Category: Breaking News

February 11th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on AK-47 rifles, Claymore mines, & grenade launchers discovered on Mexico border

AK-47 rifles, Claymore mines, & grenade launchers discovered on Mexico border

(ZERO HEDGE) –by Tyler Durden

According to Breitbart Texas, the federal government of Mexico recently deployed thousands of Mexican soldiers, Marines, and police officers to the Gulf region of the Mexico-United States border, as drug cartel violence spirals out of control.

Rival factions of the Gulf Cartel are in an all-out war against each other for the control of drug trafficking and human smuggling routes into Texas. Breitbart Texas describes how drug cartels are using military weapons in daily skirmishes in the border region.

During a series of recent military operations by the Mexican Army, soldiers honed in on various rural areas near the Rio Grande. According to exclusive information provided to Breitbart Texas via the Mexican Army, soldiers found a “series of weapons caches that had been buried”– leading to the arrest of three suspects.

What the soldiers found next is mind-numbing. According to Breitbart Texas, “soldiers unearthed two Claymore mines, a grenade launcher, two Barrett .50 caliber rifles, 17 AK-47 rifles, ballistic plates, ammunition, and magazines.”

It has been reported that the Gulf Cartel and other Mexican organized crime units have used Russian-made assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades in past battles, this appears to be the first case of a U.S. military-grade directional anti-personnel mine found near the border.

Special Operations.com explains the deadly power behind the M18A1 Claymore mine:

Unlike traditional land mines, which direct their explosive upward, the Claymore is what is called a “directional mine.” This means that the user points the mine by using a crude sight on top, and steadies it with twin scissor-like anchors which can be pressed into the ground, or stand free on their own. A wire is then unfurled a safe distance back to the user’s position were a detonator in the form of a clacker is squeezed to initiate the explosion. Since the Claymore has a curved rectangular shape, once fired, plastic explosive hurls 700 steel balls out in a 60° radius. Anything exposed within a 50 yard distance is bound to become a casualty. This only increases by magnitude the closer to the detonation. The function is rather like dozens of shotguns going off at once. There is nothing like it on the battlefield.

Last month, we reported that the U.S. State Department warned all U.S. citizens and U.S. government employees to exercise increased caution while traveling in Mexico, and even restricted some regions from access because of “violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery.”

Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico as U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to these areas. U.S. government employees are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico. U.S. government employees are also not permitted to drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior parts of Mexico with the exception of daytime travel on Highway 15 between Nogales and Hermosillo.

U.S. State Department discouraged all travel to 31 Mexican states and even issued five states to Level 4, otherwise known as a war-zone like some countries in the Middle East.

The U.S. State Department defines Level 4 as :

Do Not Travel: This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.

For example in Colima, the U.S. State Department warns:

U.S. government employees are prohibited from travel to Tecoman or within 12 miles of the Colima-Michoacán border and on Route 110 between La Tecomaca and the Jalisco border.

Do not travel due to crime. Armed groups operate independently of the government in many areas of Guerrero. Members of these groups frequently maintain roadblocks and may use violence towards travelers.

Do not travel due to crime. Violent crime, such as murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion, and sexual assault, is common. Gang activity, including gun battles, is widespread. Armed criminal groups target public and private passenger buses traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers hostage and demanding ransom payments. Local law enforcement has limited capability to respond to violence in many parts of the state.

Perhaps, President Trump’s border wall is a good idea as drug cartels on the Mexico-United States border are stockpiling military grade weapons

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February 7th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Cartel gunmen murder two Catholic priests in southern Mexico

Cartel gunmen murder two Catholic priests in southern Mexico

(BREITBART) — Two Catholic priests from coastal Guerrero were murdered by a group of suspected cartel hitmen while returning to their parish. One other priest was shot.

Fathers Germain Muñiz Garcia, Ivan Añorme Jaime, and German N, were traveling in a pickup truck as they were returning from a Catholic celebration known as El Día de La Candelaria. Shortly before the attack, the priests traveled on the road that connects Taxco with Iguala, approximately 140 miles north of Acapulco.

For unknown reasons, a team of cartel gunmen fired on the clergy vehicle. Two of the priests died while German N was transferred to hospital.

The Archdioceses of Acapulco condemned the attack and demanded action from authorities–in a state where most crimes go unpunished.

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“We ask the authorities, once the truth is known, to act in justice,” the Catholic Church revealed in a statement.

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January 26th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Tijuana suffers five cartel murders per day, say Mexican authorities

Tijuana suffers five cartel murders per day, say Mexican authorities

(BREITBART) — by Robert Arce

Following a record-breaking 2017 in which 1,734 murders were registered in the border city of Tijuana, 2018 has continued the alarming pace with at least 132 homicides in the first 23 days of January.

Of the 132 registered homicides, only five resulted in arrests with a total of 11 suspects detained, according to the state attorney general’s office.

In one case, three suspects who were arrested but later released after discarding two suitcases containing human body parts. They were not detained for murder but instead charged with exhuming corpses and were released pending a future court date. The move sparked outrage and eventually resulted in two of the suspects being detained. The third suspect is currently subject to an arrest warrant.

