In an effort to undermine Arizona’s illegal immigration laws once again President Obama’s Administration through the Justice Department filed a suit against the state’s practice of asking for green cards before they hire immigrants for jobs.
The Justice Department claims that a network of community colleges acted in an illegal manner by requiring noncitizens to provide their green cards before they could begin their employment.
The lawsuit against the Phoenix metro area Maricopa Community Colleges slams the state with yet another distraction while Governor Jan Brewer runs for reelection and tries to get the economy turned around for its residents.
The Justice Department is also investigating America’s toughest Sheriff; Joe Arpaio who has continued his campaign against illegal immigration raids after a refined SB1070 became Arizona law.
According to The Washington Post, the newest lawsuit finds, Justice Officials accused Arizona community colleges discriminated against nearly 250 noncitizen job applicants by mandating that they fill out more documents than required by law to prove their eligibility to work. The Department said this violated the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.
The law's anti-discrimination provisions "makes it unlawful to treat authorized workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for Justice's Civil Rights Division. He said the government "is acting now to remedy this pattern or practice of discrimination."
The I-9 Immigration form itself recites that "It is illegal to discriminate against any individual (other than an alien not authorized to work in the United States) in hiring, discharging, etc."
A review of the combination of documents from which the employee may choose places the employer in a clear paradox, since none of the documents in the allowed combination prove the employee's right to work in the United States, but the employer is required to attest "that to the best of my knowledge the employee is authorized to work in the United States," says one legal expert.
The mystery of the employee's right to work in the United States could be resolved simply and easily by having the employee present the "green card" which establishes the right of the employee to work or not in the United States.
Currently employers are subjected to fines and imprisonment for hiring employees who are not authorized to work in the United States (ICE raids), but their options to verify the legal status of the prospective employee is hindered by a "smoke and mirrors" instruction that elicits responsibility but withholds the means.
The Federal government has been operating the "E-Verify" system for some time, which provides a quick determination of the prospective employee's right to work in the United States.
"Through E-Verify, U.S. law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States – either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization.”
This diverse workforce can contribute to the vibrancy and strength of our economy, but that same strength also attracts unauthorized employment by not having a universal worker identification number.
The newest lawsuit in Arizona was filed on behalf of Zainul Singaporewalla, a U.S. permanent resident who was offered a math teaching job at the Glendale Community College, but was asked to fill out another form with current immigration status, the lawsuit explained.
That special form required more documents and a copy of a green card. When the potential employee couldn't find the green card, the suit said, the college would not let Singaporewalla work.
The federal government is asking the judge within the Justice Department unit to make the Maricopa colleges to pay a civil penalty of $1,100 for each of the 247 non-U.S.-citizen job applicants it says were requested to provide additional paperwork.
The Maricopa Community Colleges staff declined to comment on the new lawsuit.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/california-governor-hopeful-nightingale-will-embark-on-a-walk-about-of-sorts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
California governor hopeful Nightingale will embark on a walk about of sorts
California gubernatorial candidate, Chelene Nightingale, an American Constitution Independent, will walk from Fresno to Sacramento in an effort to bring attention to the unemployment and water crisis in the Central Valley region, as well as meet the people of California along the way who are enduring difficult times.
The Nightingale campaign will also be joined by supporters during the walk and will attend a kick-off rally on September 3rd at Koligian Park, in Fresno. The rally will begin at noon on Friday.
“I am looking forward to hearing from Californian’s and learn what they are worried about as we endure a long recession,” Nightingale said. “It’s going to be a long eight days, but the voters are worth it.”
The 189.2 mile walk to the State Capitol will continue for 8 days ending on Friday, September 10th in Sacramento at 2:00p.m.
The Nightingale for Governor Campaign intends to collect and deliver hardship letters from California voters to the state legislatures when the walk finishes.
The California walking destinations include Madera, Chowchilla, Merced, Turlock, Ripon, Lodi, and Elk Grove. The culmination of the 8-day walk will end every day with a rally. The expected arrival times for the daily rallies will be 7:00 p.m. Nightingale says she would like to meet as many Californians as possible during the meet and greet walk.
The walk will allow the third- party candidate to talk with voters and get them involved in California’s voting process. Currently, the state is not too friendly or inclusive of third-party candidates.
According to the California Secretary of State website, Mrs. Nightingale won a little over 58 percent of the American Independent party vote securing her place on the November midterm election ballot.
Nightingale also captured the most votes by parties voting outside the quasi-traditional Democrat or Republican organizations.
Nightingale knows that she capable of attracting a crowd with her Conservative message, and is disappointed that she hasn’t been invited to any of the debates that GOP Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown have agreed to attend, specifically the one on September 28 at U.C. Davis.
“All candidates are supposed to be created free and equal at state institutions which University of California at Davis is, but my campaign is not giving up hope and we remain optimistic the debate organizers will change their minds and include us,” Nightingale explained.
When asked about the constant battle with establishment candidates, Nightingale laughs and says “the voters of California are the ones who should be outraged.”
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/guns-fuel-drug-cartels-mexico
The Nightingale campaign will also be joined by supporters during the walk and will attend a kick-off rally on September 3rd at Koligian Park, in Fresno. The rally will begin at noon on Friday.
“I am looking forward to hearing from Californian’s and learn what they are worried about as we endure a long recession,” Nightingale said. “It’s going to be a long eight days, but the voters are worth it.”
The 189.2 mile walk to the State Capitol will continue for 8 days ending on Friday, September 10th in Sacramento at 2:00p.m.
The Nightingale for Governor Campaign intends to collect and deliver hardship letters from California voters to the state legislatures when the walk finishes.
The California walking destinations include Madera, Chowchilla, Merced, Turlock, Ripon, Lodi, and Elk Grove. The culmination of the 8-day walk will end every day with a rally. The expected arrival times for the daily rallies will be 7:00 p.m. Nightingale says she would like to meet as many Californians as possible during the meet and greet walk.
The walk will allow the third- party candidate to talk with voters and get them involved in California’s voting process. Currently, the state is not too friendly or inclusive of third-party candidates.
According to the California Secretary of State website, Mrs. Nightingale won a little over 58 percent of the American Independent party vote securing her place on the November midterm election ballot.
