Monday, March 26, 2012

AZMEX POLICY 25-3-12

Note: yet another attempt at getting this one out
thx

AZMEX POLICY 25 MAR 2012

Note: The arms issue getting headlines in national media.

Mexico and Vatican, stop arms
Experienced violence in Mexico has been one of the themes that have
permeated the papal visit, and was discussed during the private
meeting of about 40 minutes that the Pope had with President Felipe
Calderon at the Casa del Conde Rul, in the Plaza de La Paz, next to
the cathedral
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/39093.html

CEREMONY. Yesterday morning, the pope held a private Mass at the
College Miraflores. (Photo: ROMANO OSSERVATORE Reuters)
Sunday March 25, 2012
Jorge Ramos, Julian Sanchez and Natalia Gomez Quintero / Sent | The
Universal
politica@eluniversal.com.mx

GUANAJUATO, Gto. - Pope Benedict XVI and President Felipe Calderon
agreed on the need to curb the flow of small arms and light weapons,
nutritional source for organized crime.

"The need for an international treaty on trade in small arms and
light weapons, since their proliferation has led to criminal activity
of organized crime" was one of the main issues between Benedict XVI
and Calderon, according to the official communique of the meeting
issued by the Presidency of the Republic.

Experienced violence in Mexico has been one of the themes that have
permeated the papal visit, and was discussed during the private
meeting of about 40 minutes in the Casa del Conde Rul, in the Plaza
de La Paz, next to the cathedral.

Parallel to the dialogue Pope Calderon, the delegations of both also
met as usual on the road from Benedict XVI, and agreed on "the need
to conclude as soon as the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to regulate
responsible trade of SALW, so as to prevent possession by criminals. "

Raise global agenda

The Chair reported that the Pope and Calderón commented on the global
challenges facing the world, and on which both Mexico and the Holy
See maintained in an active position.

Climate change and its effects, food security and the fight against
world hunger and the desire to move toward nuclear disarmament were
also part of the agenda.

They praised the Catholic Church in the natural disaster relief and
humanitarian assistance. They also referred to the current situation
of world conflicts.

The papal delegation is headed by Secretary of State of the Holy See,
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
responsible for Relations with States.

The entourage of President Felipe Calderon joined the Secretaries of
the Interior, Alejandro Poire, and Foreign Affairs, Patricia Espinosa.

The Mexican side outlined the agenda of Mexico, who chairs the G20
this year, along with climate change, combating transnational
organized crime and migration.

Calderón was accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala, who dressed
in black with a cover, for reasons of protocol, as well as their
children Maria, Juan Pablo and Luis Felipe.

The presidency recalled that diplomatic relations between Mexico and
the Holy See are based on the premise of the constitutional
separation of church and state, which was established September 21,
1992.

In the meeting with the Pontiff was also attended by Cardinal
Norberto Rivera Carrera, the recently retired Cardinal Juan Sandoval
Iniguez and the Archbishop of Monterrey, Francisco Robles.

AZMEX I3 24-3-12

Note: numerous problems lately in getting these out. Looking at
creating a AZMEX group.

AZMEX I3 24 MAR 2012

Note: Living here, would continue to believe numbers are suspect,
generated to meet an agenda. Also, despite recent significantly
increased activity across the border, apprehensions remain low.

Illegal-immigration population in Arizona plunges since 2008
200,000 have left state since '08, feds estimate
by Daniel González - Mar. 23, 2012 11:11 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

The size of Arizona's undocumented-immigrant population has dropped
significantly in recent years and is now near its lowest level in a
decade, according to new government estimates.

A report released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security,
based on 2010 census data, estimated there were 360,000 illegal
immigrants in Arizona as of January 2011.

That is down 110,000 from a year earlier. It also is down 200,000
from the peak in 2008, when an estimated 560,000 illegal immigrants
lived in Arizona. Those estimates are based on 2000 census data.

Experts say the the primary factor behind the exodus was the lack of
jobs during the recession, but tighter border enforcement and tough
immigration laws also played a role.

A DHS official cautioned against making direct comparisons between
the estimates released Friday and earlier DHS estimates because they
are based on census data a decade apart.

But, experts say, the new figures confirm a strong downward trend in
the size of the undocumented population in Arizona, which has long
been considered ground zero for illegal immigration. The size of the
state's undocumented population and the state's reputation as the
main corridor for illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexican border
feed into that consideration, they say.

"There are certainly indications that the numbers of undocumented
immigrants in Arizona are dropping," said Jeffrey Passel, senior
demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, a think tank in Washington,
D.C., that also studies the nation's undocumented population.

The report suggests that the undocumented population in Arizona is at
its lowest level since 2000, when an earlier DHS report estimated
that there were 330,000 illegal immigrants in the state.

Although there is no question Arizona's undocumented population has
decreased sharply, it's difficult to say by how much, Passel said.
That is because the 2010 census counted fewer Latinos in Arizona than
previously estimated. As a result, the state's undocumented
population may not have been as large as once thought, he said.

Border Patrol apprehensions, an indicator of the number of illegal
immigrants crossing the border, are also down in Arizona. In the
Tucson Sector, the nation's busiest portion of the border for
smuggling, apprehensions fell 41 percent last year compared with the
previous year.

Lisa Magana, a political-science professor and immigration expert at
Arizona State University's School of Transborder Studies, said the
undocumented population in Arizona has decreased primarily because of
the economy. Fewer jobs in construction and the tourism industry
spurred many illegal immigrants to leave and fewer to arrive, she said.

She said tighter border security and a series of state immigration-
enforcement laws, such as Senate Bill 1070, aimed at driving illegal
immigrants out of Arizona also played a role.

She believes proponents of immigration-enforcement laws will continue
to push for more. But the laws will have a harder time getting passed
-- not necessarily because illegal immigration in the state is down
but because the economy is improving.

State Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said he agrees that the state's
undocumented population has decreased because of fewer jobs.

But he said illegal immigration remains a major problem in the state.

This year, he introduced two bills that would have required schools
and hospitals in Arizona to keep track of illegal immigrants. Both
bills died.

Smith also said he has no plans to back off from sponsoring illegal-
immigration-enforcement bills, despite the decrease in the state's
undocumented population. He said that as the economy rebounds so will
illegal immigration.

"I will continue to introduce any legislation that will help us get a
handle on this problem," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security relied on the 2010 American
Community Survey, based on the 2010 census, to estimate the size of
the nation's undocumented population.

In general, the undocumented population was calculated by subtracting
the number of legal residents from the total number of foreign-born
people living in the U.S.

The report said there were 11.5 million undocumented immigrants
living in the U.S. as of January 2011. The report also revised the
nation's undocumented population for 2010 to 11.6 million from an
earlier estimate of 10.8 million. That was because the 2010 census
counted more Latinos in the U.S. than previous estimates, the reverse
of Arizona, Passel said.

Arizona now ranks ninth out of the 10 states with the largest
undocumented populations, according to the new DHS report.

Last year, Arizona ranked fifth among states with the largest
undocumented populations.

New York, with an estimated 630,000 illegal immigrants; Georgia, with
440,000; New Jersey, with 420,000; and North Carolina, with 400,000,
have all jumped ahead of Arizona as states with large numbers of
undocumented immigrants, according to the report.

California, with an estimated 2.8 million undocumented immigrants,
has the largest number, followed by Texas, with 1.8 million, and
Florida, with 740,000. Illinois ranks fifth, with 550,000.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2012/03/23/20120323arizona-illegal-migrant-population-
plunges.html#ixzz1q3L0rXbW

Note: agenda at work here. The whole legal immigration system is,
as seen first hand, flawed beyond belief. . The detention system
BTW, is for the illegal immigrants.

US Immigration Detention System is Flawed, Report Says
Published March 24, 2012
Fox News Latino

DIAC Images
NEWARK, N.J. – New Jersey's immigration detention center is
representative of the entire, deeply flawed system and offers proof
that federal reforms are falling short, immigration advocates said
Friday at a conference on the issue.
A report by a coalition of immigration rights groups and New York
University's law school focused on conditions at an immigration
detention facility in Essex County as emblematic of problems with
immigration detention system nationwide.
The report finds that despite the emphasis by President Barack
Obama's administration on reforming the civil detention system,
facilities like the one in Essex County fail to meet several national
detention standards for immigrants, issued in 2008 and 2011 by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which cover everything from
access to attorneys to recreation and health care.
"We feel this is only the tip of the iceberg of what's occurring,"
said Alina Das, co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at NYU's
law school, who worked on the report. "We're very concerned about the
conditions in New Jersey."
Best Pix of the Week
In New Jersey, the report's authors said they received more than 200
detainee grievances from the newly expanded detention facility at the
Essex County Correctional Facility and nearby, privately operated
Delaney Hall. Arguing that the facilities do not fully comply with
ICE standards, the report documents problems with everything from
access to legal assistance and worship services to adequate health
care, food and other basic services for detainees.
The concern, Das said, is that federal immigration authorities have
touted the new agreement between ICE and Essex County to expand
detention bed space in the New York metropolitan area, as well as a
new facility opened this month in Karnes City, Texas, as more humane,
reform-minded facilities.
"Whatever Delaney Hall is, it's not a model detention facility," Das
said.
ICE Spokesman Harold Ort said the agency has made "tremendous
strides" toward reforming the immigration detention system, including
the hiring of more than 40 detention services managers to increase
oversight at detention facilities and conduct inspections and regular
visits. The agency has also reduced the overall number of detention
facilities from 370 to 255 nationwide, Ort said, and is committed to
a closer working relationship with non-governmental groups to improve
detainee treatment, as well was efficiency and oversight at detention
facilities.
Alfaro Ortiz, the director of the Essex County Correctional Facility,
disputed the report's findings and said it was part of an ongoing
campaign to discredit his facility. The county signed a new agreement
with ICE in 2011 to increase the number of immigration detainees in
the Essex jail and an adjoining privately run facility from about 500
to 1,250.
Ortiz insists the Essex facilities provide safe, humane and decent
accommodations that provide closer access for detainees to family
members and immigration lawyers. The jail is accredited by the
National Commission for Correctional Health Care and has earned a 100
percent rating from the New Jersey Department of Corrections for the
past four years, Ortiz added.
Mexicana Flight Attendants Turned Calendar Girls Feud after Success
"We look forward to working with ICE to provide the detainees with
the best service possible," Ortiz said.
The conference on immigration detention, held at the Newark campus of
Rutgers University, focused on eliminating mandatory detention
altogether.
Immigrant under mandatory detention are classified as civil and not
criminal detainees, and advocates have long argued that the majority
are low-risk individuals who do not need to be detained in order to
comply with deportation orders or court-related obligations.
Judy Rabinovitz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union
Immigrants' Rights Project who spoke at Friday's conference, said
much of the huge expansion in immigrant detention facilities was
largely unnecessary, as the majority of immigrant detainees pose
neither a danger nor a flight risk.
"A fundamental shift is needed in how we look at detention, and to
see detention as a last resort," she said.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/03/24/us-
immigration-detention-system-is-flawed-report-says/#ixzz1q4WdAwkq


Note: numbers from DHS, and suspect.

