ICE Agent’s Murder Suspects Arrested; Had Military-Issue Uniforms and Weapons

[Vindicator]

Yesterday, the Mexican military arrested 6 alleged Zeta members involved in the murder of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The alleged Zeta leader, Julian Zapata Espinoza, confessed to authorities that he shot the ICE agent because he ‘mistook’ him for a rival gang leader.

However, the arrest of Julian Zapata Espinoza, a.k.a. “El Piolin” or ‘Tweety,’ and his cohorts raises more questions than answers. Mexico’s leading newspaper, El Universal reported that Zapata Espinoza was actually arrested in 2009, but he was later released by the Mexican government. Furthermore, when the Mexican Army raided his ‘safe house,’ they found him and other alleged gang members in possession of several military-issue weapons and uniforms. According to El Universal, these items were ‘exclusively for military use.’

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP_8wRu89qc&feature=related"]YouTube - ‪Presentan a zetas asesinos del agente norteamericano Jaime Zapata‬‏[/ame]



Hey!!! I saw that guy on the side of the road picking up garbage!!!


...

 

[waltky]

Zetas leader captured...

Mexico arrests 'top leader of Zetas drug gang'
4 July 2011 - Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar is accused of being a founder of the Zetas

Mexican police have arrested a leader of the feared Zetas drug gang, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar. Mr Rejon is alleged to be the third in command of the Zetas, a drug gang formed by former Mexican special forces soldiers. He is suspected of involvement in various crimes and is being linked to the murder of US immigration agent Jaime Zapata, officials said.

But officials gave no specific details of that alleged link. Mexico's public security ministry said Mr Rejon, known as El Mamito, had been arrested in Atizapan de Zaragoza, in Mexico State, on Sunday "without a shot being fired". A police officer with him was also detained, and officers recovered weapons, money, various documents and communication equipment.

A ministry statement said Mr Rejon was a founding member of the Zetas and one of the most wanted criminals in the country, sought by both the Mexican and US governments. The United States has offered a reward of up to five million dollars for information leading to his arrest and possible conviction. But the BBC's Mexico City correspondent, Julian Miglierini, notes that Mr Rejon did not figure in a list of the top 37 criminals which the Mexican authorities issued two years ago.

Turf wars

 

[waltky]

Mexican drug czar charged in ICE agent death...

Reputed Mexican drug cartel czar charged in killing of US agent
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 WASHINGTON — A reputed Mexican drug cartel leader was charged in federal court in Washington in the ambush slaying this year of a U.S. immigration officer in Mexico - a killing that set off a massive search on both sides of the Southwest border for several assailants after it was learned that one of the weapons was illegally purchased at a gun store in the Dallas area.

Julian Zapata Espinoza, an alleged chief with the Zetas cartel, pleaded not guilty in a brief court appearance Wednesday in the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata on Feb. 15. He and another agent, who was wounded, were ambushed in their car by a convoy of vehicles in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi.

The 30-year-old Espinoza, also known as "El Piolin" or "Tweety Bird," was arrested by Mexican officials a week after the slaying, and authorities in that country identified him as the director of a Zeta assassination cell who confessed to the slaying. Others arrested, however, said the assailants thought they were ambushing a rival gang's vehicle and that Zapata and fellow agent Victor Avila were shot by mistake. The charges against Espinoza, including murder and attempted murder of two U.S. officers, carry a potential life sentence with no parole.

U.S. authorities said Espinoza "participated" in the shootings but did not elaborate on whether he actually was at the scene of the roadside hit or had ordered it from afar. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., whose office in Washington will handle the case, said "this prosecution exemplifies our unwavering effort to prosecute those who committed this heinous offense against U.S. law enforcement agents."

Espinoza was secretly indicted in Washington last April 19, but it was not until this week that he was extradited from Mexico to the United States to stand trial. U.S. authorities thanked Mexico for their cooperation and noted that this is not a death penalty case. Mexico does not have capital punishment.

Source

 

[waltky]

All about the Zetas Mexican drug gang...

Zetas break out of prison in Mexico. Who are they?
21 Feb.`12 - According to Mexican authorities, the Zetas have become the biggest drug trafficking organization in Mexico. A recent report from Stratfor, based on data from Mexico's attorney general's office, says the group now operates in 17 states, surpassing the geographical sway of the once-dominant Sinaloa Federation.

On Feb. 19 Zeta members allegedly instigated a prison riot, killing members of the opposing Gulf Cartel, and covering up their escape. Here are four questions about the Zetas, answered.

