02/22/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA CARNAVAL IS OVER WHAT A DRAG

Arsenal located in Rosarito Beach a few days back including grenade launcher (courtesy AFN)

Carnaval is over, back to reality.  El Mex is reporting current crime data from the PGJE this morning, according to these stats the kidnappings in Baja Califronia have decreased this year (but then we are only at the end days of February), so let's take a look:

2011 - 64 reported kidnappings

2012 - As of the end of January, zero reports of kidnappings.

Homicides - comparing month end totals:

January 2011:  71

January 2012:  60

Overall Crime Rate for Baja California:

January 2011:  9,317

January 2012   10,169

Robberies:

January 2011:  544

January 2012:   5,858

All of these figures remained the exactly the same for January of 2011 and January of 2012 - which seemed sort of strange:

Stolen Vehicles:

79 - 42 of these stolen with violence

House Break-ins:

1,636 - 36 of these with violence.

Rapes:

56 - 43 of these with violence.  Isn't any rape a violent act?

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However last week's Zeta Magazine blasted Governor Milan and State Attorney General Moreno Manjarrez for not going after the criminals of Baja California who are responsible for kidnappings, drug trafficking, drug dealing, executions and homicides - it is as though these members of organized crime are licensed to operate.


According to Zeta the AG promised in 2010 to go after Sanchez Arellano and twenty three of his accomplices - yet to date, NO WARRANTS against any these of these people including Fernando Sanchez Arellano have been requested by the State Attorney General.  Zeta believes that the AG's office is paralyzed as far as investigating murders, executions, drug dealing and kidnapping.  Although not stated in this article what we are seeing in our area are constant "sweeps", yet we are not being informed of any convictions or the importance of these arrests.  Not stated in this article, but it could be and I said could be a methodology of knocking down the foot soldiers - or potential foot soldiers in an attempt to weaken the cartels. Zeta mentions many more members of the Sinaloa wing who seem to be operating with impunity in Baja California and questions the "rewards" system offered by the PGR for known members of organized crime, for example, offering a substantial reward for information leading to the arrest - but not showing the picture of the person who is wanted.


Zeta Tijuana
Edicion 1977
02/20/2012

"Delincuentes impunes en BC"

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THE UPDATES:  True to the statistics offered by the PGJE, the crime continues up and down the coast in the Northern area; check the policia reports on the links for all arrests because I can't get them all:


  - Body of a person found burned inside of a vehicle (trunk) which was set afire on Blvd. 2000 by the La Encantada bridge:


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 - In San Quintin, Ensenada - man pretending to be a Ministerial Agent is arrested after attempting to extort money from the residents of Ejido Raul Sanchez Diaz:


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 - In the Zona Norte one man attacked and stabbed inside of the Hacienda Bar, his condition is serious and there was one arrest in this case:


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  - In colonia Federal, men who identified themselves as AFI agents in two vehicles force another vehicle to stop and according to this report, kidnap one of the men from the stopped vehicle.  The kidnapped man's companion notified Municipal Police.  AFI are the Federal Police also known as Policia Federal Ministerial (PFM). So, right now we don't know if this was an actual arrest or people dressed as AFI Agents who carried out an abduction:


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 - In colonia Libertad Parte Baja, family members find their brother shot through his head in his bed in his room.  They had gone into his room to wake him up to go to work:


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 - The man who was injured by gunfire on 02/16 in the triple shooting in Ensenada has died.  His death is mourned by family members and co-workers of ISSSTECALI where he had worked for 22 year in the Clinical Laboratory:


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 - A late report from AFN - on 02/16 in colonia Piedra Negras Ensenada, one man wounded by gunfire as he attempted to face off robbers of the OXXO store where he worked.  The assailants  forced customers to lie on the floor at gunpoint while the robbery was in progress.  No arrests so far:


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 - Man shot and wounded as he was walking down Blvd. Rosas Magallon by armed men in vehicle, no arrests so far - so there are still instances of armed men in vehicles shooting people, obviously:


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 - In Ejido El Papalote, San Quintin Ensenada, a grocery store robbed with violence; owner is attacked by three subjects wielding knives and a bat, no arrests so far.  And another man robbed at knife point in colonia Lazaro Cardenas, no arrests on that one either:


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I'll be back...there are more, meanwhile I wish I could have been in Rio for Carnaval :


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..... Everybody sing....


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02/19/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA - ROSARITO BEACH CARNAVAL !!