They live in the United States 11.5 million undocumented, Mexicans 59%
THE EDITOR
23 MARCH 2012 ·
INTERNATIONAL
http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=301856

MEXICO, DF (Approved). - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
reported that a total of 11.5 million undocumented migrants living in
the United States, Mexico tops the list with 6.8 million (59%).

Based on data from the Census Bureau, DHS said that figure, to
January 2011, had a slight decline on the 11.6 million the previous
year.

Behind Mexico in the list of illegal immigrants are located in El
Salvador, with 660 thousand, Guatemala, with 520 thousand, Honduras,
with 380 thousand, and China, with 280 thousand.

According to DHS, the total of illegal immigrants living in the U.S.
in 2011, 55% were admitted between 1995 and 2004, while those who
entered the country since 2005 represented only 14%.

The state preferred by migrants who enter U.S. territory without
papers is California, with 2.8 million, followed by Texas with 1.8
million, Florida with 740 000, New York, with 630 thousand, and
Illinois, with 550 thousand.

In February last year, a Pew Hispanic Center report explained that
the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States remained
stable at just over 11 million at the time, of which eight million
had a job.

By March 2010, he said, 11.2 million immigrants living in the U.S.,
virtually unchanged from a year earlier, when they were 11.1 million.

The current trend, he said, came after the record 12 million illegal
immigrants registered in 2007, which marked the end of a gradual
increase since 1990, when the United States 3.5 million people living
without papers.

According to the study released last year, the combination of a
decline in income of illegal immigrants to the U.S. and an increase
in deportations (nearly 780 thousand in the last two years) could
explain the trend.

Another cause could be the economic crisis and high unemployment in
the U.S., which discourages immigrants, said the report.

He added that the eight million illegal immigrants with jobs in
February 2011 represented 5.2% of the U.S. workforce, figures
remained relatively unchanged from 2008 (5.3%, 8.2 million) and 2009
(5.1%, 7.8
million).

Sunday, March 25, 2012

AZMEX POLICY 25-3-12

AZMEX POLICY 25 MAR 2012

Note: The arms issue getting headlines in national media.

Mexico and Vatican, stop arms
Experienced violence in Mexico has been one of the themes that have
permeated the papal visit, and was discussed during the private
meeting of about 40 minutes that the Pope had with President Felipe
Calderon at the Casa del Conde Rul, in the Plaza de La Paz, next to
the cathedral
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/39093.html

CEREMONY. Yesterday morning, the pope held a private Mass at the
College Miraflores. (Photo: ROMANO OSSERVATORE Reuters)
Sunday March 25, 2012
Jorge Ramos, Julian Sanchez and Natalia Gomez Quintero / Sent | The
Universal
politica@eluniversal.com.mx

GUANAJUATO, Gto. - Pope Benedict XVI and President Felipe Calderon
agreed on the need to curb the flow of small arms and light weapons,
nutritional source for organized crime.

"The need for an international treaty on trade in small arms and
light weapons, since their proliferation has led to criminal activity
of organized crime" was one of the main issues between Benedict XVI
and Calderon, according to the official communique of the meeting
issued by the Presidency of the Republic.

Experienced violence in Mexico has been one of the themes that have
permeated the papal visit, and was discussed during the private
meeting of about 40 minutes in the Casa del Conde Rul, in the Plaza
de La Paz, next to the cathedral.

Parallel to the dialogue Pope Calderon, the delegations of both also
met as usual on the road from Benedict XVI, and agreed on "the need
to conclude as soon as the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to regulate
responsible trade of SALW, so as to prevent possession by criminals. "

Raise global agenda

The Chair reported that the Pope and Calderón commented on the global
challenges facing the world, and on which both Mexico and the Holy
See maintained in an active position.

Climate change and its effects, food security and the fight against
world hunger and the desire to move toward nuclear disarmament were
also part of the agenda.

They praised the Catholic Church in the natural disaster relief and
humanitarian assistance. They also referred to the current situation
of world conflicts.

The papal delegation is headed by Secretary of State of the Holy See,
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
responsible for Relations with States.

The entourage of President Felipe Calderon joined the Secretaries of
the Interior, Alejandro Poire, and Foreign Affairs, Patricia Espinosa.

The Mexican side outlined the agenda of Mexico, who chairs the G20
this year, along with climate change, combating transnational
organized crime and migration.

Calderón was accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala, who dressed
in black with a cover, for reasons of protocol, as well as their
children Maria, Juan Pablo and Luis Felipe.

The presidency recalled that diplomatic relations between Mexico and
the Holy See are based on the premise of the constitutional
separation of church and state, which was established September 21,
1992.

In the meeting with the Pontiff was also attended by Cardinal
Norberto Rivera Carrera, the recently retired Cardinal Juan Sandoval
Iniguez and the Archbishop of Monterrey, Francisco Robles.

México y Vaticano, por freno de armas
La violencia vivida en México ha sido uno de los temas que han
permeado la visita papal, y fue abordado durante el encuentro privado
de unos 40 minutos que el Papa sostuvo con el presidente Felipe
Calderón en la Casa del Conde Rul, en la Plaza de La Paz, a un
costado de la catedral
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/39093.html

CEREMONIA. Ayer por la mañana el Papa presidió una misa de carácter
privado en el Colegio Miraflores. (Foto: OSSERVATORE ROMANO REUTERS )
Domingo 25 de marzo de 2012
Jorge Ramos, Julián Sánchez y Natalia Gómez Quintero / Enviados | El
Universal
politica@eluniversal.com.mx

GUANAJUATO, Gto.— El papa Benedicto XVI y el presidente Felipe
Calderón coincidieron en la necesidad de frenar el flujo de armas
pequeñas y ligeras, fuente nutricia del crimen organizado.

"La necesidad de lograr un tratado internacional sobre comercio de
armas pequeñas y ligeras, toda vez que su proliferación ha favorecido
la acción criminal de la delincuencia organizada", fue uno de los
principales asuntos entre Benedicto XVI y Calderón, según el
comunicado oficial del encuentro, emitido por la Presidencia de la
República.

La violencia vivida en México ha sido uno de los temas que han
permeado la visita papal, y fue abordado durante el encuentro privado
de unos 40 minutos en la Casa del Conde Rul, en la Plaza de La Paz, a
un costado de la catedral.

Paralelo al diálogo Papa-Calderón, las comitivas de ambos también se
reunieron como es usual en las giras de Benedicto XVI, y coincidieron
en "la necesidad de concluir a la brevedad con el Tratado de Comercio
de Armas (ATT) que regule un comercio responsable de armas pequeñas y
ligeras, de modo que se evite su posesión por parte de criminales".

Plantean agenda global

La Presidencia informó que el Papa y Calderón comentaron los desafíos
globales que enfrenta el mundo, y sobre los que tanto a México como a
la Santa Sede mantienen en una activa posición.

El cambio climático y sus efectos; la seguridad alimentaria y la
lucha contra el hambre en el mundo, así como el deseo de avanzar
hacia el desarme nuclear también fueron parte de la agenda.

Destacaron la labor de la Iglesia católica en la atención de
desastres naturales y asistencia humanitaria. Asimismo, se refirieron
a la situación de los actuales conflictos mundiales.

La comitiva papal está encabezada por el secretario de Estado de la
Santa Sede, cardenal Tarcisio Bertone, y monseñor Dominique Mamberti,
encargado de las Relaciones con Estados.

La comitiva del presidente Felipe Calderón la integraron los
secretarios de Gobernación, Alejandro Poiré, y de Relaciones
Exteriores, Patricia Espinosa.

La parte mexicana expuso la agenda de México, que preside este año el
G20, además del cambio climático, la lucha contra la delincuencia
organizada transnacional y la migración.

Calderón estuvo acompañado por su esposa, Margarita Zavala, quien
vistió de riguroso negro con una mantilla, por razones de protocolo,
así como por sus hijos María, Juan Pablo y Luis Felipe.

La Presidencia de la República recordó que las relaciones
diplomáticas entre México y la Santa Sede se basan en la premisa de
la separación constitucional entre la Iglesia y el Estado, que se
estableció el 21 de septiembre de 1992.

En el encuentro con el Santo Pontífice también estuvieron presentes
el cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera, el recientemente jubilado
cardenal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez y el arzobispo de Monterrey, Francisco
Robles.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 22-3-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 22 MAR 2012

Note: Incompetence, corruption and political agenda at work?
Results? Hundreds of Mexican citizens dead along with at least two
U.S. law enforcement.

