TUCSON – Three people are accused of trying to buy anti-tank weapons in Arizona for a drug cartel in Mexico. Federal indictments were recently unsealed  in Phoenix. Court documents show the three also tried to buy a Stinger missile. Click here to download the Indictment. The accused were trying to buy the military weaponry for the Sinaloa Cartel.  Court documents show they used pounds of crystal meth for a down payment on the weapons. The case started in 2009 in Phoenix. One of the accused, David Diaz, approached a confidential informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. They delivered nearly five pounds of crystal meth and $139,000 in cash. Then they brought ten more pounds to finish the arms deal. Robbie Sherwood is the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona. “These are very serious charges, as the indictment that has been unsealed indicate. We will be proceeding to trial soon and we look forward to presenting our case at that time.” From the indictment: A Dragon Fire Anti-Tank Weapon, a Stinger Missile, (a surface-to-air missile like those used by Afghan fighters in the eighties to defeat the Soviets), two AT-4s, a shoulder-fired light anti-tank rocket, a variety of grenade launchers, two M-60 machine guns and three cases of hand grenades. Court records show that Diaz was trying to buy the weapons for the Yucatan Peninsula. They were destined for druglords Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán and Ismael El Mayo Zambada, the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel is battling not only every other cartel in Mexico, but also the Mexican Army. John Bailey, a Georgetown University professor who worked in Mexico most of his career, says this level of weaponry was likely designed to take on the Mexican government itself. “It’s the kind of weaponry that you’d expect to be used against the Army. These groups are willing to up the ante.” The trial begins in April in Arizona.

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.” Led by Chris Simcox, an L.A. transplant to the Arizona border a decade ago, the group has attracted vast interest from the world media; mostly, I'm convinced, because reporters wanted to see them shoot an illegal migrant. Faced with criticism and skepticism, the Minuteman Project scaled back its initial operations in 2005, saying they were only going to observe and report illegal border activity to the U.S. Border Patrol and that volunteers would only be allowed to carry handguns. When that endeavor failed to attract much attention, the group, now divided amongst itself, turned to raising funds by claiming to erect Israeli-military-style fencing to stop the smugglers. All I ever saw was a barbed wire fence that went up near the Ladd Ranch around Naco, Ariz. Then there were problems with the money; as a non-profit organization, the group seemed to have claimed and spent most of its reported cash but former group members quit the group anyway, saying they were uncomfortable with how money questions were handled. Then there was the incident with Shawna Forde, a former Minuteman supporter who had appeared alongside group leaders (who then distanced themselves from her), now sitting in prison awaiting trial on a double murder for a home invasion she was accused of pulling last summer. With two of her cohorts, Forde is accused of rushing a home in Arivaca, trying to steal a suspected drug trafficker's money. They are accused of murdering Raul Flores, his nine-year-old daughter, Brisenia, and an attempted murder on Brisenia's mother. Sometime before that, Simcox had said he would run against Sen. John McCain; then pulled out of the race and is now backing J.D. Hayworth. Carmen Mercer, one of Simcox's supporters, tells SonoranNews.com: "This March we return to the border locked, loaded and ready to stop each and every individual we encounter along the frontier that is now more dangerous than the frontier of Afghanistan.” Well, it's spring time on the border; the weather is gorgeous, wildflowers blooming, soft breezes and cool desert air. Get ready for a fresh influx of reporters, talking heads, RVS, American flags, lawn chairs and talk. Lots of talk. I hope, for their sake, the Minuteman volunteers don't encounter a group of Sinaloan desperados. We will see. And Chris, you'll remember what happened the last time I ran into your Minuteman volunteers when they tried to stop me demanding identification. It wasn't pleasant for them then and it's going to be even less pleasant this time. Keep them boys alert, Chris. The border's changed.