Borderland Beat |  |
- "G1" Decapitated in Michoachan
- How Peña Nieto's House of Cards Crumbled
- The Quiet Extradition of Mochomo
- U.S. Federal Court: 22 years for Chapo's lieutenant Alfredo Vázquez Hernández
- Cartel Maps: Cartel Territories of Mexico and Guerrero Cartel Territories
- Relatives of missing persons, with help of autodefensas, search and find 11 fosas in Iguala
- Kidnapping: Through the Eyes of the Taken
"G1" Decapitated in Michoachan Posted: 24 Nov 2014 07:21 PM PST  "Here you have the untouchable Gera or G1, and I am going for all the rest of the dogs, this is the ultimatum whoever does not want to come to this side better grab their dick I am coming with everything and against everyone. Sincerely Guardia Michoacana" The heads were identified as belonging to Gerardo Serafín and a relative, Pedro Serafín, both commanders of the Fuerza Rural in the municipality of Uruapan. Family members reported that they had been kidnapped the day before while conducting a patrol. In March of this year it was claimed that Gerardo Serafín, known as "El Gera" and "El G1", was a former member of Los Caballeros Templarios that had joined the then emerging group H3, which put him in charge of their synthetic drug labs. Furthermore, it was said that he had called a meeting in Uruapan to impose charges on those involved in crystal methamphetamine: two kilograms were to be given to him for each barrel produced and $200 per kilogram from traffickers. It is worth noting that La Guardia Michoacana has previously been identified with Los Caballeros Templarios. warning graphic image on following page  Images courtesy of Noventa Grados.  | ||||||
How Peña Nieto's House of Cards Crumbled Posted: 24 Nov 2014 07:23 PM PST BORDERLAND BEAT Posted by DD Republished from Huffington Post. Written by Rodrigo Aguilera Editor/Economist (Latin America), Economist Intelligence Unit
The speed in which the foreign media bubble surrounding Mexico's government has deflated in recent weeks has been stunning, although hardly surprising for those of us who suspected it was only a matter of time. Admittedly, even the pessimists had been caught off guard at the speed in which Enrique Peña Nieto and his party, the PRI, managed to push through an ambitious structural reform agenda during its first two years in power. From the start, however, there were lingering doubts over the government's capacity for effective policymaking since this would be undertaken in the context of significant political-administrative shortcomings. Now that these have - tragically - become apparent, a re-evaluation of the outlook for the successful implementation of the reforms into the medium- and long-term (that is, beyond the short-term goal of negotiating and approving them) is undeniably in order. It is also worth understanding why many of these shortcomings were painfully aware to many Mexicans from the very start, but thoroughly missed abroad. A history of failed reformists Anyone thinking that the government of Enrique Peña Nieto represents a fundamental shift from the way Mexican politics is done is grossly mistaken. He is neither a "reformist" nor a "modernizer", two words that are frequently misused by foreign observers when labelling a statesman who is believed to be steering country in the direction of liberal democracy and free market policies. Not coincidentally, the last Mexican head of state to have been bestowed such praise was Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-94) who despite having successfully negotiated NAFTA and gained Mexico a seat at the OECD, ended his presidency with an indigenous uprising in the state of Chiapas and handed off to his successor an economy that was just days from plunging into a massive balance of payments crisis (the so-called Tequila Crisis of 1994/95). With this in mind it should not be surprising why many Mexicans have remained broadly sceptical of Peña Nieto's achievements: it wouldn't be the first time in their lifetimes that the country was tipped for success only for hopes to come crashing down. For all his telegenic appearance suggests, it may come as a shock to those abroad that Peña Nieto is neither the driving force of his own government, nor that his inner circle is a radical departure from the old PRI that it has dissociated itself with (his political mentor, Arturo Montiel Rojas, is as old guard as it gets). If there is a parallel to how the Peña Nieto government likely operates in practice, it is perhaps as a modern Camelot: one where the president does not generate the ideas that drive the government's policymaking, but chooses those that are best put forward to him by his closest aides. Unfortunately what Peña Nieto lacks in initiative he also lacks in zeal (something that his two predecessors, Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón, had in abundance - and to a fault). The result is a government that flounders whenever it requires its leader to take the helm himself. Until recently, it had encountered no situation in which it needed to do so