Chasing Ghosts
Mar 22nd, 2010 | By Michel Marizco | Category: Chismes, General News, Organized Crime
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THE BORDER REPORT
It’s been more than a week and La Linea continues to be targeted for the triple murders of people tied to the U.S. Consulate in Cd. Juárez; the Americans continuing to state they believe that it was a case of mistaken identity. Departing from my skepticism of the theory for the moment, let’s say it’s true. Let’s say the killers targeted the wrong people. So who were they targeting? Follow me for a moment because this is confusing.
As observers, we believe, and both the Americans and the Mexicans have said, that the killers followed both cars then opened fire, killing Alberto Salcido first, in his white Honda Pilot. Then they killed Lesley Enriquez and Arthur Redelfs in their white Toyota Rav 4. These are facts that seem to be without dispute.
Here is Cd. Juárez mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, telling CNN that the victims had been followed. “We know that the U.S. citizens were targeted. We know they were chasing them. We know they wanted to kill them.” One of those being searched for is Eduardo Ravelo, an Azteca gangleader. Nobody has actually said Ravelo had anything to do with the murders of course, so I do wonder a little if the media didn’t pick him out to develop a “face behind the killings” style story.
Question 1: At what point did the killers start following them?
Enriquez and Redelfs were killed within ten minutes of Salcido. The coordination involved in doing two separate jobs suggests there was more than one group of gunmen. Nine-millimeter rounds were used to kill Enriquez and Redelfs. 7.62 shell casings were found at Salcido’s murder scene. After killing Salcido, it seems improbable that one group of killers would be able to track Enriquez and Redelfs to another part of the city and shoot them as well. Possible, but unlikely. I think we can safely dismiss the idea that there was only one group of gunmen.
Now, we’ve been told the killers may have wanted to chase down a separate pair of white SUVs. Assuming this is true, then: If the killers picked up the trail after leaving the party, it would have had to have been at some point when the SUVs were traveling together, before Enriquez and Redelfs turned off onto Calle Lerdo from Avenida Fronterizo. Salcido was killed at Avenida Insurgentes and Articulo 29, at least a mile away.
If they followed the wrong victims from the party itself, what other people in yet another pair of white SUVs were at that childrens’ birthday party? Keep in mind two things: the party was at the U.S. Consulate and Enriquez’s Rav 4 had Texas plates. Was there another white SUV with Texas plates parked at the consulate? Did its driver leave in conjunction with another white SUV with Chihuahua plates? If yes, then who were they?
Question 2: One case of mistaken identity or two?
You’ll notice that the U.S. government has only said there may have been a case of mistaken identity. They didn’t state if one or all three of the victims were mistaken targets. Are we being told that all three victims were mistaken identity or only one or two of them? If it were one case of mistaken identity with three wrong victims, why hunt them down separately? Makes no sense. At least one group of hitmen wielded AK-47s, the killings were in open daylight on busy streets. They could have easily taken both SUVs out together; they didn’t seem to care whether there were witnesses (the Juárez mayor said a city police officer witnessed one of the attacks).
Two cases of mistaken identity suggests anarchy and ineptitude – particularly because of who the victims were affiliated with: the U.S. Consulate. It seems too remarkable a coincidence to believe that the killers first mistook Salcido for someone else and then mistook Enriquez and Redelfs for yet another couple, particularly because they had Texas plates.
Possible Answer: One case of mistaken identity, two groups of gunmen, victims followed from the party
If neither case is true, then the killers followed the pair of white SUVs directly from the party itself. And if they followed the SUVs from the party, and it was mistaken identity, then there were at least two other people who arrived in separate vehicles (both white SUVs) at that party who were being targeted. Who else was at the party?
In El Paso, more than 200 agents interrogated 100 members of La Linea, looking for clues (it led to one of my colleagues wondering who came up with “Operation Knock Down”). My sense is that if the Americans and the Mexicans want to pursue the idea that the wrong people were killed, they are better served finding the guest list for the party and see who else was driving a white SUV.