1. What are the origins of the Zetas?

The Zetas are former elite military members who deserted the army and began serving as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s. But when those two groups split in early 2010, the Zetas became their own organization, rising today to become one of two dominant players in the drug trade in Mexico. They control much of the east of the country, while their rivals, the Sinaloa Federation, control the west. The Zetas received international attention in Sept. 2011, after 35 corpses were left on a busy roadside during rush hour in the port of Veracruz. The so-called "Zeta-killers," a group of hooded men who appeared on YouTube claiming that society was fed up with the brutal tactics of the Zetas, claimed responsibility.

MORE

See also:

Guatemala massacre points to influence of Mexican drug gang
May 18, 2011 - Guatemala has declared a state of emergency after the murder of 27 people in the northern part of the country. The Zetas of Mexico are accused of the worst massacre since the end of the country's civil war.

A massacre in northern Guatemala, which has left at least 27 people dead, is another reminder of the growing influence exerted by powerful Mexican drug gang, the Zetas, in Central America. The Zetas may have first entered Guatemala at the invitation of two drug bosses, Otoniel Turcios and Hearst Walter Overdick. But instead of partnering with local Guatemalan smugglers, the Mexicans became intent on displacing them.

The Zetas cemented their presence in Guatemala in 2008, when they ambushed and killed local crimelord Juan Jose Leon. Dislodging the Leon clan gave the Zetas power over key trafficking routes in the northern departments of Zacapa, Alta Verapaz, and Peten. It was in the latter that the recent massacre took place. In Peten, the government has now declared a "state of siege" similar to the security surge that failed to drive Zetas from Alta Verapaz at the end of last year.

As proved by the Peten killings, the Zetas' presence in Guatemala has drawn attention because of their willingness to use brutality. In contrast to the other Mexican cartel with sizeable presence in Central America, that of Sinaloa, the Zetas have frequently used extreme violence to establish control over a territory. While the Sinaloans have attempted to maintain their operations in Guatemala's western Huehuetenango department by buying the silence of authorities and negotiating deals with local traffickers, the Zetas have proven themselves more disposed to fight and kill their rivals.

MORE

Related:

The Zetas now Mexico's largest drug gang. Who are they?
According to Mexican authorities, the Zetas have become the biggest drug trafficking organization in Mexico. A recent report from Stratfor, based on data from Mexico's attorney general's office, says the group now operates in 17 states, surpassing the geographical sway of the once-dominant Sinaloa Federation.

1. The origins of the Zetas

The Zetas are former elite military members who deserted the army and began serving as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s. But when those two groups split in early 2010, the Zetas became their own organization, rising today to become one of two dominant players in the drug trade in Mexico. They control much of the east of the country, while their rivals, the Sinaloa Federation, control the west. The Zetas received international attention in Sept. 2011, after 35 corpses were left on a busy roadside during rush hour in the port of Veracruz. The so-called "Zeta-killers," a group of hooded men who appeared on YouTube claiming that society was fed up with the brutal tactics of the Zetas, claimed responsibility.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Mexico Asks US To Stop Arms, Money Flow...

Biden meeting in CentAm to focus on drug violence
Mon, Mar. 05, 2012 -- Central American leaders meeting with Vice President Joe Biden say they will focus on drugs and the violent crime that plagues their region.

Guatemalan President Otto Perez has said he favors legalizing drugs as a way to decrease drug cartel violence. Biden has said publicly the U.S. government doesn't think that is the answer.

After arriving in Honduras' capital for Tuesday's meeting, Perez isn't saying whether he will bring up drug legalization at the session. But he says it's an opportune time to discuss "organized crime, drug trafficking and the problems the region faces."

Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla says the region is suffering from drug trafficking and "we demand the United States assume responsibility."

Read more here: Biden meeting in CentAm to focus on drug violence - KansasCity.com

See also:

Joe Biden in Mexico: Drugs won't be legal
3/5/12 - Joe Biden in Mexico: 'No possibility' Obama administration will change its policy on [drug] legalization

Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that Mexico’s three main presidential candidates share a vision of continued close cooperation with Washington, and used his brief visit south of the border to also knock down talk of drug legalization in the region. Biden’s two-day trip to Mexico and Honduras comes amid calls by many of the region’s leaders to discuss decriminalizing drugs as a way to ease a vicious war on cartels that has left Latin America bloodied. “It’s worth discussing, but there is no possibility the Obama/Biden administration will change its policy on [drug] legalization,” he said after meeting with President Felipe Calderon.

