[Ironbarr]

(If this doesn't fit in Legal/Political please move it. I believe the subject, though, may tend to generate both legal and political comments.)


Mexican Zetas extending violence into U.S., officials say

BY ALFREDO CORCHADO

The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - A team of rogue Mexican commandos blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border has carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas, a sign that the group is extending its deadly operations into U.S. cities, two American law enforcement officials say.

The men are known as the Zetas, former members of the Mexican army who defected to Mexico's so-called Gulf drug cartel in the late 1990s, other officials say.

"These guys run like a military," said Arturo A. Fontes, an FBI special investigator for border violence based in Laredo, in South Texas. "They have their hands in everything and they have eyes and ears everywhere. I've seen how they work, and they're good at what they do. They're an impressive bunch of ruthless criminals."

Dallas and federal officials said that since late 2003 eight to 10 members of the Zetas have been operating in North Texas, maintaining a "shadowy existence" and sometimes hiring Texas criminal gangs, including the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate, for contract killings. The Texas Syndicate is a prison gang that authorities blame for several murders statewide.

The Zetas' activities in North Texas were described in interviews with two U.S. federal law enforcement agents, two former Drug Enforcement Administration officials, a former Dallas undercover narcotics officer and two undercover informants.

"We're aware of the Zetas' threat to U.S. cities, and we consider it a growing threat," said Johnny Santana, a criminal investigator for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the Inspector General. "We're conducting investigations into several cases statewide to establish evidence. We still don't have those links yet, but the telltale signs are there, and they point to the Zetas."

The Zetas' presence in Dallas represents a sharp departure from standard practice for Mexican cartels, which traditionally have kept a low profile on U.S. soil and have sought to avoid confrontations with U.S. law enforcement.

The Zetas, who are accused off carrying out killings and acting as drug couriers for the cartel, are regarded by U.S. law enforcement officials as expert assassins who are especially worrisome because of their elite military training and penchant for using AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles.

"The Zetas are bold, ruthless and won't think twice about pulling the trigger on a cop or anyone else who gets in their way," said the former Dallas narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified.

"And they like to take care of business themselves or, when forced to, hire their own assassin."Rest of the story: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/world/10944473.htm

.
-AndyB

[PinnedAndRecessed]

They're just doing the jobs that Americans won't do.

[wingman]

They're just doing the jobs that Americans won't do.

:D

[Standing Wolf]

Viva diversity!

[Pilgrim]

I wonder how much the 'Zetas' fit into the mold of the bogey man?
"The Zetas are bold, ruthless and won't think twice about pulling the trigger on a cop or anyone else who gets in their way," said the former Dallas narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified.
I am beginning to suspect a good "sea story" here.

Pilgrim

[Clean97GTI]

Mosin-Nagant rifles are cheap
7.62x54R is cheap

Training from off-duty/retired LEO or Military personnel could be free/cheap if they agree with your cause.

Sounds like the formation of a militia who is guarding against foreign invasion. Set patrols out and when you encounter incurrsions, chamber a round and shout ALTO!!!!! SIENTESE AHORA!!!!!

If fired on, you may certainly return fire and with a large enough group, you stand a good chance. Now, the expensive part would be the lawyers to defend you against "immigrant-rights" attorneys working for the Mexican gov.

A 10 man fire team could stop a decent band of drug runners.

[Preacherman]

A couple of these folks are already long-term guests of Uncle Sam in the Grey Bar And Brick Hotel. They're pretty scary folks... and I wouldn't take this news report lightly!

[kikilee]

We will give them a driver's license, Food stamps, and Government housing..................

[longeyes]

"Family values don't stop at the border..." Ooops, wrong speech. :evil:

[HungSquirrel]

Foreign narcomilitants are invading the US, advancing deep within our territory, killing people with impunity, and fading into the night. More proof that the War on Drugs is a resounding success! :barf:

[whm1974]

Foreign narcomilitants are invading the US, advancing deep within our territory, killing people with impunity, and fading into the night. More proof that the War on Drugs is a resounding success!

There are also reports that the Zetas are getting support from the Mexican govenment. Maybe we need to invade Mexico.

-Bill

[HungSquirrel]

The problem with that is you have to figure out which parts of the Mexican government are run by decent individuals and which parts are corrupt. It's not like the government itself has an official policy to support them. It's the individuals in offices of power that look the other way when the right amount of money finds its way into their hands.