Drug lords targeted by Fast and Furious were FBI informants
Federal agents released alleged gun trafficker Manuel Fabian Celis-
Acosta to help them find two Mexican drug lords. But the two were
secret FBI informants, emails show.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fast-
furious-20120322,0,3334424.story

By Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau
March 21, 2012, 5:39 p.m.
Reporting from Washington— When the ATF made alleged gun trafficker
Manuel Fabian Celis-Acosta its primary target in the ill-fated Fast
and Furious investigation, it hoped he would lead the agency to two
associates who were Mexican drug cartel members. The ATF even
questioned and released him knowing that he was wanted by the Drug
Enforcement Administration.

But those two drug lords were secretly serving as informants for the
FBI along the Southwest border, newly obtained internal emails show.
Had Celis-Acosta simply been held when he was arrested by theBureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in May 2010, the
investigation that led to the loss of hundreds of illegal guns and
may have contributed to the death of a Border Patrol agent could have
been closed early.

Documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau
show that as far back as December 2009 — five months before Celis-
Acosta was detained and released at the border in a car carrying 74
live rounds of ammunition — ATF and DEA agents learned by chance that
they were separately investigating the same man in the Arizona and
Mexico border region.

ATF agents had placed a secret pole camera outside his Phoenix home
to track his movements, and separately the DEA was operating a "wire
room" to monitor live wiretap intercepts to follow him.

In May 2010, Celis-Acosta was briefly detained at the border in
Lukeville, Ariz., and then released by Hope MacAllister, the chief
ATF investigator on Fast and Furious, after he promised to cooperate
with her.

The ATF had hoped he would lead them to two Mexican cartel members.
But records show that after Celis-Acosta finally was arrested in
February 2011, the ATF learned to its surprise that the two cartel
members were secret FBI informants.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)
are investigating Fast and Furious, which allowed illegal gun
purchases in Arizona in hopes of tracking the weapons to Mexican drug
cartel leaders. In a confidential memo to Republican committee
members, Issa and Grassley said the ATF should have known the cartel
members were informants and immediately shut down Fast and Furious.

"This means the entire goal of Fast and Furious — to target these two
individuals and bring them to justice — was a failure," they wrote.
The "lack of follow-through" by the various agencies, they said,
typified "the serious management failures that occurred throughout
all levels during Fast and Furious."

James Needles, a top ATF official in Arizona, told congressional
investigators last year that it was very frustrating and a "major
disappointment" to learn too late about the informants.

ATF officials declined to comment about the investigations because
they are continuing.

But Adrian P. Fontes, a Phoenix attorney representing Celis-Acosta,
who has pleaded not guilty, said he was concerned the federal
agencies purposely did not share information.

"When one hand is not talking to the other, perhaps somebody is
hiding something," he said. "Was this intentional?"

Emails and other records show that once the ATF and DEA realized they
were both investigating Celis-Acosta, officials from both agencies
met in December 2009 at the DEA field office in Phoenix.

It is unclear, however, whether MacAllister later told the DEA that
she released Celis-Acosta in May 2010 and that he was headed into
Mexico.

Her boss, David J. Voth, the ATF's group supervisor for Fast and
Furious, told committee investigators that the ATF realized the
Sinaloa cartel members were "national security assets," or FBI
informants, only after Celis-Acosta was rearrested. He identified the
informants as two brothers, and said, "We first learned when we went
back and sorted out the facts."

richard.serrano@latimes.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

AZMEX SPECIAL 21-3-12

AZMEX SPECIAL 21 MAR 2012

Reveal more drug trafficking routes.
Transit countries like Mexico increase its consumption
ATTENTION. Mark Wells, director of Western Hemisphere against the
drug's U.S. State Department, in yesterday's summit in San Jose.
(Photo: JUAN CARLOS ULATE Reuters)
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/internacional/77048.html
Wednesday March 21, 2012
Jose Melendez / Correspondent | The Universal
Note Comment

SAN JOSE. - United States admitted yesterday at the opening of the XI
Summit Multilateral Maritime Drug, which ends today in Costa Rica,
although Colombia regained the ability to address their security
problems, large amounts of cocaine produced in clandestine
laboratories in Colombia still flowing into the U.S. market via
Mexico and Central America.

Answering a question from El Universal, the diplomat Mark Wells,
director of Western Hemisphere Drug Trafficking Department of State
United States, said that while no exact figures, "I can say that most
of the drugs from Colombia" enters U.S. soil.

Asked why he calls success of Colombia's drug policy, whether in
large consumer markets there are now more cocaine produced in that
country 10 years ago, recognized that there are more drugs available
but said that the Colombian State is now "better able to address this
problem, which is no longer a challenge or threat to their survival."

Recognizing that "the drug problem continues in Colombia," claimed
that the U.S. is "investing" about 400 million in that country. Since
Washington established in 1999 the Plan Columbia to address drug
traffickers, right-wing paramilitaries, leftist guerrillas and
restore "democratic security", the US has invested 8 billion dollars
over 12 years in that country, he added.

In the inaugural address of the meeting, convened by the U.S.
government, Wells said that in the last 10 years, "we dropped the use
of cocaine in the United States in more than 43%" and that in the
past three decades "we have seen a fall the use of all drugs 30%. "
Recognizing that the reduction should be assessed against population
growth of his country, said that "we are seeing new routes" of drug
trafficking in Peru and Bolivia to Brazil, Argentina, West Africa and
Europe. Drug transit countries such as Mexico and Central America
have increased their consumption, as well as Europe.

The objective of the meeting, the officers attending of Coast Guard
and Navy of Mexico, US, Costa Rica, Peru, Honduras, Colombia,
Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, is to "promote
regional consciousness" on " air threats, land and maritime countries
located in the area of ​​origin "of drugs, said the U.S. Embassy
in San Jose.

The goal, he added, is "regional maritime interoperability" in
combating narco "transit area" of drugs and protect the marine
resources of the area. The government of the United States estimates
that 80% of the cocaine consumed in the U.S. market passes through
Central America. Mexican Admiral Mendez Bernal represents Mexico.

Note: down by Cd. Obregon, Son. but a representative story of a day
in northern Mexico.
The same stuff continues in AZ to a much lesser degree, but folks
here can defend themselves.
ISSSTESON is the hospital

About Quetchehueca shootout between kidnappers and police, one dead
- 20 MARCH 2012
http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/21541

* There are six people arrested and seized several weapons
* The victim is the owner of an agricultural estate and Fresno 1800,
lives in Colonia del Valle
* Police Commander Mars R. Gomez faced with the kidnappers shot, wounded

BY: MARCOS AVILA
A shootout between a group of kidnappers and elements of the
municipal police left one dead, a preventive agent shot and securing
three firearms in addition to the rescue of a healthy businessman,
the incident took place yesterday shortly after from 09:00 hours on
the streets Norman E. Bourlaug between 900 and 1000 of the Yaqui Valley.
Mention may be made later after conducting a series of operations in
the city, four others were captured.
EL regional de sonora upon arrival at the site of the shooting,
police know that Daniel Rodriguez Flores 48-year-old commander of
police in the police station on Mars Colony R. Gomez and Tobarito,
one who was shot.
Wounds that presented the officer, are hip right side of his body and
forearm on the same side, for which he was immediately taken to
ISSSTESON which is reported out of danger.
The alleged kidnapper who died after receiving multiple gunshot
wounds, was identified as Saul Ortiz Cesar Sanchez 20 years, resident
of the street 266 in the colony Azucenas Lopez Machi, although it
said it was from Altos de Jecopaco.
This person had three bullet wounds to the height of the back, and
his body was thrown into a secondary channel located on the street 9
and a half and Norman Borlaug in the Yaqui Valley.
Similarly Guerrero were arrested Ramon Caballero of Caballero 21
years old, and Fabian Campos Alberto Rivas were arrested at the
scene, being injured in the shootout the last mentioned.
Everything began when at the time in question was reported that
several gunmen had "lifted" a businessman, who owns a vegetable
packing the streets 1800 and Fresno and this later identified as
Robert Stewart Uriah 44 years of age, with home in Colonia del Valle.
Having given the warning about the kidnapping of businessman,
elements of the municipal police station began an operation.
The person who notified the police, reported that subjects boarded a
white car, Pontiac Sun Fire 2000 model with 012515 ONAPAFASON plates,
escaping north of the Norman E. Bourlaug.
In the above street and 1100, the police commander of Mars R. Gomez
aboard the 475 unit is the head, starting a chase, requesting
reinforcements.
The types t realize that was one police unit, chose to attack patrol
but the attack was answered by Major Rodriguez Flores and a
preventive agent who accompanied him.
On the streets 900 and average rates stopped their march, ran away
among the fields , being where the shooting occurred with greater
intensity.
Rodriguez Flores, was soon supported by fellow FIR belonging to the
Task Force, who obtained the arrest at the scene of two of the
hijackers failed. As to repel armed aggression, agents killed the
offender named Saul Cesar Sanchez Ortiz.
The wounded commander was rushed aboard a police unit to receive
medical care and the transfer to a Red Cross ambulance that met the
height of the Norman Borlaug Street between 700 and 600, leading to
ISSSTESON , site would be operated with the urgency of the case and
admitted being heavily guarded by police and all the corporations and
the military.
The site of the shooting came elements of the three levels of
government, as well as Mexican Army soldiers who resguardaron the
area of ​​the fray, as he arrived the Public Ministry of Common
Law, to attest to the facts.
State agents located in the area of ​​confrontation, three guns of
large caliber, with an Uzzi and two AK-47 rifles known as "goat
horns" of the PGJE experts also conducted assurance tens of shell
casings, more than fifty of different calibers and moved to the Law
Enforcement Center for analysis.
Catean Hotel
Based on confessions of the alleged kidnappers arrested, police of
the various corporations conducted a search of several hotel rooms
Cuenca del Sol, located down the street between German Miguel Hidalgo
and Allende.
Where were arrested Karina Ivette Gonzalez Burrola 18 years old and
originally from Chihuahua and wife of one detainee named Ramon
Guerrero Caballero Caballero.
In continuing investigations, came to the home state elements located
in the street 3038 The Legion of the colony Las Haciendas, where they
arrested Guadalupe Palma Janeth Gutierrez, wife of the deceased
offender, and to her mother, Mrs. Erika Janeth Gutierrez Peña.
The spokesman for the Attorney General of the State of Sonora, José
Larrinaga Talamantes, confirmed the latter, also explained that the
address listed serve as a safe house to hold the victim captive.
Larrinaga Talamantes, also confirmed the arrest of Elsa Torres Soto
23-year-old from Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua. Also announced that the
detainees confessed that they came together to plan the kidnapping
for ransom.