but the manner in which Mexico's political crisis has intensified over the past two months is the direct consequence of this meek individual leadership that has been all too obvious even before he was elected. Three months of getting it all wrong Perhaps the first warning shot of things to come was the long delayed introduction of the National Gendarmerie. This 40,000-strong unit was originally designed to mirror their European equivalents and was seen as ideal for fighting the drug cartels: trained in policing duties but with the firepower of a military force. In the event, the Gendarmerie that was finally deployed with as much aplomb as disappointment in late August was barely 5,000-strong and constituted as a division of the Federal Police due to the impracticalities of such a small force being independent. The idea that soldiers and marines would be part of it was also shot down due to the intransigence of the military establishment in serving under civilian command. The government has quietly played down the fiasco, despite this being lauded since Peña Nieto's campaign days as the flagship security policy that his government would bring to the table. No further change to the security strategy has been proposed since. Almost a month to the day that the Gendarmerie was introduced came the most shocking tragedy in a drug war that has had no shortage of them: the disappearance and likely murder in Iguala, Guerrero of 43 students from a rural teacher training school in Ayotzinapa with a long history of left-wing activism. The blatant complicity between the municipal government, the local police, and the hitherto little-known drug cartel known as Guerreros Unidos has since sparked a national outrage without precedent in decades and the PRI has borne the brunt of it even despite the fact that its left-wing rival, the PRD, governed both the municipality and the state in which it happened (not to say that the PRD has escaped unscathed; if anything it is facing its most severe internal strife since its formation in 1989). Every week since has seen countless vigils, marches and protests, many of which have turned violent and which despite an initially tepid foreign media coverage, has by now shattered the view held abroad that Mexico's drug war had somehow been contained; a view which of course, few Mexicans have been duped into believing. Meanwhile, the administration's response has been clumsy and late: it took nearly a month before Mr. Peña Nieto met in person with the families of the disappeared students, and his government's ten-point list of commitments reads like every other failed promise to fight crime and strengthen institutions before it. To add insult to injury has been the disastrous press conference held on November 7th by the general attorney, Jesús Murillo Karám, which was perceived to be inconsistent and capped by an untimely comment of "I've had enough", which in turn sparked a deluge of scorn from social media. The massive march held on November 20th, symbolically chosen for being the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, suggests that the social pressure is far from subsiding, which is probably what the government has been banking on all along. At its climax, a large effigy of Peña Nieto was burned in the middle of the Zócalo, Mexico City's main square. There's more. On the same day as the attorney's press conference, a tender for a high-speed train (Latin America's first) between Mexico City and Queretaro was cancelled after receiving just one bid, from a Chinese construction company (China Railway) allied with various Mexican partners. News of the single bid was met with concern from industry experts: the CEO of Bombardier (a major Canadian aerospace and transport firm which had expressed early interest) stated that the tender's two-month deadline was unrealistically short since a project so "technically challenging" would require around a year. But as one local commentator noted, there were only two possible causes for this fiasco: either the bidding process was indeed fraudulent and the government was pre-empting any scandal, or the process had been legit but the government was simply not willing or able to defend it in the face of expected criticism and scrutiny. Either case represents shocking incompetence in handling a project of this magnitude.
Like every scandal in Mexico, this story would come with an encore: an investigation into the $7 million home (nicknamed the "white house" by the local media) of the first lady, former telenovela actress Angélica Rivera, revealed that the house was listed under the name of one of the Mexican companies involved in the rail bid, Grupo Higa, which had coincidentally received numerous projects during Peña Nieto's time as governor of the State of Mexico (2006-12). Later it was alleged by Rivera herself that the house had been "transferred" to her in 2010 by media giant Televisa, which has long been accused of wielding undue political influence in light of its uncomfortably cosy relationship with the PRI.