We are going to take a break from the drug war in our area.  Yesterday we went into Rosarito Beach to run some errands and take the pup to the Vet - and on purpose  I brought the camera along because I have been accused of not telling the truth - or at least my neighbors have been accused of not telling the truth about the absence of touristas of the gringo variety in town.


To our surprise it was Carnaval in Rosarito Beach !! Two weeks ago  a violent shootout in colonia Aztlan Rosarito Beach, two days ago another arsenal located by the Army in Rosarito Beach, several shootings and kidnappings where the victims were from and the safe house was located in Rosarito Beach and a man arrested for carrying a loaded AK-47 at Popotla.  The US State Department reissued
a Travel Warning for our area.  All of the experts are saying there is a truce between the cartels, and I haven't had a chance to scan the news today.  Still, Mexican families enjoyed the Carnaval - everyone was happy and it seemed that for a day Rosarito Beach had found her spirit again.



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02/16/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA LIMITED AND OBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVES - UPDATE:THREE SHOOTINGS IN ENSENADA WITHIN A HALF AN HOUR TONIGHT

Shortly after the US State Department's travel warning to parts of Mexico which included Baja California (Norte), a counteroffensive was launched by Juan Tintos Funcke, the Secretary of State Tourism. Travel writers from LA Weekly, The New York Times and Johnny Jet were invited to Baja by the State government to review the area(favorably) and promote tourism, which we all know is basically dead in the water in our area. So, the focus was on "...the attractions and tourist services offered by the state", without broaching the main topics of human and narcotics smuggling and what many sociologists have described as an "implosion" within the Mexican society.


Hablan bien de BC a nivel internacional

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The argument for a renewed tourist industry is that without it conditions are ripe for catastrophe. But conditions are always ripe for catastrophe anywhere in the world where there is no interest in making change. Although the invited members of the press were given red carpet treatment and toured non arguably the most gorgeous geographic areas of Baja California (Norte) it is doubtful they were taken on tours through the most impoverished areas, the maquiladoras or even known locations where cartel members and their families live and operate. The concern is that social conditions which have become now well known to the world because of the drug war will be swept under the rug once again and the viewpoint from a tourist perspective will become once again limited rather than objective. And with the given truce in our area, another concern is the potentiality of cartel infiltration into the government and the corporations with the result of Mexico remaining a slave to the United States in its capacity to service the drug addictions of American citizens.


UPDATE/EDIT 02/16 9:45pm: AFN is reporting on the eve of Carnival, three shooting in Ensenada within a half an hour:

1. 8:40PM: In colonia Piedras Negras on calle Constituyentes, at this moment it is unclear who was shot.

2. Minutes later in the Bahia neighborhood one man enters a home and shoots another man.

3. 9:00PM: Between calles Reforma y Alisos another man is shot.

Intense Police mobilization throughout the area; this is an intial report from AFN, check back on that link for more information:


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end edit.

UPDATE/EDIT 02/17: El Vigia updates this story: Authorities believe that these three shootings are related and possibly the first shooting was a distraction. The first shooting victim was wounded, reported to be in stable condition. The second victim died at the hospital. The third victim is also dead, he was shot in his vehicle which was in the parking lot of a supermarket by a group of hooded individuals. Two suspects who were racing out of that parking lot have been detained, although there are no weapons in their vehicle. In addition last night in Ensenada, two convenience store assaulted and a fire broke out at Telnor - assuming this is the Telnor by the old Palacio. One remark after the article contains conflicting information regarding the group of hooded individuals.

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end edit.




In the past five days there have been no huge seizures of narcotics or arsenals nor have there been arrests of drug figureheads - and yet, we all know they are here. Police filters continue throughout the city of Tijuana, arrests for car thefts and drug dealing on the streets prevail, but we've also seen shoot outs and kidnappings with subsequent arrests. This is not to say that the people who participated in all of these criminal activities were members of organized crime - but according to Lydia Maria Cacho Ribeiro, these people are a part of organized crime:


- After a five year investigation, Lydia Maria Cacho Ribeiro has concluded that 62% of the bars located in Tijuana belong to organized crime groups and there are cases in which Municipal and Ministerial police are in collusion with these groups, protected by members of the Military. Over half of the bars in Tijuana according to Cacho Ribeiro are involved in human trafficking and sexual exploitation. During the course of her study, 400 cases had actually filed complaints. Further, she believes that a Japanese Mafia group known as "Yakuza" operates in the Zona Norte and is involved with human trafficking. It was after the appearance of this article that local Mexican officials and General Mujica both denied the existence of the "Yakuza" group in Tijuana.


