Postings Delayed…Anuncios retraso

My mother  suddenly departed this world on the Day of the Innocents-Nov 1–my birthday.

Mi madre se marchó de repente el mundo en el Día de los Inocentes–Nov 1–mi cumpleaños.

Women in the Narcoguerra/Las Mujeres en la Narcoguerra

Courtesy AP

The grisly discovery of a woman’s body and her separated head  on a roadside in Ciudad Juarez last Tuesday brought renewed attention to women in the narcoguerra– as victims or players or both.

In the case of the decapitated woman in Juarez–a first in the drug war according to police and  researchers–she was first identified as a former police officer, now working as a human rights advocate. She also had Santa Muerte tattoos on her lower back but that in itself  doesn’t mean she was a  gangster–despite the hype that  Saint Death is the narcos’ patron saint. See report at  El Heraldo de Chihuahua.

For more context on this and the nightmares of violence women face in  Juarez on a daily basis–read this excellent piece from Diane Washington Valdez in the El Paso Times

Those who’ve been visiting here for awhile  may recall reading about  the Zetas women’s division last June–  Zetas: Everywhere on Everything.

This morning the BBC Mundo’s Alberto Najar follows with a little feature on women in the narcoguerra-Las Sicarias Mexicanas. . .

Zeta Factor

Las mujeres sufren la crisis económica tanto como los hombres, y para sentirse integradas se incluyen en los ámbitos de violencia

(Women suffer economic crisis just as much as men, and for that reason are  drawn into a world of violence.}

De acuerdo con el Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (Inegi), unas 7.700 mujeres están encarceladas por delitos relacionados con drogas.

(According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), approximately 7,700 women are incarcerated for drug offenses.)

La mayoría de los casos fueron “por cuestiones sentimentales”, ha dicho la presidenta del Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres, Rocío Gaytán, porque las detenidas pretendieron introducir droga a reclusorios de varones, para sus hijos o parejas.

(Most cases were “for emotional issues,” said the president of the National Women’s Institute, Rocio Gaytan, because the prisoners sought to introduce drugs into prisons for men, their children or partners.)

Hay otras que tuvieron un papel más activo, como ancianas que vendían droga a pequeña escala, y algunas más que participaron directamente en la línea de fuego.

(Still others took a more active role, as old women selling drugs on a small scale, and some more directly involved in the firing line.)

Es el caso de Margarita García, La Margot, acusada por la Procuraduría General de la República (fiscalía mexicana) de custodiar cargamentos de droga de la banda criminal de Los Zetas, y que en algunas ocasiones participó en conflictos armados contra grupos rivales.

(There is the case of Margarita Garcia, La Margot, accused by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to guard drug shipments for the criminal gang Los Zetas, and sometimes participated in armed conflict with rival groups.)

De acuerdo con la fiscalía, Los Zetas han entrenado a varias mujeres como sicarias y guardaespaldas.

(According to prosecutors, Los Zetas have trained several women as assassins and bodyguards.)

Mujeres destacadas

Prominent women

La Reina del Pacífico, Sandra Ávila Beltrán, fue detenida en México en 2007.

(The Pacific Queen, Sandra Avila Beltran ,arrested in Mexico in 2007.)

La Reina del Pacífico. The Queen of the Pacific. La Pantera. La Pantera. La Canti. The Canti. La Ma Baker… The Ma Baker …

Sobrenombres de algunas mujeres que han tenido posiciones destacadas en el narcotráfico mexicano.

(Nicknames of some women who have had prominent positions in the Mexican drug trade.)

Las tres primeras fueron señaladas por las autoridades de lavar dinero para grupos de narcotraficantes.

(The first three were charged by the authorities with money laundering  for drug groups.)

Pero la Ma Baker creó el llamado Cartel de Neza, asentado en el oriente de la capital mexicana y que en su momento de esplendor vendía 10.000 dosis de cocaína a la semana, según la fiscalía.