Note: Timber is a major industry in the Sierras of Sonora and
Chihuahua.

ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL ILLEGAL LOGGING, GENERAL 15 YEAR MMDD
Drafting
Wednesday March 21, 2012
http://www.riodoce.com.mx/content/view/12875/1/

Tala. Money talks.

The probability that a predator in Mexico's forest is punished is one
of the lowest in the world. A new international study found evidence
of the connection between loggers and organized crime groups, earning
billions each year to feed these criminal networks.

Each year, illegal logging generates between 10 to 15 billion dollars
of criminal assets, money largely controlled by organized crime,
which pays no taxes and is used to pay off corrupt officials of
governments at all levels, explained the study Justice for forests.
Improving the criminal justice efforts to combat illegal logging,
prepared by the World Bank.

In the case of Mexico, the probability that a crime of illegal
logging is punished is less than one in every 100 (0.082 percent),
documented the study, published Tuesday.

Compliance with laws relating to forest protection is very
inefficient in many countries to stop and deter illegal logging, the
study said. Cites research conducted over four years in four natural
resource-rich nations: Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and the Philippines,
according to which the probability that illegal logging is punished
is less than 0.082 percent. According to this study, compliance with
laws and regulations relating to the protection of natural resources
and biodiversity is enormous in these four countries.

One cause that prevents compliance with laws protecting forest
resources, in addition to corruption, lack of coordination between
authorities, says the study, which specifically mentions the case of
Mexico in this regard.

The main involved in the enforcement of protection of natural
resources (researchers, police, prosecutors and judges) do not
traditionally work in coordination and the lack of cooperation is
often an obstacle to effective law enforcement, he says.

Add: For example, a study in four different countries found that a
common challenge related to the lack of enforcement was poor
cooperation between the different units. One cause of the ineffective
enforcement in Mexico was poor collaboration among agencies
responsible for environmental protection, he adds.

Using data on the extent of illegal logging, the relationship between
this activity and organized crime and the ability to generate profits
for criminal gangs, the study raises the need for greater inclusion
of criminal justice strategies local and international efforts to
combat illegal logging.

The illegal logging has reached a magnitude that the study compares
as follows: every two seconds, he says, an area the size of a
football field is harvested illegally, and in some countries up to 90
percent of all logging is illegal.

Annually this activity generates between 10 and 15 billion dollars in
criminal assets, money that is largely controlled by organized crime.
So far, mentions, preventive action to combat illegal logging efforts
have focused on local and international level have not had a
significant impact.

The practice has not been so comprehensive. The efforts of the
judicial bodies to combat it have traditionally targeted low-level
offenders, who often engage in illegal logging out of poverty.
However, illegal logging operations of large scale are almost always
connected to the high-level corruption and organized crime networks.

The study raises the need to develop an integrated criminal justice
for illegal logging point to the high-level corruption and bribe-
paying companies. This strategy, she says, should promote systematic
investigations, prosecutions and confiscation of criminal assets, and
focus on large-scale illegal logging activities organized.

It also aims to improve local cooperation between official agencies
involved in combating illegal logging process and involve the private
sector to examine the financial dimension of forest crime and related
assets. The best use of financial intelligence compiled by financial
institutions and other entities required to report suspicious
transactions is key, she says, for the successful investigation of
illegal logging and money laundering activities related. Also
considers it necessary to involve the civil society actors that can
help governments, law enforcement and the judiciary to combat illegal
logging and related offenses.

Roberto Gonzalez Amador
La Jornada

Revelan más rutas del narco
Países de tránsito como México aumentan su consumo
ATENCIÓN. Mark Wells, director del Programa del Hemisferio Occidental
contra el narco del Departamento de Estado de EU, en la cumbre de
ayer, en San José. (Foto: JUAN CARLOS ULATE REUTERS )
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/internacional/77048.html
Miércoles 21 de marzo de 2012
José Meléndez / Corresponsal | El Universal
Comenta la Nota

SAN JOSÉ.— Estados Unidos admitió ayer en la apertura de la XI
Cumbre Multilateral Marítima Contra las Drogas, que concluye hoy en
Costa Rica, que aunque Colombia recuperó la capacidad para enfrentar
sus problemas de inseguridad, grandes cantidades de cocaína producida
en laboratorios clandestinos colombianos todavía siguen fluyendo
hacia el mercado estadounidense, vía México y Centroamérica.

Ante una consulta de EL UNIVERSAL, el diplomático Mark Wells,
director del Programa del Hemisferio Occidental contra el
Narcotráfico del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos, explicó
que aunque carece de cifras exactas, "puedo decir que la mayoría de
la droga de Colombia" ingresa a suelo estadounidense.

Al preguntársele por qué se califica de éxito la política
antidrogas de Colombia, si en los grandes mercados de consumo hay en
la actualidad más cocaína producida en ese país que hace 10 años,
reconoció que hay más droga disponible pero aclaró que el Estado
colombiano ahora es "más capaz de enfrentar este problema, que ya
no es un reto ni amenaza a su sobrevivencia".

Tras reconocer que "el problema del narcotráfico sigue en
Colombia", alegó que EU está "invirtiendo" unos 400 millones
en ese país. Desde que Washington estableció en 1999 el Plan
Colombia para enfrentar a narcotraficantes, paramilitares de derecha,
guerrillas de izquierda y restablecer la "seguridad democrática",
EU ha invertido 8 mil millones de dólares en más de 12 años en ese
país, agregó.

En el mensaje inaugural de la cita, convocada por el gobierno
estadounidense, Wells dijo que en los últimos 10 años "hemos
bajado el uso de la cocaína en EU en más del 43%" y que en las
tres décadas anteriores "hemos visto una caída del uso de todas
las drogas del 30%". Al reconocer que la disminución debe evaluarse
frente al incremento poblacional de su país, aseveró que "estamos
viendo nuevas rutas" de tráfico de drogas de Perú y Bolivia a
Brasil, Argentina, el oeste de África y Europa. Países de tránsito
de droga, como México y los de Centroamérica han aumentado su
consumo, al igual que Europa.

El objetivo de la cita, a la que acuden oficiales de guardacostas y
marinas de México, EU, Costa Rica, Perú, Honduras, Colombia,
Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panamá y El Salvador, es "fomentar
la conciencia regional" sobre "las amenazas aéreas, terrestres y
marítimas de países ubicados en la zona de origen" de las drogas,
dijo la embajada estadounidense en San José.

La meta, agregó, es "la interoperabilidad marítima regional"
para combatir al narco "en la zona de tránsito" de
estupefacientes y proteger los recursos marítimos del área. El
gobierno de EU calcula que por Centroamérica pasa 80% de la cocaína
que se consume en el mercado estadounidense. El contraalmirante
mexicano Bernal Méndez representa a México.


Cerca de Quetchehueca Balacera entre secuestradores y policías; un
muerto
– 20 MARZO 2012
http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/21541

* Hay seis personas detenidas y varias armas decomisadas
* La victima es el propietario de un predio agrícola de la 1800 y
Fresno, vive en la colonia del Valle
* El comandante de Policía de Marte R. Gómez se enfrentó a balazos
con los secuestradores, resultó herido