However, Cacho Ribeiro claims that when Julian Leyzaola was Chief of Police, he admitted that he was aware of members of the Military who protected these organized crime groups:


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More Updates:


- Despite government findings that theft in the last quarter of 2011 dropped nationwide by 8%, thefts in Baja California rose by 1.8%. Baja California at this point leads the nation in thefts @ 2,227 recorded in 2011 per each 100,00 citizens:

Encabeza BC en robos a todo el Pais

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- Two migrants attacked and shot @ K-57, Rumorosa (also known as Arrollo La Gloria). One migrant was able to escape and alerted the authorities. According to "Adelante Valle", the three were from Michoacan, because of the rough geographic location, the rescue took place the next morning. The condition of the migrants is serious, they were shot in their arms and stomach and one had a fractured skull, no arrests so far:


Balean a dos migrantes en La Rumorosa

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- Man who is a resident of CREAD, the rehab center (although this article does not state which CREAD)is kidnapped then released on Blvd. Teran Teran:

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- A shocker, unrelated to organized crime or the drug war: The body of Itzel Jaqueline Fontes Ortiz, 17 years old missing since last Friday found dismembered in a sewage drain. Itzel was deaf and dumb and there has been an arrest in this case:


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- In Ejido Leandro Valle, San Quintin three men violently assault a cerveceria, no arrests yet. In today's El Vigia, there is an attempt by the authorities to have the community more involved in the "Denucia" program.


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UPDATE/EDIT 02/17: El Vigia is reporting this morning that San Quintin is being reinforced by the Municipals in order to combat the local crime; five colonias are being patrolled with four units, two officers apiece:


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- In colonia Mision del Mar, Rosarito Beach (this would be across the Scenic Highway a bit south of Quinta del Mar) one man is rescued by the Municipals after being seriously beaten to the point of being unconscious and then kidnapped when another kidnapped victim at the safe house escapes and alerts authorities. The two kidnappers are arrested, no mention of weapons but Frontera notes both men had warrants out for their arrest for previous murder and kidnappings:

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- Three cloned taxis located and three drivers arrested due to the Police Filters. These taxis were made to look like "normal" taxis which operate in the City. As are many "Free" taxis, these most likely would have been involved in express kidnappings and robberies. Reported 02/17: Stiff fines and new laws regarding cloned taxis are being pursued by the authorities.


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- In colonia Sepanol (Otay Mesa) the owner of a recycling company kidnapped and shot by three armed men. There is a chase by the Municipals who arrest the three kidnappers, no mention of weapons:


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- In colonia Pueblo Nuevo of Mexicali, Preventative Police intervene as four people were attempting to cross the border illegally then were shot at by the smuggler at least five times. Police manage to capture the coyote, no injuries:


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- Municipal Police officer Alejandro Pena assaulted with a knife, escapes injury due to wearing a bulletproof vest; he then shoots the suspect in the leg. More arrests by Municipals: one man arrested after threatening another person with a gun then stealing his vehicle; in colonia Murua three arrested with mota and in the Zona Central one arrested with heroin. This dope was for local sales:


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- In colonia Lucio Blanco, Rosarito Beach one man shot inside of a vehicle by his "friend". Although the victim gave authorities the description and where his two "friends" live (colonia Lienzo Charro) so far no reported arrests in this case:


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UPDATE/EDIT 02/27:

- Frontera and AFN reporting woman found dead in home in colonia Obrera 1 (San Antonio de los Buenos); hands tied and bag over her head, no arrests so far:


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- Body of a man found in a bag in colonia Hipolito Renteria, Mexicali dumped on a road about 70 meters east of the road to San Felipe by the Las Arenitas water treatment plant:


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It is not anarchy, it is implosion and there is a lot of it which the Mexican people have to put up with on a daily basis. The authorities have their hands full. Here are the links for all of the news, by this time you guys are probably pretty good at reading Spanish - check out this week's Zeta article on the kidnappings, a point which was also stressed in the latest US State Department travel warning:


Zeta Tijuana

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AFN

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FRONTERA

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EL MEXICANO

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El Vigia de Ensenada - Ensenada News

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Noticias Ensenada.net - Ensenada News

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Encuentro 29.com - Mexicali News

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Mundo Narco - Formerly Blog del Narco

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LA Times

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02/10/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA US STATE DEPARTMENT MEXICO TRAVEL WARNING BCS IS GIVEN A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH - BEHEADINGS IN TJ - 02/11: FRONTERA CORRECTS THE LOCATION BEHEADINGS TO ROSARITO BEACH & STRATFOR SECURITY WEEKLY UPDATE RE ELECTIONS

