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Mexico’s Hidden Drug War
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The following story was produced for the Fronteras Desk, public radio, Arizona. Click here for the audio version.
Long known as Arizona’s beach town, tourists and business owners in Rocky Point, Mexico, say a recent State Department’s travel warning about this place is unfair. Victims say otherwise. They say cartel violence in Mexico has quietly crept in and goes mostly unreported.
Last year the chief of police of this quiet resort town on the Sea of Cortez was gunned down. Since then, the stories of violence here are barely mentioned. Business owners and the town’s mayor prefer to keep it that way.
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THE BORDER REPORT
This story aired on KJZZ, public radio Arizona as part of the Fronteras Desk. For more stories, go to FronterasDesk.org.
An accused Mexican drug lord being held on charges in the U.S. has filed a unusual motion in federal court. He’s challenging the United States, saying he’d been working with its own federal agents in Mexico.
Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla is one of the most senior drug trafficking figures in U.S. custody. He’s accused of working for the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization in Mexico. In fact, he’s the eldest son of one of its leaders. Zambada was arrested in Mexico City in 2009 and extradited to Illinois, accused of trafficking nearly $6 billion in cocaine. He’s contracted some of the highest profile criminal defense lawyers in the country.
THE BORDER REPORT
No, no, not those numeros. I’m talking about the official numeros de secuestros and home invasion rip-offs in Phoenix. The statistics seem to have turned into a hen-pecking party with allegations against the recently demoted former chief, Jack Harris for $2.4 million in federal funding.
Here’s the latest: an independent panel has been reviewing the police department’s statistics and found that of 358 reported kidnappings in 2008, only 222 met the criteria for kidnapping and 136 did not. My Fronteras Desk colleague does a nice job of summarizing the breakdown of the numbers.
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Forced Leniency:
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General News
Murdered ICE Agent was Temporarily Assigned to MexicoTHE BORDER REPORT
Asi dicen las fuentes. The murdered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Jaime Zapata, from Laredo, was temporarily assigned to Mexico. Somehow along the way, up that Highway 57 towards Monterrey. Lots of narco-bloqueos on that highway these days.
Still, the questions linger. Back in late 2010, the Hermosillo Consulate issued a travel warning for consulate employees. They mandated, nobody travels at night, or past Navojoa, Sonora, without an armored car.
Vehicles of State Department employees in Mexico all have State Department plates. Can we assume que viajaban en carro blindado? I think so. It’s assumption only, at this point.
Chismes
Mexico’s Hidden Drug WarTHE BORDER REPORT
The following story was produced for the Fronteras Desk, public radio, Arizona. Click here for the audio version.
Long known as Arizona’s beach town, tourists and business owners in Rocky Point, Mexico, say a recent State Department’s travel warning about this place is unfair. Victims say otherwise. They say cartel violence in Mexico has quietly crept in and goes mostly unreported.
Last year the chief of police of this quiet resort town on the Sea of Cortez was gunned down. Since then, the stories of violence here are barely mentioned. Business owners and the town’s mayor prefer to keep it that way.
General News
Sinaloa Cartel Challenges the U.S.THE BORDER REPORT
This story aired on KJZZ, public radio Arizona as part of the Fronteras Desk. For more stories, go to FronterasDesk.org.
An accused Mexican drug lord being held on charges in the U.S. has filed a unusual motion in federal court. He’s challenging the United States, saying he’d been working with its own federal agents in Mexico.
Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla is one of the most senior drug trafficking figures in U.S. custody. He’s accused of working for the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization in Mexico. In fact, he’s the eldest son of one of its leaders. Zambada was arrested in Mexico City in 2009 and extradited to Illinois, accused of trafficking nearly $6 billion in cocaine. He’s contracted some of the highest profile criminal defense lawyers in the country.
General News
Immigration Judges Dismissing More Deportation CasesTHE BORDER REPORT
This story first appeared on KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk. Visit our website for stories from all across the border.
Immigration judges are letting more illegal migrants stay in the country. Government records show that the Obama Administration is focusing its deportation efforts on those who have been convicted of crimes.
Most people who show up in front of an immigration judge still face deportation, but the Department of Homeland Security, and judges in Arizona, have doubled the number of cases where deportation orders are dropped compared to five years ago.
