More Blowback from Bragg.
First, the Zetas, now, the Lynx. Another group of former Mexican Special Forces are in the narcoguerra–this time working for Carrillo Fuentes’ La Linnea organization in the battle for Chihuahua and the Juarez corridor. Their sole function is to kill.
Their eliminated targets have included state officials, mayors, police chiefs, mid-level drug dealers–narcomenudistas–and enemies such as members of the Sinaloa cartel.
Francisco Gomez reporting this morning for El Universal reveals that 80 ex-GAFE formed a company of sicarios and put their considerable military skills up for hire. Recruited from army units in Sinaloa, Veracruz and south of Mexico City, the Lynx function as autonomous cells–or A-teams–numbering five.
According to Martin Valenzuela Hugo Rivera, a narco arrested in December 2008, the Lynx’s function is solely to kill people. They routinely change cars, each with their own driver. The cells base in private homes in subdivisions Rivera said he was in one of these and saw a stockplie of body armor, helmets, rifles–including Barrett .50s– submachine guns, grenades and ammunition.
Loz Linces utilize their own private communications tech that is not shared with the rest of La Linnea–only the top command. Another narco told authorities, “They are handled differently than us.”
It’s interesting that the Lynx ex-GAFE were recruited out of Veracruz, where the Mata Zetas splashed up earlier this month. See here.
Given the appearance, demeanor, weapons and interrogation techniques in their video, there is a strong suspicion that these Veracruz Mata Zetas are Los Linces’ litter-mates.
Updates here later.
4 Comments
July 20, 2009 at 11:29 am
Color me skeptical for right now. First, the number of GAFE troopers at any one time is not that many, and finding 80 ex-GAFE would be an accomplishment. Secondly, “recruited from Sinaloa, Veracruz and south of Mexico City”?… three geographically distant locations, or three locations sold to the public as the locus of the narcotics trade… or were these guys recruited over craigs’ list?
Also, noticing that the Zetas just don’t scare people like they used to, suddenly La Familia is the “Mexican Taliban” (that according to the Guardian) and … being solely Michoacan based, there’s a need for another threat to give the continuing “drug war” plausibility.
Not that there can’t be a new and improved gangster security group out there… ex-Blackwater guys are gonna need to do something when they’re out of a job.
July 20, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Skepticism rules in this game, Rich.
I don’t know for certain, but am dubious that all 80 Bobcats are ex-GAFE. As for there being a pool of former or active Mexican army Special Forces sufficient to supply a company of 80–yes, I believe that’s possible if you go back a decade or more.
I share your view regards “a need for another threat to give the drug war plausibility. As for La Familia becoming the du jour cartel of the hour, they’re all over the news by way of their over-the-top performances last week–including the TV call-in. Can’t wait till they get Larry King’s number at CNN.
July 20, 2009 at 8:36 pm
It seems to me that if you are looking for people with the right “skill set”, you can find more of them from the corporate world — companies like Xe and Dynacorp (or, the Mexican private security trade not being well regulated, at the smaller companies here) — than in GAFE.
One thing to take into consideration is that people join their own nation’s Special Forces at least in part out of loyalty to their nation, but the corporate security for a paycheck. Given the working conditions for a bodyguard (or a hitman) — unpredictable hours, extensive overnight travel, etc. — a lot of the guys you find in the bodyguard business are social misfits who would be unlikely candidates for high level military training.
July 24, 2009 at 3:38 pm
But the Zetas and the private security contractors are competing for the same talent pool–special forces who aged out, dropped out, or got kicked out of world’s state-sponsored armies.
If you hire a quality PSC for your drug cartel’s enforcement wing, chances are, he also has some special forces training, or militarized police training, or what have you. Of course state security forces hire contractors to train their people, so it’s all very fluid.
It’s a revolving door, like what you see in Washington with politicians and lobbyists. You acquire your knowledge and connections in the public sector and return to the private sector to cash in. If you’re lucky, you can even become a contractor and sell your expertise back to the government that trained you.