POR: MARCOS AVILA
Una balacera entre un grupo de secuestradores y elementos de la
Policía Municipal dejo como saldo un muerto, un agente preventivo
herido de bala y el aseguramiento de tres armas de fuego, además del
rescate de un empresario sano salvo, los hechos se registraron ayer
poco después de las 09:00 horas en las calles Norman E. Bourlaug
entre 900 y 1000 del Valle del Yaqui.
Cabe hacer mención que posteriormente tras llevar a cabo una serie de
operativos en la ciudad, fueron capturadas cuatro personas más.
EL REGIONAL DE SONORA al llegar al sitio de la balacera, logro saber
que el policía tercero Daniel Rodríguez Flores de 48 años de edad,
Comandante de policía en la comisaría de la Colonia Marte R. Gómez
y Tobarito, es quien resultó herido de bala.
Las heridas que presentó el oficial, son en la cadera del lado
derecho de su cuerpo y en el antebrazo del mismo lado, por las que
fue trasladado de inmediato al ISSSTESON donde es reportado fuera de
peligro.
El presunto secuestrador que perdió la vida al recibir varios
impactos de bala, fue identificado como Saúl César Sánchez Ortiz de
20 años, vecino de la calle Azucenas 266 en la colonia Machi López,
aunque se dijo que era originario de Altos de Jecopaco.
Esta persona presentó tres impactos de bala a la altura de la
espalda, y su cuerpo quedó tirado al interior de un canal secundario
ubicado por la calle 9 y media y Norman Borlaug en el Valle del Yaqui.
De igual forma fueron detenidos Ramón Guerrero Caballero Caballero de
21años de edad, y Fabián Alberto Rivas Campos fueron detenidos en el
lugar, resultando lesionado en la balacera el último mencionado.
Todo inicio cuando a la hora en mención se reportó que varios
sujetos armados habían "levantado" a un empresario, propietario
de un empaque hortícola de las calles 1800 y Fresno, siendo este
identificado mas tarde como Roberto Stewart Urías de 44 años de
edad, con domicilio en la colonia del Valle.
Tras darse la alerta sobre el plagio del empresario, elementos de la
policía municipal comisionados a la comisaría de Marte R. Gómez
así como de Quetchehueca, comenzaron un operativo por los alrededores.
La persona que aviso a la policía, informó que los sujetos abordaban
un vehículo color blanco, Sun Fire Pontiac de modelo 2000, con placas
de ONAPAFASON 012515, escapando al norte de la Norman E. Bourlaug.
En esta citada calle y la 1100, el comandante de policía de Marte R.
Gómez a bordo de la unidad 475 se los topo de frente, iniciándose
así una persecución, solicitando refuerzos.
Los tipos al darse cuenta que los llevaba a corta distancia una
unidad policiaca, optaron por atacar a balazos dicha patrulla, pero
la agresión fue respondida por el comandante Rodríguez Flores y un
agente preventivo que le acompañaba.
En las calles 900 y media, los tipos detuvieron su marcha, dándose a
la fuga por entre los terrenos de cultivo, siendo ahí donde la
balacera ocurrió con mayor intensidad.
Rodríguez Flores, rápidamente se vio apoyado por sus compañeros
pertenecientes al Grupo Operativo FIR, quienes lograron la detención
en el lugar de dos de los fallidos secuestradores. Por lo que al
repeler la agresión armada, los agentes dieron muerte al delincuente
de nombre Saúl César Sánchez Ortiz.
El comandante herido fue llevado de urgencia a bordo de una unidad
policíaca a recibir atención médica y en el trayecto se le
trasbordó a una ambulancia de la Cruz Roja que los encontró a la
altura de la calle Norman Borlaug entre 700 y 600, llevándolo al
ISSSTESON, sitio donde sería operado con la urgencia del caso y
quedando internado y custodiado fuertemente por policías de todas las
corporaciones y el Ejército.
Al sitio de la balacera acudieron elementos de los tres niveles de
gobierno, además de soldados del Ejército Mexicano, quienes
resguardaron el área de la refriega, mientras llegaba el Ministerio
Público del Fuero Común, para dar fe de los hechos.
Agentes Estatales localizaron en la zona del enfrentamiento, tres
armas de fuego de grueso calibre, siendo una uzzi y dos fusiles AK-47
más conocidos como "cuernos de chivo", también peritos de la
PGJE realizaron el aseguramiento de decenas de casquillos percutidos,
más de medio centenar de diferentes calibres y los trasladaron al
Centro de Procuración de Justicia para su análisis.
Catean Hotel
En base a confesiones de los presuntos secuestradores detenidos,
policías de las diferentes corporaciones realizaron un cateo en
varios cuartos del hotel Cuenca del Sol, ubicado por la calle Miguel
Alemán entre Hidalgo y Allende.
Donde se detuvo a Karina Iveth Burrola González de 18 años de edad y
originaria de Chihuahua y esposa de uno de los detenidos de nombre
Ramón Guerrero Caballero Caballero.
Al continuar con las investigaciones, elementos estatales acudieron
al domicilio ubicado en la calle Los Legionarios 3038 de la colonia
Las Haciendas, donde detuvieron a Janeth Guadalupe Palma Gutiérrez,
esposa del delincuente fallecido, así como a la madre de ésta, la
señora Erika Janeth Gutiérrez Peña.
El vocero de la Procuraduría General del Estado de Sonora, José
Larrinaga Talamantes, confirmó esto último, además detalló que el
domicilio mencionado serviría como casa de seguridad para mantener
cautiva a la víctima.
Larrinaga Talamantes, confirmó también la detención de Elsa Torres
Soto de 23 años de edad, originaria de Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua.
Dio a conocer también que los detenidos confesaron que se juntaron
para planear el plagio para cobrar un rescate por su libertad.

CRIMEN ORGANIZADO CONTROLA TALA ILEGAL; GENERAL 15 MMDD AL AÑO
Redacción
Miércoles 21 de marzo de 2012


Tala. El dinero manda.

La probabilidad de que México un depredador forestal sea castigado es
una de las más bajas del mundo. Un nuevo estudio internacional
encontró evidencia de la conexión entre los taladores y los grupos
de delincuencia organizada, con ganancias multimillonarias cada año,
que alimentan esas redes criminales.

Cada año, la tala ilegal genera entre 10 mil 15 mil millones de
dólares de activos criminales, dinero mayormente controlado por el
crimen organizado, que no paga impuestos y se utiliza para pagar a
funcionarios corruptos de los gobiernos a todos los niveles, detalló
el estudio Justicia para los bosques. Mejorando los esfuerzos de la
justicia penal para combatir la tala ilegal, elaborado por el Banco
Mundial.

En el caso de México, la probabilidad de que un delito de tala ilegal
sea castigado es de menos de uno en cada 100 (0.082 por ciento),
documentó el estudio, publicado este martes.

El cumplimiento de las leyes relacionadas con la protección forestal
es muy ineficaz en muchos países para detener y disuadir la tala
ilegal, menciona el estudio. Cita una investigación realizada a lo
largo de cuatro años en cuatro naciones ricas en recursos naturales:
Brasil, México, Indonesia y Filipinas, según la cual la probabilidad
de que la tala ilegal sea castigada es de menos de 0.082 por ciento.
Según ese estudio, el cumplimiento de las leyes y reglamentos
relacionados con la protección de recursos naturales y la
biodiversidad es abismal en estos cuatro países.

Una de las causas que impide el cumplimiento de las leyes de
protección de recursos forestales, además de la corrupción, es la
falta de coordinación entre autoridades, dice el estudio, que
menciona específicamente el caso de México en este sentido.

Los principales involucrados en el cumplimiento de las leyes de
protección de recursos naturales (investigadores, policías, fiscales
y jueces) tradicionalmente no trabajan de manera coordinada y esa
falta de cooperación suele ser un obstáculo al efectivo cumplimiento
de la ley, menciona.

Añade: Por ejemplo, un estudio en cuatro diferentes países encontró
que un desafío común relacionado con la falta de cumplimiento de la
ley fue la escasa cooperación entre las diferentes dependencias. Una
de las causas del ineficaz cumplimiento en México fue la deficiente
colaboración entre las dependencias encargadas de la protección
ambiental, agrega.

A partir de datos sobre la magnitud de la tala ilegal, la relación de
esta actividad con el crimen organizado y la capacidad que tiene de
generar ganancias para las bandas criminales, el estudio plantea la
necesidad de una mayor inclusión de la justicia penal en las
estrategias locales e internacionales para combatir la tala ilegal.

La tala ilegal de bosques ha alcanzado una magnitud que el estudio
compara en los siguientes términos: cada dos segundos, dice, un área
del tamaño de una cancha de futbol es talada de manera ilegal, y en
algunos países hasta 90 por ciento de toda la tala es ilegal.

Anualmente esta actividad genera entre 10 mil y 15 mil millones de
dólares en activos criminales, dinero que está mayormente controlado
por el crimen organizado. Hasta el momento, menciona, las acciones
preventivas para combatir la tala ilegal que se han enfocado en
esfuerzos a nivel local e internacional no han tenido un impacto
significativo.

La práctica no se ha visto de modo integral. Los esfuerzos de las
instancias de justicia por combatirla han apuntado tradicionalmente a
los delincuentes de bajo nivel, que a menudo se involucran en la tala
ilegal para salir de la pobreza. Sin embargo, las operaciones de tala
ilegal de gran escala están casi siempre conectadas a la corrupción
de alto nivel y a las redes de crimen organizado.

El estudio plantea la necesidad de desarrollar una estrategia
integrada de justicia penal para la tala ilegal que apunte a la
corrupción de alto nivel y a las compañías que pagan sobornos. Esta
estrategia, apunta, debería promover las investigaciones
sistemáticas, los enjuiciamientos y las confiscaciones de los activos
criminales, y enfocar a gran escala las actividades de tala ilegal
organizadas.

También propone mejorar la cooperación local entre las instancias
oficiales involucradas en combatir el proceso de tala ilegal e
involucrar al sector privado examinando la dimensión financiera de
los delitos forestales y los activos relacionados. La mejor
utilización de la inteligencia financiera compilada por las
instituciones financieras y otras entidades obligadas a reportar
transacciones sospechosas es clave, asegura, para la investigación
exitosa de la tala ilegal, y las actividades de lavado de dinero
relacionadas. Igualmente considera necesario que se involucre a los
actores de la sociedad civil para que pueden ayudar a los gobiernos,
a las fuerzas del orden y al Poder Judicial a combatir la tala ilegal
y los delitos relacionados.

Roberto González Amador
La Jornada

AZMEX UPDATE 21-3-12

AZMEX UPDATE 21 MAR 2012

Yuma agents seize 407 pounds of pot
March 20, 2012 3:16 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER
Border Patrol agents from Yuma Sector's Wellton Station seized about
407 pounds of marijuana and apprehended 11 suspected smugglers in two
separate incidents Monday morning.

According to Agent Spencer Tippets of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs
Office, agents patrolling on all-terrain vehicles detected a group of
six suspected drug smugglers traversing the desert south of mile
marker 96 on Interstate 8.

"In that area, the interstate is their destination," Tippets said.
"They will hide there until a load vehicle comes and picks them up."

Agents who were driving without their lights approached the group and
found them to be in possession of 191 pounds of marijuana valued at
$95,500.

"Although it's dark and they can't be seen, the smugglers can still
hear them," Tippets said.

Later that same morning, agents patrolling near Gila Bend observed a
group of five individuals traveling on foot through the desert
wearing large, rectangular backpacks.

Tippets said the agents, who were on ATVs, intercepted the subjects
and discovered their backpacks were filled with 216 pounds of
marijuana worth an estimated $108,000.

The marijuana from both seizures had an estimated street value in
excess of $203,500.

Tippets said the suspects, who were Mexican nationals, and the
marijuana were turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
because the apprehensions took place outside Yuma County.

Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/agents-77641-tippets-
marijuana.html#ixzz1plOXH9zy

Judge sees flight risk for 7 held in cartel bribe case
March 20, 2012 11:58 PM
http://www.themonitor.com/news/cartel-59567-held-sees.html
Madeline Buckley
The Brownsville Herald
All seven men accused in a bribery scheme meant to ensure a Gulf
Cartel member's safe passage to Mexico upon his release from U.S.
prison waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday and will remain federal
custody until trial.

At a detention hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan
ordered each man held without bail, citing flight risk and danger to
the community due to long criminal records for some of them and
strong ties to Mexico.

The case revolves around alleged Gulf Cartel member Juan Carlos de la
Cruz Reyna, 37, who was sentenced in 2009 to 30 months in U.S.
federal prison for threatening to assault and murder U.S. agents.

The attorney for de la Cruz, Reyna Reynaldo Garza III, said he cannot
comment on the case further than saying the government has not yet
fully disclosed its evidence to the defense.
"We're still in the process of investigating the case," Garza, who
represented de la Cruz in the 2009 case, said.

In addition to de la Cruz, the men accused of conspiring to bribe a
federal agent are Julio Torres, 39, of Brownsville; Carlos Melo, 38,
of Brownsville; Adalberto Nunez-Venegas, 39, a Mexican national;
Gaspar Montes Martinez, 41, of Harlingen; Juan Trejo Venegas, 33, of
Matamoros; and Jose C. Venegas, 36, of Brownsville.

A criminal complaint alleges that the men had varying roles in
offering an undercover agent posing as a corrupt Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agent about $1 million to release de la Cruz
Reyna into the custody of Gulf Cartel members rather than Mexican law
enforcement upon his deportation.

He finishes his sentence in the earlier case later this month.
According to the complaint, the man feared facing further charges in
Mexico and also feared being kidnapped by a rival cartel.

The men went before Morgan individually, and all the attorneys but
Garza argued for a reasonable bond for their clients, which the judge
denied.

Note: all this stuff ends up being inter-related. Locals will
remember the rumor about El Chapo having a residence in the Tanque
Verde area

Home invasion raises question: does medical marijuana attract crime?
CREATED MAR. 20, 2012
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/143586046.html

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall says the home invasion bears out
fears medical marijuana facilities will attract crime
Kimberly Haslett of Southwest Arizona Patient Alliance says Arizona
has not seen a surge in crime around medical marijuana
Reporter: Craig Smith

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Before voters approved medical marijuana, law
enforcement warned medical marijuana sites would attract crime.

Now it may be the motive in a home invasion Sunday night.

Under state law having and growing marijuana is legal for certain
patients and caregivers. But it's a valuable commodity in the
illegal world.

Now critics of medical marijuana see an incident Sunday night as
example of legal marijuana pulling people in contact with the illegal
world of dangerous criminals.

Before Arizona voters approved medical marijuana, law enforcement
warned medical marijuana facilities would attract crime. Pima County
Attorney Barbara LaWall was one of them.
"It was a big concern and clearly it was a valid one."

It's not 100 percent clear if the bandits who invaded the house knew
medical marijuana was grown there with a valid license from the state
health department.

But when they busted into the home in a quiet Tanque Verde
neighborhood, they came away with marijuana, cash and a cell phone
that deputies traced to find two of the three suspects.

Barbara LaWall says, "This has happened throughout the country
wherever marijuana has become medicalized there have been all kinds
of thefts, robberies, strong arm robberies, armed robberies, home
invasions, etc."

Kimberly Haslett of the Southwest Arizona Patient Alliance does not
see a criminal trend here: "We have 1300 caregivers in the state
right now and this is the first reported home invasion so I don't
think they are a magnet for crime."

Haslett questions whether the home invaders knew they were busting
into a house where marijuana was grown under license.

She says caregivers licensed to grow usually keep a low profile and
don't advertise what they have.

KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith asked her: "What I'm wondering is if
there's something about how the caregivers become known that would
allow someone seeking marijuana for illegal purposes to find them?"

Haslett: I don't see a correlation in that at all because the only
people that know who the caregiver is should be the patient and the
Arizona Department of Health Services."

The state health department does publish figures showing how many
caregivers are licensed to grow medical marijuana. The latest
figures show 72 for Pima County and the highest concentration--12---
is in the Tanque Verde area where the home invasion happened.

Deputies nab suspect, 500 pounds of pot after chase
Posted: Mar 20, 2012 7:20 AM MST
Updated: Mar 21, 2012 5:35 AM MST
By Steve Stout - email
By Jose Miguel - bio | email
http://www.kpho.com/story/17199563/deputies-nab-suspect-500-pounds-of-
pot-after-chase

PHOENIX (CBS5) -
Maricopa County sheriff's deputies caught one of two suspects
involved in a high-speed chase on Interstate 10 near Dysart Road in
the West Valley on Tuesday morning, but what they found inside the
vehicle was more surprising.

Acting on a tip, deputies gave chase after spotting a gold Chevrolet
Tahoe that the suspects were driving near State Route 85 and I-10,
according to reports.

The chase led to Dysart Road just south of the interstate and the
suspects, who were believed to be armed, jumped from the vehicle,
officers said.

Oscar Luna was caught trying to hide near a shopping center parking
lot. A second suspect ran across both sides of the I-10 heading north
into a field and is still on the loose.

Inside the Tahoe, the tip proved correct when deputies discovered 500
pounds of marijuana, a 9mm gun and a 50-round magazine.

"The fact that we found the 9mm gun in the truck is promising,
there's no evidence of any other ammunition and any other weapons, so
the subject's possibility of being dangerous, being armed and
dangerous is very small at this point," said Sgt. Brandon Jones with
MCSO.

The outstanding suspect was described as Hispanic, about 5'8" tall
and wearing a red shirt and blue jeans.

Search continues for man who fled after I-10 chase in West Valley
by Cassondra Strande, Mary Kate Lau, and Jose Zavala -
Mar. 21, 2012 11:40 AM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team

Authorities continue to look for a man who got away after a high-
speed chase on Interstate 10 Tuesday morning, according to the
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Shortly after 7 a.m., two men in a gold Chevrolet Tahoe refused to
stop for deputies after a concerned citizen notified police the
vehicle might contain marijuana.

The chase started near Arizona 85 and Interstate 10, according to
Sgt. Brandon Jones of the Sheriff's Office. The chase continued onto
the I-10. Two people in the Tahoe jumped out of the vehicle near
Dysart Road after blowing a tire and took off on foot, Jones said.

Inside the Tahoe, deputies found 500 pounds of marijuana and a 9mm
semi-automatic handgun with a 50-round magazine, Jones said.

One of the men, Oscar Luna, 21, was taken into custody on suspicion
of drug running, and he told authorities he was in the country
illegally, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office along with Avondale and Goodyear police
departments searched for the second man for two hours, but did not
locate him. The Sheriff's Office is now following leads to attempt to
locate the second man.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2012/03/20/20120320interstate-10-chase-search-man-fled-
abrk.html#ixzz1pmjvAamp

AZMEX EXTRA 21-3-12

AZMEX EXTRA 21 MAR 2012

Mexican gun traffickers busted in McAllen sent to prison
March 21, 2012 7:25 PM
Jared Taylor
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/mcallen-59587-mexican-prison.html

McALLEN — A federal judge sent two illegal immigrants to prison for
their roles in a gun trafficking ring busted on the city's northwest
side.

Authorities recovered five assault rifles and a pistol from four
illegal immigrants at 3512 Violet Ave. in February 2011.

A Texas Department of Public Safety investigator had received
information that the house was possibly used by illegal immigrants
smuggling guns to Mexican drug cartels, a criminal complaint states.

Authorities recovered three .308-caliber rifles with obliterated
serial numbers, a Glock 9 mm pistol and two AR-15-style assault
rifles during raids at the house and an apartment at 1116 N. 20th
St., McAllen.

U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Carlos Rios Davila and
Marco Guzman Velasquez at a hearing Wednesday in McAllen.

Both men received 63-month prison sentences for their roles in the
gun trafficking scheme.

Crane said it was unclear whether Rios or Guzman — both illegal
immigrants from Mexico — played a larger role in the gun trafficking
scheme.
"I would like the United States of America to forgive me, and of
course, I would like the judge to forgive me," Rios said in the
courtroom in Spanish. "That is all I would like to say."

Velasquez said he wants to use his prison time for a fresh start.
"I will not come back," he told Crane in Spanish. "I would like the
court to send me to a prison with educational opportunities so I can
better myself."

Both men will be deported upon completing their prison time.

Also formally charged in the case were Ismael Rivera Melendez and
Ferdinando Guillen Rivera; however, both men's cases were dismissed
in August 2011.

--

AZMEX SPECIAL 20-3-12

AZMEX SPECIAL 20 MAR 2012

Note: One would expect the drug cartels to be exempt as usual. But
a real problem for everyone else. "avoid destroying or modifying"
really means no access.

Ariz., N.M. frog gets habitat protection
by Felicia Fonseca - Mar. 20, 2012 06:52 AM
Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF -- The federal government is designating more than 10,000
acres of critical habitat for a rare spotted frog found in Arizona
and New Mexico.

The acreage in west-central and southwestern New Mexico, and central
and southeastern Arizona have water sources that the Chiricahua
leopard frog needs to rebound.

The aquatic-breeding amphibians once found at hundreds of moist sites
across the Southwest now exist in less than 20 percent of their
historic range.

The frog was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in
2002, but no critical habitat was proposed.

An environmental group sued and reached a settlement with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service in 2009 to consider whether critical
habitat would help the frog.

The agency announced a final ruling Monday in compliance with a court
order.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2012/03/20/20120320PNI0320-wir-arizona-endangered-spotted-frog-
habitat.html#ixzz1pfhCC0CH


Note: they "ask"?

