National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers Foreign News Report

Narcotics Traffikers have Openly Augmented their Destructive Firepower
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
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Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.

Posted April 29, 2008
 

El Universal (Mexico City) 4/28/08  

Narcotraffickers in Mexico openly augmented their armed destructive power over the past ten years due to a void in government enforcement against arms traffic.  Arms entering the country have gone from the traditional AK-47 assault rifle to weapons that can demolish fortresses.  Quoting specialist Georgina Sánchez, "The inability to combat crime during the term of Vicente Fox lies in the decision not to participate in the undeclared, but real, war.  This void was filled to the brim by the presence of crime."  With Fox, according to the office of the Attorney General, confiscation of assault rifles decreased from 3,119 in 2001 to 1,733 in 2006.  In the past year, .50 caliber rifles, rocket and grenade launchers have been seized.  The article concluded that since January this year, Mexico and the U.S. have applied the "Arms Traffic Program (Gunrunner)" to stop arms smuggling over the border.

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El Diario de Coahuila (Saltillo, Coahuila) 4/28/08

Nine narco-executions took place in the state of Chihuahua over the weekend.  One of the victims was a police officer.  All showed signs of torture before being shot.

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a.m (Guanajuato) 4/28/08

1.  "Like in the old western movies, train robberies happen every day in Guanajuato."  Bands of train robbers steal seed, oil, stoves and even new cars.  They make off with tons of goods worth millions of pesos, according to the legal representative of a company that has lost an estimated 10 million pesos (nearly one million U.S.).  The thefts occur all along the train routes.  Thieves often block the tracks at remote crossings, creating conditions that could cause derailment.

2.  Since January, more than 200 merchants in Cd. Guanajuato have been victims of "mafia style" extortions by youthful vandals who threaten shopkeepers with physical harm.  Merchants are asking municipal police to give them better protection.

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El Imparcial (Hermosillo, Sonora) 4/28/08

Responding to a report of a plane landing near Bacum, Sonora, two patrol units were unable to locate the plane, but upon returning from the area, spotted a pickup pulling a loaded trailer.  An attempt to stop the vehicle resulted in a short chase and the driver escaped, abandoning his cargo of 1.5 tons of marihuana.

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Entorno a Tamaulipas  (Tamaulipas) 4/28/08

The Matamoros, Tamaulipas municipal police department has put a priority on acquiring arms and vehicles from federal funds.  They will begin with the request for armament because it takes longer to process.  They also need more equipment such as radios and uniforms.

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El Bravo (Tamaulipas) 4/28/08

Mexican Navy Special Forces were met with gunfire from presumed narcotraffickers while patrolling near the U.S. border.  According to an unofficial report, 7 criminals were arrested, 2 military were wounded and a Chevrolet Trailblazer with bullet holes was seized.