Tagged: heroin

Distrito Bravo: The Outlaw District

READ THIS TERRIFIC NEW MEMOIR about drug enforcement along our increasingly lawless southern border by retired U.S. Customs James C. Marchant. Stationed out of El Paso, Texas, the author spent three decades confronting drug traffickers, modern-day gunslingers, and desperados of every stripe in the badlands along the Rio Grande downstream from El Paso. A truly remarkable story, told with a writer’s eye for telling detail.

From the Amazon book page:

Conflict at the U.S./Mexico border has been brewing for decades . . . but the drug lords aren’t the only enemy.

In the lawless Distrito Bravo region, U.S. Customs Special Agent James Marchant develops a fearsome reputation for his uncanny ability to ambush drug smugglers and thwart their deals.

Surprisingly, his success is largely due to his determination to treat all people with respect and dignity. Marchant forges indelible friendships with civilians on both sides of the border and also with some of the very criminals he pursues. The brave souls in Marchant’s network risk everything to help him.

When his victories attract attention in Washington, D.C., Marchant soon learns the cartels aren’t the only enemy he faces. Corrupt individuals within U.S. government agencies are profiting from the continued war on drugs—but he stands in their way.

Marchant confronts dangerous foes both within his government and across the border, finding courage in his commitment to truth and justice. His experience on the front lines of America’s drug war shines a light on current border policies, their effect on the region, and the truth about how high-stakes decisions are actually made.

A sampling of praise for Distrito Bravo:

“I started this book and could not put it down!” Sgt. First Class (Ret.) William “Bill” Baggs

Distrito Bravo Is an eye-opening account of crime, families, crime families, friendships, and faith along the U.S.-Mexico border. The dual threat of narcotics-murderers in Mexican cartels and cowardly, corrupt political operatives in the U.S. government is put into clear focus . . . a detailed, compelling, firsthand overview of 30 years of bungled border policy that people of all political stripes concerned about border security, concerned about the safety of women and children at the border, and concerned about civil liberties in the United States, should read.” —Marcel Sanchez, El Paso educator

Distrito Bravo is an accurate, detailed record of events that took place on the U.S. border around El Paso, Texas. Exemplary job performances and dedication to duty of U.S. Customs agents are shown struggling with bureaucratic oversight that frequently hindered real border enforcement operations. Senior officials never hesitated to disavow of pull support from such operations should any unforeseen event disrupt their political agendas. These agents put their lives on the line in service to our country, fighting the free flow of narcotics into our cities and communities.” —Michael Warren, pilot (Ret.), Governor’s Office, State of New Mexico

“This book had to be written! Marchant makes the reader aware of what happened at our borders from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, and it is still happening at the present time. The book shows how difficult it is for dedicated law enforcement officers to do their jobs. It is essential reading to be able to understand the current situation at our southern border. Hopefully, it will trigger the changes necessary to secure our border. Unfortunately, those changes must come from the top, initiated by competent leaders who put the well-being of our nation before their own personal interests.” —Gerd R. Holz, former E-8 MSG, German Air Force and U.S. citizen

[AMAZON]

Mexican cartels pushing more heroin after U.S. states relax marijuana laws

(USA TODAY) — CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — As more U.S. states legalize the use of marijuana, Mexico’s violent drug cartels are turning to the basic law of supply and demand.

That means small farmers, or campesinos, in this border state’s rugged Sierra Madre who long planted marijuana to be smuggled into the United States are switching to opium poppies, which bring a higher price. The opium gum harvested is processed into heroin to feed the ravaging U.S. opioid crisis.

“Marijuana isn’t as valuable, so they switched to a more profitable product,” said Javier Ávila, a Jesuit priest in this region rife with drug cartel activities.

Laws allowing marijuana in states like Colorado, Washington and California are causing shifts in the Mexican underworld that have also led to increased violence as the cartels move away from its cash cow of marijuana to traffic more heroin and methamphetamines.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show that marijuana seizures fell by more than half since 2012, while heroin and methamphetamine seizures have held steady or markedly increased.

[READ MORE]

Mexican cartel shootout leaves 26 dead or wounded in latest violent clash

(THE GUARDIAN) — By David Agren in Mexico City

A battle between rival drug cartel factions in Mexico’s northern Chihuahua state left at least 26 dead and injured, officials have confirmed, in the latest series of violent incidents that have sent the country’s murder rate soaring.

Chihuahua state officials say the shootout occurred in the hamlet of Las Vargas, deep in the rugged Sierra Madre mountains, where the illegal drugs business has deep roots in the local community and economy.

Details were scant, but experts say that the security situation in Chihuahua has deteriorated in recent months as criminal groups squabble over the remains of the empire once controlled by Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The shootout was just the latest atrocity in a wave of violence extending the length of Mexico, which has sent the country’s homicide rate soaring to levels not seen in two decades. It came after a weekend attack in neighboring Sinaloa, where a confrontation between accused cartel members and state security forces left 19 suspects dead and five police injured.

Mexico recorded 11,155 homicides over the first five months of 2017, according to federal crime statistics. May, meanwhile, was Mexico’s most murderous month since 1997, when the country started accumulating such statistics, with 2,186 homicides committed.

Analysts attribute the rising violence to a confluence of factors, including changing dynamics in the illegal drugs business. Mexican cartels are shifting focus in their smuggling operations to the US from marijuana to heroin, unleashing a wave of violence in the opium poppy-producing state of Guerrero that has left entire villages have emptied.

[READ MORE]

What the DEA had to say about Pablo Acosta

The following are highlights from a DEA report entitled The Pablo Acosta Organization, a report based primarily on investigations carried out by U.S. Customs Service agents in the Presidio, Texas, area:

There has been a continuous increase in the trafficking of Mexican heroin, cocaine, and marijuana into the United States from Mexico over the last few years. Many fields of opium poppies were found and destroyed in Coahuila and Chihuahua in 1984. However, the production of opium is expected to rise in 1985. Mexican opium is converted directly into heroin in Mexico and is usually smuggled across the southern border.

There has also been a noticeable increase in the smuggling of cocaine through Mexico, with significant quantities of cocaine produced in South America crossing the southwest border, and although the largest worldwide marijuana seizure to date occurred in the state of Chihuahua in November 1984, it is believed that there are major quantities still available. The amount of marijuana seized along the U.S.-Mexico border has more than tripled in the last year. Recent seizures of very high-grade marijuana tops suggests the existence of very large stockpiles still in Mexico. Read more »