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August 23rd, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Trump threatens government shutdown over border wall funding

Trump threatens government shutdown over border wall funding

(BLOOMBERG) — President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to bring the U.S. government to the brink of a shutdown if needed to pressure Congress into funding the border wall that was a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign.

Delivering a warning to Democratic lawmakers who have objected to his plans to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico frontier, Trump called them “obstructionists” and said that it was time for the U.S. to crack down on illegal immigration.

“If we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” Trump told thousands of supporters gathered in Phoenix for a campaign-style rally. “One way or the other, we’re going to get that wall.”

Trump’s threats about shutting down the government and ending the North American Free Trade Agreement caused U.S. stock-index futures to pare gains and drop as much as 0.3 percent. Dow futures were down 0.2 percent as were E-Mini Nasdaq 100 futures.

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August 23rd, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on U.S. warns citizens about traveling to Cancun

U.S. warns citizens about traveling to Cancun

(BLOOMBERG) — The U.S. State Department warned its citizens about traveling to parts of Mexico including Cancun and Playa del Carmen, as homicides rise at resorts popular with American tourists.

The advisory issued on Tuesday upgraded the warnings for two states, Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, saying turf wars between crime gangs have led to a surge in violence. The only warning for Quintana Roo in a December statement was about lack of cellular and Internet service in some areas.

The expanded travel advisory hits at the heart of a tourism industry that brings in $20 billion a year for Mexico. The state of Quintana Roo, where the resorts of Tulum and Cozumel are also located, gets 10 million tourists a year, a third of the national total. The warnings come as homicides in Mexico are set to rise to their highest since at least the turn of the century. Quintana Roo alone has seen 169 murders this year.

“Shooting incidents, in which innocent bystanders have been injured or killed, have occurred” in both states, the U.S. warned. “While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens.”

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August 15th, 2017 Related News Comments Off on Violence in Mexico hits 20-year high

Violence in Mexico hits 20-year high

(OCCRP) — Mexico witnessed a record-breaking number of homicides and murder investigations in May, according to government data.

Last month, 2,186 murders were committed surpassing 2011’s record, statistics that go back two decades show.

The number of murder investigations also peaked in May dating back to 1997. Several probes likely include multiple homicides.

“Pretty grim. Not shocking, because we’ve seen this for months,” Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope said.

Mexico recorded 9,916 murders since the beginning of 2017, roughly a 30% increase over the same period last year, underscoring the country’s struggle to deal with escalating organized crime groups.

The deadliest state was Guerrero, in the south, a hotbed for Mexico’s war on drugs where 216 people were killed.

In the western state of Sinaloa 154 people were killed – the highest number in six years -due to violence driven by rival groups vying to fill the void left by the arrest and extradition of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Mexico launched a militarized offensive to fight drug trafficking in 2006. Since then, over 200,000 people have been presumed dead or missing as rival cartels wage war on each other and the army.

The country’s escalating violence has hit journalists especially hard claiming most recently the life of well-respected drug trafficking reporter, Javier Valdez Cardenas.

The ensuing conflict has further damaged President Enrique Pena Nieto’s popularity.

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August 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Mexico captures Cancun Drug cartel boss

Mexico captures Cancun Drug cartel boss

(OCCRP) — Mexican police arrested a woman suspected to be the leader of an organized crime group operating in the tourist resort areas of Cancun and Playa del Carmen, media reported Friday.

Leticia Rodriguez Lara, 48, known as “Dona Lety” or “La 40” is accused of running an independent criminal organization in Cancun that is affiliated with factions of the Sinaloa, Gulf, and Los Zetas cartels.

Her gang was involved in drug sales, extortion of bars and restaurants in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, and attacked those who refused to pay the fees demanded, according to Breitbart.

Dona Lety, a former federal police officer and an agent with Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, bumped the powerful Los Zetas cartel out of the two resort cities in the last four years to start her own cartel, Mexico News Daily reported.

She did it by recruiting former members of the Zetas and Gulf cartel, as well as ex-convicts and presumably former police colleagues. Once in control of the cities, her criminal organization reigned over the sale of illegal drugs and began to expand into other illicit activities.

Dona Lety was arrested while traveling on the Puebla-Veracruz highway. She has been on Mexico’s wanted list since 2012.

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August 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Drug traffickers use social media to spread terror near Texas border

Drug traffickers use social media to spread terror near Texas border

(BREITBART) — CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas — Cartel gunmen captured one of their rivals, tortured him, and used social media to disseminate a threatening video where they beat and behead their victim.

In the video, a group of hooded gunmen carrying various rifles stand before a kneeling, blindfolded victim and issue a short threat to the leadership of the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. The gunmen claimed to be part of the Vieja Escuela Zeta or the “Old School” splinter of Los Zetas.

Soon after the gunmen issue the threat, they beat their victim with their rifles and another hooded man runs in with a machete to begin hacking away at their victim’s head. The victim has been only identified as “La Conequilla” a member of the CDN operations in Ciudad Victoria. Photos and videos of the beheading were via social media. The various messages issued threats against Raul “Borrego” Gamez Moreno and Elvis “Morelos” Santiago, as well as their families living in Ciudad VIctoria.