( Ma Baker created the so-called Neza Cartel, based in eastern Mexico City and in its heyday sold 10,000 doses of cocaine a week, prosecutors said.)

Y no es la única líder de un grupo del narco.

(She is not the only leader of a narco group.)

Enedina Arellano Félix asumió el control del Cartel de Tijuana después que su hermano Benjamín, líder del grupo, fue detenido.

(Enedina Arellano Felix took over the Tijuana cartel after the arrest of  her brother Benjamin, the group’s leader.)

Enedina dejó el puesto a un sobrino, pero según la fiscalía, mantiene su posición de consejera cercana del nuevo líder.

(Enedina later  gave way to her nephew, but according to the prosecution, she maintains a close position as counselor to the new leader)

PemexZetasTexas Scandal–The Undercover Aggie

Turns out Josh Crescenzi, former Texas A&M slow-foot sprinter and Bush/Cheney insider,  who was allegedly up to his neck in the PemexZetasTexas petro theft operation cut a deal with US ICE agents and surreptitiously recorded hours of conversations with fellow Texas  oil men involved in the multimillion dollar illicit trafficking ring.

Crescenzi is a former press advance representative for Bush and Cheney. They are not implicated in the case, but those familiar with Crescenzi said he was known to brag about his connections to further his business interests.

Crescenzi most recently supervised operations in the Rio Grande Valley for Continental Fuels. He resigned in May while cooperating with the feds and has not commented publicly. No charges have been filed against him.

Crescenzi will probably be spared the terminal wrath the Zetas  usually  mete out to  “cooperative witnesses” south of the US border.  It wouldn’t be prudent. Besides the Zetas don’t have anything to lose in this. They aren’t likely to have their accounts seized like those of their Texas buyers.  Zetas/La Compania’s lucrative take from the operation has likely long since been laundered and “banked” elsewhere.

San Antonio Express-News reporter Guillermo Contreras delivers the story here.

One Bad Friday in Mexico/Un Viernes Malo en México

Los Perros Feroces de Otoño llevan la Sangre, la Muerte y las Lágrimas

Within 24 hours 38 people were shot to death, mutilated and tortured in various locations throughout Mexico.

Unbelievably violent, even by narcoguerra standards…god knows what we’ll see next week…

Baja California–the most grotesque incident in a day rife with over-the-top violence was the murder of Tijuana tax official–Rogelio Sanchez Jimenez whose nude body was found hanging from a  bridge a few kilometers from the Mexican army HQ near Rosarito. His genitals were glued to his neck and the body showed signs of torture. Jimenez reportedly was supplying narcos with bogus drivers licenses and other IDs until,obviously,  something went “wrong.”

Guerrero– 12 men were executed in three cities–Chilpancingo, Acapulco and Coyuca de Benitez. Their bodies were left with narcomensajes–messages–stating that “this is going to happen to all rats, kidnappers and extortionists.”  The handprinted warnings  signed by “el jefe de jefes”–boss of bosses–are the latest episode in the vicious territorial battle between Guzman/Sinaloa and Beltran Leyva that has been raging in the state for months.

Morelos- -federal police reported that six bodies of people executed were found in the southern end of the state in Ciudad Ayala.

Distrito Federal– nine more bodies found– three men, handcuffed, blindfolded with duct tape, wrapped in blankets and left in a ditch alongside the Naucalpan-Toluca highway. Another victim was killed by 15 rounds from an AK47 as he was climbing into his truck outside a Texcoco restaurant. Four more bullet-riddled bodies were discovered inside a pickup truck, abandoned under a bridge outside  Teoloyucan. A few hours after this discovery state police reported finding another body inside a silver BMW parked at shopping center in Cuautitlan Izcalli.

Chihuahua– a female police officer assigned to the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) gang task force, was killed in a commando-style attack in Ciudad Juarez as she was driving her car.  Six others were gunned down in the course of the day–two were juveniles.