According to the US State Department, "Baja California(north): Tijuana is a major city/travel destination in the northern portion of Baja California. You should exercise caution in the northern state of Baja California, particularly at night. Targeted TCO assassinations continue to take place in Baja California (north). Turf battles between the criminal groups proliferated and resulted in numerous assassinations in areas of Tijuana frequented by US citizens. Shooting incidents, in which innocent bystanders have been injured, have occurred during daylight hours throughout the day, throughout the city. In one such incident, a US citizen was shot and seriously wounded. According to the Government of Mexico, as of August 2011, the city's murder rate was approximately 20 per 100 thousand. During 2011, 34 US citizens were the victims of homicide in the state. In the majority of these cases, the killings appeared to be related to narcotics trafficking.


Baja California (South): Cabo San Lucas is a major city/travel destination in the southern portion of Baja California. No advisory is in effect." (i.e. for Baja California Sur)


Travel Warning
US Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Mexico
February 08,2012

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So, we in Baja Norte are basically in the same boat as far as the State Department's assessment, nothing has changed, and BCS is off the hook. Aside from the upcoming G-20 summit which is scheduled for June of this year, BCS and particularly Cabo San Lucas is well known as one of the geese who has laid golden eggs for Mexico. It is pricey and it is posh. I have always said to follow the State Department's advise, particularly when promoters in our area were dismissing the dangers here, however Zeta Magazine offers a different picture of the situation in BCS. Cabo has been described by Zeta magazine as the trampoline area for launching drugs further north and eventually into the United States. Since last August, a turf war for control of the plaza has erupted.


Zeta reports that the executions have returned to Baja California Sur due to the conflict between the "Los Antrax" cell of the Sinaloa cartel and the armed wing of the Beltran Leyva Brothers cartel for control of the Los Cabos plaza. Mexican Intelligence has reported that on the Sinaloa side, Javier Lopez Rivera aka Javier Lopez aka Javier Muguia aka "El Javi" or aka "El Javier" (whew) leads the Antrax cell. On the Beltran Leyva Brothers side, Fausta Meza Flores aka "El Chapo Isidro" is the leader of that group.


In response to the threats and then executions and in order to prevent chaos during the G-20 summit and insure security, 5,000 troops are being poured into Cabo. Familiar with the affects of warring factions in the cities of Culiacan, Morelos, Mazatlan, and Acapulco special police ops and the Military now patrol Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. According to Zeta, the biggest concern of the Military, the PGR, the Federal Police, and the PGJE is the obvious presence of the people who have arrived in Cabo from Sinaloa who for one reason or another are currently under investigation for their ties to organized crime. In addition, it was since 10/25/11 that State Ministerial Police were aware of an arsenal via photographs and video of grenades, rocket launchers, assault rifles, ammo, pistols and to date, the one arsenal has not been located.


According to Zeta, it was the indifference of the PAN under Felipe Calderon and Marcos Covarrubias that allowed this situation to develop and the PRD Mayor of Cabo has a Police Chief (Giovanni Rodriguez Aguilar) in charge who according to the Center for National Security (CISEN) not only failed tests for confidence but under his command are police officers who are in collusion with organized crime; particularly with the Sinaloa cartel's Antrax cell and also with Jaime Ariel Meza Lopez aka "El Jimmy" (the brother of El Pozolero of Tijuana fame)and his operatives. In their article, Zeta lists ten officers receiving 20K pesos a month working for El Javier and many others who protected the El Jimmy and other cells and yet still remain in office.


Zeta highlights the history of this conflict:


08/04/11: Four members of the Beltran Leyva group kidnapped, tortured and executed.

10/25/11: Commander of the Ministerial Police Martin Marquez Ruiz kidnapped and
executed. It was he who was on the trail of the hidden arsenal.

10/28/11: The big shoot out at Brisas del Cabo shopping mall resulting in the
deaths of Secretario de Marina Enrique Martinez and one of the Commanders of the
Antrax cell.

01/24/12: The kidnapping and execution of Jose Luis Oceguero aka "El Chilango" of
the Sinaloa cartel.



The arsenal is believed to have already been distributed, some of it seized through arrests:


08/05/11: Five arrested; 2 AK-47's, 1 9mm and 1 45 pistol seized.

10/04/11: One arrested; 1 9mm pistol and mag with 8 shots seized.

