AUSTIN - Following the recent escalation of murders in northern Mexico and the increasing threat of violence crossing over into neighboring border communities in Texas, Gov. Perry today ordered the activation of the first phase of the state's spillover violence contingency plan. The state's plan is law enforcement sensitive and will not be released to the public for operational security purposes.
"With the growing threat of violence in Mexico spilling over the border, we have taken important measures to increase the law enforcement presence along the Texas border and have placed additional resources on standby to combat any potential situation," Gov. Perry said. "It is imperative that the federal government immediately provide additional resources to prevent spillover violence, but with the safety of Texans on the line, we can't afford to wait."
At the governor's direction, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), in coordination with local and federal law enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border, has implemented critical elements of the state's spillover violence contingency plan. These steps include increased surveillance of border activity by state and local law enforcement, the Texas Border Security Operations Center, and the Joint Operational and Intelligence Centers to ensure the timely sharing of intelligence information; increased ground, air and maritime patrol presence; and increased intensity of day and night DPS helicopter patrol operations along the Rio Grande River, as well as National Guard helicopters to support aviation missions. Additional resources ready for rapid deployment have been placed on standby, including DPS SWAT Teams and Trooper Strike Teams, as well as Ranger Recon Teams prepared to reposition based on threat.
"Texas has a unique cultural and economic relationship with Mexico, and we are committed to a common interest of shutting down these criminal enterprises," Gov. Perry said. "We will continue to closely monitor this situation, and take any necessary action to ensure the safety of our citizens and to protect continued legitimate cross-border trade and travel."
Since January 2008, a reported 4,700 homicides have been committed across the border from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, making it one of the most violent cities in the world.
A porous border places Texas and the nation at risk from international terrorists, organized crime cartels and transnational gangs. Until the federal government fulfills its responsibility of securing our border, Texas will continue filling in the gaps by putting more boots on the ground, providing increased law enforcement resources and leveraging technology along the border.
Gov. Perry has a standing request with the federal government for 1,000 Title 32 National Guardsmen to support civilian law enforcement efforts to enhance border security in Texas, as well as a more recent request for predator drones to be based in and operate over the Texas-Mexico border to provide essential information to law enforcement on the ground.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Calderon’s plan to “rescue” city
JUAREZ -- Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Tuesday offered his plan to "rescue" and "rebuild" the city, which has been plagued by 4,700 slayings since 2008.
His plan would attack poverty, improves education, health facilities and offers financial assistance to families in an effort to combat organized crime and the drug war that has turned Juárez into the most dangerous city in Mexico.
During his speech to several hundred people, Calderón mentioned the slayings Saturday of three people connected to the U.S. consulate.
He called their slayings "resentful, inadmissible and profoundly deplorable."
"Yes, my friends, the situation of violence and insecurity in Ciudad Juárez has to change. And to make those changes, among other things, is to fortify the mechanisms of justice and security, and also, change the social conditions of poverty and marginalization that exist and that are fertile ground for the crime and violence," he said.
On Saturday, gunmen killed Lesley A. Enriquez, 34, a U.S. citizen who worked for the U.S. consulate in Juárez; her husband, Arthur Redelfs, 36, a detention officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office; and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, of Juárez whose wife worked for the consulate.
The three had left a birthday party attended by other employees of the U.S. consulate in Juárez in two cars when they were attacked.
Calderón spoke to Mexican state and city officials at the Camino Real Hotel at 4 p.m.
Before Calderón's arrival at the hotel, protesters confronted federal police dressed in riot gear on the Pan American Highway and demanded Calderón's resignation.
David Bravo, 20, was one of about 25 protesters who gathered on the south side of the highway and wore masks and bandannas over their faces.
Bravo, a student at the Institute of Biomedical Science in Juárez, said he wanted to know what Calderón planned to do about the escalation of cartel crime in Juárez.
He said he has learned to adjust to the presence of the cartels by being constantly aware of his surrounding and suppressing his fear.
"I want to know what he plans to do and why he was done nothing," Bravo said. "I'm tired of being afraid."
This is Calderón's third trip to Juárez in about a month.
He visited the city on Feb. 11, after 15 people were killed at a party, and then again on Feb. 17 to send specially trained federal police to investigate alleged kidnappings and extortions.