Jalisco– in Guadalajara three people were killed and four others wounded in a running  tiroteo–gun battle- between a dozen combined  units of  federal police and military troops against suspected Zetas gunmen. Two military helicopters had to be called in for support during the course of the four-hour engagement.

More at ..Noreste in Sinalaoa.. in Jalisco at El Occidental ….on Tijuana bridge display at San Diego Union in English…on Chihuahua at El Universal.

Thinking Outside the Box of Bullets

Yesterday-Oct 7- El Universal reported that there have been 5,637 murders committed by drug cartels in Mexico thus far this year, surpassing the total number in 2008–5,630.

For an idea how badly the situation has  deteriorated since Calderon launched his bold war, note these figures:   in October 2008 there were 3,581 murders… in 2007:  2,673… in 2006 : 2,221… and  in  2005 : 1,537.

Drilling down into the figure, El Universal’s investigation found that the top seven states most affected by organized crime killings were:

Chihuahua topped the list  (no surprise) with 2,408 murders since January. Followed by:

Sinaloa-628…

Durango-593…

Guerrero-474…

Baja California-282…

Michoacan-273.

Note: the Zetas/Compania controlled states –Tamaulipas, VeraCruz, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Chiapas, et.al–are not in the top seven.

For the full report go to “Narcoguerra no encuentra límites: masacre de adictos aterra a juarenses” at El Universal.

Clearly, Calderon’s mano dura response to the drug trafficking orgs has not rendered a more tranquil Mexico–just the opposite.  He called for WAR and he got it.  Unfortunately, so did the rest of Mexico.

With that  in mind, I recommend Sabina Berman’s  essay in Proceso– ” Seis ideas para repansar la guerra” . It is an impassioned, but  sharply incisive deconstruction of Calderon’s narcoguerra strategy–or lack thereof–that should be heeded but will likely bounce off the mules’  ears in Los Pinos and Washington.

Mientras más dura una guerra, más impopular se vuelve.
Pregúntele a la gente de Juárez, que recibió con júbilo al Ejército Mexicano, si ahora quiere que siga en sus calles. Pregúntele a la gente de Monterrey. Pregúntele a la gente de Morelia.
Ahora añoran el statu quo anterior, que era malo, porque éste es peor. La opinión es generalizada: Al mal de los cárteles enfrentados entre sí, ahora se añaden otros dos males. Los cárteles se han “deshumanizado”; es decir, que su violencia se ha vuelto ciega y el Ejército, supuesto agente de la vida civilizada, está violando los derechos humanos de los civiles y los criminales.
Es decir, la supuesta guerra se ha vuelto para millones de mexicanos una forma de vida en medio de una violencia extrema.

The longer a war goes on, the more unpopular it becomes.

Ask the people of Juarez, who received the Mexican Military with jubilation, if they still want soldiers on their streets.  Ask the people of Monterrey.  Ask the people of Morelia.

Now they yearn for the old status quo, which was bad, because this is worse.  The opinion is widespread: As bad as cartels fighting amongst themselves might be, it is now coupled with two other bad things.  The cartels have been “dehumanized;” that is, their violence has become blind.  And the Military, supposed agent of civilized life, is violating both civilians’ and criminals’ human rights.

In other words, for millions of Mexicans the so-called war has turned into a way of life amidst extreme violence.

Kristin Bricker provides the  English translation – ” Six ideas for re-thinking the war” at Narco News.

Eyeopening New Threat Analysis-Los Zetas

Dr Max Manwaring at the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute has just delivered an important  42-page study focusing on  Los Zetas.. A “New” Dynamic in the Western Hemisphere Security Environment: The Mexican Zetas and Other Private Armies…in which he writes:

Long-standing common wisdom has it that

virtually any nonstate political actor with any kind of

resolve can take advantage of the instability inherent

in anything like the current Mexican internal security

situation. The tendency is that the best-motivated and

best-armed organization on the scene, or an alliance of

these entities, will eventually control that instability

for its own purposes. Carlos Marighella, in his wellknown

Manual of the Urban Guerrilla, elaborates on that

wisdom: “A terrorist act is no different than any other

urban guerrilla tactic, apart from the apparent facility

with which it can be carried out. That will depend on

planning and organization [and its resultant shock

value].”36 Thus, even though other privatized military

organizations (including enforcer gangs) are operating

in Mexico today, the Zetas appear to be the group

most likely to be able to achieve their objectives. Zeta

organization and planning has been outstanding, and

the shock value of Zeta operations has been unequaled.