10/28/11: At the site of the shoot out in Brisas del Cabo gunmen leave 2 AK-47's
and 2 9mm pistols.


Zeta
Edicion 1974
01/30/2012
"Vuelven las ejecuciones a BCS"

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But that still leaves grenades, grenade launchers and an undetermined number of high powered weapons and ammo out there...down there in Cabo. Well, maybe they will behave for the G-20 and the fact that thousands of Mexican Army troops are in the area, but according to Zeta there is deep corruption within the police department and the rivalry between the Sinaloa and Beltran Leyva groups is just under the surface. At the very beginning of this year in January, the Federal Government listed La Paz and Los Cabos of BCS as two of the group of 186 most dangerous municipalities in Mexico:


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UPDATE/edit 02/11: This is what happens when you don't check your email - received this report dated 02/09/2012 from Stratfor, sorry for the delay:


STRATFOR
Stratfor Security Weekly Update: 02/09/2012
"Mexico's Presidential Election And the Cartel War"
by, Scott Stewart


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The Local Updates:


- Good news for Ensenada from the PGJE; State Attorney Moreno Manjarrez reported zero cases of kidnappings in recent years in that Municipality which he believes signals that this type of crime has disappeared in this region. The AG credits purging within his corporation and the training received by his operatives under the Israelis, the North Americanos and the Colombian authorities:


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- In colonia Cuesta Blanca a man and a woman found beheaded in their home. El Mex reports the house was ransacked and the couple's vehicle missing:


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UPDATE/EDIT 02/11 @ 10am: Frontera updates this story this morning and reports the location of this double beheading took place inside of a house on calle Zapotlanejo in the Cuesta Blanca neighborhood of Rosarito Beach. Because of the close proximity
of this area to Tijuana, it was the Tijuana Municipal Police who were the first responders however the Rosarito Beach Police Department took over the investigation. Still believed to be a robbery at this point, Chief Capella remarked that these murders do not seem to be related to organized crime. However, Frontera states that this event is a clear indication of the breakdown or decomposition of social order which needs to be considered not only by the authorities but by the community as well:

Asesinan a pareja en presunto robo

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- A human skull and other remains found in an unclaimed box at a postal company, the box had been sent from Queretaro. One of the comments from Frontera was this was a message from Los Zetas, don't know what to make of that one:


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- In colonia Planetario of Playas de Tijuana the body of a person found dead in the trunk of a burning car:


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I'll be back.

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02/09/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA 75% OF POT SOLD IN THE US IS COMING FROM THE STATE CALIFORNIA?

COURTESY EL MEXICANO:

A very quick and late post because with the weather change I'm trying to catch up on outdoor projects around here - and tomorrow we'll look at the new US State Department Travel Warning concerning Mexico.


Yesterday El Mex published the article which reported that seventy five percent of all the marijuana sold in the United States is coming from the State of California and not from Mexico.


Here is the orginal story in English:

Western Farm Press
"California's Growing Marijuana Business Impacting Agriculture"
by, Harry Cline


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I don't know...do you guys believe that??? I left a comment but they haven't published it yet; "So...like does this mean the State Department will issue a travel warning to California?"


Dumbfounded.


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02/07/2012 VIOLENCE TIJUANA AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' & MYSTERY ARREST (?) AT POPOTLA ROSARITO BEACH AND SHARK WARNINGS

Hernandez Garcia @ Popotla, Rosarito Beach last Saturday with an AK-47 (according to rosaritoenlanoticia.info):

Apparently there are two editions of "Rosarito en La Noticia". One is Rosaritoenlanoticia.blogspot.com with good local and national entries and summary of the police activities, including Tijuana, Ensenada and Mexicali:

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And then there is the other "Rosarito En La Noticia" which looks as though it has been on line since this last January. It is from this source that we learn the story of Hernandez Garcia, 18 years old originally from Acapulco, arrested at Popotla, Rosarito Beach last Saturday around midnight carrying an AK-47 with 25 loaded cartridges and 27 more in his pants pocket. He told police he had been brought to Rosarito Beach from Tijuana to sell narcotics. Who brought him here we don't know.


If you can find this story or some of the others from Rosarito Beach anywhere else in the Mexican News, let me know, because I couldn't. At first I thought, is this a fake site? Or maybe there's a leak at the Rosarito Beach Police Department? Why would that be? Maybe someone out there wants us to know that there are crime events and stories which are just not making it to the accepted news sources as we snuggle into the comfort zone of the truce between the cartels in our area. If this is true of Rosarito Beach, what other stories about social disruption are not being printed that are perhaps happening throughout Baja California?