Frog found in Ariz., NM gets habitat protection
Tue, 20/03/2012 - 8:31pm
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.svherald.com/associatedpress/254894

FILE - This April 15, 2005 file photo shows a Chiricahua leopard frog
makes
it's way to an artificial pond in San Bernardino Valley, Ariz. The
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service has set aside more than 10,000 acres as critical
habitat
for this threatened frog found in New Mexico and Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt
York, File)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is
designating more than 10,000 acres of critical habitat for a rare
spotted frog found in Arizona and New Mexico that has disappeared
from 80 percent of its historic habitat in the country.
The acreage in west-central and southwestern New Mexico, and central
and southeastern Arizona has water sources that the Chiricahua
leopard frog needs to rebound. The aquatic-breeding amphibians once
were found at hundreds of moist sites across the Southwest but now
are limited mostly to headwater streams and springs, and livestock
tanks.

"This is a very hopeful step for a beautiful creature that really
deserves this scale, magnitude of protection," said Michael Robinson
of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Ten thousand acres for a
very little creature may be the difference between survival and
recovery or extinction, so we're very happy."
The frogs made their home in ponds and creeks across New Mexico and
Arizona until the 1970s when the population declined due to drought,
disease and threats from nonnative species, like crayfish, American
bullfrogs and barred tiger salamanders.
Environmentalists petitioned to protect the frog under the Endangered
Species Act in 1998. The request was granted four years later, but no
critical habitat was proposed. Federal wildlife officials said at the
time that they could work better with landowners and others on
conservation plans without the restrictions of critical habitat.
WildEarth Guardians sued, saying that the designation would help
protect the frog's environment from livestock grazing and predators.
Biologists also were concerned about chytrid, a fungus that has been
affecting frogs throughout the world.
The environmental group reached a settlement with the Fish and
Wildlife Service in 2009 to consider whether critical habitat would
help. The agency announced a final decision Tuesday in compliance
with a court order. It goes into effect April 19.
Part of that process was reassessing the status and threats of the
frog after discovering that leopard frogs on the eastern slopes of
Arizona's Huachuca Mountains actually are a population of the
Chiricahua leopard frog.
Although the critical habitat designation includes some private land,
it does not impose any legally binding duties on private citizens,
said Tom Buckley, a spokesman with the Fish and Wildlife Service in
Albuquerque, N.M.
The agency asks that owners of private land, like ranchers, consult
with the federal government to determine whether their actions might
affect the frogs, he said. Federal agencies are required to avoid
destroying or modifying areas designated as critical habitat, Buckley
said.
"They usually understand what it is we're doing and why," he said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service had proposed setting aside 11,467 acres
for the frog, but that was reduced to 10,346 acres by excluding some
areas.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 19-3-12

AZMEX F&F EXTRA 19 MAR 2012

note: more F&F
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1518965348001/top-suspect-in-fast-amp-
furious-was-caught-then-let-go/

Note: still wondering what ever happened to those "Ten years"?? The
light sentences continue. Don't miss the last paragraph.

3 get prison after trafficked guns turn up in Mexico
March 19, 2012 6:53 PM
Jared Taylor
The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/news/prison-59534-trafficked-turn.html

McALLEN — A federal judge sent three men to prison after guns they
trafficked into Mexico turned up in a shootout where nine people were
killed.

Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa sentenced Pharr resident
Rene Cantu Jr., 26; Abiel Hernandez, 26, a resident alien from
Mexico; and Juan Manuel Bugarin, 31, of Pharr, to prison after they
pleaded guilty in a gun trafficking case last year.

The judge handed down a 52-month sentence for Cantu. Hernandez
received a nine-month sentence, and Bugarin received a six-month
sentence.

Each man pleaded guilty in September to making a false statement on a
federal form when purchasing a firearm — commonly known as "straw
purchasing."

Hernandez and Bugarin each bought four AK-47 assault rifles from The
Armory, 2714 N. 10th St., McAllen. Both men told the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives they were paid to purchase
the guns for someone else, a superseding indictment filed in the case
states.

Agents learned Cantu had bought 32 firearms for another person over a
four-month period, prosecutors said in a statement Monday. The court
found Cantu guilty of the weapons bought by Hernandez and Bugarin,
because he recruited them to make the purchases.

Two of the guns purchased by Cantu were recovered at an undisclosed
location in Mexico, where grenades and a grenade launcher were
recovered by the Mexican military. Eight drug cartel members and one
member of the Mexican marines were killed in the battle.

Hernandez and Bugarin remain free on bond and were ordered to
surrender within the next two months to begin serving their prison
time. Cantu remains in custody pending his transfer to a federal prison.


Gun-tracking operation caught top suspect, then let him go
Federal agents stopped the main target of the ill-fated Operation
Fast and Furious in May 2010. After they questioned him, he
disappeared back into Mexico, and the program went on to spiral out
of control.
By Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau
March 19, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fast-
furious-20120319,0,3662110.story

Reporting from Washington— Seven months after federal agents began
the ill-fated Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation, they stumbled
upon their main suspect in a remote Arizona outpost on the Mexican
border, driving an old BMW with 74 rounds of ammunition and nine
cellphones hidden inside.

Detained for questioning that day in May 2010, Manuel Fabian Celis-
Acosta described to agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosiveshis close association with a top Mexican drug
cartel member, according to documents obtained this weekend by the
Times/Tribune Washington Bureau.

The top Fast and Furious investigator, Special Agent Hope
MacAllister, scribbled her phone number on a $10 bill after he
pledged to cooperate and keep in touch with investigators.

Then Celis-Acosta disappeared into Mexico. He never called.

Had they arrested him red-handed trying to smuggle ammunition into
Mexico, Fast and Furious might have ended quickly. Instead, the
program dragged on for another eight months, spiraling out of control.

Celis-Acosta continued slipping back and forth across the border,
authorities say, illegally purchasing more U.S. weapons and financing
others. He was not arrested until February 2011, a month after Fast
and Furious closed down.

The operation, run by the ATF's Phoenix field office, allowed illegal
gun purchases in Arizona in hopes of tracking the weapons to Mexican
drug cartel leaders. Instead, about 1,700 guns vanished, and scores
turned up at crime scenes in Mexico. Two were found south of Tucson
where U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot to death in
December 2010.

Why ATF agents did not arrest Celis-Acosta immediately is not clear.
He was their prime suspect and the subject of secret wiretaps
approved by the Justice Department.

"Due to the fact that the criminal case is still ongoing in the
courts, and the inspector general's office is still investigating, we
cannot comment about this," ATF chief spokesman Drew Wade said.

Other law enforcement officials, speaking anonymously because of
ongoing investigations, acknowledged it was a crucial blunder in a
deeply flawed program. "I don't know why they didn't arrest him," one
said. "They certainly could have."

But, another argued, agents may have viewed Celis-Acosta as a
possible conduit to the cartels. "He was cooperating and talking a
lot and giving up a lot," he said. "From an investigative standpoint,
that's pretty good information you're getting. Maybe he can hook you
into even bigger fish."

Fast and Furious, which is under investigation by the Justice
Department's inspector general, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Sen.
Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), began Oct. 31, 2009. From the start,
Celis-Acosta, 24, was the main target, according to internal ATF
documents that have not been publicly released. An ATF flow chart
listed him at the top of more than two dozen individuals involved in
the gun-smuggling ring.

The documents state that Celis-Acosta led the smuggling ring and that
he was paid from drug proceeds to illegally acquire firearms for
cartels. He carried a permanent U.S. resident card, a Social Security
number and an Arizona driver's license. He moved easily between homes
in Mexico and Phoenix. Eventually arrested by U.S. marshals at a
relative's home in El Paso, he pleaded not guilty to gun-smuggling
charges as one of 19 Fast and Furious defendants. None of the 19 has
gone to trial.

According to an ATF "Report of Investigation," prepared by
MacAllister, authorized by her supervisor, David J. Voth, and
reviewed by William D. Newell, then the ATF special agent in charge
in Arizona, U.S. authorities stopped Celis-Acosta as he headed south
through the border town of Lukeville, Ariz.

The document said an ammunition magazine containing 74 rounds was
hidden in a spare tire, and the phones in the dash. In the trunk of
the 2002 BMW 754i was a ledger referring to money given to "Killer"
and a list of firearms.

Celis-Acosta first said he did not know the ammunition was inside. He
said a friend's mother bought the BMW "with a credit card."

MacAllister was called to the scene, and Celis-Acosta began to open
up. He admitted he knew "a lot about firearms." He conceded he was en
route to a birthday party for "Chendi," a close associate who he said
was a Mexican cartel member and "right-hand man" to Joaquin "Chapo"
Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel.

Celis-Acosta said Chendi moved 6,000 pounds of marijuana a week into
the U.S., terrorized Mexican police, wore a $15,000 wristwatch and
lived in a home with "a lot of gold" inside and a landing strip outside.

MacAllister checked with the Drug Enforcement Administration and
learned Chendi — real name Claudio Jamie Badilla — was a "large-scale
marijuana and multi-kilogram cocaine trafficker."

MacAllister asked Celis-Acosta whether he "would be willing to
cooperate." When he said yes, they confiscated the ammunition and let
him go.

richard.serrano@latimes.com

AZMEX UPDATE 18-3-12

AZMEX UPDATE 18 MAR 2012

Note: basically a press release, but interesting. Ex mil types will
enjoy the spin.

Army, Border Patrol partnership provides surveillance and training
benefitting both
Sun, 18/03/2012 - 12:07am
BY BILL HESS
Herald/Review
http://www.svherald.com/content/news/2012/03/18/254608

DOUGLAS — For the Border Patrol, they have extra human and
technology sensors.
For soldiers out of Fort Hood, Texas, they are gaining extra, almost
real world, training.