Thus, as Marighella teaches, terrorism is a major force

multiplier—“a weapon the revolution cannot do

without.”37

Long-standing common wisdom has it that virtually any nonstate political actor with any kind of resolve can take advantage of the instability inherent in anything like the current Mexican internal security situation. The tendency is that the best-motivated and best-armed organization on the scene, or an alliance of these entities, will eventually control that instability for its own purposes. Carlos Marighella, in his well-known Manual of the Urban Guerrilla, elaborates on that wisdom: “A terrorist act is no different than any other urban guerrilla tactic, apart from the apparent facility with which it can be carried out. That will depend on planning and organization [and its resultant shock value].”  Thus, even though other privatized military organizations (including enforcer gangs) are operating in Mexico today, the Zetas appear to be the group most likely to be able to achieve their objectives. Zeta organization and planning has been outstanding, and the shock value of Zeta operations has been unequaled. Thus, as Marighella teaches, terrorism is a major force multiplier—“a weapon the revolution cannot do without.”

Take the time to download the full report as pdf and read  the whole thing.

For a report en espanol on Manwaring’s new study, see Jose Carreno Figueras’  En campana, Partido Z… in today’s edition of Excelsior.

I posted on Manwarings’ 2008 analysis of the security threats posed by Mexican and Latin American gangs and transnational criminal organizations  last May…NarcoGuerra Times-Beyond Mexico. Other related posts include these on Parallel States  here and here, and another on Commercial Insurgencies here.

Will be posting further on this. Meantime, I’m returning to my well-thumbed copy of Marighella that I just happened to be reading when Manwaring’s report  dropped in.

NPR ‘Morning Edition’ with Los Zetas

Los Zetas/La Compania  capped their month-long ride in the headlines  this morning with  a featured report on NPR’s Morning Edition  from John Burnett – “‘Mexico’s Ferocious Zetas Cartel Reigns Through Fear“.

It’s a good piece, considering the airtime constraints Burnett must report within. Much of it will be familiar to those who’ve been visiting here regularly since  April. A couple of things are quibble-worthy (with all due respect) :

Quibble 1:

Burnett flatly states that there were 31  ex-Mexican special forces soldiers who formed the original Zetas cadre that signed on with Osiel Cardenas and the Golfo ten years ago. The fact is nobody seems to know for certain–the numbers cited by Mexican defense ministry and PGR sources have ranged from 40 to 60.  Perhaps those high end figures include all Mexican military veterans and deserters who came in with the original Zetas company. What’s missing are the rogue Guatemalan special forces–the  kaibiles–that the Zetas brought north into Mexico in 2001  to run training camps for their recruits. There will be more on that in a later post.

A  low end figure of  36 ex-GAFE who signed on as Zetas (which is low-balling, I believe) would translate to three  Special Forces  A-Teams.

“The ‘A Detachment’ or ‘ A-team’ is the basic SF unit. This twelve man unit is specifically designed to organize, equip, train, advise or direct, and support indigenous military or paramilitary forces. ..It is said that a 12-man Special Forces A-Team can render the fighting power of a light infantry company.”