An average of five murders is being recorded daily since late October 2017. During a recent stretch in less than 48 hours, a total of 14 homicides were counted in to include the execution of a taxi driver in front of the Macro Plaza–a popular tourist destination frequented by U.S. citizens. The taxi driver was executed by two gunmen but left his passengers unharmed. This past Monday, the state attorney general’s office reported nine executions for the day, including an incident in which two people were killed and six wounded.

This ongoing violence in Tijuana has been a result of a turf war between rival drug cartels as they fight for key trafficking routes and street-level distribution, according to local media reports. The escalation can mainly be attributed to the hostilities between the Sinaloa Cártel and their one-time ally, Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) who have aligned themselves with the Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), according to Breitbart law enforcement sources.

On Tuesday, authorities reported the discovery of a narco-banner left hanging from an overpass on a well-traveled road. The notice contained threats directed at “El Güero Chompas” and Alberto García Meza alias “El Wicho” signed by the Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), local reports indicate. “El Güero Chompas” is José Luis Mendoza Uriarte of the Sinaloa Cartel and leader of the cell known as “Los Chompas” or “Los Uriarte”. This cell is related to Raydel López Uriarte, who was arrested in 2010. “El Wicho” also belongs to the Sinaloa Cártel. The banner adds that “for every 1 or 2 you kill of ours, we will kill 4 or 6 of yours.” The message is signed by the Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG).

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January 16th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Mexican columnist is stabbed 21 times in front of family, underscoring deadly risks faced by journalists

Mexican columnist is stabbed 21 times in front of family, underscoring deadly risks faced by journalists

(LOS ANGELE TIMES) — By Kate Linthicum

Carlos Dominguez was waiting at a traffic light in the northern Mexico border city of Nuevo Laredo with his son, his daughter-in-law and his grandchildren when men armed with knives flung open the car door.

Dominguez, a 77-year-old opinion columnist who had worked as a journalist for nearly four decades, was stabbed 21 times, according to Mexican authorities. They said he was attacked by at least three men who remain unidentified and at large.

The killing Saturday afternoon underscores the lethal risks faced by journalists in Mexico and the growing wave of violence gripping the nation.

Officials said they were investigating to determine whether the attack was connected to Dominguez’s work. He wrote frequently about politics, organized crime and occasionally their intersection — a perilous beat in a country that was second only to war-torn Syria in the number of journalists killed last year.

Eleven journalists were slain across Mexico in 2017, with no culprits arrested in most of those cases. Dozens of reporters have fled the country or gone into hiding.

In the Gulf Coast state of Tamaulipas, where Nuevo Laredo is located, 15 journalists have been killed since 2000, according to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission. The commission, an independent government watchdog, has sent investigators to Nuevo Laredo to look into Saturday’s attack.

The organization Reporters Without Borders said it believed Dominguez was targeted because of his controversial columns.

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January 11th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Mexico travel warning: U.S. urges citizens to avoid 5 Mexican states

Mexico travel warning: U.S. urges citizens to avoid 5 Mexican states

(USA TODAY) — The State Department has issued a new, strict “do not travel” advisory for U.S. citizens regarding five Mexican states because of violent crime and gang activity.

While the State Department has long recommended travelers exercise “increased caution” in Mexico in general because of widespread homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery, the new warning elevates the five states to level 4, the highest level of potential danger.

The advisory, issued Thursday, puts the states of Tamaulipas on the U.S. border and Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero on the Pacific coast on the same level as war-torn countries like Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

The states have long been plagued with drug cartel activity like trafficking routes or the cultivation of drug-related crops.

Turf wars between rival drug cartels have torn apart Tamaulipas, and Sinaloa is home to the cartel of the same name. Michoacan was so dominated by a drug cartel that vigilantes took up arms in 2013 to drive them out.

Homicides skyrocketed in Colima in recent years due to the growth of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, and the state now has Mexico’s highest homicide rate, with 83.3 killings per 100,000 residents, according to figures from the first 11 months of 2017.

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January 7th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Weekend violence kills 18 in western Mexico

Weekend violence kills 18 in western Mexico

(ENCA) — LOS CABOS – At least eighteen people were killed in weekend violence on Mexico’s west coast, authorities said.

The bloodshed came after 30 people were killed and seven more suffered gunshot wounds over two days of drug trafficking-fueled violence in Chihuahua state.

In rural areas of Guerrero state, people opposed to a proposed dam attacked a village during a festival, sparking a series of clashes that left 11 dead, a state police spokesman said.

The state, home to popular beach destinations such as Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, is also one of the poorest states in Mexico and among the hardest hit by organized crime.

In addition, navy forces clashed with suspected hitmen late Saturday, killing seven of them in San Jose del Cabo in Baja California state, officials said.

More than two dozen more people were killed in the Chihuahua state just ahead of the weekend.

Thirty were killed on Thursday and Friday in the northern state, which borders the US, while another died Saturday of serious injuries.