[DRZinn]

They're just doing the jobs that Americans won't do.What job would that be? Killing rival drug dealers so that their associates can take over the same market and sell the same stuff to the same people? (Not gonna get into the legalization bit.)

[LiquidTension]

DocZinn, you obviously missed the sarcasm in the post you quoted. That reasoning is always cited by people that favor open borders.

[HungSquirrel]

The same people who favor open borders are the people who favor decriminalizing the sale and use of narcotics. If the sale and use of narcotics were legal in the US, you wouldn't see this kind of thing. Legitimate businessment usually don't have a reason to run around capping each other.

[El Tejon]

Preacherman, do you have names and cause numbers for these Zetas? If we have caught these bogeymen, then should be public record. :)

Zetas? Odd name for a bogey man used to instill fear in Anglos. I have images of of Anglos with blonde hair drinking beer and wearing sweaters while wearing boat shoes. :D

I got P&R's sarcasm. Excellent. :cool:

[ahenry]

Tejon,

It's usually not smart to talk disparagingly of something you don’t know anything about. It only makes you look like a fool in the eyes of those that do…

[Sindawe]

They're just doing the jobs that Americans won't do. What, our native crimminal class (not Congress, the other one) won't do this kind of work anymore. Sad, what happened to the American Work Ethic? :shaking head:

[Selfdfenz]

El Tejon,

Today is the first time I ever heard of this outfit.
Don't know if Preacherman can pop in with some case/cause numbers for you but if you will Google up "Mexican Zetas in US Prison" you will find all sorts of different information about the Zetas from a numerically impressive list of different sources. Is the issue bogus without a cause number?

I'm not expert but this bunch sounds scary +/- the cause numbers.

Best,
S-

[wingman]

It's usually not smart to talk disparagingly of something you don’t know anything about. It only makes you look like a fool in the eyes of those that do…
10.4 on that.

[El Tejon]

ahenry, and just how am I talking "disparagingly" of anything? :confused: If the Zetas exist outside of a university campus, there will be plenty of criminal litigation in their wake. If you have such information, I would appreciate you providing the links to the Zeta cases. Thanks much.

Selfdef, yes, of course cause numbers make it real. If this threat is real and not a bear thread of journalistic creation used to raise police budgets, then we should have state or federal prosecutions. State or Federal prosecutions are public record and will be easily found.

Hmmm, it seems "Zeta" is also the name of a newspaper in Tijuana which makes it bones reporting on drug trafficking! And now we have a gang of purported Zetas involved in drug smuggling. I am certain that's a conwinkydink. :D

[El Tejon]

In reading the U.S. newspapers the whole Zeta thing reeks of Boston bomb threat bear thread hysteria. A fairy tale created to scare the bejeezus out of White America by a snitch with his head in a vice.

However . . . :uhoh: . . . when I read the Mexican newspapers (with a dictionary, I'm still asi asi), who would not seemingly have the motive to lie and create hysteria like the U.S. papers, I'm not so sure. I sure would want to see something tangible. :confused:

[Ironbarr]

http://www.polishnews.com/text/news_and_correspondence/War_is_getting_more_violent.html The War Is Getting More Violent
By Richard N. Baldwin T.


No, this is not about the Mideast war. I am talking about another bigger war in the Northern Hemisphere. One with direct deaths in the US of over 10,000 per year and 20,000 "collateral" deaths. Responsible for over 16% of the total inmates in US prisons with the annual "cost to society" of about $100 billion dollars. I am talking about the drug war.

Evidently the US feels that it can live with this as the voracious drug market in the US continues. And after all of the hoo-ha in recent years, the street cost of drugs is stable which indicates that the drug supply has not been interrupted.

There are three factors in any business . . . supply, transit and market. The US is the market which is driven by a $65 billion a year direct expenditure. The supply is coming from mainly Columbia and some other South American countries. Columbia has been fighting an almost continuous war in that country for years and is heavily subsidized by the US. But, alas, the production just keeps rolling along. Too much market power to overcome.

México is the main transit element in this triad. Let's look at recent news to see what this business is doing to México. Remember that México, at this stage, is a frail democracy with weak institutions that are vulnerable to corruption with the vast amounts of money available. We are talking about a LOT of money.

Las Palmas prison, located in central México, has had two high profile assassinations over the last few weeks. Complete with smuggled-in high-class arms.