But the main purpose of his visit was to meet with the contenders in Mexico’s July 1 presidential elections to get a feel for future U.S.-Mexico relations. The United States has enjoyed an unprecedented level of cooperation with Calderon, whose administration has received hundreds of millions of dollars to wage a heavily militarized fight against drug cartels. Drug-related violence killed at least 47,515 people in Mexico from December 2006, when Calderon launched his first anti-cartel offensive, through September 2011. Biden met Monday with Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolution Party; Josefina Vazquez Mota of the ruling National Action Party; and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party. Calderon is not allowed to run again.

Recent polls show a tightening race with Pena Nieto ahead, followed by Vazquez Mota and Lopez Obrador. When asked whether he had sensed any significant differences among the candidates with regards to cooperation with the United States, Biden answered simply, “No.” “I’m not being flip, but no,” he said, before leaving a brief and unscheduled press conference at the end of a day of meetings. Calderon’s allies have accused Pena Nieto’s PRI party of maintaining ties to drug-traffickers and wanting to relent in the fight against cartels.

Pena Nieto said he told Biden that the PRI, which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years before being ousted by the PAN, is committed to the fight against organized crime. “The discussion is not whether we should or shouldn’t fight against it but what we can do to achieve better results,” he told reporters. Vazquez Mota, the contender for Calderon’s PAN, said she brought up the need for both countries to improve the fight against money laundering. “I told him that I will neither make a truce nor surrender in the fight against organized crime because for me the most important things is the security of all families,” she said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73651.html#ixzz1oOK6GGn4

 

[Katzndogz]

Without question the United States can stop the cartels. We are unwilling to do that because someone might get hurt.

 

[Swagger]

When they say "military issue-weapons", does this mean weapons used by the military that can be obtained on both the open and black market, or weapons that have gone missing from a U.S. military installation that have serial numbers that will correspond with matching numbers in the source armoury's log? I'm sure that the uniforms/fatigues could've been ordered online, thus undermining what's otherwise being suggested is a collusive conspiracy between corrupt personnel and a Mexican cartel.

 

[waltky]

It ain't safe to be a reporter in Mexico...

3 journalists slain in Mexico’s Veracruz state
May 3, 2012, Dismembered bodies found in black plastic bags near wastewater canal

Three men who had worked as news photographers were found slain and dumped together in plastic bags by a canal in the eastern Mexico state of Veracruz on Thursday, less than a week after the killing in the same state of a reporter for an investigative newsmagazine, officials and colleagues said. Press advocates called for immediate government action to halt a wave of attacks that has killed at least seven current and former reporters and photographers in Veracruz over the last 18 months, most of them among the few journalists still working on crime-related stories in the state. The deaths have spawned an atmosphere of terror and self-censorship among journalists.

Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, with reporters and photographers suffering a rising number of attacks in recent years as the country grapples with tens of thousands of killings, kidnappings and extortion against the backdrop of a militarized government offensive against drug cartels. Prosecutions in the cases are all but unknown, as is the case with almost all homicides and other serious crimes in Mexico. Local media outlets have been left too intimidated to report on drug-related violence, and social media and blogs are often the only outlets to report on serious crime.

The latest killings came in Boca del Rio, a town near the port city of Veracruz where police found the bodies of four people Thursday after passers-by spotted four suspicious black plastic bags near a wastewater canal, the Veracruz state Attorney General’s Office said. One victim was identified as Guillermo Luna Varela, photographer for the news website Agencia Veracruznews. Another was identified as Gabriel Huge, who the director of the website said had been working as a photojournalist in the area. State officials said the third victim was Esteban Rodriguez, who was a local newspaper photographer until last year, when he quit to work as a welder. The fourth victim was Luna’s girlfriend, Irasema Becerra, state prosecutors said.

State officials said the killings bore the hallmarks of organized crime and they would ask federal authorities to help investigate. Veracruz is a common route for drugs and migrants coming from the south on the way up to the United States and much of the area around its main port city turned in recent years into a battleground between the Zetas and New Generation, a cartel based in the western state of Jalisco and allied with the powerful Sinaloa cartel, which is led by kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

MORE

 

[BadJesus]

The Zetas were originally trained at the notorious "School of Americas" in Ft Benning Georgia by none other than the US Government itself. They're a federal drug gang, working for the US government and laundering their money through the big banks and wall street. Anyone still believing the war on drug garbage is pretty dumb.