There are 150 soldiers in a light infantry company. On top of that–and most relevant in the threat capacity the Zetas have brought to the narcoguerra–the A-Teams specialize in “training-the-trainer”. Do the math and think about  how many Zetas recruits have gone through  SF training in the nine  years since Heriberto Lazcano and his fellow Ft. Bragg graduates began their program.   (See ‘Blowback from Bragg‘.  For more on what SF A-Teams can accomplish..go to offiical USASF statement at  Global Security. )

Quibble 2:

Fairly or unfairly, Burnett  refers to the Zetas home turf as  ”the charmless industrial border cities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.”  I look forward to Austin-based Burnett  applying the term  ”charmless”  to Laredo, McAllen or Brownsville in future reports to see if it generates some noise in Texas.  My dentist and friends in Tamaulipas might wince and sigh at  hearing Burnett’s description of their communities as “charmless”– Doug Sahm didn’t think so. Like a number of us,  Sir Doug found a hell-of-a-lot of “charm” down there.  (Albeit, back in the day.)

Zetas/La Compania, Ndrangheta and the Nuclear Options

Rusting barrel of nuclear waste on sea bed.

The security threats posed by Los Zetas/La Compania are in another realm now. Since May we’ve  noted several times that the cartel is operating  in 47 countries and that it has connections in Italy, specifically the Calabrian mafia known as Ndrangheta.  Over the past week this relationship has come into sharper focus, rendering a picture with some pronounced, unsettling features

On Thursday Sep 17 DEA officials in Canada, Italy and Mexico announced the arrests of 175 members of the Zetas/La Compania connected to Ndrangheta. In 2008, the Italian Antimafia Commission called Ndhrangeta “the most powerful mafia in the world” with an estimated annual revenue of 40b Euros–which translates to 3.5% of Italy’s GDP. 80% of the cocaine in European markets comes in through Gioia Taura, Italy’s largest seaport which is controlled by Ndrangheta. As a footnote, DOJ National Drug Intelligence Center 2009 report says Ndrangheta is  involved in drug trafficking in 19 US states–likely in collusion with Zetas/La Compania.

(For those unfamiliar with this mafie, try the Ndrangheta entry at Wikipedia–though it’s in need of updating.)

Only a few days earlier stories  on Ndrangheta’s nuclear waste dumping hit the news.  See Telegraph(UK) story here.  But it wasn’t really “news”– an even more telling item can be found from two years ago at The Guardian UK.

The fact that Zetas/La Compania have been in business with a major transnational criminal organization dealing in nuclear waste on this scale has likely set certain heads of hair on fire in Washington. The game has been way beyond Mexico for some time. It just hasn’t registered with the US media. Perhaps that will change with this latest, but don’t count on it. The best, most thorough (and most high risk) reporting on all this  is by Mexican and Italian reporters who aren’t being translated into English.

Two veteran Italian antimafia prosecutors–Nicola Gratteri and Antonio Ingroia– have been sounding alarms about the cooperative between Los Zetas/La Compania and the Ndrangheta for more than a year.

Gratteri has just released an updated edition of his book on the Ndhrangeta–Fratelli di Sangue (Blood Brothers) published by Mondiadori and is out on the circuit doing interviews. Here today at El Universal and at more length on Ndrangheta with Kate Holman at The Tribune (UK)

Gratteri’s research shows that Zetas and Ndrangheta have been working together for more than two years. “They needed the European market and the Ndrangheta needed the cocaine, so they went into business.”

Besides the wholesale blow market, the Calabrians opened other business avenues in Europe for Zetas/La Compania including money laundering, real estate and human trafficking.

Ingroia was in Mexico City this week meeting with the PGR and other officials where he is seeking to establish a new the Italian-Mexican think tank–Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública–a transnational center for legal, social and public administration studies. Ingroia has been investigating and prosecuting the Italian mafias since 1990.

In an interview with Columba Vertiz de la Fuente at Proceso on Friday, Ingroia took a dim view of   Calderon’s militarized narcoguerra, saying flat-out that it  was a “bad strategy.”

“You cannot stop the cartels with the army, ” said Ingroia. “You only use the army in emergency situations. You use them to defend and protect high risk targets.” He went on to predict a further escalation in Mexico drug war violence, adding that the Mexican cartels are far more “ruthless and bloody” than their counterparts in Italy. Ingroia observed that organized crime is so integrated into the Mexican economy that it cannot be entirely eleminated.