In his plan to fight the violence, Calderón said, he plans to build nine new medical facilities and four new high schools in Juárez.
He also said programs he instituted to provide impoverished families with financial assistance have been successful in the city. He did not say how much it all would cost.
Juárez's problems are not self-made but rather a by product of drug trafficking in Mexico and weapons trafficking in the U.S., Calderón said.
To win the battle against organized crime, the two countries need to share information, intelligence and politics in order to combat a phenomenon that affects both countries and generates a "grave threat" to people on each side of the border, he said.
Calderón's plan was received favorably, but some officials had reservations.
José Reyes Ferriz, mayor of Juárez, said that although he wants to see his city heal, become stronger and retake its place "as the land of opportunity and generosity," he didn't want a handout.
"Today, the crisis has us as a community asking for support, but we don't extend our hand asking for charity," he said. "We appeal to that human right, that is opportunity, to let opportunity guide us in rebuilding the Juárez we all love."
His plan would attack poverty, improves education, health facilities and offers financial assistance to families in an effort to combat organized crime and the drug war that has turned Juárez into the most dangerous city in Mexico.
During his speech to several hundred people, Calderón mentioned the slayings Saturday of three people connected to the U.S. consulate.
He called their slayings "resentful, inadmissible and profoundly deplorable."
"Yes, my friends, the situation of violence and insecurity in Ciudad Juárez has to change. And to make those changes, among other things, is to fortify the mechanisms of justice and security, and also, change the social conditions of poverty and marginalization that exist and that are fertile ground for the crime and violence," he said.
On Saturday, gunmen killed Lesley A. Enriquez, 34, a U.S. citizen who worked for the U.S. consulate in Juárez; her husband, Arthur Redelfs, 36, a detention officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office; and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, of Juárez whose wife worked for the consulate.
The three had left a birthday party attended by other employees of the U.S. consulate in Juárez in two cars when they were attacked.
Calderón spoke to Mexican state and city officials at the Camino Real Hotel at 4 p.m.
Before Calderón's arrival at the hotel, protesters confronted federal police dressed in riot gear on the Pan American Highway and demanded Calderón's resignation.
David Bravo, 20, was one of about 25 protesters who gathered on the south side of the highway and wore masks and bandannas over their faces.
Bravo, a student at the Institute of Biomedical Science in Juárez, said he wanted to know what Calderón planned to do about the escalation of cartel crime in Juárez.
He said he has learned to adjust to the presence of the cartels by being constantly aware of his surrounding and suppressing his fear.
"I want to know what he plans to do and why he was done nothing," Bravo said. "I'm tired of being afraid."
This is Calderón's third trip to Juárez in about a month.
He visited the city on Feb. 11, after 15 people were killed at a party, and then again on Feb. 17 to send specially trained federal police to investigate alleged kidnappings and extortions.
In his plan to fight the violence, Calderón said, he plans to build nine new medical facilities and four new high schools in Juárez.
He also said programs he instituted to provide impoverished families with financial assistance have been successful in the city. He did not say how much it all would cost.
Juárez's problems are not self-made but rather a by product of drug trafficking in Mexico and weapons trafficking in the U.S., Calderón said.
To win the battle against organized crime, the two countries need to share information, intelligence and politics in order to combat a phenomenon that affects both countries and generates a "grave threat" to people on each side of the border, he said.
Calderón's plan was received favorably, but some officials had reservations.
José Reyes Ferriz, mayor of Juárez, said that although he wants to see his city heal, become stronger and retake its place "as the land of opportunity and generosity," he didn't want a handout.
"Today, the crisis has us as a community asking for support, but we don't extend our hand asking for charity," he said. "We appeal to that human right, that is opportunity, to let opportunity guide us in rebuilding the Juárez we all love."
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Cartels corrupting US border agents
McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Customs officials are telling Congress that Mexican drug cartels are infiltrating federal law enforcement agencies along the southwest border. And those charged with weeding them out say they don't have the money to catch all the corrupt agents.
James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Internal Affairs, told a Senate panel Thursday that only about one in 10 of the new hires for agency jobs are given polygraph tests. And of those who take them, 60 percent are deemed unsuitable for employment.
