Tagged: Mexican drug cartels

May 29th, 2023 About the Book Comments Off on Against the Wind: Fighting America’s Drug War on the Rio Grande Paperback

Against the Wind: Fighting America’s Drug War on the Rio Grande Paperback

TAKE A LOOK at this new and important book by former federal drug agent David Regela about our lawless border with Mexico, now undergoing a virtual migrant invasion along with the usual massive smuggling of dangerous drugs. The author came to the border just as drug trafficking exploded with the arrival of tons of Colombian cocaine. He stood his ground against a seeming wall of smugglers who took advantage of our poorly guarded border to bring in harmful drugs. Regela arrested many of them, sending them off to jail to serve often long sentences. Against the Wind is an exciting account of his work, and an eye-opener about the ever-worsening state of our border with Mexico.

From the Amazon book page for Against the Wind:

Pablo Acosta and Amado Carrillo-Fuentes have become infamous . . . but the agents who risk everything to stop the drug lords remain in obscurity. Now, Agent David Regela exposes the shocking truth about the real enemies in the war on drugs.

As a new federal agent for the U.S. Customs Service, David Regela was eager to help stabilize the situation along the southern border. On the front lines in this lawless territory, his survival depended on quick reflexes and even faster thinking. At any moment, he might be in an Old West–style gunfight or deep undercover within a multimillion-dollar drug operation.

During his career, Regela’s courageous contributions resulted in several noteworthy successes. Award-winning journalist Charles Bowden (Down by the River) names Regela the only undercover agent to get close to Amado Carrillo-Fuentes, the fabled Lord of the Skies. Regela also interacted extensively with Mexican warlord Pablo Acosta.

But success came at a price. Corrupt, self-serving agents within various U.S. agencies benefited by perpetuating the war on drugs, and Regela became the target of an unethical internal investigation designed to arrest him.

He would have to choose between his career and his integrity.
Regela’s fascinating account provides an inside look at how the war on drugs has created a killing field along the border today. Against the Wind is a must-read for citizens seeking to be more informed about this volatile region.

A sampling of praise for Against the Wind:

“Bandidos, shootouts, undercover capers, close calls, drug lords—Regela takes you for a wild ride in the still Wild West.” —Daryl Barnes, Attorney at Law

“An accurate account of the undercover king. I know. I lived many of those pages with Special Agent Regela.” —James Marchant, Retired Special Agent, U.S. Customs Service

“Regela’s tale is artfully crafted and leaves the reader wishing for more stories at the end. His moral code seems to have emerged intact after repeated challenges. Personally brave, sometimes reckless, Regela interestingly avoided deadly force in multiple instances where it was justified.” —Former Criminal Prosecutor, National Wildlife Magazine Publisher

“I had the honor of working narcotics during the tenure of David Regela. He was known for his undercover ability and the unreal cases he brought to the table—admired by other top investigators and hated by those incapable of doing the job. This account brings those days stunningly back to life.” —Johnny Eoff, Former El Paso Police Department Swat Team Leader

[AMAZON]

May 15th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Senator Bill Cassidy: Build the Wall — and Make the Cartels Pay for It

Senator Bill Cassidy: Build the Wall — and Make the Cartels Pay for It

(BREITBART) — by Sean Moran

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) says we should fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall using money confiscated from Mexican cartels.

“The cartels move about 110 billion dollars a year from the United States to Mexico,” the Louisiana senator explained to Breitbart News Sunday host Amanda House. “If we can stop that, confiscate that money, we can use cartel money to build the wall. It won’t be the Mexican government, it’ll be the Mexican cartels [paying for the wall], and that’s probably the better party to build it.”

Cassidy introduced an amendment this year that would crack down on drug traffickers laundering money across the southern American border. The American government could then use the seized funds for increased border security and to build President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. A press release at the time read:

“It’s estimated drug traffickers launder $110 billion between the U.S. and Mexico every year, but as best we can tell the U.S. government only captures about $7 billion,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We need to do better. If we confiscate this money, we can pay for better border security and make drug traffickers less able to hurt our communities.”

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June 22nd, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on U.S. border agents warned of ‘open warfare’ with ‘grenades’ in Mexico at Texas border

U.S. border agents warned of ‘open warfare’ with ‘grenades’ in Mexico at Texas border

(BREITBART) — by Brandon Darby & Ildefonso Ortiz

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) of South Texas are being warned about risks posed to them on the border by “open warfare” including grenade attacks occurring on the Mexican side.

The warning echoes Breitbart Texas’s Cartel Chronicles reports on the bloody war occurring at the border between a faction of the Mexican Gulf Cartel and Mexican authorities.