@michel
Michel you should’ve joined law enforcement, eres un perro (i mean it in the good sense of the word). I know everything you said is common sense pero para mi la dea y el fbi estan igual ke sus mexican counterparts, saben kien fueron pero se hacen pendejos….the blind leading the blind… estamos jodidos….
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@ michel,
I am glad you didn’t join law enforcement. What would I do with myself with BR. Lol.
I don’t buy most of what is being said about this case. Too many things don’t make sense. These people were not just randomly targetted. Nor was it case of mistaken identity. This thing has set up written all over it. If one group wanted to take out another group, why not just make it look like one group was targetting U.S. goverment workers. That makes more sense than anything they are saying.
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El Mayo y El Chapo: The Ghost and the Darkness. Los Leones del Sinaloa. They orchestrated this one well i think.
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http://blogs.eluniversal.com.mx/weblogs_detalle10300.html
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“¿Por qué cuando es asesinado un mexicano se le vincula con la delincuencia organizada y cuando matan a un ciudadano estadounidense es víctima inocente?”
http://blogs.eluniversal.com.mx/weblogs_detalle10300.html
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eso es la ley d la vida…el gringo es perfecto y no es corrupto..jajajajaj..ber los comentarios d la mitad de la gente aki, que estados unidos no existe la corrupcion jajaja.
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i personally dont think it was La Linea that did this and Calle Lerdo is way to far from Articulo 29 and if anyone know’s where that street is in Juarez its basically by Plutarco Elias Calles and Vicente Guerrero and anyone with common knowledge knows that theyre were 2 groups, Chapo is playing this beautifully when you think about it when the carnage is all done he’s going to put his own people in there that he trusts once all this infighting is done and that whole Mexicles with Chapos and not with the Linea is bullshit, some of those Mexicles roll with tthe Linea in Chihuahua City
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whoever it was , the u.s. is pressuring mexico to come down on these guys…
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That’s the whole prblem, they are chasing ghosts.
@ drift
I think you are right, bro. That’s the only thing, in my mind, that makes sense. Great way to eliminate the competition.
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@ D_Nephew
Hmm, I agree with you for the most part anyway. But I am much happier Michel does what he does.
@ rolf
si existe la corrupcion aqui, esta mil veces peor que Mexico, pero mas grande y mas bajo de la aqua.
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@Michele
Good stuff.. no doubt in my mind as sad as this sounds but if you lived in juarez they would have found you in the desert with a note on your head warning all others that tell it how it is and write the truth..J/K that was little harsh..Man you get in deep, me myself would have never thought of that hole scenerio but the way you write it makes me feel like I am watching the conclusion of a CSI episode.Erres un perro amár!!! Nobele muthafooken prize status!!
No pos the mystery guest list might just shed to much light as to what these consulate workers where doing at this birthday party and who was there maybe it was Eduardo Ravelas kids or some other big wig from another cartel. I want to know what these consulate folk wher really up to in Juarez, Is it allowed for them to wonder deep in the heart of JUAREZ for a social event where perhaphs some of the most corrupt politicians in the world reside and rubb shoulder with some of the most ruthless killers in this planet..Maybe in order not to alarm the 2nd intended victims they played it cool so that they wouldnt have a clue they where being followed by a second group that was also going after these consulate workers.
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I had some friends that took jobs as English teachers in Uzbekistan right when the USSR totally disintegrated in the mid-80′s and the US was trying to make friends in the fracturing Soviet Bloc. They got paid by USAID (US Agency for International Development), and in so doing were unwittingly assumed to be CIA by all the locals. They said they had been approached by some Americans after they had been there a bit, but by their being really loud and drunk and obnoxious they were left alone.
That’s why the very first thing I thought of when I heard this story was, “They were CIA, and they knew what was happening.”
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Rex, based on my antennas, I think you hit it real close. What I am hearing is, They were targeted as Under Cover agents, the error the US is claiming is that they were not who the hitmen thought they were. But the reality is, they were.