The federal government discovered that the major drug cartels were continuing to conduct their business from inside the prison. The matter was so out of hand that the Mexican Army took over the prison. The army found cell phones, computer equipment and weapons that were removed. They shipped leaders to other prisons to split up cartels. Other army prison takeovers are probable.

In December, six prison employees were executed outside the federal prison in Matamoros. A highly organized team that was probably "Zetas" did the job. This was a special Mexican army force, highly trained to fight the drug business. One of the cartels simply paid them enough money to change sides. This feared group has been responsible for many killings and act as "enforcers" for the cartel.

In the Matamoros area, 20 people were kidnapped by Zetas and three were executed in January.

Last year, another mass killing went on in the Vera Cruz area . . . again, drug related. And the former governor of Quintana Roo is now in jail as being part of the drug business.

What is happening here is a stepped up competitive "turf" war between the Mexican drug cartels. A lot of people being killed and these cartels are literally taking over entire sectors of our government. For months now, bodies have turned up in the trunks of cars, abandoned lots and homes along the border. At last reports the war is crossing the northern border.

Our prison system is almost being run by the cartels now. Obviously, there is major infiltration in the legal system. (Remember our first Drug "Czar", a highly respected army general, now in prison, who was found to be on the take? The episode was enshrined in the movie Traffic.)

Look at our prison/legal system to see how vulnerable México is. Probably one half of the inmates in prison have not even been sentenced yet! They are still awaiting trial, usually for years. The system has a population of 150,000 prisoners, and is 30% over capacity. To understand this situation, remember that under Mexican Mickey Mouse law, you are presumed guilty. Therefore, if arrested, you are considered guilty and go to jail. And the overloaded, under funded and inept judicial system takes years to bring a case to trial. A lot of these people waiting for trial are in for minor offenses.

México allows family visits to the prisons. This is necessary because a prisoner is likely not to survive imprisonment without outside support . . . for things like food, clothing and money to bribe guards for humane treatment. Even for necessary medicine. Of course, if you have enough money, things are not so bad. In one northern prison recently, it was found that moneyed inmates had gone so far as to build little homes in the central yard so that they could live with their families. The little village was torn down after publicity.

The daily throng of visitors to the prisons carrying loads of food and necessities for inmates make a huge security problem. I recently learned from a Mexican that had had experience in both Mexican and US jails that "In the US, jail is paradise! Not only do they feed you, but if you get sick, they even give you treatment!"

México is loosing control of their country in this war. With the amount of money generated by the US market, we are fighting a war that we cannot win. But the key for shutting down this system is in closing down the market, which the US does not seem to be able or care to do.

Richard N. Baldwin T., a HispanicVista.com contributing columnist, lives in Tlalnepantla, Edo de México. E-mail at: R1041643422@aol.com

[DRZinn]

DocZinn, you obviously missed the sarcasm in the post you quoted.So I did. Sorry. I read it as saying that the "job Americans won't do" was killing drug dealers.

[Art Eatman]

El Tejon, some of these Zetas have had military training somewhat equivalent to our own Green Beret types--at least the combat stuff, if not the medical/language/etc.

In the Good Old Days, you could be somewhere touristy in Nuevo Laredo, and if some drug guy was after some other guy, it was pistols. You could duck and easily survive. Now, it has been RPG or grenades--the wonderful world of "To whom it may concern, and anybody closeby."

Terence Pappa wrote a biography, "Drug Lord", about Pablo Acosta. Pablo ran the town of Ojinaga, some 70 miles upriver from me. Pablo's uncle was my next-door neighbor. Pablo was at one time responsible for an estimated one-third of the cocaine entering the U.S. His uncle merely did burro-train loads of Sweetgrass. The Mexican law folks helicoptered in and killed Pablo in 1987. Since then, the "Plaza" of Ojinaga has been run by a lieutenant of the main drug lord of Juarez. (But he's a nice guy. He's putting money into "cleanup, paintup, fixup" around town. Heck, they're even doing curbs and repaving streets! And his motel/restaurant is a great and popular place. Good food, excellent service, low prices.)

To say that Mexico has been corrupted by drug money is rather backwards: The "mordida" system down there has long had officials of various sorts holding their hands out for a little bite as a way to augment pitiful salaries. How else would the police chief of Mexico City who got a $25,000/yr salary afford a multi-million dollar mansion? Basically, the drug lords are cash cows for many in the government and army, who are in the business of selling protection.