The Associated Press reported last year that four applicants for border protection jobs were were not hired when polygraph tests and background checks confirmed they were infiltrators from drug trafficking operations.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas, who chaired the hearing of the Homeland Security subcommittee, said Tomsheck's figures were alarming.
James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Internal Affairs, told a Senate panel Thursday that only about one in 10 of the new hires for agency jobs are given polygraph tests. And of those who take them, 60 percent are deemed unsuitable for employment.
The Associated Press reported last year that four applicants for border protection jobs were were not hired when polygraph tests and background checks confirmed they were infiltrators from drug trafficking operations.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas, who chaired the hearing of the Homeland Security subcommittee, said Tomsheck's figures were alarming.
Conviction of 2 men for smuggling for "Chapo" Guzman
EL PASO -- Jurors convicted two men Wednesday in a conspiracy to smuggle more than 100 tons of marijuana into the United States for the Sinaloa drug cartel.
One defendant, Fernando Ontiveros-Arambula, 40, had been an informant for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He told agents he was a high-level trafficker for the cartel led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera.
The 12-member jury in U.S. District Court convicted Ontiveros-Arambula of one count of conspiracy to possess 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and one count of conspiracy to import 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.
Jurors found the second defendant, Manuel Chavez-Betancourt, 19, guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana with intent to distribute. They acquitted him of the other two charges.
U.S. District Court Judge David Briones said Chavez-Betancourt will be sentenced on June 10 and Ontiveros-Arambula on June 11.
Jurors deliberated for eight hours before returning their verdict in the trial, which lasted more than two weeks.
Russell Leachman, the lead prosecutor, had asked the jury to send a message to the drug cartels by convicting both men. Prosecutors called the trial a crash course on how cartels operate.
The case began when a Border Enforcement Security Task (BEST) force conducting surveillance spotted Chavez-Betancourt and Jesus Gonzalez-Hernandez on Sept. 26, 2008, at store parking lots at Alameda and Carolina.
BEST officers arrested both men that day in the seizure of 217.45 pounds of marijuana from two vehicles and a toolshed at Gonzalez-Hernandez's home in the Lower Valley. Officers also retrieved two handguns from Gonzalez-Hernandez's house and car. He admitted the weapons belonged to him, prosecutors said.
Investigators seized the marijuana. They said they eventually traced it and two other marijuana loads to Ontiveros-Arambula's drug-trafficking organization.
When he was arrested, Chavez-Betancourt, then 18, told officers that Gonzalez-Hernandez was his uncle.
Gonzalez-Hernandez, an immigrant who lived in the United States illegally, struck a plea agreement with prosecutors and testified against Chavez-Betancourt.
Prosecution witnesses said the Ontiveros-Arambula organization had the capacity to smuggle more than 100 tons of marijuana over the course of a year, a figure the defense said was exaggerated.
ICE agents testified that Ontiveros-Arambula became an informant for the agency in 2008. He also told them he used to work for the rival Carrillo Fuentes cartel, until members of that gang tried to kill him.
ICE helped provide a U.S. visa for Ontiveros-Arambula, but officials said he continued to direct a drug-trafficking operation and only wanted to use ICE to bring down the competition.
Since 2008, the two cartels have waged a battle for control of the Chihuahua state smuggling corridor -- a battle that has killed more than 5,000 people.
Jesus Fierro-Mendez, a drug trafficker and former Mexican police captain, testified that Ontiveros-Arambula was a rising cartel member and had Guzman's permission to provide information to U.S. agents about the competing cartel led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
"Witnesses also testified that (Ontiveros-Arambula) and other high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel were using any means at their disposal, including bribery, extortion and violence, to gain the upper hand in the war between the two cartels," said U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy.
Agents testified that other investigations stemming from the case continue. Elizabeth "Guera" Lares-Valenzuela, an indicted co-conspirator, is a fugitive.
After the trial, Murphy's staff characterized Chavez-Betancourt as low-level operative who delivered vehicles with marijuana to stash house operators.
U.S. authorities in El Paso and other jurisdictions have indictments pending against Guzman and Carrillo Fuentes, but Guzman has attracted special scrutiny since Forbes magazine named him one of the richest and most influential men in the world.