I suppose the good thing about this story is that police were on the ball enough to catch this guy, but it made me feel at little bit uneasy. I wanted to go down to the hot springs at San Carlos for Valentine's Day, but now I'm not real sure, and that is not being paranoid.


Here is the story on Hernandez Garcia, and you might want to flip back to the inicio page for current stories and hold on to this link for current criminal events in Rosarito Beach:


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Speaking of Rosarito Beach, I have been accused of not telling the truth about the gringo tourists in town. I completely trust my different neighbors who I receive the reports from, but I will make a point of it to take the camera with me when I go in and film it. If there are gringo tourists, it will show and if there are not, that will also show. Meanwhile, last weekend on Saturday between noon and 3:00PM, my neighbors reported this: Two Federal Police units with sirens on going fast south on the Scenic Highway towards Rosarito Beach, Municipal Police in the parking lot of the big Calimax and Municipals on Benito Juarez, no Army or Marinos spotted. Gringos, at least six of them inside Dr. Silva's office - "...they looked like they live here" and it was Mexicans driving in town, no tourists of the gringo variety spotted.


Generally speaking it has been very quiet in our area as far as the accepted news sources have been reporting - seems the big hassle is the border crossing back into San Diego where people without Sentri's or Ready Passes are waiting 2-3 hours, and this condition is going to continue for months. So, the cartels have been behaving themselves somewhat but the sharks haven't:

There is a white shark alert in our area - and actually this has been going on for the past two weeks - Tijuana is on a "Yellow Alert" which means there is danger so stay out of the water. Last Saturday surfers in Tijuana were made to get out of the water. So be careful:


Alertan por tiburones en Playas de TJ y SD

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Okay here are some examples of what has been reported as violent criminal acts in the past few days, it looks as though only one of these is due to drug trafficking. You can compare previous months and previous years and see the drop in drug war crime. Keep in mind however, there is still a lot of what is known as "common crime", and this level will I think stay the same or even increase despite the police sweeps due to unemployment (which tourism alone will not resolve, no way) and lack of opportunities. There was an American whose vehicle was stolen in Playas, but I can't find the link on that one.


- In the Valle Dorado neighborhood of Ensenada PAN Deputy Lizbeth Mara Lozano's vehicle stolen by a group of people with what is described as "great violence." There has been one person detained in this case and the vehicle was recovered. Don't miss the comments after the article:


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- In Punta Colonet down the coast (Ensenada) a bus driver assaulted and robbed at knifepoint; there has been an arrest in this case:

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- In Ensenada, two men rob and assault the owner of the bakery Panderia Ornelas as he is closing up the shop; when he resists, they kill him:

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- In the Villas de Baja California neighborhood two men who were subsequently arrested shoot another man for what they told the authorities that he was stealing their customers. All three were selling drugs, no word on the condition of the injured man who was shot several times:


Balean a hombre por venta de drogas

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- Police filters continue throughout the east part of Tijuana and in Ensenada over last weekend, two hundred people arrested in another sweep:


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Here are the links for all the local news - many more arrests:


Zeta Tijuana

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AFN - Has back date feature on "Seguridad", check it out.

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FRONTERA

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EL MEXICANO - Has a back date feature on"Policia" - check out the arrests.

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Rosarito En La Noticia - The backdoor news of Rosarito, don't know how long this link will stay up:

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Noticias Ensenada.net - Ensenada News

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El Vigia de Ensenada - Ensenada News

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Encuentro 29.com - Mexicali News

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Mundo Narco - Formerly Blog del Narco:

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LA Times

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See you guys in a few days.


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02/03/12 VIOLENCE TIJUANA ZETA MAGAZINE: BACK TO SQUARE ONE OR DID THEY EVER GET OFF FIRST BASE?

This afternoon AFN and El Mex are reporting a shoot out in El Sauzal, Ensenada. Initial information is sketchy; what has been reported is that a Judicial (Ministerial) Police Officer from Tijuana went to a ranch in El Sauzal to make an eviction. It is unclear what a Tijuana based Judicial Police Officer was doing operating in Ensenada. At this moment it is unknown if there were any people injured or how many were involved in this shoot out.


Neighbors called "066" which prompted a strong mobilization of Ensenada Municipals and the Mexican Army which led to a chase which ended in the Calafia, Rosarito Beach area with two men arrested. One of these men claims to be a Judicial Police Officer and there were weapons inside of the vehicle. Both men have been transferred back to Ensenada. This report does not state if the chase was on the Scenic Highway or the old road or if weapons were fired during the chase nor does it mention which corporation chased the men and arrested them - but we're assuming it was the Mexican Army.