Nightingale also captured the most votes by parties voting outside the quasi-traditional Democrat or Republican organizations.
Nightingale knows that she capable of attracting a crowd with her Conservative message, and is disappointed that she hasn’t been invited to any of the debates that GOP Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown have agreed to attend, specifically the one on September 28 at U.C. Davis.
“All candidates are supposed to be created free and equal at state institutions which University of California at Davis is, but my campaign is not giving up hope and we remain optimistic the debate organizers will change their minds and include us,” Nightingale explained.
When asked about the constant battle with establishment candidates, Nightingale laughs and says “the voters of California are the ones who should be outraged.”
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/guns-fuel-drug-cartels-mexico
Illicit guns from other countries- not America- fuel drug cartels in Mexico
The battle for Mexico’s heart and soul has risen to the highest levels- not only is the country suffering from an explosive drug cartel battle, but Mexico’s very existence is embroiled in a narco-state clash.
The soul of a country lies within its citizenry and right now Mexico is losing the mêlée to the drug cartels. President Felipe Calderon has embarked on a noble quest and has promised to dethrone the powerful drug cartels from Mexico, yet in the past three years it’s the citizens who have lost 28,000 lives (and counting) to earth-shattering barbaric violence, like beheadings, perpetrated by mafia-type drug gangs.
Gone are the days of Poncho Villa as these thugs in Mexico are gaining the upper hand. They are replacing cartel leaders who have been killed or captured by the government with a more treacherous, vicious brand of brutality. The new drug cartel leaders must prove they mean business by exacting atrocious acts to garner fear and loyalty within Mexico’s borders.
The root of this evil is money – billions are made each year in Mexico from the drug trade. In an effort to capture those billions merciless drug cartels fight (with a plethora of military-grade weapons) to establish the shrinking smuggling routes into the heart of America.
The end result is a happy American drug consumer. Currently, America is home to more than Disneyland, it provides somewhere between 75 to 80 percent of the world’s drug consumption. Something Walt would not be proud of.
As with any national epidemic a message of propaganda must circulate to reveal the hero and villain. In this case the American politician and main stream media outlets have chosen guns as the villain. By spinning the web that guns are the root and American gun manufactures supply 90 percent of the weaponry to Mexican cartels; the U.S. is hit with a double whammy- a consumer and blame for the never-ending violence.
The media got it halfway right, America is the largest consumer of drugs and the cartels wouldn’t be in business if there wasn’t a demand for narcotics, but the guns are not coming from America.
In fact, a new paper out (Spring 2010) from George Mason’s School of Public Policy dispels this myth once and for all.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) only 17 percent of the guns recovered by Mexican authorities are traceable to the United States a far cry from the 90 percent perpetuated by the MSM. It is worth pointing out that the Mexican government does a good job photographing the drugs, money and weapons it seizes and releases them to the public.
Below is a recent seizure slideshow, (about a month old) near the Mexico/Arizona border and the pictures speak volumes about the arsenal drug cartels are using.
“The guns are from China, South America, Russia and the USA. However the firearms from the USA were sent via operation 'Blue Lantern' under the Clinton administration. If I recall correctly America gave Mexico about $6 billion worth of guns, ammo, night vision, grenades, and (my favorite) training,” said Marc Halcon a leading gun industry proprietor and federally-recognized advanced law-enforcement training expert.
“The rifles shown in the slideshow are from China (most likely) or eastern block nations. They have never been manufactured in the USA. The pistols ‘may’ have been manufactured in the USA, but I must point out that many countries make a clone of the same pistol so it is hard to say for sure,” he explained.
In Halcon’s opinion the Mexican government should be more cooperative with the BATF and U.S. officials. “As we pursue the true source of the firearms in question and since we apparently can't stop the flow of illegals into our country; how are we expected to stop the flow of firearms without the assistance from the Mexican government?”
Mexico’s President lashes out at America
Last week Mexican President Calderon took a direct shot at the U.S. for providing the guns that fuel the drug war.
“The American weapons industry is a voracious and vicious industry they create. It’s clear to me that they create a conflict in a poor country in Africa just to sell weapons. In the same way they are making money on the situation in Mexico.” He goes on to say America has not changed its yearly budget in its own battle with drug consumption.
Upon closer look at this statement it appears Mexico’s president is continuing the government propaganda that America is providing the majority of the weapons the cartels are using- again a falsehood that is repeated until many believe it to be fact.
“To fully understand what he is saying you only need to listen to one sentence where he states ‘the budget for the war on drugs has not changed,’” Halcon explains. “Essentially he is asking for the U.S. to give Mexico (him) money. This is a typical third-world shakedown in my opinion.”
Halcon continues to add that “the U.S. government has supplied billions of dollars in firearms, ammunition, training, etc to the Mexico. The real issue facing Americans is that between 120 and 150 of the Mexican military troops defect to the dark side every month. When they leave they are taking their equipment, guns and training with them.”
So far under President Calderon’s watch the government has confiscated more than 70,000 weapons from the drug cartels.
Propaganda spoken by U.S politicians and main stream media
Chris Cox, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, blames the main stream media and uninformed politicians in the U.S. for misrepresenting where Mexican drug cartel weapons originate. “Reporter after politician after news anchor just disregards the truth on this,” Cox contends. “The numbers are intentionally used to weaken the Second Amendment.”
American talking heads are not the only members spouting incorrect numbers. Auturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., claims Mexico seizes about 2,000 guns a day from America. However that number adds up to 730,000 a year. The ambassador misses the real number by 700,000. The real number is 30,000 for all of 2007/08, according to the Mexican attorney general's office.
Here is what the political leaders, federal agency heads and main stream media spokespeople are saying about the war next door. The following is a list of those who repeated that 90 percent of drug cartel guns come from America;
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City; CBS anchorman Bob Schieffer referred to the falsehood while interviewing President Obama; Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said 90 percent of the guns are used to kill judges, police officers and mayors at a Senate hearing; William Hoover, assistant director for field operations of ATF, testified to Congress that "there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States."
Apparently the ATF did not send out an intra-agency memo articulating that the 90 percent of traced weapons from America and that the majority of the firearms seized are clearly not even made or sold in the United States.
"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported.
