we were reacting to the smugglers,"
Bersin told the agents. "This year, they are reacting to us."

The Obama administration has deployed National Guard troops and has
been adding new fencing, technology and agents along the border to
make it more difficult to cross illegally. They also have been
beefing up immigration enforcement. In fiscal 2011, deportations were
at an all-time high.

Those factors, coupled with the grim U.S. job market, have driven the
number of arrests down.

Erik Lee, associate director of the North American Center for
Transborder Studies, a think tank based at Arizona State University,
said Mexico's booming economy, which grew by 5 percent last year,
also creates less incentive for illegal immigrants to head to the
U.S. to find jobs.

Arizona, particularly the Tucson Sector, has been the most popular
gateway for clandestine border crossings for years and a flashpoint
in the national debate over illegal immigration, with politicians
routinely demanding that the administration secure the border.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a high-profile critic of Obama
administration border policies, acknowledged that the government
buildup has had some positive results, but he said there remains more
to be done to secure the border. Overall, the measures still have not
"kept up with the escalation of violence on the other side of the
border," which poses a threat to the United States, McCain said.
Fencing and technology is still insufficient and a larger National
Guard presence is needed at the border, he said.

"I not only acknowledge but am pleased to note some improvements. I
just don't think there have been enough," said McCain, who sits on
the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

President Barack Obama has repeatedly pointed to continuing declines
in Border Patrol arrests as evidence that he has increased border
security.

"In the general election, no doubt President Obama is going to make
the case that his policies are working," said Larry Sabato, director
of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "The
natural comeback is to say, 'Your bad economy is producing a lower
arrest rate because there aren't that many coming over.' "

In several recent presidential debates, however, Republican
candidates have accused Obama of not doing enough to secure the
border while pledging to beef up border enforcement. One candidate,
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, signed a pledge in October promising
to secure the border. Another candidate, former pizza company CEO
Herman Cain, called for an electric fence to deter illegal border
crossers, but then said he was joking after the remark triggered
heavy criticism and protests.

Sabato said the drop in arrests is not likely to tone down the
debate. Some may even try to spin the statistics to mean that the
Border Patrol is catching fewer immigrants because more are slipping
through.

"They are going to say whatever level it is, it is much too high and
if we build that fence, whether it's electrified or not, we'll be
able to stop this flood of illegals, which can wax and wane depending
on the strength of our economy," he said.

Slowing the flow

In the late 1990s, border crackdowns in San Diego and El Paso
funneled illegal-immigration traffic through Arizona.

At the peak in 2000, the Border Patrol apprehended 1.6 million
illegal immigrants along the Southwest border, including more than
616,000 in the Tucson Sector.

Arrests have been falling dramatically, however, in recent years,
especially in Arizona. The 123,000 illegal immigrants arrested in the
Border Patrol's Tucson Sector last year represents a 42 percent
decrease from the 212,202 illegal immigrants arrested the year
before, and an 80 percent decline from 616,000 arrests in 2000.

As recently as 2009, Border Patrol arrests in the Tucson Sector made
up 45 percent of all arrests along the entire Southwest border with
Mexico. Last year, arrests in the Tucson Sector fell to 38 percent of
the total, Bersin said.

Preliminary data shows that Border Patrol arrests along the entire
Southwest border - in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas - are
also down. They fell 28 percent last year to 316,458 during the 11-
month period from Oct. 1, 2010 through Aug. 31, 2011. Total arrests
on the Southwest border are on track to be at their lowest levels
since 1972, when the Border Patrol logged 321,326 arrests.

Still, the Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona's border with
Mexico, remains the most popular corridor for illegal border
crossers. Last year, the number of Border Patrol arrests in the
Tucson Sector was more than double the number of arrests in the
Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley Sector. The Rio Grande Valley
Sector, which covers Texas's eastern border with Mexico, had the
second-highest number of arrests, preliminary data shows.

Increased costs

Bersin and Napolitano say the sharp drop in Border Patrol arrests in
Tucson and along the Southwest border in general indicates a decrease
in illegal-immigrant traffic. They credited the addition of thousands
of Border Patrol agents, more fencing, additional technology and
increased air support.

"We've got more manpower down here than ever before," Napolitano said
in a meeting with agents in the Nogales Sector. "We've got more
technology for you to use than ever before. We've got more
infrastructure here than ever before, and it's making a huge, huge
difference and that difference can be measured in every statistical
way."

But McCain pointed to the major Arizona drug-trafficking bust
announced Monday, which resulted in 76 arrests of suspected border
scouts, drug runners and others allegedly connected to Mexico's
Sinaloa Cartel.

"Well, the good news is we busted them, but the bad news is they were
there," he said.

McCain also cited a letter sent Wednesday to Obama by Texas Attorney
General Greg Abbott that requests additional manpower to help guard
against what Abbott characterized as the "escalating threat" of spill-
over violence related to Mexico's bloody drug war. Abbott's letter
was prompted by a gunbattle in Hidalgo County, Texas, in which a
deputy sheriff was wounded by suspected drug-cartel operatives.

In 2000, there were 8,580 Border Patrol agents assigned to the
Southwest border. At the end of August of this year, there were
18,152, according to statistics from the Department of Homeland
Security. Of those, about 4,000 are stationed in Arizona, with about
3,200 in the Tucson Sector and the remaining 800 assigned to the Yuma
Sector, which covers western Arizona and parts of eastern California.

Since 2000, spending on the Border Patrol has increased from $1
billion a year to $3.5 billion in 2011, according to Border Patrol
statistics.

The Border Patrol is also in the process of hiring and training 1,000
additional agents authorized by Congress in 2010. The bulk of them
will be assigned to Arizona, Bersin said.

Napolitano acknowledged that the economy has also played a role in
decreasing migrant traffic.

"But," she said, "the plain fact of the matter is we began seeing
these numbers change before the recession in direct response to the
gradual addition of Border Patrol agents and the gradual and greater
use of technology."

Republic reporter Dan Nowicki contributed to this article.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2011/11/05/20111105border-tucson-sector-arrests-fall-40-
percent.html#ixzz1csOJ4y5x