And now it's getting wilder.

Art

[homeka45]

Wonderful, an unstable mexico next door, chicoms in panama and the caribbean, cuba getting cozy w/ venezuela and brazil supplying arms to them too. Sounds like trouble brewing.

[ahenry]

Tejon,

ahenry, and just how am I talking "disparagingly" of anything? Oh, I dunno, saying things along the lines of “Zetas? Odd name for a bogey man”…”I have images of Anglos with blonde hair drinking beer…” certainly implies that for anyone to believe that a gang of ex Mexican military special forces types called the Los Zetas to even exist, much less be an active, and very violent gang would require the suspension of ones common sense. That’s speaking disparagingly of something in my book. And it makes you look sorta silly. But hey, its your image.

If the Zetas exist outside of a university campus, there will be plenty of criminal litigation in their wake. If you have such information, I would appreciate you providing the links to the Zeta cases. Thanks much. Mira, I’m not going to do your homework for you. I will say this though; the FBI, DEA, ATF, BP, US Customs, U.S. Marshals, etc, are all fairly familiar with the Zetas. I myself have some personal experience with them.

[El Tejon]

ahenry, cool, since you have experience with them, please direct me to the federal prosecutions of these Zetas by those agencies you listed. :cool:

All the reports are just that, reports. I can read about Bigfoot, UFOs and dirty bombs in Boston, it does not mean they exist. :D

Art, no doubt the federal government of Mexico is even more corrupt than Chicago. In that cesspool, myths are often spun that COULD be true used to play on existing fears. I often see this with "gangs" in my city. "Gangs" did this, "gangs" are doing that, when the truth is that there are no gangs only wannabes searching for an identity bigger than themselves and police brass looking to justify budgets.

The "Zetas" smell exactly like this. However, if I can put my foot on a body, I will be happy.

[El Tejon]

Hmmm, maybe it could be wannabes claiming to be "Zetas". We have lots of doughy, soft white boys running around here claiming to be BGD or the like. :rolleyes:

Mythology works and it may be a lot of people are running around committing mopery in the name of "Zetas" for similar reasons. :confused:

[Glock Glockler]

Tejon,

Why is it that a quick goole search leads me to links from the Mexican govt and Mexican newspapers that reference a paramilitary drug organization known as "Los Zetas"? What do the Mexican govt and newspapers mention this obvious fabrication that was invented only to scare the Anglos here, it obviously works against their interests?

[El Tejon]

Glock, yeah that's what I said earlier, less of a reason for the Mexican newspapers to lie than the U.S. papers. Still, this thing smells of snake oil and hype--and I know both as that's often the only defense available. :D

"This is Chewbacca. He lives on Endor." :D

[Old Fuff]

I think I understand El Tejon’s point. The Zetas may exist, and/or the gangs or individuals may exist and represent a real threat (note Preacherman’s comments), and they are unquestionably being investigated.

But as an interested attorney, what Tejon needs to know is, “have any of these people actually been prosecuted *as Zetas members* and convicted?” And if so, “what are the details concerning the case?” In particular, in what court and under what case number? Given that he can find out what he needs to know.

Investigation is one thing. Actual convictions are another.

[davec]

Another smashing success story from the war on (some) drugs.

[El Tejon]

Old, as you know, lots of knuckleheads tell the po-po lots of things. These knuckleheads have a lot of years on the line and often tell the po-po what they want to hear.

Recently on THR we went through a dirty bomb scare in Boston. The assertion was inane on its face, however it fit in well with people's concerns.

Same thing here. Rumor, hearsay, tall tales, and bear threads can be reported by anyone. I want to step on a body.

[richyoung]

...perhaps the chupacabrae have grown opposable thumbs and hired themselves out to the narcos?

[R.H. Lee]

Same thing here. Rumor, hearsay, tall tales, and bear threads can be reported by anyone. I want to step on a body.
You can't realistically deny the existence of violent crime by illegals, now can you?

[El Tejon]

Riley, most assuredly I cannot as I have just a little experience in that regard. :uhoh: However, that does not mean that it is committed by squared away, militree-trained narcoterrorists.

[junyor]

Here is an article that appeared in Saturday's Dallas Morning news about the Zetas. It has a few specifics, but of most interest to me is the comment by Gil Cerda, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department narcotics division, said he had personally not heard of the group and could not comment.