Furthermore Mexican officials seized more than 30,000 guns in 2007/2008, but only submitted about 11,000 to ATF for tracing. Of the 6,000 of those traced, only 5,114 were traced to US sources. That number represents 90 percent of the 6,000 traced, but represents only 17 percent of all seizures, so again, the 90 percent number is supported by empirical evidence, but is not representative of the truth that only 5,115 of the 30,000 weapons seized were traced to US sources.” The true percentage of 17 percent does not present such a compelling argument for clamping down on American gun manufacturing as does the distorted 90 percent number does.
Some weapons, firearm dealers say, are legitimately shipped to Mexico, by Colt, from the United States. These sales are approved by the U.S. government for use by the Mexican military. Clearly these guns end up in Mexico and are not smuggled in across the river.
Firearm experts contend the remainder of the weapons that find their way into the ruthless cartels come from a variety of places
The black market in Mexico is a virtual arms variety store, with grenades from South Korea, AK-47s from China, and shoulder-fired rocket launchers from Spain, Israel and former Soviet bloc manufacturers.
Another large source is the Russian crime syndicates. In fact, Interpol claims Russian Mafia are actively trafficking drugs and arms into Mexico.
And don’t forget South America. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) established a clandestine arms smuggling and drug trafficking partnership with Mexican cartels after Pablo Escobar’s demise left a vacuum of weapons and drug addiction.
According to a 2006 Amnesty International Report, China provided arms to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of these weapons Chinese assault firearms and Korean explosives have been recovered in Mexico’s war on cartels.
Another major contributor is the Mexican military itself as more than 150,000 soldiers have deserted to the cartels in the last six years, according to Mexican Congressman Robert Badillo. Most deserters take their uniforms and weapons with them, including the standard issue M-16 assault rifles.
The Mexican government reports that it has seized 2,239 grenades in the last two years, but the grenades and the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) confiscated are not available in U.S. gun shops. The grenades used in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey and a TV station in January came from South Korea.
Hilary Clinton accepts responsibility for Americans
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a recent visit to Mexico, said that America's inability to prevent weapons being smuggled across the border is causing the deaths of Mexican police officers, soldiers and civilians.
"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," Clinton told reporters on her Mexico City trip a day after the Obama administration implied it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the border and assist Mexico battle the drug cartels.
"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."
Mexico appreciated Clinton’s admission of U.S. responsibility regarding the war on drugs.
"We want to address together the challenges that we are facing," Foreign Minister for Mexico Patricia Espinosa said.
That being said, Mexico says it will never allow U.S. troops to operate inside the country and the fact that U.S. is deploying National Guard troops to the border is causing anxiety.
"It is seen as a very delicate issue," said Espinosa.
Under former President Bill Clinton’s administration, an effort was also made to fight the drug cartels. It was called “Operation Blue Lantern.” In the mid 1990s, Clinton spent millions of dollars a year to curb the cartels.
In February of 1997, the Clinton Administration announced the Mexican government was a “full ally” in the war on drugs. In doing so Clinton’s Drug Czar, Army General Barry McCaffrey, described Mexican General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who led the Mexican National Institute to Combat Drugs (INCD) as a “man of absolute unquestioned character.”
Shortly after McCaffrey’s announcement, Rebollo was arrested for taking bribes from one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico and he had been present at numerous secret meetings involving the White House, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The blame game continues in Mexico
Taking exception to President Calderon’s direct shot at the U.S. government and U.S. gun manufactures for promoting the drug war in Mexico is recently retired ICE agent John Sakelarides.
"In a transparent attempt to shift the blame from Mexico to the United States for cross border incursions to include the flow of drugs, weapons, humans and money, President Felipe Calderon is claiming the guns being used by the cartels are coming from the United States. As such, he is accusing the United States of interfering in Mexican internal affairs by accusing the U.S. is somehow allowing the cartels to send guns from the U.S. to Mexico arming the cartels.”
“Excuse me? Let me get this straight- President Calderon. Your countrymen are smuggling not only narcotics, but human beings into this country at an alarming rate, in violation of America’s territorial sovereignty, and your countrymen who run the cartels, are smuggling guns into your country, and somehow this is our fault? Your government, and those before yours, have repeatedly, knowingly, intentionally and maliciously, interfered in the internal affairs of the United States. So much so, Mexican citizens, both legal and illegal alike, who are not U.S. citizens are voting in American elections- violating U.S. laws.”
“You support the flow of illegal aliens and narcotics into the United States, either tacitly or openly. You deny us our sovereign right to control our borders and to enforce our laws, claiming that doing so is somehow racist. However, you certainly support the flow of American dollars into Mexico in the form or remittances. Please, have the decency to not lecture America about how to run our country given the fact that Mexico is now a defacto narco-state.”
“Perhaps this behavior is acceptable in Mexico. But this kind of anarchy will not be tolerated in America. Mexico is like the neighbor who complains about his neighbor's children playing in their yard, while he allows his children to run amok in the neighborhood. You sir, are a hypocrite."
The mounting problems the Mexican government and President Calderon are having in controlling the drug cartels, lawlessness, and escalating violence is forcing Mexico to look elsewhere for blame, but little of the blame rests with the U.S. government, but more directly with the insatiable appetite Americans seem to have for Mexico’s “recreational drugs.”
“Recreational drugs” are killing thousands (more than 28,000 in three years) of Mexicans, destroying the Mexican economy, and inhibiting the government’s ability to govern has forced President Calderon’s hand to explore the legalization of illegal drugs as a distinct possibly. This concept was immediately acclaimed by former Mexican President Vicente Fox as a good solution to the drug cartel lawlessness.
The collapse of the Mexican government would have disastrous effects on the US, including the unabated flow of drugs through Mexico to the US and an influx of illegal immigrants in numbers never even imagined.
As this reporter has previously written, what happens in Mexico matters.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/obama-administration-penalizes-employer-gives-illegal-workers-a-pass
Slideshow: An example of weapons captured along the Arizona/Mexico border
The soul of a country lies within its citizenry and right now Mexico is losing the mêlée to the drug cartels. President Felipe Calderon has embarked on a noble quest and has promised to dethrone the powerful drug cartels from Mexico, yet in the past three years it’s the citizens who have lost 28,000 lives (and counting) to earth-shattering barbaric violence, like beheadings, perpetrated by mafia-type drug gangs.