Operation Nimbus, which started in February, will have about 500
military personnel supporting the Border Patrol by providing
abilities to detect border incursions, said Armando Carrasco, a
spokesman for Joint Task Force North, the military headquarters which
matches requests from civilian law enforcement agencies with military
units.
On Thursday, soldiers from E Battery, 1st Battalion (Air Missile
Defense), of the 44th Air Defense Regiment showed some of the
equipment being used on the training deployment.
For 1st Lt. David Endter, the unit's 3rd Platoon leader, while the
unit is a missile defense organization, much of what it does can be
used to help the Border Patrol.
As Border Patrol Supervisory Agent in charge and public affairs
officer Steven Passement said, "We gain additional eyes."
For security reasons, every one of the federal law enforcement
officials and soldiers were fairly closed-mouthed about the operation
named Nimbus, which is a type of cloud formation or the halo seen in
renderings over the heads of saints. But they all said the benefit of
this deployment has been in the planning stages for a long time.
When Joint Task Force North, which is part of Northern Command,
receives requests for help, such as from the Border Patrol, it can
take some time in accepting the proposal and planning it. Carrasco
said JTF-N does not have units on hold or standby for such
assignments. Finding a military unit to support a specific request
takes time, he said.
And the mission of JTF-N is not part of the functions of various
National Guard units, which are authorized by different federal laws
than active duty or reserve units fall under, he emphasized.
JTF-N provides active duty and reserve units of all branches of the
military, based on what additional training an organization can
obtain to support their wartime missions, Carrasco said.
Marine Corps Capt. Luke Barnes said he worked on the "nuts and bolts"
planning aspects of Operation Nimbus for more than six months.
As for the military portion of the deployment, there has to be a unit
found which not only matches the needs but will volunteer for a
deployment because of the training edge it will give the military
members of the organization, he said.
You cannot just reach out and tap a unit because that will not work
if the military organization does not have the needs sought by such
agencies as the Border Patrol, and the unit will not get the type of
training they need when deployed to real world areas, Barnes said.
While the current unit involved in the mission in southern Arizona
and New Mexico is an air defense organization, it has not brought any
of its missiles with it.
Rather, a radar system is being used to monitor the sky for incoming
aircraft and to track such intrusions, as well as other types of
surveillance, with all reports being provided to the Border Patrol to
take actions, including interception of illegal activities coming
across the border from Mexico.
Passement said whenever there is a law enforcement aspect of what is
provided by the soldiers, the Border Patrol takes the action, as the
GIs are not authorized to arrest or contact any one.
According to news reports, recently there has been an increase of
ultralight aircraft flying in loads of drugs, with more of it
happening southeastern Cochise County and the southwestern part of
New Mexico.
Staff Sgt. John Reich, the senior noncommissioned officer in the 3rd
Platoon said, "We are training as we fight." The area along the
border is similar to Afghanistan, he said.
Reich has deployed three times and said many of the soldiers in the
platoon haven't yet deployed. "They look to me for guidance," he
said. The training is a day and night operation.
While Sgt. Levi Houston, a section chief, has deployed, it has never
been to Iraq or Afghanistan.
His deployments were to Bosnia and Kosovo, where the topography and
landscape is different, with lots of trees and rivers. Thursday he
was working as a team member of a two-soldier group consisting of him
and Pfc. David Stanfill.
The younger soldier has yet to deploy to a hostile environment.
The non-talkative Stanfill concentrated on a remote control piece of
equipment which was some yards away from the Avenger, a system from
which anti-aircraft missiles would be launched in a real situation,
Houston said part of any training is ensuring where the team sets up
is a protected area and out of sight.
sUnlike training at a home post, being deployed elsewhere in the
United States does provide additional reality, Houston said.
The normal work days are 16 hours long, much like it would be when
deployed, he said.
Passement said new Border Patrol agents coming into the Tucson
Sector, and who work with the soldiers who are currently deployed are
also benefiting from the combined
actions.
Having additional resources allows not only new agents but those who
have been involved in protecting the border to understand the
capabilities the military has and brings, even though it is a
deployment training scenario, he said.
The synergy of all the parts makes individuals better "at doing
their jobs," Passement said.


Posted March 18, 2012, 2:04 AM
GETS ASSAULTED abscond
Shooting in the city center
The front wheel was removed and rolled with the impact to be about
twenty yards from his place.
The gunmen shot at him in the chase, several vehicles were damaged
Nogales, Sonora - New Day
http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/local/balacera-en-pleno-centro/

Several individuals staged a shootout in the heart of the city, in a
chase, which eventually assaulted the driver managed to escape
unharmed in the incident to flee their persecutors.
The person, despite being shot at with guns of different caliber,
managed to evade the suspects in the chase, several vehicles were
damaged, including a pickup truck, late model that was parked, owned
by Mexican tourists, which was more damage.
Around 11:00 pm yesterday, several people reported up to Vasquez and
Obregon Street, the driver of a drive, pick-up truck, was followed by
others who were traveling aboard a white unit .
The reportantes reported that they had heard explosions of gun during
the chase.
When authorities arrived at the place where the pickup was abandoned,
the Toyota brand, model 1996, people had already left.
The military said cases, apparently for the sizes, nine and forty
millimeters, but found no injured people, mentioned in the first
event data.
The driver of the Toyota unit, having impacted the left side rim,
same as off in full, pick up a Chevrolet, Silverado, managed to reach
the parking lot of Banamex, which left the vehicle abandoned with the
keys in the lit.
In the aforementioned parking lot, the officers managed to secure
several cases, which he said were fired from another vehicle in motion.
Who identified himself as Bernardo VIDENA Avear, 42 years old, said
that just before his unit was stationed, Silverado, 2005 model and
plates of the neighboring country while trying to have fun in a
nearby room, the events occurred.
Agents who heeded the call reported that they found it necessary to
close access Obregón Avenue and Calle Luis Torres, preserving the
evidence of what happened.
In their mad rush to catch his victim, hit a couple of cars at that
time moved on Avenida Obregon, but apparently resulted with minor
damage.


Publicado marzo 18, 2012, 2:04 AM
LOGRA AGREDIDO DARSE A LA FUGA
Balacera en pleno centro

La llanta delantera fue removida ante el impacto y rodó para quedar
como a veinte metros de su lugar.

Los gatilleros le dispararon en la persecución; varios vehículos
fueron dañados

Redacción
Nogales, Sonora - Nuevo Día
http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/local/balacera-en-pleno-centro/

AZMEX UPDATE 19-3-12

AZMEX UPDATE 19 MAR 2012

Note: legalizing should end the crime problems for sure. Or will
there just be a series of hostile takeovers as in the human
trafficking business? No info on perps beyond names.

Gunmen invade Tucson pot-growing house
Veronica M. Cruz, Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Monday, March 19, 2012
3:20 pm

Photo courtesy of the Pima County Sheriff's Department
Augustin Soto Rivera(left), 35, and Ignacio Soto, 25, were booked
into the Pima County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, armed
robbery and kidnapping.

Three gunmen burst into Tucson home where marijuana is legally grown
Sunday, making off with several thousand dollars and pot, officials
said.
Two men were arrested in connection with the home invasion a short
time later. The Pima County Sheriff's deputies are looking for the
third man, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a department spokeswoman in a
news release.
Deputies responded to a home in the 11200 block of East Holster Drive
at 9:13 p.m. after receiving a report of an armed robbery. They found
marijuana being legally grown in the home near North Melpomene Way
and East Limberlost Road.
The homeowner was authorized to grow marijuana for multiple patients,
Barkman said.
Under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, a person, known as a
caregiver, can grow and supply marijuana to up to five people who
have patient cards, said Laura Oxley, a spokeswoman for the Arizona
Department of Health Services. The caregiver can also be a patient
and can grow up to 72 plants with six marijuana cards. Barkman did
not know how many plants were growing in the house.
The sheriff's department gave the following account of the home
invasion:
Three men wielding handguns and wearing bandannas and hoodies forced
their way into the home through the front door and stole thousands of
dollars in cash, marijuana, a gun and a cell phone, victims told
deputies. The fled in a black 2011 GMC Yukon.
The homeowner tracked the cell phone using its GPS and deputies found
the SUV near North Camino Seco and East Speedway. Deputies chased the
SUV and the driver crashed in the desert near North Camino Seco and
East 22nd Street after failing to negotiate a corner.
The men ran away, but two were found by the canine unit. The pair
failed to comply with police orders and were bitten.
Augustin Soto Rivera, 35, and Ignacio Soto, 25, were booked into the
Pima County jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, armed robbery
and kidnapping.
Deputies are still looking for the third man and anyone with
information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME (882-7463).

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/gunmen-invade-tucson-
pot-growing-house/
article_ae4f4e20-7211-11e1-9aa6-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1pbdbksCx

Big week for MCSO nets 54 illegal alien arrests
by KTAR Newsroom (March 19th, 2012 @ 6:33pm) Policy >>
http://www.ktar.com/6/1516748/Big-week-for-MCSO-nets-54-illegal-alien-
arrests

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was busy last week.

Operations in three separate areas caught a total of 54 illegal
aliens, all of which were booked into the Maricopa County Jail.

A majority of the arrests -- 31 in total -- were made during a raid
of 21st Century Laboratories in Tempe, Ariz. All 31 were booked on
charges of identification theft.

A human smuggling operation caught six illegal aliens who said they
crossed the border near Sonorita and were headed for Colorado,
California and Arizona. They said they paid between $1000 and $2000
each to be smuggled into the country. All were identified as Mexican
nationals.

A bust of a cockfighting ring caught a total of 31 suspects, but only
17 were illegal aliens.

Note: another shoot out in central Nogales

Publicada: 19/03/2012 14:21 Por: Redacción ElImparcial
Agresión armada en Nogales
http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Policiaca/
19032012/580137.aspx

NOGALES, Sonora(PH)
Una agresión armada se registró momentos atrás en el centro de la
ciudad dejando una persona herida.