Carlos Huerta, the spokesman for the local prosecutor’s office, said the violence was due to attacks by the rival Juarez and Sinaloa cartels.

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December 21st, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Mexican journalist executed while watching son’s Christmas pageant

Mexican journalist executed while watching son’s Christmas pageant

(BREITBART) — by Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby

A group of unknown gunmen stormed a Mexican elementary school’s Christmas pageant and executed a veteran journalist watching his son’s performance.

The murder took place at the Aguirre Cinta elementary school in the southern city of Acayucan, Veracruz, Revista Proceso reported. Longtime journalist Gumaro Perez Aguilando had gone to the school to see his son’s Christmas pageant when a team of gunmen walked up to him and opened fire in front of other parents and students.

Perez Aguilando covered the crime beat at various local news outlets and was a key editor of La Voz Del Sur. He was physically assaulted in 2012 for gathering information at a courthouse, Proceso reported.

Aguilando’s murder is the to 83rd strike the Mexican press, where more than 12 have been murdered in 2017 alone. The International Press Institute has labeled Mexico as the most dangerous place for journalists worldwide edging out Iraq and Syria.

As Breitbart Texas has reported, the murder of journalists in Mexico carries no real consequences. While human rights activists and journalists have previously called out the Mexican government for its inaction in addressing crimes against reporters and for the lacking security conditions, the usual promises made by the Mexican federal government appear to not have been kept. In many cases, violent drug cartels, or at times, corrupt public officials are the suspects behind most of the attacks.

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December 21st, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Mexico ranked deadliest country for journalists, says international press institute

Mexico ranked deadliest country for journalists, says international press institute

(BREITBART) — by Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby

A press freedom organization has ranked Mexico as the deadliest country for journalists, overtaking Iraq and Syria for the highest number of reporters who lost their lives while practicing their craft. On the day the report was published, gunmen murdered another journalist in Mexico.

A new report by the International Press Institute labels Mexico as the most dangerous place for journalists, citing the government’s lacking efforts to protect them.

The murder of journalists is “an attack on the fundamental human right to share and receive information and on democracy itself,” IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.

According to the IPI, since 2006, when the country started a new security strategy to fight drug cartels, 79 journalists have been murdered. In 2017, there were 13 that IPI accounted for with four targeted directly for their work. On the day the report was published, a team of gunmen murdered Gumaro Perez Aguilando as he attended his son’s Christmas Festival in Veracruz.

According to IPI, none of the recorded cases have been solved. As Breitbart Texas reported in 2017, cartel gunmen targeted various journalists including Miroslava Breach, an investigative reporter from Chihuahua, who uncovered deep connections between key members of the Juarez Cartel and local politicians.

Also in 2017, cartel gunmen murdered respected journalist Javier Valdez from Culiacan, Sinaloa. The slain journalist founded the news outlet Rio Doce and covered cartel violence for several years.

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December 21st, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on 6 bodies found hanging from bridges in Mexico tourism hotspot

6 bodies found hanging from bridges in Mexico tourism hotspot

(NEWSMAX) — Six bodies were found hanging from bridges Wednesday in Mexico’s Baja California, a region known for its pristine beaches and popular with foreign tourists, authorities said.

Grisly killings were once rare in the country’s tourism hotspots but have risen in recent years as organized crime has grown.

The bodies were discovered along highways leading to international airports in La Paz, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, nicknamed the Los Cabos area.

It is a massive international Pacific resort area popular with Americans, Canadians and Europeans.

The bodies were spread across three bridges, two on each, the local prosecutor said. The victims have not yet been identified.

A total of 409 people were murdered in the area from January through October — more than double for all of 2016.

Drug gangs are fighting over routes on which they move drugs to the United States, as well as over turf on which they sell drugs to tourists from overseas.

More than 196,000 people have been killed in Mexico since late 2006 when the federal government launched a controversial military-led antidrug offensive.

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November 30th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Cartel gunmen leave human heads at Mexican TV station

Cartel gunmen leave human heads at Mexican TV station

(BREITBART) — Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) continues spreading bloodshed and death threats after gunmen left two human heads outside of the Televisa TV station in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

A Mexican federal law enforcement source confirmed to Breitbart Texas that the gunmen left ice chests with human remains in various parts of Jalisco.

While the case left in front of the TV station did not contain any cartel threats against reporters, Mexican authorities suspect the group is looking to get attention for recent violent acts after they threatened a local police chief close to the governor and a local judge. The chest left at the TV station contained two human heads.

“Jesus Humberto Boruel Neri, number 1202, here I leave you these heads, let’s see if you go public, not like on Sunday 19-11-17 when we threw grenades and you hid it,” one of the recovered messages said. “You know that deals have to be kept or do you want us to remind you why you are there and who put you there.”

Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that Boruel is one of the top leaders of the state police, and at one time, was the bodyguard of current Governor Aristoteles Sandoval. During his time as a bodyguard, Boruel was arrested for his alleged role in the murder of a man in Tlaquepaque, but was later released for a lack of evidence. In another part of the city, authorities found another ice chest with a message for a local judge: “[expletive] Judge Molina, you are next.”

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