Gone are the days of Poncho Villa as these thugs in Mexico are gaining the upper hand. They are replacing cartel leaders who have been killed or captured by the government with a more treacherous, vicious brand of brutality. The new drug cartel leaders must prove they mean business by exacting atrocious acts to garner fear and loyalty within Mexico’s borders.
The root of this evil is money – billions are made each year in Mexico from the drug trade. In an effort to capture those billions merciless drug cartels fight (with a plethora of military-grade weapons) to establish the shrinking smuggling routes into the heart of America.
The end result is a happy American drug consumer. Currently, America is home to more than Disneyland, it provides somewhere between 75 to 80 percent of the world’s drug consumption. Something Walt would not be proud of.
As with any national epidemic a message of propaganda must circulate to reveal the hero and villain. In this case the American politician and main stream media outlets have chosen guns as the villain. By spinning the web that guns are the root and American gun manufactures supply 90 percent of the weaponry to Mexican cartels; the U.S. is hit with a double whammy- a consumer and blame for the never-ending violence.
The media got it halfway right, America is the largest consumer of drugs and the cartels wouldn’t be in business if there wasn’t a demand for narcotics, but the guns are not coming from America.
In fact, a new paper out (Spring 2010) from George Mason’s School of Public Policy dispels this myth once and for all.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) only 17 percent of the guns recovered by Mexican authorities are traceable to the United States a far cry from the 90 percent perpetuated by the MSM. It is worth pointing out that the Mexican government does a good job photographing the drugs, money and weapons it seizes and releases them to the public.
Below is a recent seizure slideshow, (about a month old) near the Mexico/Arizona border and the pictures speak volumes about the arsenal drug cartels are using.
“The guns are from China, South America, Russia and the USA. However the firearms from the USA were sent via operation 'Blue Lantern' under the Clinton administration. If I recall correctly America gave Mexico about $6 billion worth of guns, ammo, night vision, grenades, and (my favorite) training,” said Marc Halcon a leading gun industry proprietor and federally-recognized advanced law-enforcement training expert.
“The rifles shown in the slideshow are from China (most likely) or eastern block nations. They have never been manufactured in the USA. The pistols ‘may’ have been manufactured in the USA, but I must point out that many countries make a clone of the same pistol so it is hard to say for sure,” he explained.
In Halcon’s opinion the Mexican government should be more cooperative with the BATF and U.S. officials. “As we pursue the true source of the firearms in question and since we apparently can't stop the flow of illegals into our country; how are we expected to stop the flow of firearms without the assistance from the Mexican government?”
Mexico’s President lashes out at America
Last week Mexican President Calderon took a direct shot at the U.S. for providing the guns that fuel the drug war.
“The American weapons industry is a voracious and vicious industry they create. It’s clear to me that they create a conflict in a poor country in Africa just to sell weapons. In the same way they are making money on the situation in Mexico.” He goes on to say America has not changed its yearly budget in its own battle with drug consumption.
Upon closer look at this statement it appears Mexico’s president is continuing the government propaganda that America is providing the majority of the weapons the cartels are using- again a falsehood that is repeated until many believe it to be fact.
“To fully understand what he is saying you only need to listen to one sentence where he states ‘the budget for the war on drugs has not changed,’” Halcon explains. “Essentially he is asking for the U.S. to give Mexico (him) money. This is a typical third-world shakedown in my opinion.”
Halcon continues to add that “the U.S. government has supplied billions of dollars in firearms, ammunition, training, etc to the Mexico. The real issue facing Americans is that between 120 and 150 of the Mexican military troops defect to the dark side every month. When they leave they are taking their equipment, guns and training with them.”
So far under President Calderon’s watch the government has confiscated more than 70,000 weapons from the drug cartels.
Propaganda spoken by U.S politicians and main stream media
Chris Cox, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, blames the main stream media and uninformed politicians in the U.S. for misrepresenting where Mexican drug cartel weapons originate. “Reporter after politician after news anchor just disregards the truth on this,” Cox contends. “The numbers are intentionally used to weaken the Second Amendment.”
American talking heads are not the only members spouting incorrect numbers. Auturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., claims Mexico seizes about 2,000 guns a day from America. However that number adds up to 730,000 a year. The ambassador misses the real number by 700,000. The real number is 30,000 for all of 2007/08, according to the Mexican attorney general's office.
Here is what the political leaders, federal agency heads and main stream media spokespeople are saying about the war next door. The following is a list of those who repeated that 90 percent of drug cartel guns come from America;
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City; CBS anchorman Bob Schieffer referred to the falsehood while interviewing President Obama; Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said 90 percent of the guns are used to kill judges, police officers and mayors at a Senate hearing; William Hoover, assistant director for field operations of ATF, testified to Congress that "there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States."
Apparently the ATF did not send out an intra-agency memo articulating that the 90 percent of traced weapons from America and that the majority of the firearms seized are clearly not even made or sold in the United States.
"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported.
Furthermore Mexican officials seized more than 30,000 guns in 2007/2008, but only submitted about 11,000 to ATF for tracing. Of the 6,000 of those traced, only 5,114 were traced to US sources. That number represents 90 percent of the 6,000 traced, but represents only 17 percent of all seizures, so again, the 90 percent number is supported by empirical evidence, but is not representative of the truth that only 5,115 of the 30,000 weapons seized were traced to US sources.” The true percentage of 17 percent does not present such a compelling argument for clamping down on American gun manufacturing as does the distorted 90 percent number does.
Some weapons, firearm dealers say, are legitimately shipped to Mexico, by Colt, from the United States. These sales are approved by the U.S. government for use by the Mexican military. Clearly these guns end up in Mexico and are not smuggled in across the river.
Firearm experts contend the remainder of the weapons that find their way into the ruthless cartels come from a variety of places
The black market in Mexico is a virtual arms variety store, with grenades from South Korea, AK-47s from China, and shoulder-fired rocket launchers from Spain, Israel and former Soviet bloc manufacturers.
Another large source is the Russian crime syndicates. In fact, Interpol claims Russian Mafia are actively trafficking drugs and arms into Mexico.