What this means for the reforms In the short run, the legal implications of the "white house" scandal may give added impetus for the protesters to intensify the pressure over the coming weeks: it is hard to believe that a situation like this would not lead to calls for impeachment in the US or a vote of no-confidence in a European parliamentary system. But in the longer run, the government's recent string of failures matter enormously if they serve as early warning signs of deficiencies in the implementation of its structural reforms. For example, the energy reform, by far the biggest economic game-changer since NAFTA, calls for the creation of numerous new regulatory entities, and a tight schedule for both the transformation of Pemex into a "productive state firm" as well as for the liberalization of the sector to private competition. As was the case with the high speed rail tender, cutting corners in a rush to get things done may prove critical if these new markets open before they are ready to operate efficiently. The success of nearly all reforms therefore rests on the same things that Mexican governments have consistently failed to get right in the past: establishing effective, transparent, uncorrupted institutions and preventing the conflicts of political and private interests from eroding the reforms' social benefits. More so, to spread these benefits - when and if they materialize - across the general population (particularly the poor) requires well-defined channels of redistribution across the three levels of government which at least in their lower levels (state and municipal) are mired in frightening levels of incompetence and corruption, as the incidents in Iguala have highlighted. A veritable revolution in how the government administers and distributes its revenues is long overdue but old habits die hard: the past two budgets have seen an increase in federal transfers and little effort to strengthen the capacity of states and municipalities to finance themselves. Additionally, these budgets see a massive rise in infrastructure spending which although arguably needed, is typically the sector most prone to corruption. These are not the signs of a truly "reformist" government, when the rotten edifice in which Mexican policymaking rests is left intact. Can this government still deliver? Time will tell if the Peña Nieto government recovers from its recent failures and delivers on its promise of bringing prosperity and peace to millions of Mexicans. But for foreigners accustomed to having been served an undeservedly rosy picture of the country's state of affairs over the past few years, the honeymoon has to be over: a more realistic appraisal of the challenges that Mexico faces should frame any discussion of its outlook from now on. Despite the success of passing the structural reforms, this is a government that has faced serious deficiencies in achieving its immediate policy objectives (not least has been the anaemic state of GDP growth since Peña Nieto came to power), and has not shown signs that it is willing to change the decision-making environment in Mexico. Ultimately, political capacity matters and it is a prelude to development, not a consequence of it as many people seem to believe. In a recent article, economist Dani Rodrik summed up the pros and cons of NAFTA 20 years on, noting that "for too long, Mexico's economic policies have reflected the view that the real economy will take care of itself once the 'fundamentals' (macroeconomic stability, openness, and basic regulations) are in place." To some extent, depending on the reform agenda to bring about economic success is not so much different: unlock the bottlenecks to growth, and growth will magically come. It won't, without absence of a radical transformation of how Mexican politics works. If there is any positive legacy from the Iguala tragedy as well as the scandals and failures that have erupted around it, is that the government and the Mexican political establishment as a whole can finally realize they are the ones in more dire need of reform.  | ||||||
The Quiet Extradition of Mochomo Posted: 24 Nov 2014 07:27 PM PST Borderland Beat posted by Siskiyou_Kid translated and republished from RioDoce  Charges are pending in three different US courts In a diplomatic move that surprised many, the Mexican Government extradited Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, "El Mochomo" to the United States, who was wanted since 24 August 2012 for drug trafficking, and whose indictment, of just three pages, shows a makeshift document a judicial record that fixes accusations against one who was one of the former leaders of the Sinaloa cartel. Contrary to the records of traffickers such as Benjamín Arellano Félix, Joaquín el Chapo Guzmán, Ismael Zambada El Mayo and Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the Alfredo Beltran indictment only says that since about the year 2000, he introduced to US territory at least five kilograms of cocaine, in addition to 50 grams of methamphetamine, a kilo of heroin, and approximately a thousand kilos of marijuana. (This is not all that unusual to issue a bare bones indictment before a suspect is in US custody charges will be amended) According to the civil code of the country, the amounts described above should be sufficient to keep him in prison for life, particularly those related to the judicial sections 959, 960 and 963. However striking a paragraph in the indictment, of which Ríodoce have a copy: United States wants from Alfredo Beltran an amount of money still not specified, which must be paid before being sentenced and go free; this as part of the punishment to which they will be subjected. The record says that it will take into account profits made by "Mochomo", according to research from the USDOJ, of which depends on the DEA and the FBI, to then determine what amounted their incomes product of drug trafficking, and then seize his properties, assets, either that the same Alfredo Beltran makes payments through a third party transaction say the document, signed by the prosecutors Arthur G. Wyatt and Andrea Goldbarg. Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. Monday November 17, two days after being extradited in the midst of a total stealth, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was filed with a Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., where it was facing to judge Alan Kay, who after reading accusations for crimes for which he was extradited, the Mocha said to plead not guilty. Perhaps judge Kay did not expect such a response, and was for this reason that although initially said the 21 Friday would be the first preliminary hearing, finally canceled it and the date for a new hearing was pending. No one in the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) could clarify why the cancellation, or why was first presented in Washington DC, and not in Columbia Ohio, or in Brooklyn New York, where he also faces charges for drug trafficking. Ríodoce asked the USDOJ for a copy of the charges faced by "Mochomo" in the districts of New York, Washington DC and Ohio, concluding that all districts were of exactly the same accusation. According to the code of procedures criminals of United States, title 1, chapter 21, the same charge can be used in different district courts in the country, always and when all these States is typified as a crime charges that a detainee is accused.  This means that the Mocha will be prosecuted for the same crimes in three different places, as it would happen with capos such as El Chapo Guzman and Ismael Zambada, but unlike them, the accusation against the youngest of the Beltrán Leyva is somewhat ambiguous because it presents no dates, places or accurate amounts of drugs trafficked, as he observed the record 1:12-CR-00184-RJL. The waiting Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was detained in Federal Prison - Central Office HQ, a maximum security prison located in downtown Washington DC. For his extradition, it took almost seven years, since that January 21, 2008 in which elements of the Mexican army surprised him inside of a residence of the colonia bureaucrata and seized cash, jewels and weapons, until the moment in which the PGR agents handed him over to agents of the US Marshalls, on the border with the United States. Precisely would that capture the trigger for his older brother, Arturo Beltrán Leyva flew to Culiacan to confront "El Chapo" and "El Mayo" over the arrest of his younger brother, according to documents established by the USDOJ, which in turn would lead to a bloody war for control of the most powerful organization of Mexico. Now Mochomo, according to what has happened with other lords, will be confronted with other Sinaloan prisoners who are held in prisons in the United States and at the time agreed to testify in favor of the USDOJ to be faced against members of the Sinaloa cartel, which would strengthen the accusations. Chapo's mother Doña Consuelo Loera raised the Beltrán Leyva Brothers The History  La Palma, less than 100 metres from La Tuna, would have eased that friendship between the two women, therefore, on the death of one of them, the other was responsible for the care of the Beltrán Leyva children: Marcos Arturo, Héctor, Carlos and Alfredo. Therefore, at the outbreak of the war for control of the organization, Arturo and Chapo talked about a truce, but Barbas was sure that Mochomo was turned over by Chapo. "They called each other cousins," said a resident of La Tuna who knew them at the time, "and here it was rumored that they continued communicating". But with the death of El Barbas, in December 2009, the violence in the country calmed down and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel began to be dismantled, first with the arrest of Carlos Beltrán Leyva, on December 30, 2009. Hector was arrested on October 1, 2014, and according to the United States Department of State, his extradition is pending, although it has not specified whether the official request has already been made to the Mexican Government. It is expected that the next preliminary hearing against Mochomo will be determined in the coming days, revealed the USDOJ.  | ||||||