I expect that last comment will only bring a yawn to most Mexicans who have been watching  scores of  federal, state and municipal officials parading in front of judges over the past month–most of them accused of being on the Zetas/La Compania payroll.

Zetas-The Cuban American Connection Part 2

Mexican military with rescued Cubanos-Foto: Pérez

Last Sunday a Mexican military intelligence team  made entry into a Zetas safe house in a popular tourist district in Cancun and extracted more than a dozen Cuban refugees who had been held prisoner there since September 1.

They were among nineteen young Cubans who had  fled their island nation on makeshift boats and headed west into Mexican waters where, per arrangement with the “Miami mafia”, they were plucked up by a speed boat and brought to Puerto Juarez and into the hands of Los Zetas and their Cuban-American partners.

Once ashore,  the four women in the group were separated out and put on trucks and driven away. The remaining fifteen men were stuffed into an Escalade with Florida plates and motored  to the safe house in Cancun where their captors demanded $10,000 per head. When the Cubans balked, it was the usual routine:  they were beaten and tortured until they came up with names and phone numbers for relatives in the US to come up with the cash for either their release or transport north to the US/Mexico border.

The only ones arrested thus far are both Cubans–Distán Farrádez Ullo, who rented the house and Tristán Barragán, who was guarding the prisoners whengrupo especial de Inteligencia Militar rolled through the doors.

Fernando Diaz Martinez with the Instituto Nacional de Migración–Mexico’s INS–said the Zetas/Cuban human trafficking operations have risen to such  a level that they are on the agenda for Calderon’s next  national security meeting.

Meanwhile the four young women  haven’t been seen or heard from in the fifteen days since they were driven out of  Puerto Juarez and into the night.

Find more on this en espanol at Milenio

July posting  on the Zetas Cuban-American connections here.

Back to School Detention for Los Zetas

All summer fun finally comes to an end–for school boys and girls and gangsters alike.

The first weeks in September brought some sober to Los Zetas/La Compañía’s intoxicating summer  where the transnational narco cartel was  seemingly on top of their game–hammering down La Familia on the Pacific coast, running meth superlabs in Argentina and buying real estate in Poland, among other interesting business ops.

The PGR’s  Special Investigation into Organized Crime unit ( SIDENA) hauled in 124 public officials last weekend–mainly state police in Hidalgo, along with a handful from Veracruz and Tabasco–charging them with being on Los Zetas/La Compañía  payrolls… El Siglo de Torreon’s Notimex names names.

On September 8 , a founding member of the Zetas, Sergio Enrique Ruiz Tlapanco–AKA El Tlapa, Z44–was scooped up by another  PGR unit in Puebla along with his Porsche, his  Hummer and a few AR15s at a house on Volkswagen street. From 1997 to 1999 Ruiz served as a Federal Judicial Police agent in Tabasco before joining up with the Zetas and the Cartel del Golfo. According to federal authorities, El Tlapa ran the Zetas operation in Tabasco, Campeche, northern Chiapas and southern Veracruz.

Two days later El Tlapa’s accountant Ana Georgina Domínguez Macias was arrested by a Mexican army unit outside a Zetas safe house in Veracruz  as she was leaving to catch a flight to Brazil.

“La conta Gina” was carrying just under a quarter-million dollars worth of pesos when she was arrested.

More from Daniel Hernandez Cruz at La Quinta Columna.

The arrests  appeared timed as a strategic curtain-raiser for Mexico’s Grito de Independencia, a two day national  holiday beginning today, that has had Mexico’s security services on extremely elevated alert for more than a month.

Last year’s celebration in Morelia was catastrophically ripped apart by a grenade attack–allegedly by a Zetas cell– that killed 10 people and wounded 100 more who were in the streets shooting off fireworks and happily shouting “Viva Mexico”.