And don’t forget South America. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) established a clandestine arms smuggling and drug trafficking partnership with Mexican cartels after Pablo Escobar’s demise left a vacuum of weapons and drug addiction.
According to a 2006 Amnesty International Report, China provided arms to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of these weapons Chinese assault firearms and Korean explosives have been recovered in Mexico’s war on cartels.
Another major contributor is the Mexican military itself as more than 150,000 soldiers have deserted to the cartels in the last six years, according to Mexican Congressman Robert Badillo. Most deserters take their uniforms and weapons with them, including the standard issue M-16 assault rifles.
The Mexican government reports that it has seized 2,239 grenades in the last two years, but the grenades and the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) confiscated are not available in U.S. gun shops. The grenades used in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey and a TV station in January came from South Korea.
Hilary Clinton accepts responsibility for Americans
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a recent visit to Mexico, said that America's inability to prevent weapons being smuggled across the border is causing the deaths of Mexican police officers, soldiers and civilians.
"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," Clinton told reporters on her Mexico City trip a day after the Obama administration implied it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the border and assist Mexico battle the drug cartels.
"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."
Mexico appreciated Clinton’s admission of U.S. responsibility regarding the war on drugs.
"We want to address together the challenges that we are facing," Foreign Minister for Mexico Patricia Espinosa said.
That being said, Mexico says it will never allow U.S. troops to operate inside the country and the fact that U.S. is deploying National Guard troops to the border is causing anxiety.
"It is seen as a very delicate issue," said Espinosa.
Under former President Bill Clinton’s administration, an effort was also made to fight the drug cartels. It was called “Operation Blue Lantern.” In the mid 1990s, Clinton spent millions of dollars a year to curb the cartels.
In February of 1997, the Clinton Administration announced the Mexican government was a “full ally” in the war on drugs. In doing so Clinton’s Drug Czar, Army General Barry McCaffrey, described Mexican General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who led the Mexican National Institute to Combat Drugs (INCD) as a “man of absolute unquestioned character.”
Shortly after McCaffrey’s announcement, Rebollo was arrested for taking bribes from one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico and he had been present at numerous secret meetings involving the White House, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The blame game continues in Mexico
Taking exception to President Calderon’s direct shot at the U.S. government and U.S. gun manufactures for promoting the drug war in Mexico is recently retired ICE agent John Sakelarides.
"In a transparent attempt to shift the blame from Mexico to the United States for cross border incursions to include the flow of drugs, weapons, humans and money, President Felipe Calderon is claiming the guns being used by the cartels are coming from the United States. As such, he is accusing the United States of interfering in Mexican internal affairs by accusing the U.S. is somehow allowing the cartels to send guns from the U.S. to Mexico arming the cartels.”
“Excuse me? Let me get this straight- President Calderon. Your countrymen are smuggling not only narcotics, but human beings into this country at an alarming rate, in violation of America’s territorial sovereignty, and your countrymen who run the cartels, are smuggling guns into your country, and somehow this is our fault? Your government, and those before yours, have repeatedly, knowingly, intentionally and maliciously, interfered in the internal affairs of the United States. So much so, Mexican citizens, both legal and illegal alike, who are not U.S. citizens are voting in American elections- violating U.S. laws.”
“You support the flow of illegal aliens and narcotics into the United States, either tacitly or openly. You deny us our sovereign right to control our borders and to enforce our laws, claiming that doing so is somehow racist. However, you certainly support the flow of American dollars into Mexico in the form or remittances. Please, have the decency to not lecture America about how to run our country given the fact that Mexico is now a defacto narco-state.”
“Perhaps this behavior is acceptable in Mexico. But this kind of anarchy will not be tolerated in America. Mexico is like the neighbor who complains about his neighbor's children playing in their yard, while he allows his children to run amok in the neighborhood. You sir, are a hypocrite."
The mounting problems the Mexican government and President Calderon are having in controlling the drug cartels, lawlessness, and escalating violence is forcing Mexico to look elsewhere for blame, but little of the blame rests with the U.S. government, but more directly with the insatiable appetite Americans seem to have for Mexico’s “recreational drugs.”
“Recreational drugs” are killing thousands (more than 28,000 in three years) of Mexicans, destroying the Mexican economy, and inhibiting the government’s ability to govern has forced President Calderon’s hand to explore the legalization of illegal drugs as a distinct possibly. This concept was immediately acclaimed by former Mexican President Vicente Fox as a good solution to the drug cartel lawlessness.
The collapse of the Mexican government would have disastrous effects on the US, including the unabated flow of drugs through Mexico to the US and an influx of illegal immigrants in numbers never even imagined.
As this reporter has previously written, what happens in Mexico matters.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/obama-administration-penalizes-employer-gives-illegal-workers-a-pass
Slideshow: An example of weapons captured along the Arizona/Mexico border
Monday, August 30, 2010
Pressure mounts for DHS as “no confidence” votes continue and border violence grows
Mounting pressure from rank-and-file agents at ICE and Border Patrol has led to another “no confidence’ vote over the weekend from the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO).
Recently the unions that represent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol agents took part in a vote that placed “no confidence” in management leaders of Department of Homeland Security.
The new vote from NAFBPO gives a strong case against DHS and their continued inadequacies in border enforcement. “We strongly believe that with illegal aliens entrenched in every single state of our nation, interior enforcement of our immigration laws is woefully lacking,” said G. Alan Ferguson, Executive Assistant to the Chairman of NAFBPO.
NAFBPO believes the hardworking men and women within ICE and Border Patrol are doing their level best to enforce illegal immigration laws, but it is management’s unwillingness to put forth policies that will slow or deter illegals from crossing the United States border looking for work.
“NAFBPO is adamant there are two primary tasks that must be accomplished to improve our system for legal immigration while eliminating the blight of illegal immigration. These are a secured border and strong interior enforcement,” Ferguson said. “NAFBPO’s collective experience in dealing with border and immigration matters as well as an institutional knowledge dating back over a half century leads us to emphatically state that without these two tasks being implemented successfully, immigration control will never be possible.”
Buck Brandemuehl, retired Chief of the Border Patrol and a founder of NAFBPO said, “The U.S. has reached a critical crossroads in dealing with the illegal alien problem. This problem must be addressed now, as it is strangling our democracy and threatening our national security.”