UPDATE @ 7:00pm: AFN updated this story a few hours ago, the two men arrested were Manuel de Jesus de los Santos Leon and unofficially a Cosme Leon Remigio Herrera who has a warrant out for his arrest.


The arrest was made at K35.7 on the free road by Popotla, Rosarito Beach. Leon had two registered weapons, an R15 and a 9mm and two mags.

At the arrest site were the Ensenada Police Commander with seven units and eighteen Municipals, the Commander of the State Police with four units and twelve agents, two units of Federal Police, a Lieutenant of the Marinos with eight soldiers from the Popotla Rosarito Beach Base, another Lieutenant with nine soldiers and Agents of the PEP in seven units.


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For those of you who are not familiar with this area, here is a map of El Sauzal:

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UPDATE @ 9:00pm: Frontera reports that Herrera was posing as a Public Prosecutor and that the gunfire was not a shoot out, but it happened when Santos Leon dropped his gun. Frontera is placing the arrest at Rancho Santini in Rosarito Beach:


Desatan Persecucion agente ministerial y civil

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UPDATE 02/04: Frontera updates their story this morning and makes some corrections:
at the ranch in El Sauzal yesterday, the attorney for the ranch owners Cadena Luna was present. He was intimidated by Leon and Herrera and after Luna asked for identification, Leon actually loaded his weapon in front of Luna and shot at him, missing while Herrera stood by their vehicle holding a rifle. It was after this shot that Leon and Herrera fled. It was Luna and the people at the ranch who called for help. The initial information that the gun dropped and went off was from the Ensenada Police Department. Basically the information in this second report from Frontera is the same as AFN's, and the arrests were made in Popotla:

Cae Ministerial tras amenazas y persecucion

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More updates as they become available.


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Originally before this event this afternoon, I wanted to share this current article from Zeta Magazine, especially since we have been hearing so many reports of a "truce" between the Sinaloa and CAF cartels. In order to understand what affect this "truce" would have on the corporations, particularly the Municipals, let's take a look at their present state.


Zeta reports that with the exception of Tijuana where the Municipals have participated with the Army and the PEP in arrests and seizures - as far as the Municipal Police in Rosarito Beach, Ensenada, Tecate and Mexicali the same cannot be said of them. According to Zeta, in these Municipalities there is no solid or clear strategy or an efficient plan to fight the crime and insecurity. In Ensenada, Florencio Cuevas has given the order not to interfere in drug trafficking arrests; in Tecate the emphasis seems to be more on the offices; in Mexicali under Carrillo Maza there is conflict between the Municipals and the PEP, and in Rosarito Beach, Mayor Robles is attempting to eliminate the Military command and place a former Police Chief of Tijuana who is suspected of having ties to organized crime to head the department.


Zeta states that evidence indicates that the PRI Mayors are not interested in combating the core of insecurity and that their Directors seem to be content to administer the corruption. The withdrawal in over a years time of the Military Commanders within the Municipal Police in Baja California has resulted in setbacks in security. With the exception of Tijuana (i.e. the arrest of El Sillas and the seizure of 70 kilos of cocaine), the rest of the Directors and Chiefs in the other Municipalities have decided to close their eyes to the problem of organized crime, ignoring or failing to create data bases and intelligence and not cleansing their Departments.


For Rosarito Beach, already recognized as the major center for drug transhipment and residence of cartel members, Zeta states the future looks grim - particularly with the Mayor Robles desire to appoint the former Police Chief of Tijuana with a checkered past to the post of Chief in Rosarito. Another of Mayor Robles friends who he has slipped in in order to control the Department is Mario Alberto Nunez Navarette, also believed to have alleged connections with organized crime.


From the beginning in Rosarito Beach, the Municipals were divided - those who were loyal to Chief Magdalena Vazquez who was hand picked by Montero, and those who were loyal to Navarrete. There were also dirty politics at play following the appointment of Magdalena Vazquez - Civil officials almost immediately accused the Military and Vazquez of abuse of authority and former Municipals encouraged the public to file complaints against them with the PGJE, ten of which were filed in the first months of the Robles administration. As you might recall although not stated in this Zeta report, Chief Montero was given a hard time too which he weathered. Anyone remember the fist fight between Montero and the Sindacatura guy? Well, it's all about power and corruption, and holding on to power and corruption. And the answer to the question, "Is someone trying to get rid of Montero?" is yes, they were. Unsuccessful during the days of General Polito and the PAN, General Briseno and the PAN, General Mujica and the PAN however it is very possible "they" will be able to get rid of Montero's protege:


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Zeta states that after the assassination on March the 27th of the Municipal Police Commander Jose Carlos Ventura (Isidal) at the Primo Tapia sports field, (where subsequent investigations showed that Ventura refused to cooperate with drug traffickers and also that some officers were involved in this murder) the Municipals of Rosarito Beach have not participated in the arrests of organized crime members. Those arrests which Zeta calls few were made by the Army or the PEP.