-----------------
Mexican Zetas extending violence into Dallas
01:46 PM CST on Sunday, February 20, 2005

By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY – A team of rogue Mexican commandos blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border has carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas, a sign that the group is extending its deadly operations into U.S. cities, two American law enforcement officials say.

The men are known as the Zetas, former members of the Mexican army who defected to Mexico's so-called Gulf drug cartel in the late 1990s, other officials say.

"These guys run like a military," said Arturo A. Fontes, an FBI special investigator for border violence based in Laredo, in South Texas. "They have their hands in everything and they have eyes and ears everywhere. I've seen how they work, and they're good at what they do. They're an impressive bunch of ruthless criminals."


KRT
Mexican military convoys patrol the northern border of Mexico. Thousands have been dispatched to combat drug cartels and Zetas. Dallas and federal officials said that since late 2003 eight to 10 members of the Zetas have been operating in North Texas, maintaining a "shadowy existence" and sometimes hiring Texas criminal gangs, including the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate, for contract killings. The Texas Syndicate is a prison gang that authorities blame for several murders statewide.

The Zetas' activities in North Texas were described in interviews with two U.S. federal law enforcement agents, two former Drug Enforcement Administration officials, a former Dallas undercover narcotics officer and two undercover informants.

"We're aware of the Zetas' threat to U.S. cities, and we consider it a growing threat," said Johnny Santana, a criminal investigator for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the Inspector General. "We're conducting investigations into several cases statewide to establish evidence. We still don't have those links yet, but the telltale signs are there, and they point to the Zetas."

The Zetas' presence in Dallas represents a sharp departure from standard practice for Mexican cartels, which traditionally have kept a low profile on U.S. soil and have sought to avoid confrontations with U.S. law enforcement.

The Zetas, who are accused off carrying out killings and acting as drug couriers for the cartel, are regarded by U.S. law enforcement officials as expert assassins who are especially worrisome because of their elite military training and penchant for using AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles.

"The Zetas are bold, ruthless and won't think twice about pulling the trigger on a cop or anyone else who gets in their way," said the former Dallas narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified.

"And they like to take care of business themselves or, when forced to, hire their own assassin."

Gil Cerda, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department narcotics division, said he had personally not heard of the group and could not comment.

Mexican authorities have downplayed the threat posed by the Zetas, saying that a major government crackdown has left the group leaderless and on the run.

Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, the country's deputy attorney general for organized crime, suggested that many of the crimes attributed to the group may have been committed by outsiders emulating the group's violent tactics. "There are many Zetas wannabes," he said.

Still, Fontes of the FBI and other U.S. law enforcement officials said the former commandos are both a potent threat and are bolder and more ambitious than their predecessors.

They are extending their reach – and violence – beyond the Nuevo Laredo-to-Matamoros border area into Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, where they blend into burgeoning Mexican immigrant communities, state and federal officials said.

Also Online
Commandos are cartel's muscle
The group may have ventured as far as Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga., the officials said.

"These guys are anything but wannabes," said Fontes. "They're the real thing, and they're a threat to law enforcement officers on both sides of the border."

Dallas and federal law enforcement officials have linked murders and drug violence in Dallas during the past 18 months to cocaine and marijuana trafficking in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, a base of operations for the Zetas. Dallas and federal investigators have blamed at least three Dallas killings on the Zetas, and some officials said that more than a dozen violent incidents can be attributed to the group.

Federal and Dallas authorities have blamed the following incidents on the Zetas:

At 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 5, a gunman stepped out of a red sports car with a semi-automatic weapon and opened fire on three suspected drug traffickers as they played pool in the open garage of a home in the 5100 block of Mimi Court in Oak Cliff. Christian Alejandro Meza, 26, alias Juan Antonio Ortega, a parolee from Wichita, Kan., who was wanted on weapons charges, died of multiple wounds to the abdomen. Two other men were severely wounded and are being held on drug charges.

Law enforcement officials said the men were attacked because they allegedly worked for a rival drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who escaped from the maximum-security Puente Grande prison in Jalisco state in January 2001, hidden in a laundry truck.

Guzman is reputed to be a leader of the Juarez cartel, a rival of the Zetas' employer, the Gulf cartel, and is wanted in the United States, said Fontes, the FBI agent.