America needs to realize the importance of addressing the illegal immigration issue and as such NAFBPO says they will put forth a plan for DHS management to review when they finally begin the arduous task of tackling comprehensive immigration reform.
“We will provide a common sense solution to illegal immigration and return to the rule of law,” Ferguson said.
NAFBPO was founded in 2006 by a group of retired Border Patrol Chiefs and agents in order to use their collective knowledge and experience to educate America to the realities of border and immigration issues, while actively working towards eliminating amnesty and provide effective immigration reform solutions.
“We are an organization advocating for increased homeland security through a controlled border and effective immigration enforcement policies,” Ferguson concluded.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/ice-skirts-congress-by-changing-policy-and-halting-deportations
Recently the unions that represent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol agents took part in a vote that placed “no confidence” in management leaders of Department of Homeland Security.
The new vote from NAFBPO gives a strong case against DHS and their continued inadequacies in border enforcement. “We strongly believe that with illegal aliens entrenched in every single state of our nation, interior enforcement of our immigration laws is woefully lacking,” said G. Alan Ferguson, Executive Assistant to the Chairman of NAFBPO.
NAFBPO believes the hardworking men and women within ICE and Border Patrol are doing their level best to enforce illegal immigration laws, but it is management’s unwillingness to put forth policies that will slow or deter illegals from crossing the United States border looking for work.
“NAFBPO is adamant there are two primary tasks that must be accomplished to improve our system for legal immigration while eliminating the blight of illegal immigration. These are a secured border and strong interior enforcement,” Ferguson said. “NAFBPO’s collective experience in dealing with border and immigration matters as well as an institutional knowledge dating back over a half century leads us to emphatically state that without these two tasks being implemented successfully, immigration control will never be possible.”
Buck Brandemuehl, retired Chief of the Border Patrol and a founder of NAFBPO said, “The U.S. has reached a critical crossroads in dealing with the illegal alien problem. This problem must be addressed now, as it is strangling our democracy and threatening our national security.”
America needs to realize the importance of addressing the illegal immigration issue and as such NAFBPO says they will put forth a plan for DHS management to review when they finally begin the arduous task of tackling comprehensive immigration reform.
“We will provide a common sense solution to illegal immigration and return to the rule of law,” Ferguson said.
NAFBPO was founded in 2006 by a group of retired Border Patrol Chiefs and agents in order to use their collective knowledge and experience to educate America to the realities of border and immigration issues, while actively working towards eliminating amnesty and provide effective immigration reform solutions.
“We are an organization advocating for increased homeland security through a controlled border and effective immigration enforcement policies,” Ferguson concluded.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/ice-skirts-congress-by-changing-policy-and-halting-deportations
Friday, August 27, 2010
ICE skirts Congress by changing policy and halting deportations
ICE skirts immigration law and begins to release illegal immigrants who have already been arrested and are waiting to be deported.
A memo from released yesterday by John Morton of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), included a new policy change that could affect thousands awaiting deportation. Morton signed a memo that went out to agencies across the country stating any illegal immigrants who have been charged with deportation have their cases reviewed and be released or absolved of any legal issues with the federal government if they have not committed any serious crime.
However, there is a catch. The suspected illegal immigrants must be able to prove they are taking care of necessary paperwork with ICE and have not committed a felony crime.
The memo read in part; “This memorandum establishes ICE policy for the handling of removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) involving applications or petitions filed by, or on behalf of, aliens in removal proceedings. This policy outlines a framework for ICE to request expedited adjudication of an application or petition for an alien in removal proceedings that is pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if the approval of such an application or petition would provide and immediate basis for relief to the alien. The policy will allow ICE and EOIR to address a major inefficiency in present practice and thereby avoid unnecessary delay and expenditure of resources.” Read the entire memo; http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/us/27immig_memo.pdf
This new policy at ICE comes as a major blow to agents who have already given ICE’s leader, Morton a vote of no confidence.
“It’s dispiriting for federal agents,” says Mark Krikorian of Center for Immigration Studies a Washington D.C. think tank.
While the majority of American’s don’t want amnesty given to those who entered the country illegally and have committed crimes just by crossing the border or overstaying visas the proverbial golden ticket.
Many contend management at ICE and the Obama White House has already begun a back-door amnesty process bypassing Congress.
“Is it an end run around Congress?” Krikorian asked. “In an informal sense, yes. This is a policy decision that is trying to make an end run around Congress. They are saying lets abuse our existing authority to create a defacto amnesty.”
Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told The Washington Times that the Obama administration is "simply not serious about enforcing all of our immigration laws."
However, ICE management officials claim the new policy outlined in the memo will reduce a burgeoning court- case backlog and free up agents to focus on those in the country illegally who are involved with serious criminal matters.
Whichever way you look at it, the new ICE policy will grant thousands of illegal immigrants slated for deportation a stay- or in layman terms a chance for amnesty.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/no-confidence-votes-become-a-pattern-at-ice-and-border-patrol
A memo from released yesterday by John Morton of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), included a new policy change that could affect thousands awaiting deportation. Morton signed a memo that went out to agencies across the country stating any illegal immigrants who have been charged with deportation have their cases reviewed and be released or absolved of any legal issues with the federal government if they have not committed any serious crime.
However, there is a catch. The suspected illegal immigrants must be able to prove they are taking care of necessary paperwork with ICE and have not committed a felony crime.
The memo read in part; “This memorandum establishes ICE policy for the handling of removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) involving applications or petitions filed by, or on behalf of, aliens in removal proceedings. This policy outlines a framework for ICE to request expedited adjudication of an application or petition for an alien in removal proceedings that is pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if the approval of such an application or petition would provide and immediate basis for relief to the alien. The policy will allow ICE and EOIR to address a major inefficiency in present practice and thereby avoid unnecessary delay and expenditure of resources.” Read the entire memo; http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/us/27immig_memo.pdf
This new policy at ICE comes as a major blow to agents who have already given ICE’s leader, Morton a vote of no confidence.
“It’s dispiriting for federal agents,” says Mark Krikorian of Center for Immigration Studies a Washington D.C. think tank.
While the majority of American’s don’t want amnesty given to those who entered the country illegally and have committed crimes just by crossing the border or overstaying visas the proverbial golden ticket.