Still, Mayor Robles stands by Navarette despite questions about his association with organized crime from the State Security Council. Mayor Robles and the Finance Secretary of Rosarito Beach, Jose Maria "Chema" Lozana are still pressing to appoint as Police Chief of the Fifth Municipality Carlos Edmundo Otai Namuro - the former Police Chief of Tijuana with what Zeta states has alleged ties to organized crime. In that last position, Zeta remarks that Otai was never really considered qualified for the position as Chief, but he did have a friendship with Jorge Hank Rohn. According to Jesus Gonzalez Reyes, he received tens of thousands of dollars for his campaign in exchange for the appointment of Otai in Tijuana - and this last statement has not been corroborated by the authorities. For more than twenty years prior however, Otai had acted as "Madrina" - or godmother to the PGR.


Specifically, it was in April of 2002 while Otai held the position of Chief of Police during the first Federal Anti-corruption Operation conducted in Baja Califonia, Otai was arrested along with a large group of law enforcement officials by Federal Authorities and taken to Mexico City. Although State and Federal authorities considered him to be corrupt, he was released hours later for lack of evidence and resigned his post in June of 2002. From there he returned to office under the the Hank administration.


In January of 2008, the Mexican Army attempted to search his home in Playas de Tijuana, but were unsuccessful. It was also during this period of time he was responsible for the safety of Arturo Valdez Otanez who was subsequently kidnapped and remains missing.


Additionally, Zeta states the current crime statistics for Rosarito Beach under the Robles administration look fishy and are suspect, believed to be manipulated to show that there is hardly any increase in crime, in fact some of the stats are remarkably almost the same as the year(s) prior.


As far as Ensenada, there seems to be a sort of laissez-faire condition with the Municipals allowing organized crime a wide berth of operation. In fact, according to Zeta, General Cuevas has ordered them to stand down when it comes to organized crime. Zeta states that the presence of the Municipals is barely perceptible - and I'm not quite sure what to make of this statement since we have been seeing so many sweeps throughout that area, although obviously they are not directed at organized crime figureheads. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, it could be that (and this is just my opinion) organized crime is being watched; it is the Mexican Army who are performing the major seizures and the FBI is currently training the PEP.


There is suspicion of the leadership on the Municipals in Mexicali and a definite lack of coordination between the Municipals and the PEP. Zeta notes that in a video recorded before he was killed by his captors, the former Judicial Police Commander Ramon Velasquez warned that the Mexicali Municipals and Ministerial Police were bought and paid for by the Sinaloa cartel. In 2008, dozens of Municipals failed confidence exams for corruption, dishonesty, participation in criminal offenses and omission in their work to protect citizens. But none of them were fired. Despite the fact that Mexicali is supposedly "protected" and with the exception of two busts last year, overall the work of the Municipals is so poor that there was a 26 percent rise in crime last year.


No arrests in Tecate by the Municipals even though it is the area known as territory belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel under Arteaga and Jose Soto, a transfer point for drugs and the place where leaders of cell groups hide out from the authorities. Under Juan Bartolome Lam Canto (an ex-Ministerial) the focus seems to be on equipping his men and the first exams of confidence were chosen to be ignored therefore the department has not been purged.


I have a few questions:

1. If this article is true and correct, what will happen to the "Denuncia" system where slowly citizens have come to trust the officials - will that become a thing of the past with the corruption of the Municipals?


2. If this article is true and correct, is this why the FBI is training the PEP in Ensenada - and not the Municipals?


3. If this article is true and correct will the gringo touristas return this time around knowing full well without any doubt that the corporations in Baja California have been compromised, and that's just the way it is - will they accept that? (this so far would exclude Tijuana Municipals) And how will the big PR machines spin this?


4. If this article is true and correct, is that why these guys look a little bit worried?

Zeta Tijuana
Edicion 1974
01/30/2012

Ayuntamientos retiran a mandos militares

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