U.S. Federal Court: 22 years for Chapo's lieutenant Alfredo Vázquez Hernández Posted: 24 Nov 2014 05:32 PM PST Borderland Beat posted by Siskiyou Kid  When arrested, Alfredo Vasquez-Hernandez said he had never even met Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, let alone served in Guzman’s Sinaloa drug cartel. On Monday a U.S. judge sentenced a reputed lieutenant of captured Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman to 22 years in prison for his role in a $1 billion conspiracy to traffic narcotics to Chicago and other cities. In sentencing Alfredo Vasquez-Hernandez, Chief U.S. District Judge in Chicago Ruben Castillo said he wanted to send a stern message to Hernandez and other Mexican traffickers. Hernandez, 58, is one of 11 alleged traffickers indicted in Chicago, including Guzman himself. Hernandez was the first to be sentenced. "I tell you on behalf of all citizens of Chicago ... we are tired of this drug trafficking," Castillo told Hernandez, who minutes earlier apologized to the court and U.S. government and asked Castillo to take pity on him. The case is regarded as one of the U.S. government’s most important against Mexican cartels. Guzman remains jailed in Mexico and Mexican authorities haven't said if they might extradite him to Chicago. The spotlight during and in the lead-up to Hernandez's sentencing was on the credibility of two Sinaloa cartel associates-turned-government witnesses, Pedro and Margarito Flores. Secret recordings and other evidence provided by the twin brothers in 2008 led to the Chicago indictments of Hernandez and 10 others, including Guzman and the Flores twins themselves. Hernandez, of Mexico, was the first up for sentencing. He pleaded guilty to possessing drugs with intent to distribute. Hernandez was a close friend of Guzman, using his logistical skills to ship tons of heroin and cocaine by train from Mexico to Chicago concealed in bogus furniture cargo, according to the Flores brothers. But defense lawyers accused the brothers of exaggerating Hernandez's rank in the cartel to curry favor with U.S. prosecutors and ensure the lowest possible prison terms for themselves. The twin brothers sought to hoodwink federal agents even after they agreed to cooperate, they allege. Lawyers for Hernandez also cited court documents indicating the brothers - while behind bars working with the feds - had someone hide up to $2.5 million in cash. From jail, they also allegedly bought a $100,000 Bentley as a gift for Pedro Flores' wife.
Vazquez’ attorney becomes contentious with reporter over reports that his client “turned on Chapo”, in video below Material used in this post from: Chicago Tribune, Department of Treasury-ABC News=BB Archive  | ||||||
Cartel Maps: Cartel Territories of Mexico and Guerrero Cartel Territories Posted: 24 Nov 2014 11:02 AM PST Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat Below is a video of mapped cartel territories operating in Guerrero. Missing is Los Viagras, who have an alliance with Mencho (CJNG). The alliance was initiated one year ago. Viagras are based out of Huetamo, Michoacan and are the first and only splinter group of Caballeros Templarios. Supposedly the Sierra Santana brothers, founders and leaders of Viagras, split from CT to overtake areas of domination by CT in Michoacan. Mencho is said to have good control of federal police along Michoacan-Guerrero border areas, and they are a part of the payroll. Mencho also had alliances with groups operating as "autodefensa' but are not true autodefensas but in reality, organized crime (example H3). Raphael Caro Quintero is reportedly supplying the AD groups with weapons and vehicles, despite his whatsapp communications sent declaring his retirement. Viagras are operating along the upper Guerrero Coast and Michoacan. Video is HD and plays well fullscreen.. Below is Stratfor's latest cartel map-I don't necessarily agree with the analysis especially in southwest..lets hear from you.. click on image to enlarge   | ||||||
Relatives of missing persons, with help of autodefensas, search and find 11 fosas in Iguala Posted: 24 Nov 2014 08:59 AM PST Borderland Beat material from API/OEM  People who have loved ones who have disappeared in the northern part of Guerrero, have taken it upon themselves to conduct searches for human remains in the Iguala area. Whereas much attention has been devoted to the 43 missing students, there has been little concern for the bodies discovered that have been proven not to be the remains of the students, nor has the government addressed the need for an organized effort to search the entire area for remains. Families discovered human remains within the excavated zone and other evidence of violence and organized crime operation in the area Iguala, Gro.- Relatives of missing persons in the northern region of the state of Guerrero discovered six new mass graves containing human remains in the vicinity of Cerro Gordo, in Iguala.  Searching on Sunday, relatives found skeletal remains in fosas of persons allegedly killed by organized crime groups in the area known as La Laguna, heading toward Cerro Gordo and two kilometers from the hill above the Cerro near colonia Loma del Zapatero (Iguala). 