THE BORDER REPORT

One rumor I’m hearing today is that U.S. Marines were present with the Mexican Navy last night during the gunbattle with Arturo Beltrán Leyva.

It may or may not be true. I have it tertiary from sources within the Sinaloa factions working here in the U.S. that I talk to from time to time. And of course, every time a significant arrest or killing is conducted in Mexico, there is a healthy suspicion that Americans were somehow involved. This of course, isn’t helped by the fact that American federal agents have been spotted at some murder scenes, standing alongside their Mexican counterparts.

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THE BORDER REPORT

Arturo Beltran Leyva, the charismatic rising cartel figure of Mexico’s narco wars was killed a few minutes ago in a gunbattle with the Mexican Navy in Cuernavaca.

Reports from sources within the Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office state that El Barbie, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, had been arrested at the scene. Those reports are now unconfirmed. Also the rumor that Beltran’s brother, Mario, was one of those killed tonight. A third had allegedly committed suicide. Milenio is reporting seven dead total.

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THE BORDER REPORT

This story’s a few months old but I like it because it shows nicely to what extent the U.S. simply doesn’t invest in punishing high-end drug traffickers.

The United States has entered into a plea agreement with one of Mexico’s most famed drug lords that ensures the man will not spend more than a few years behind bars despite having moved more than an average of 15 tons of marijuana across the border every year of his … illustrious … career.

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THE BORDER REPORT

With the finding of six bodies in a dirt lot yesterday afternoon, about twenty people have now been murdered along the Arizona-Sonora border since last Tuesday.

The bodies were found in Nogales, Sonora, and were presumed to have been there some three to five days, a timeline that matches up nicely with the start of this current conflict.

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THE BORDER REPORT

Cd. Juárez – A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is being investigated on possible corruption charges after running an informant network that has imploded throughout the El Paso law enforcement community, a Mexican law enforcement source in Juárez said this morning.

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