Dallas police seized 45 kilos of cocaine – said to have been smuggled from Monterrey, Mexico – with a street value of $2.5 million and about $300,000 in cash from the Oak Cliff home and one next to it.

"The hit was a message to Chapo Guzman, and the killer is believed to have been a Zetas member," said the former Dallas narcotics officer. "The gunman was very meticulous, didn't shoot a lot because he didn't have to."

The case is under investigation, and the gunman remains at large.

On Sept. 28, police found the bodies of Mathew Frank Geisler and Brandon Gallegos, both 19 and from Laredo, in a burning 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe in a field near the corner of Morrell Avenue and Sargent Road, in the Cadillac Heights area of Oak Cliff. Both men had been shot, and the case probably involved drugs, according to police accounts.

A federal investigator said that "without a doubt" both incidents were carried out by the Zetas.

"We're seeing an alarming number of incidents involving the same type of violence that's become all too common in Mexico, right here in Dallas," said the former Dallas narcotics officer. "We're seeing execution-style murders, burned bodies and outright mayhem. It's like the battles being waged in Mexico for turf have reached Dallas."

The Zetas are in North Texas because the area has become an important hub of drug activity, law enforcement officials say. An estimated $10 million in drug transactions, including money laundering, takes place in the area daily, according to the federal and local officials.

Transportation links such as Interstate 35, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and dozens of smaller airports in the region have contributed to the growth in drug activity, the officials said.

"We're victims of our geography," the former Dallas narcotics officer said, "and an insatiable appetite for dope and coke."

Concern over the Zetas' activities in Dallas comes at a time of increased violence along the border and a crackdown on drug cartels by Mexico that President Vicente Fox has dubbed "the mother of all battles." In the first seven weeks of this year, about 135 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico, mostly in northern states, including Tamaulipas and Chihuahua – which border Texas –and Sonora and Sinaloa.

In Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state, about 300 people have been reported missing in recent months, including 27 Americans, some of whom are believed to have been victims of the Zetas-sponsored drug violence. The Americans included two abducted this week and released Thursday after a ransom was paid, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

Last month, the U.S. government warned Americans about increasing violence and crime in Mexican border cities.

[Preacherman]

El T, sorry about the delay in replying - I hadn't revisited this thread in a couple of days.

The Zetas I know about in our prison population are not there because of conviction as Zetas per se, but have been convicted of drug- and/or gang-related offences. They are usually regarded as members of the gang with which they were working at the time of their offence (e.g. Texas Syndicate, Mexicanemi, etc.), and are listed as such in their security profile. AFAIK, we have no profile specifically for the "Zetas", as they are not a gang in their own right.

Nevertheless, the Zeta affiliation of the individuals in question is widely known on the compound, and even other gang members will tell me "He isn't one of us - he's a Zeta", or words to that effect. Typically, they are high-status inmates as far as other prisoners are concerned. They often act as bodyguards to senior gang members, or members of drug cartels. I assume that their "pay" for this job is stashed away for them outside prison, as Federal rules prevent them spending more than $300 per month for phone calls, commissary items, etc. They seem to be pretty effective at their job, as I've never heard of anyone "protected" by Zetas getting "hit" in prison. I imagine it would be a terminally stupid thing to do...

[El Tejon]

Hmmm, not a convicted Zeta. Darn it, I so wanted to step on a body.

So, this profile, is it something BoP does on its own or does it come from the federal probation officer's interview with the offender? :confused:

I'm thinking that if it is "self-reporting" that "Zeta" affiliation may be for show. Sort like Black Gangster Disciplinehood here.

El Tejon: "O.K., now the presentence report says you were born and raised in the suburbs of Battle Ground, the Hawk's Ridge addition. Your father is a chemical engineer at Eli Lilly and your mother is a professor at Purdue?"

BGD Wannabe [in sidways hat and gold jewlery]: "Yo, I is from da str337z." :D

[spartacus2002]

They're just doing the jobs that Americans won't do.

thanks, you owe me a new keyboard :D

[Art Eatman]

El Tejon, I don't have any problem believing the various news stories about these "Zetas" as reported in the Laredo, Brownsville and San Antonio newspapers from time to time. I hadn't heard about them working this side of the border, I gotta admit, but that has little or nothing to do with anything. But they sure ain't UFOs.