70 plus people, including relatives and friends of people who have disappeared between the years 2008-2014 were concentrated in the Iguala region.. From there they began a caravan to go to the place called La Laguna, located northwest of Iguala. The site was discovered more than a year ago by a farmer who occasionally passes by. The elderly man and reported that in April last year, he was walking through the area and noticed that at certain points the earth was "loose". On one occasion when walking about the area, when he stepped his foot sank into the earth, and, he said a foul odor then emitted from the ground. After the discovery, the man reported the information to authorities but that authorities to this day had not proceeded with and investigation or inspection. The disappearance of the 43 normalistas of Ayotzinpa occurred during the night of 26 and morning of September 27 in Iguala, the search began for the students resulting in the discovery of clandestine graves, but later it was determined the remains were not of the students. So far the families have accounted for 11 graves in the same area; same where human remains were found. One complete body bound at feet and hands was found, while the other 10 fosas contained bones, bloody clothes and sheets.  The discovery of clandestine graves by the Union of Peoples and Organizations of the State of Guerrero (UPOEG), (autodefensas above foto) motivated relatives of missing persons from the north of Guerrero, to know the identity and number of remains found, to rule out or confirm that correspond to their relatives. Authorities have not addressed the demands. In the course of the search, relatives of the disappeared were advised and coordinated by leaders of the Union of Peoples and Organizations of the State of Guerrero (UPOEG) and Forensic Science Citizen (CFC). Also participating in the search are Iguala citizens.  | ||||||
Kidnapping: Through the Eyes of the Taken Posted: 24 Nov 2014 08:59 AM PST Considering the current state of events in Mexico I thought it relevant to repost this story. I wrote this back in 2012 so as I heard the story of the students, this is yet another story of striking parallels....  By ACI for Borderland Beat What you are about to read is a true account of a kidnapping, as with most stories in Mexico, the victim wishes to remain anonymous, out of fear for himself and his family's safety.  He had family in the states and steady work, but as with all who make the journey, he longed for his home. Every so often he would make the trip back to his small suburb outside the city. This last trip back was different however, the scenery had changed, and so had many of his friends and family. Many had been sucked up into ensuing war which had broken out in the region. On the outside everything appeared the same, perhaps more rundown, but more or less the same. People still went through their daily routines, work, church and family dinners, but there was a quiet silence when he asked questions about what exactly was going on. Perhaps they didn't know, or were afraid to tell him, whatever it was it left an unsettling feeling in his gut. One he should have perhaps heeded. It was late in the afternoon and the sun had baked the dusty town. He and a group of friends were hanging outside his friend’s house enjoying some cold beers. There was much laughter and jokes; they all wanted to hear of his adventures in America. Then they began telling him stories, and the jovial nature slowly turned eerie and silent. His friends told him of the disappeared, the roaming bands of gun totting lunatics and the war. He wasn't shocked, it wasn't like he hadn't heard these stories before, but the difference was the sheer depth of the conflict, it seemed to have touched everyone. The three received what felt like several blows to their bodies then tossed into the back of the vehicle. There they drove to some place unknown. Some dimly lit room, in some part of town he was unfamiliar with. It smelled of shit and piss, the light flickered on and off, bobbing back and forth. For all he knew it might have been part of a police department or someones home. Dazed and confused he and his friends were then once again tossed into another vehicle. This time they were thrown into the bed of a pickup truck. He wondered how they were going to die. He had heard of so many terrible ways to die in Mexico. He shuttered at the thought blocking it out as much as he could. He thought of all the things he was going to miss, dinner with his family, chasing girls with his friends, cold beer and tamales on summer days. The memories came flooding back as the truck lumbered on. He could feel the road underneath him, every pothole, twist and turn. His mouth was dry, his eyes watered, was this how it was going to end for him he wondered? He heard the first shot; then the awful thump of dead weight falling to the ground. He felt his hands shake; there was a terrible pit in his stomach; that was his friend. He heard the bullet casing wedge itself in the dirt, he heard footsteps and another click as another round loaded into the chamber. Each sound echoing in his head, the seconds felt as if eternity was toying with him. Then the second shot came, followed by that same dreadful thud. He was next; then he heard feedback from a two way radio. One of the gunmen answered, in a hushed tone he walked away. Stories like his are repeated daily in Mexico, young men getting swept up only to be found days later, dead. Their stories never to be told, never to be resolved, it has just become part of life now. It takes courage to bring light to darkness and expose those who claim to work in the name of justice. To all those who remember the missing, to all of your stories, to all your pain, may you one day you find the answers to what you seek. We will never forget and we will not remain silent. |