The warning was issued by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) to agents in the RGV Sector. It reads:

WARNING ADVISORY TO BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN RGV SECTOR

Recent events in Tamaulipas, Mexico, specifically in and around the city of Reynosa, pose a special risk to U.S. Border Patrol agents working in the region.

The Reynosa faction of the Mexican Gulf Cartel recently lost its leader and the group is engaging in open warfare with Mexican authorities and possibly with rival factions or other transnational criminal groups. Open source reports indicate gunbattles and use of grenades and other explosives in the fighting.

Border Patrol agents working the line in any station’s area of operations immediately across the largely open border from Reynosa, Mexico, are advised to employ extra caution in the performance of their duties. Stray rounds from firearms have previously injured U.S. law enforcement personnel on the border.

[READ MORE]

June 21st, 2017 Related News Comments Off on US government confirms connection between Mexican drug cartels and ISIS

US government confirms connection between Mexican drug cartels and ISIS

(PANAM POST) — By Elena Toledo

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Congress that a “very different approach” will be implemented for fighting Mexican drug cartels and other transnational criminal groups from now on.

Tillerson, who spoke of connections between Mexican crime groups and the Islamic State, told the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives that the United States and Mexico are now concentrating on the “supply chain of how drug trafficking, human trafficking and other criminal activities are conducted in a cross-border manner.”

“This is a comprehensive effort that we have been promoting, with the cooperation of our Mexican counterparts,” he said. “I think they will see a very different approach to how we attack the cartel problem.”

Tillerson was questioned by Texas State Rep. Michael McCaul about whether he shared concerns with National Security Secretary John Kelly regarding the connection between “criminal networks and terrorist networks.” Kelly had previously said “cartels share ties with terrorist networks, with the possibility of smuggling not just drugs or people, but dirty bombs.”

To this, Tillerson responded that the the connections are certainly there, including with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which, he said, “is part of our global effort to deny funding to terrorists.”

[READ MORE]

June 4th, 2017 Breaking News, Related News Comments Off on Drug Lord now available in Spanish: El zar de la droga

Drug Lord now available in Spanish: El zar de la droga

(DRUGLORD.COM) — El zar de la droga es la biografía de Pablo Acosta, narco mexicano que contruyó uno de los más poderosos imperios en la historia del narcotráfico mundial. También es la historia de la corrupción, violencia sin límite y opulencia del infernal mundo de los narcotraficantes.

Acosta convirtió a Ojinaga, Chihuahua, en el mayor “depósito” de cocaina del mundo occidental, desde donde abastecía la demanda de toda la Unión Americana. El zar de la droga revela los orígenes de este poderoso delinquente, su ascenso, contactos, métodos de intimidación, forma de operar y sus crímenes.

El zar de la droga es un reportaje periodístico absolutaments cierto e impresionante que a usted lo estremecerá.

[<a href=”https://druglord.com/2017/06/drug-lord-now-spanish///”>READ MORE</a>]

June 4th, 2017 About the Book Comments Off on DRUG LORD NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!

DRUG LORD NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!

El zar de la droga es la biografía de Pablo Acosta, narco mexicano que contruyó uno de los más poderosos imperios en la historia del narcotráfico mundial. También es la historia de la corrupción, violencia sin límite y opulencia del infernal mundo de los narcotraficantes.

Acosta convirtió a Ojinaga, Chihuahua, en el mayor depósito de cocaina del mundo occidental, desde donde abastecía la demanda de toda la Unión Americana. El zar de la droga revela los orígenes de este poderoso delinquente, su ascenso, contactos, métodos de intimidación, forma de operar y sus crímenes.

El zar de la droga es un reportaje periodístico absolutaments cierto e impresionante que a usted lo estremecerá.

LO QUE DICEN LOS PERIODICOS INFLUYENTES DE EL ZAR DE LA DROGA

Get the Spanish version from Amazon.com

“Terrence E. Poppa es un periodista de primera línea que ha examinado a conciencia los testimonios de traficantes agentes de narcóticos y policías, para documentar el ascenso y la caída de uno de los mas célebres narcotraficantes, Pablo Acosta.” —Wall Street Journal

“Poppa ha causado conmoción con su descripción de las convenciones utilizadas en la industria del narcotráfico. Ha penetrado sus secretos.” —Dallas Morning News

“Poppa es un talentoso narrador con clara visión para el detalle. Indagó en la realidad del tráfico de drogas . . . y nos cuenta lo que encontró.” —Albuquerque Journal

“Terrence Poppa ha realizado un increíble reportaje de investigación. Esta es la verdadera frontera: cruda, sangrienta, siempre cambiante y siempre intrigante. La historia de Poppa lo estesmecerá . . . y todo en ella es la verdad.” —Elaine Shannon, autora de Desperados, Los narcotraficantes latinoamericanos, los legisladores estadounidneses y la guerra que Estados Unidos no puede ganar.