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@ Rex, Esmerelda,
As far as I understand, the treaty between Mexico and the U.S. stipulates that Americans cannot work undercover in Mexico. It was drafted by then Attorney Generals Janet Reno and Jorge Madrazo after U.S. Customs pulled a sting in Mexico. Enriquez was four months pregnant, would she be actively working cases in Mexico? I don’t know.
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Back during Reno’s time, Mexico wanted us to mind our own business. Now, well we are not going to give millions of dollars to a country we can have no influence in. When Clinton announced that the Cartels are also a US problem, due to consumption and gun transport that changed alot of things. As far as being a ‘pregneant’ agent, she would not have been pregneant when she first started and possibly did not want to blow that cover.
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hi esmeralda. ok, so if they were undercover, what was their assignment? were they targeting those inside the consulate working for the narcos? and under whose orders were they assassinated? and was the us involved in agreeing to have them taken out? and now the “investigation” is just a media show?
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the assumption scale is way over the red
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Guys I try to be respectful even when I disagree, but I do disagree. This is why, if you have spent time living mexico you would understand the extreme difficulty in being in any kind of undercover situation regardless of agency, you would have zero chance of getting close to anybody even remotley important, when it is common knowledge that you or your husband work for us law enforcement of any kind. That is absolute suicide. No agency is going to be that sloppy. Also under cover agents don’t have facebook. at least not as open as the profiles that they have. Here is the link to both. It is much more likely somebody was trying make some extra cash if anything.
http://www.facebook.com/redelfs#!/redelfs
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lesley-Enriquez/727825993#!/profile.php?id=727825993
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Nadien, I too respect your input. The facebook profiles really have no meaning, They were not working as if they had much to hide. Your very correct that it is difficult to do any type of undercover work in Mexico. But alot has to do with what types of surveillance is being done and for who’s benefiet. Homeland Security is deffinitely involved in Mexico, but for more reasons than are naturally assumed. There is also a tremendous concern of any Yemen/Mexico connections. US govt. places agents strategically, sometimes for no more reason than cyphering messages.
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anybody know anything about this:
http://www.ourborder.ning.com/
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T_R_C Would be very interested in hearing your story more in depth. Would you be willing to directly correspond?
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@ df
Whats behind the really blunt sign in page?
@ Esmerelda
I understand that the facebook profiles are not of major importance. However it is of some value. One of the problems with face book is your profile can be set to the max privacy level and all your friends are still on public display. Living in the middle of the firestorm tends to sharpen your senses. I for example will not connect with anyone here on a personal level with the exception of one person. The reason is simple why invite trouble for myself or those around me. And I am as I have stated, Nadien. If I was working in the capacity that either of them were and I was under cover, even as a low level observer or related I would find other means to maintain contact with my friends and family. Thats my reasoning behind the facebook profiles. As far as homeland security being involved in Mexico, yes they are involved. That said, they are sadly ineffective. They have learned to tint the windows and put tweety bird air fresheners hanging from the mirror but they still reek of law enforcment. And the choice of personell is, for the most part out of context. As far as the Yemen/mexico connection, US propaganda. I submit to you Michels past work, http://www.hsoutlook.com/features/144-are-mexican-narco-gangs-keeping-terrorists-away-from-the-border-.html
I would say much closer to the mark.
Just some of my opinions based on things I have noticed over the past 10 years. Looking forward to your opinions.
Nadien
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The Yemen connection has more to do with the ingredient needed in Meth thats so hard to get. Yemen has been rumored to be the one providing it to Mexico. Common Sense may dictate this is wrong, and my connections are deffinitely limited, but….is it so unusual to think of most people in some sort of power in Mexico to be wearing a mask?
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Hmmm that is some food for thought, I was not aware of that connection. Possible yes, likely? money talks and you know the rest. I do still think it’s much more likely for the consulte thing to be a sinaloa set up or some other invovment. One thing I know for sure is we will never get any official conformation.
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found a little read thought it might interest some of you guys…
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/03/mexico_us_military_drug_war_na.html
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El Camello
http://www.milenio.com/node/478028
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