Whether it be the incredible numbers of murders in Juarez, or the Mexican Army guys shooting at Gringos in Arizona or California or this Zeta bunch around Nuevo Laredo and maybe Matamoros, I gay-ron-dang-tee you that the border is getting more and more violent.

Other "deals" besides Zetas: Downriver from Del Rio, around the Eagle Pass area, ranchers with riverfront lands were offered about double what their land was worth. Some sold; others did not want to. These latter were told that they could be paid in "oro, o plombo". Gold, or lead.

Other ranchers were told to stay indoors at night; to ignore the sound of stray trucks in their pastures, coming from the river.

Many of the smugglers have the latest in night-vision equipment, the latest in commo gear, and M16s...

But you stay with your UFOs, El Tejon...

Art

[El Tejon]

Art, the border may be as dangerous as it was during Harlon Carter's days, but just because it is dangerous, does not the UFOs, even if they do exist (I'm still waiting to step on a body here), are causing it. ;) As well, just because it is dangerous does not mean UFOs exist.

Habaes corpus ad bearthreadum. :D

[ahenry]

ahenry, cool, since you have experience with them, please direct me to the federal prosecutions of these Zetas by those agencies you listed. No. There are several reasons but the main one is I just don’t give a crap about trying to “prove” to you that the Los Zetas are what they are. I will happily stipulate that the vast majority of the Zetas “work” is not done on this side of the border, perhaps to the point that there aren’t any prosecutions solely for gang membership. Of course, I am not aware of prosecutions (or even arrests) solely for membership in the Mexican Mafia, Texas Syndicate, Los Hermanos Pistoleros, Mara Slavatrucha, etc, although surely you don’t doubt their existence too? Then again, maybe you do…

[El Tejon]

ahenry, not really interested in anyone proving who they are, just that they exist at this point. :)

Scary bogey men manipulating others behind the scenes? :confused: Sounds like fertile ground for criminal prosecution for this "work", at least to me. :)

[Felonious Monk]

ahenry--That’s speaking disparagingly of something in my book. And it makes you look sorta silly. But hey, its your image. Disparaging arrogant comments are El Tejon's stock in trade. He's the World's Foremost Authority. I suggest for your blood pressure's sake, you do as I did-- activate the ignore feature. :cool:

[Art Eatman]

El Tejon, do you have any vacation time coming? Toddle on down to Nuevo Laredo. The climate's nice, this time of year. Lotsa good food and booze, as well as interesting shopping.

You might just find all the proof yore lil ol' heart can stand. Just ask any of the locals about Zetas. "¿Quien estan estas Zetas?"

:D, Art

[Joe Demko]

I'm with El Tejon on this. There is assuredly crime and violence along the border. I used to live in Laredo and it is a crazy, often unpleasant, place. Even so, the fact that there were murders doesn't prove that Zetas exist. What assorted mopes said in an effort to extract their respective t*ts from the legal wringer is only slightly better evidence than a cover story from The Weekly World News.

[Art Eatman]

Joe, the pattern of violence isn't the same as it used to be. The use of military weaponry is increasing in the Nuevo Laredo area. All sorts of changes have been occurring in recent years, from Tijuana to Matamoros. That with which you were acquainted has little or no relationship to what's now occurring.

"This is not your father's Oldsmobile," and all bets are off.

Art

[Joe Demko]

I'd hate to think that the day of the overweight Mexican cop in an untidy uniform and packing a nickle-plate 1911 is completely gone.

[El Tejon]

Art, may be the best thing to do. Doc wants to go to that "Rifles Only" place. I think that's around there, maybe I'll mosey around.

FM, a guy can't have an opinion? Sorry about the asking questions in a manner that upset you.

Please understand I hear nothing but fairy tales all day long. I hear of a ubersecret, ninjaesque d34dly gang which is cutting a swath of havoc through the great state of Tejas and no one can point to a response by the USA or state DA. Something is up and I say, even though I'm not from Missouri, "show me."

[longeyes]

Speaking of UFOs, is it me or have some of our stalwart forum members been abducted and "tweaked?" Now what is that E.T. stands for again...? :D

[Ironbarr]

East Target?

.

[El Tejon]

long, well, if I have been abducted the ransom can't be much. And if I am abducted I hope it's by Tri Deltas, not Zetas! :D

[Yooper]

I'm beginning to think that our real problem is with Mexico, not with Mexicans.