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August 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Cartel gunmen burn corpses of rivals near factories at Texas border

Cartel gunmen burn corpses of rivals near factories at Texas border

(BREITBART) — REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — Cartel gunmen incinerated three of their suspected rivals in an ongoing war for the past three months that led to more than 137 confirmed deaths in this border city. The bodies were found near one of the many industrial parks–it remains unclear if the victims were alive when torched.

Authorities discovered the three bodies on a dirt road known as Brecha E99, where Tamaulipas investigators gathered evidence and photographs of the remains. The scene was near the Reynosa Industrial Park, a manufacturing complex that houses numerous international factories.

The factories that surround Reynosa provide thousands of jobs for the area. Most of those facilities manufacture parts or assemble products that are then crossed into the U.S. for international commerce. While not directly targeted, many of the plants have experienced issues with cartel operations, such as gun battles and finished product theft.

While authorities have not identified the victims, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that the victims are likely cartel members from one faction caught by rivals. Since May, two factions of the Gulf Cartel have been at war over control of the city’s lucrative drug distribution and trafficking areas, Breitbart Texas reported. The fighting causes almost daily gun battles, kidnappings, and executions that have killed more than 137 individuals–including innocent bystanders and law enforcement.

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August 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Gulf Cartel training camp discovered near Texas border

Gulf Cartel training camp discovered near Texas border

(BREITBART) — MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — Mexico’s Gulf Cartel managed to build a training camp in this border city with guard towers, walls, drill areas, and a garage for outfitting vehicles with armor plating.

The camp was discovered by the Mexican Army during an enforcement operation in the rural areas southwest of Matamoros. Military personnel received anonymous information about a cartel camp and carried out a series of efforts to locate the training facility, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Mexican Army revealed. Matamoros is a border city immediately south of Brownsville, Texas.

Cartel forces in Matamoros set up a series of blockades throughout the city to keep soldiers from reaching the camp. By the time that the Mexican army reached the walled facility, cartel gunmen managed to flee leaving behind weapons, tactical gear, armored vehicles, and other items.

The compound was surrounded by a wall and had a concrete guard tower used by lookouts to warn about any approaching rival forces. Inside, authorities found multiple structures including garages, workshops, and target ranges.

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August 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on At least 4 people shot, killed in Mexican resort of Acapulco

At least 4 people shot, killed in Mexican resort of Acapulco

(MY SAN ANTONIO) — At least four people have been shot and killed in the Pacific resort of Acapulco, which has become a hotspot in Mexico’s rising drug violence.

An Associated Press journalist saw the four bodies, including a man who lay on a central avenue in Acapulco in broad daylight Sunday with a pink towel over his face. Pedestrians watched from a footbridge as police secured the scene.

The deaths came as Mexico’s violence reached new heights with 2,234 murders in June, the country’s deadliest month in at least 20 years, according to government data.

For the first six months of 2017, authorities nationwide recorded 12,155 homicide investigations, or 31 percent more than the 9,300 during the same period last year.

The once-glamorous resort of Acapulco has struggled with surging violence.

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August 15th, 2017 Related News Comments Off on Women kicked out organized crime in this Mexican town

Women kicked out organized crime in this Mexican town

(MY SAN ANTONIO) — More than 180,000 people have been killed in Mexico since then-President Felipe Calderon sent the army to fight organized crime groups in his native state of Michoacan in 2006.

But one small town in that state says it hasn’t had a homicide since 2011 because its residents – led by women – took up arms to kick out groups who had expanded from drug trafficking into illegal logging.

While overall in Michoacán, federal authorities say 614 people have been killed this year, a 16 percent increase from 2016, the people of Cherán say they’ve become immune to serious crime. They expelled the politicians and local police, and community members now patrol the area wearing uniforms emblazoned with the slogan “For Justice, Security and the Restoration of Our Territory.”

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August 4th, 2017 Related News Comments Off on Journalist’s murder underscores growing threat in Mexico

Journalist’s murder underscores growing threat in Mexico

(BREITBART) — MEXICO CITY — The staff of the weekly newspaper Riodoce normally meets on Wednesdays to review its plans for coverage of the most recent mayhem wrought in Sinaloa state by organized crime, corrupt officials and ceaseless drug wars. But on this day, in the shadow of their own tragedy, they’ve come together to talk about security.

It’s important to change their routines, they are told. Be more careful with social media. Don’t leave colleagues alone in the office at night. Two senior journalists discuss what feels safer: to take their children with them to the office, which was the target of a grenade attack in 2009, or to leave them at home.

Security experts have written three words on a blackboard at the front of the room: adversaries, neutrals, allies. They ask the reporters to suggest names for each column — no proof is needed, perceptions and gut feelings are enough

Allies are crucial. In an emergency, they would need a friend, a lawyer, an activist to call.

The longest list, by far, is enemies. There are drug traffickers, politicians, business people, journalists suspected of being on the payroll of the government or the cartels, a catalog of villains who make the job of covering Mexico’s chaos perilous.

There is no respite from the violence, and as bodies pile up across the country, more and more of them are journalists: at least 25 since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December 2012, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, with at least seven dead in seven states so far this year. A total of 589 have been placed under federal protection after attacks and threats.

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