May 23rd, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Judge presiding over ‘El Chapo’s’ case shot, killed while jogging outside home

Judge presiding over ‘El Chapo’s’ case shot, killed while jogging outside home

(MY SAN ANTONIO) — The judge who presided over Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s case was shot in the head while jogging outside of his home Monday near Mexico City, according to media reports.

Judge Vicente Bermudez Zacarias, 37, was the judge presiding over Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s case, according to SDP Noticias. Zacarias lived in Metepec, which is 45 miles west of Mexico City.

SDP Noticias reported that the person who shot Zacarias fled the scene. Zacarias later died at the hospital in Metepec.

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April 16th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Juárez among most dangerous cities in the world

Juárez among most dangerous cities in the world

(CURRENT-ARGUS) — Juárez is once again one of the most dangerous cities in the world, according to a group that releases annual rankings.

The Citizens Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, a Mexican think tank, has ranked Juárez 37th out of the 50 most violent cities worldwide with a population of more than 300,000. The ranking comes after Juárez had fallen off the list last year.

Juárez was among eight Mexican cities on the list, which included Acapulco in the No. 2 spot. The most violent city in the world was Caracas, Venezuela. Four U.S. cities also made the list, including St. Louis, Mo., Baltimore, Md., New Orleans, La., and Detroit, Mich. They ranked 14, 26, 34 and 36, respectively.

Juárez’s return to the undesirable list — as well as that of Chihuahua City and Mazatlán, which fell off the list in 2015 and 2012, respectively — is evidence on how violence has picked up in Mexico and attempts to contain it have utterly failed, said José Antonio Ortega Sánchez, president of the Citizens Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

The rankings are based on homicides for 2016 and don’t include deaths in combat zones or cities with unavailable data.

[READ MORE]

March 11th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on NARCO-TERROR: Cartel dumps dismembered bodies in Mexican border state

NARCO-TERROR: Cartel dumps dismembered bodies in Mexican border state

(BREITBART) — MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon

A group of gunmen from one of the cartels operating in this border state executed, dismembered, and bagged three victims. Their remains were left in the bed of a truck with a poster bearing a narco-message.

The gruesome discovery was made by municipal police officers from the town of Escobedo, who were carrying out a routine patrol. The vehicle did not seem out of the ordinary until the officers spotted a several trash bags with human remains and a cartel message.

The officers that reported the crime scene in the Villas de San Francisco neighborhood confirmed to Breitbart Texas they found at least seven plastic bags in the bed of the pickup in plain view. Authorities were able to identify a human foot and a torso that were protruding from the bags.

Among the bloody human remains, authorities found three human heads and the poster that been stuck to a body with an ice pick. The message read: “This happened for (word missing) $$ to the Golfos (Gulf Cartel members) and farting Zetas, Greetings to Jaime Alberto Cano Gonzalez and Mario Salazar Cortez “the Baldy” from Apodaca. This is just starting.”

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November 30th, 2016 Breaking News Comments Off on GRAPHIC VIDEO: Mexican cartel at border preps to incinerate victims’ hacked bodies, plays soccer with head

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Mexican cartel at border preps to incinerate victims’ hacked bodies, plays soccer with head

(BREITBART) — MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — A leaked video obtained by the Breitbart Texas shows a crew of Gulf Cartel gunmen preparing to incinerate dozens of murdered victims. They are also seen playing soccer with a human head.

The incineration of victims is a long standing practice that allows the criminal organization to avoid scrutiny as well as help Mexican government officials continue to claim low crime statistics.

In the leaked video, a man holding a cell phone claims to be part of the Gulf Cartel and that the group is cooking “rats” or rivals members. The man appears to be holding a beer on the other hand as he narrates in Spanish the fate of their rivals.

In the background of the video, various other cartel members can be seen punching holes in 55-gallon drums and placing rocks and body parts inside. One of the men then asks for a “spark” referring to a lighter. The man with the cell phone then begins to kick the head of one of a murder victim as if it were a soccer ball. Another is heard stating that in a village, Los Zetas members had played soccer with the severed heads of children.

The date and the location of the video remains unknown, however the method of incinerating the victims remains the same throughout Mexico. “Cooking” is a term used to describe the incineration of bodies by cartel members. The murdered victims are hacked into pieces and placed either in clandestine crematoriums or in 55-gallon drums where they are set on fire. The practice of cooking victims not only helps cartels minimize scrutiny but also helps Mexican officials claim that crime continues to decrease since incinerated victims are not counted as murders. According to Mexican officials, without a body, it remains a missing persons case.

[READ MORE]

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