Many contend management at ICE and the Obama White House has already begun a back-door amnesty process bypassing Congress.
“Is it an end run around Congress?” Krikorian asked. “In an informal sense, yes. This is a policy decision that is trying to make an end run around Congress. They are saying lets abuse our existing authority to create a defacto amnesty.”
Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told The Washington Times that the Obama administration is "simply not serious about enforcing all of our immigration laws."
However, ICE management officials claim the new policy outlined in the memo will reduce a burgeoning court- case backlog and free up agents to focus on those in the country illegally who are involved with serious criminal matters.
Whichever way you look at it, the new ICE policy will grant thousands of illegal immigrants slated for deportation a stay- or in layman terms a chance for amnesty.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/no-confidence-votes-become-a-pattern-at-ice-and-border-patrol
Thursday, August 26, 2010
California Governor hopeful Brown slams Whitman in San Diego
California Governor hopeful Jerry Brown slammed his GOP opponent Meg Whitman at a Local UFCW Union 135 member meeting in San Diego. Brown is vying for the state’s top post as a retread. (He served as California’s governor from 1975 to 1983)
Showing up 15 minutes late, Brown received a standing ovation from union employees looking to generate some excitement for the upcoming November election. Brown spoke with his teleprompter in place and took to bashing GOP candidate Whitman right off the bat.
“Whitman’s plans are B.S. and she’ll double the deficit with tax cuts,” Brown said about Whitman’s plan to give Californians $17 billion in tax credits. “California is a rich state…. We need to pull together and make the state great again.”
During the 10- minute pep rally Brown added some levity by reminding the all-union audience that he has already run for president three times and “I’ve got it out of my system. I can level with you this time,” he said about his intentions and age.
Brown pointed out that Whitman plays a great blame game and can offer California no experience, while Democratic candidates still have the ability to pull together and beat Whitman who is spending record amounts of cash to become California’s first female governor.
“This (running for governor) is like collective bargaining, we pull together,” Brown said about running against a candidate who has endless amounts of money.
The 30-year career politician clearly took aim at Whitman’s tremendous wealth. As one of the founders of eBay, Whitman secured large stock options while building the internet-resale business from the bottom up.
While Brown offered no specific plans on how he would close the state’s $20 billion shortfall he did acknowledge he would continue to push for 500,000 new “green jobs” and hold the schools to a higher standard.
California’s current Attorney General, Brown animatedly stated that “some people aren’t 10,000 times better than other people.” He went on to explain that as union workers, they worked just as hard as the so-called rich people and deserved to make a fair wage for their time.
Looking forward Brown said things could still get much worse and “they will if the other side (Republicans) get into office.”
However, in California the state is managed heavily by Democrats as they control both assembly and senate with large majorities. The current Governor, Schwarzenegger, ran as a Republican, but governed like a Democrat.
Brown finished the speech by explaining the evils of capitalism. “We have to protect California from the ravages of predatory capitalism. That’s what it is, they’re (GOP) going to rip you off if you don’t hit back and vote Democrat for the governor.”
Brown received a standing ovation as he left the room.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/mexico-a-narco-state-drugs-guns-and-cash-fuel-economy
Showing up 15 minutes late, Brown received a standing ovation from union employees looking to generate some excitement for the upcoming November election. Brown spoke with his teleprompter in place and took to bashing GOP candidate Whitman right off the bat.
“Whitman’s plans are B.S. and she’ll double the deficit with tax cuts,” Brown said about Whitman’s plan to give Californians $17 billion in tax credits. “California is a rich state…. We need to pull together and make the state great again.”
During the 10- minute pep rally Brown added some levity by reminding the all-union audience that he has already run for president three times and “I’ve got it out of my system. I can level with you this time,” he said about his intentions and age.
Brown pointed out that Whitman plays a great blame game and can offer California no experience, while Democratic candidates still have the ability to pull together and beat Whitman who is spending record amounts of cash to become California’s first female governor.
“This (running for governor) is like collective bargaining, we pull together,” Brown said about running against a candidate who has endless amounts of money.
The 30-year career politician clearly took aim at Whitman’s tremendous wealth. As one of the founders of eBay, Whitman secured large stock options while building the internet-resale business from the bottom up.
While Brown offered no specific plans on how he would close the state’s $20 billion shortfall he did acknowledge he would continue to push for 500,000 new “green jobs” and hold the schools to a higher standard.
California’s current Attorney General, Brown animatedly stated that “some people aren’t 10,000 times better than other people.” He went on to explain that as union workers, they worked just as hard as the so-called rich people and deserved to make a fair wage for their time.
Looking forward Brown said things could still get much worse and “they will if the other side (Republicans) get into office.”
However, in California the state is managed heavily by Democrats as they control both assembly and senate with large majorities. The current Governor, Schwarzenegger, ran as a Republican, but governed like a Democrat.
Brown finished the speech by explaining the evils of capitalism. “We have to protect California from the ravages of predatory capitalism. That’s what it is, they’re (GOP) going to rip you off if you don’t hit back and vote Democrat for the governor.”
Brown received a standing ovation as he left the room.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/mexico-a-narco-state-drugs-guns-and-cash-fuel-economy
72 immigrants murdered by cartels just south of U.S. border
Ruthless Zeta cartel henchmen are allegedly the perpetrators of murdering 72 migrants trying to find work inside the United States; sadly the immigrants fell 100 miles short of their goal and became the latest victims of the warring Mexican drug cartels.
There were 58 men and 14 women murdered by the Zetas. Somehow one migrant managed to live and was able to warn Mexican authorities after the vicious attack.
This incident appears to be the worst killing in the notorious cartel world and creates another perilous obstacle for migrants to consider as they make the long trek into America.
The Associated Press reported, “The Ecuadorean migrant staggered to the checkpoint on Tuesday, with a bullet wound in his neck. He told the marines he had just escaped from gunmen at a ranch in San Fernando, a town in the northern state of Tamaulipas about 100 miles from Brownsville, Texas.”
The migrant also told Mexican authorities the murderers identified themselves as Zetas, and said the other migrants were from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras.
At the gruesome scene authorities found 21 assault rifles, shotguns and detained a minor, who may have been a part of the Zeta cartel.