Officials may have new concerns as well. According to a federal indictment filed in Chicago, Guzman and two other Mexican drug lords "sought to obtain weapons in the United States, and discussed using violence against American and or Mexican government buildings in retaliation for each country's enforcement of its narcotics laws."
One defendant, Fernando Ontiveros-Arambula, 40, had been an informant for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He told agents he was a high-level trafficker for the cartel led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera.
The 12-member jury in U.S. District Court convicted Ontiveros-Arambula of one count of conspiracy to possess 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and one count of conspiracy to import 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.
Jurors found the second defendant, Manuel Chavez-Betancourt, 19, guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana with intent to distribute. They acquitted him of the other two charges.
U.S. District Court Judge David Briones said Chavez-Betancourt will be sentenced on June 10 and Ontiveros-Arambula on June 11.
Jurors deliberated for eight hours before returning their verdict in the trial, which lasted more than two weeks.
Russell Leachman, the lead prosecutor, had asked the jury to send a message to the drug cartels by convicting both men. Prosecutors called the trial a crash course on how cartels operate.
The case began when a Border Enforcement Security Task (BEST) force conducting surveillance spotted Chavez-Betancourt and Jesus Gonzalez-Hernandez on Sept. 26, 2008, at store parking lots at Alameda and Carolina.
BEST officers arrested both men that day in the seizure of 217.45 pounds of marijuana from two vehicles and a toolshed at Gonzalez-Hernandez's home in the Lower Valley. Officers also retrieved two handguns from Gonzalez-Hernandez's house and car. He admitted the weapons belonged to him, prosecutors said.
Investigators seized the marijuana. They said they eventually traced it and two other marijuana loads to Ontiveros-Arambula's drug-trafficking organization.
When he was arrested, Chavez-Betancourt, then 18, told officers that Gonzalez-Hernandez was his uncle.
Gonzalez-Hernandez, an immigrant who lived in the United States illegally, struck a plea agreement with prosecutors and testified against Chavez-Betancourt.
Prosecution witnesses said the Ontiveros-Arambula organization had the capacity to smuggle more than 100 tons of marijuana over the course of a year, a figure the defense said was exaggerated.
ICE agents testified that Ontiveros-Arambula became an informant for the agency in 2008. He also told them he used to work for the rival Carrillo Fuentes cartel, until members of that gang tried to kill him.
ICE helped provide a U.S. visa for Ontiveros-Arambula, but officials said he continued to direct a drug-trafficking operation and only wanted to use ICE to bring down the competition.
Since 2008, the two cartels have waged a battle for control of the Chihuahua state smuggling corridor -- a battle that has killed more than 5,000 people.
Jesus Fierro-Mendez, a drug trafficker and former Mexican police captain, testified that Ontiveros-Arambula was a rising cartel member and had Guzman's permission to provide information to U.S. agents about the competing cartel led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
"Witnesses also testified that (Ontiveros-Arambula) and other high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel were using any means at their disposal, including bribery, extortion and violence, to gain the upper hand in the war between the two cartels," said U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy.
Agents testified that other investigations stemming from the case continue. Elizabeth "Guera" Lares-Valenzuela, an indicted co-conspirator, is a fugitive.
After the trial, Murphy's staff characterized Chavez-Betancourt as low-level operative who delivered vehicles with marijuana to stash house operators.
U.S. authorities in El Paso and other jurisdictions have indictments pending against Guzman and Carrillo Fuentes, but Guzman has attracted special scrutiny since Forbes magazine named him one of the richest and most influential men in the world.
Officials may have new concerns as well. According to a federal indictment filed in Chicago, Guzman and two other Mexican drug lords "sought to obtain weapons in the United States, and discussed using violence against American and or Mexican government buildings in retaliation for each country's enforcement of its narcotics laws."
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Death Threat
Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz's security team is looking into a death threat made against the mayor, and security has been increased, city officials said.
On Wednesday morning, a pig head was found next to a sign stating in part "you have two weeks left to live," the Internet news Web site arrobajuarez.com reported.
Drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa drug cartel uses the term "marranos," or pigs, as a derogatory reference to members of the rival Juárez drug cartel.
Since 2008, both cartels have been fighting for control of a drug smuggling corridor in Juárez in a wave of violence that is believed to be behind the murders in the region.
