THE BORDER REPORT

The family of the man arrested for the murders of people connected to the U.S. consulate was beaten and held captive by Mexican federal forces for two days before being dragged into the spotlight as a suspect, his family says. If true, it suggests a gross setup in a high-profile murder case that’s lingered on for weeks and is beginning to embarrass the law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border.

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THE BORDER REPORT

Looks like the media jumped to conclusions yesterday when it was announced an Azteca leader had been arrested in connection with the U.S. Consulate killings in early March. But what’s interesting is La Polaka gives a highly detailed account of the man’s involvement in the murders and in fact, posted the Attorney General’s charges against the guy tying him to the murders. Did someone decide to change their mind?

Yesterday, the Chihuahua State Police said it had arrested Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, a 45-year-old leader of the Aztecas. They said he was arrested in connection with an earlier murder from last October. Then, Enrique Torres, spokesman for Operation Chihuahua, told the Díario de Juárez:

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THE BORDER REPORT

The Feds’ 2010 Drug Threat Assessment has been released and its findings are representative of some cynical assumptions I’ve carried over the past three years: Mexican cartel wars or no cartel wars, this border is business as usual.

I’ve long said that the best assessor of success or failure in drug law enforcement has been the market. The market doesn’t lie and it doesn’t spin. And what it’s telling us now is that Mexico’s drug cartels are busier than ever cultivating and trafficking our dope. Thousands dead or no, everyone is fat and happy.

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THE BORDER REPORT

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is no more. The Arizona Daily Star’s got the scoop on the story here. But there’s another armed group floating around down on the border (I mean, besides the Sinaloans). Federal agents have received complaints from hunters in Southern Arizona of being accosted by armed white men in camouflage who told the hunters they are with the Department of Homeland Security, sources say. They weren’t affiliated with the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, but law enforcement doesn’t know yet who is driving this group, what their members are like, and what their motives are.

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THE BORDER REPORT

A group of  restrictionists who last year saw one of their supporters arrested for the murder of a Mexican-American family in Southern Arizona, plans a return to this border armed with guns and rhetoric. SonoranNews.com, a conservative Web site in Arizona, reports that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, plans to come down to the border armed with rifles this time and will “forcefully engage, detain, and defend our lives and country from the criminals who trample over our culture and laws.”

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