Authorities said the victims were most likely part of a ransom gone wrong scheme as warring cartels continue to expand their money making possibilities in Mexico. Recently these cartel gangs began to recruit migrants as foot soldiers to enter the U.S. with a passel of drugs in tow.
The National Human Rights Commission reported in a recent study that 1,600 migrants are being kidnapped in Mexico every month. However, the number is feared much higher as this report took statistics from September 2008 to February 2009.
The brutal violence along the U.S./Mexico has exploded this year when the Zetas broke with their ex-Gulf cartel employer emerging as the most violent cartel to date.
This is the third time Mexican officials have found mass graves. However, in the other to cases, authorities believe the victims were dumped at different times rather than just one mass killing spree.
In May of this year 55 bodies were found in an abandoned mine near Taxco, near a popular tourist spot in the outskirts of Mexico City.
As a result of this growing violence the U.S. Department of State has issued a stern travel warning to American citizens wanting to visit Mexico.
“U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico are warned about the security situation in Mexico. The authorized departure of family members of U.S. government personnel from U.S. Consulates in the northern Mexico border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros remains in place. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Mexico dated May 6, 2010 to note the extension of authorized departure and to update guidance on security conditions and crime. The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the region, particularly in those areas specifically mentioned in this Travel Warning,” the statement read.
The statement from the U.S. government does not come as good news for Mexico as they have seen a sharp decline in tourist dollars. Residents in Mexico believe the decline in visitors has fueled more crime.
Mexico’s brush with drugs is nothing new, online news website Politico posted a blog about the history of the drug violence and America’s attempt to assist Mexico in its ongoing drug cartel hostility. “President George W. Bush and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon agreed, in 2007, to a three-year, $1.6-billion security cooperation program known as the Mérida Initiative. It was Washington’s biggest security agreement with Mexico, and created a framework through which both the U.S. and Mexican governments could show their commitment — through dollars and actions — to defeat the cartel threat,” the blog read.
Nevertheless, Mexican President Calderon has criticized American’s commitment to the war on drugs and challenged the U.S. to increase their spending under the Mérida Initiative. In fact a U.S. report shows that less than 20 percent of the Mérida Initiative $1.6 billion has been dispersed to assist Mexico in their fight against the drug cartels.
With the bodies piling up south of the border, America’s lack of interest in curtailing the drug cartels and bitter partisan politics in the U.S., it doesn’t appear Mexico will see any relief from the violence and brutality the cartels have levied against Mexican government and citizens. It appears a narco-state status is on the horizon for Mexico and unless a centralized government is able to root out the corruption and provide a viable economic job market America’s southern neighbor will provide more heartache and more violence.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/warlords-and-taliban-fighters-earn-money-from-u-s-the-form-of-protection
There were 58 men and 14 women murdered by the Zetas. Somehow one migrant managed to live and was able to warn Mexican authorities after the vicious attack.
This incident appears to be the worst killing in the notorious cartel world and creates another perilous obstacle for migrants to consider as they make the long trek into America.
The Associated Press reported, “The Ecuadorean migrant staggered to the checkpoint on Tuesday, with a bullet wound in his neck. He told the marines he had just escaped from gunmen at a ranch in San Fernando, a town in the northern state of Tamaulipas about 100 miles from Brownsville, Texas.”
The migrant also told Mexican authorities the murderers identified themselves as Zetas, and said the other migrants were from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras.
At the gruesome scene authorities found 21 assault rifles, shotguns and detained a minor, who may have been a part of the Zeta cartel.
Authorities said the victims were most likely part of a ransom gone wrong scheme as warring cartels continue to expand their money making possibilities in Mexico. Recently these cartel gangs began to recruit migrants as foot soldiers to enter the U.S. with a passel of drugs in tow.
The National Human Rights Commission reported in a recent study that 1,600 migrants are being kidnapped in Mexico every month. However, the number is feared much higher as this report took statistics from September 2008 to February 2009.
The brutal violence along the U.S./Mexico has exploded this year when the Zetas broke with their ex-Gulf cartel employer emerging as the most violent cartel to date.
This is the third time Mexican officials have found mass graves. However, in the other to cases, authorities believe the victims were dumped at different times rather than just one mass killing spree.
In May of this year 55 bodies were found in an abandoned mine near Taxco, near a popular tourist spot in the outskirts of Mexico City.
As a result of this growing violence the U.S. Department of State has issued a stern travel warning to American citizens wanting to visit Mexico.
“U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico are warned about the security situation in Mexico. The authorized departure of family members of U.S. government personnel from U.S. Consulates in the northern Mexico border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros remains in place. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Mexico dated May 6, 2010 to note the extension of authorized departure and to update guidance on security conditions and crime. The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the region, particularly in those areas specifically mentioned in this Travel Warning,” the statement read.
The statement from the U.S. government does not come as good news for Mexico as they have seen a sharp decline in tourist dollars. Residents in Mexico believe the decline in visitors has fueled more crime.
Mexico’s brush with drugs is nothing new, online news website Politico posted a blog about the history of the drug violence and America’s attempt to assist Mexico in its ongoing drug cartel hostility. “President George W. Bush and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon agreed, in 2007, to a three-year, $1.6-billion security cooperation program known as the Mérida Initiative. It was Washington’s biggest security agreement with Mexico, and created a framework through which both the U.S. and Mexican governments could show their commitment — through dollars and actions — to defeat the cartel threat,” the blog read.
Nevertheless, Mexican President Calderon has criticized American’s commitment to the war on drugs and challenged the U.S. to increase their spending under the Mérida Initiative. In fact a U.S. report shows that less than 20 percent of the Mérida Initiative $1.6 billion has been dispersed to assist Mexico in their fight against the drug cartels.
With the bodies piling up south of the border, America’s lack of interest in curtailing the drug cartels and bitter partisan politics in the U.S., it doesn’t appear Mexico will see any relief from the violence and brutality the cartels have levied against Mexican government and citizens. It appears a narco-state status is on the horizon for Mexico and unless a centralized government is able to root out the corruption and provide a viable economic job market America’s southern neighbor will provide more heartache and more violence.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/warlords-and-taliban-fighters-earn-money-from-u-s-the-form-of-protection
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