Chihuahua state police said there had been four killings in the Juárez area as of Wednesday afternoon. There were 14 homicides on Tuesday
On Wednesday morning, a pig head was found next to a sign stating in part "you have two weeks left to live," the Internet news Web site arrobajuarez.com reported.
Drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa drug cartel uses the term "marranos," or pigs, as a derogatory reference to members of the rival Juárez drug cartel.
Since 2008, both cartels have been fighting for control of a drug smuggling corridor in Juárez in a wave of violence that is believed to be behind the murders in the region.
Chihuahua state police said there had been four killings in the Juárez area as of Wednesday afternoon. There were 14 homicides on Tuesday
Monday, March 8, 2010
Burned body among 16 weekend slayings
Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times Staff
Posted: 03/08/2010 12:00:00 AM MST
A burned body was found late Saturday in one of several homicides during the weekend in Juárez.
The Chihuahua state attorney general's office said the body was so badly burned investigators had yet to determine whether the victim was a man or a woman. About 11:30 p.m., the body was found in a 1990 Chevrolet Lumina in a vacant lot on Calle Aeronauta behind the Villa Residencial del Real neighborhood near the airport.
There were seven homicides Friday, eight homicides on Saturday, and Sunday morning an unidentified man, who appeared to be in his 40s, was found beaten to death in colonia Barrio Alto near downtown Juárez.
Posted: 03/08/2010 12:00:00 AM MST
A burned body was found late Saturday in one of several homicides during the weekend in Juárez.
The Chihuahua state attorney general's office said the body was so badly burned investigators had yet to determine whether the victim was a man or a woman. About 11:30 p.m., the body was found in a 1990 Chevrolet Lumina in a vacant lot on Calle Aeronauta behind the Villa Residencial del Real neighborhood near the airport.
There were seven homicides Friday, eight homicides on Saturday, and Sunday morning an unidentified man, who appeared to be in his 40s, was found beaten to death in colonia Barrio Alto near downtown Juárez.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
this week in juarez!
Hi guys! So I noticed no one did the blog this week so I thought I would post again. I am paraphrasing from "El Diario de Juarez" and keeping it short so you actually read it. -Neyma Figueroa
11 individuals were murdered just on March 2nd in different areas of Juarez.
A couple and their 9 month old baby were shot. The mother has passed and the baby is in the hospital in critical conditions, as she recieved a bullet to the head. Six individuals who are allegedly responsible for this were arrested this morning. The father was also arrested as he was carrying a handgun, which he used to repel the attack.
Mexico’s government extradited Oscar Arturo Arriola Marquez, one of the leaders of the organization known as “Los Arriola”. Amongst the many charges, this man allegedly coordinated the importation of about 600 kilograms of cocaine per week between January of 2002 and December of 2003. According to investigations, the narcotics were delivered to one of his accomplices at a ranch in Colorado, whom would then store it until someone else transported it to Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and other places, all in accordance to Arriola’s instructions. Mexico’s government stated that the extradition was carried out based on the Treaty of Extradition signed between the US and Mexico. This man was arrested in the state of Chihuahua on February in 2006 and is known as one of the top 40 most wanted drug traffickers in the US.
11 individuals were murdered just on March 2nd in different areas of Juarez.
A couple and their 9 month old baby were shot. The mother has passed and the baby is in the hospital in critical conditions, as she recieved a bullet to the head. Six individuals who are allegedly responsible for this were arrested this morning. The father was also arrested as he was carrying a handgun, which he used to repel the attack.
Mexico’s government extradited Oscar Arturo Arriola Marquez, one of the leaders of the organization known as “Los Arriola”. Amongst the many charges, this man allegedly coordinated the importation of about 600 kilograms of cocaine per week between January of 2002 and December of 2003. According to investigations, the narcotics were delivered to one of his accomplices at a ranch in Colorado, whom would then store it until someone else transported it to Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and other places, all in accordance to Arriola’s instructions. Mexico’s government stated that the extradition was carried out based on the Treaty of Extradition signed between the US and Mexico. This man was arrested in the state of Chihuahua on February in 2006 and is known as one of the top 40 most wanted drug traffickers in the US.
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