Leader of the Zetas Captured by Mexican Feds

Jaime Gonzalez Duran AKA "The Hummer" ALLEGED leader of the Zetas

The Zetas- the enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel and the most murderous paramilitary force in Mexico.

The Federal Preventive Police reported that it captured in Tamaulipas Jaime Gonzalez Duran, aka The Hummer, who is alleged founder of the group of hitmen known as Los Zetas.

In a press conference being held in the hangar of the Federal Preventive Police, the interim commissioner of this organization, Rodrigo Esparza, was on hand to present to the media at Hummer who operated in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and is linked to Heriberto Lazcano aka The Lazca, leader of the Gulf Cartel.

In a press conference the official said that this arrest will tone for the capture of other members of that group arm of the Gulf Cartel.

The Hummer is considered one of the main contributors to Heriberto Lazcano and Miguel Trevino Morales, aka the L-40, leaders of Los Zetas.

Rodrigo Esparza announced that Jaime Gonzalez Duran caused high in the Mexican Army and Air Force on Nov. 15, 1991.The deserted on February 24, 1999 and joined Arturo Guzman Tens and Heriberto Lazcano to be part of the Gulf Cartel's arm as executor.

He was recruited by Osiel Cardenas Guillen, The Kills friends, and one of his first tasks was to escort Cardenas Guillen.

It was responsible for the executions of members of other criminal organizations to be carried out by the square of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, where it currently had its operations center.

Until his arrest, controlled operations in the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Michoacan, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Mexico State and Federal District, reporting directly to Heriberto Lazcano.

The Hummer was wanted by the Attorney General of the Republic, by U.S. authorities on charges in the Court of the District of Columbia for the crimes of conspiracy, manufacturing and distribution of cocaine.

(EL UNIVERSAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

Walter L. Blair Indicted for Money Laundering

DC/Baltimore area criminal defense/civil rights lawyer. Prominent:

A lawyer with offices in Prince George's County and the District was arrested yesterday after a federal grand jury in Maryland accused him of helping to hide tens of thousands of dollars that had belonged to a slain drug dealer.

Walter L. Blair, 57, whose legal practice has included high-profile lawsuits against local police departments, faces accusations that could end his career and send him to prison. An indictment unsealed yesterday accuses him of money laundering, obstruction of justice and other counts.

According to the charging document, a distant relative of the drug dealer's approached Blair in November 2003 after the dealer disappeared and the dealer's girlfriend was shot to death; the dealer and his girlfriend's son were later found fatally shot, too.

The dealer, who sold marijuana in the Richmond area, had asked the relative to keep a safe in which he had stored cash, the indictment says. Unsure about what to do with the money after the dealer's disappearance, the relative turned to Blair, the indictment says. It does not identify the relative, a Germantown resident, or say how she knew Blair.

Blair is alleged to have hatched a scheme to conceal the origins of the money. He told the relative to bring the money to him at his office in College Park, the indictment says. The relative arrived with a duffel bag full of bills split into stacks wrapped in rubber bands, it says.

Arrested yesterday at his home in Brookeville in Montgomery County, Blair appeared later in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, where he said he will represent himself.

(WASHINGTON POST)

He's representing himself: FREE Walter L. Blair!

Barrio Azetcas Trial Sounds Awesome

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This is a racketeering case in El Paso regarding the activities of the Barrio Aztecas criminal street gang of El Paso, TX. There is actually a reporter covering this trial and writing great articles- a woman, no less. Just kidding! But seriously, it's an awesome trial:

EL PASO -- At least one El Paso member of the Barrio Azteca gang was kidnapped and killed in Juárez in recent years to pay for ripping off the drug cartel "La Linea," a witness testified during the ongoing racketeering trial for six men with ties to the gang.

Gallardo said he was ordered to pick up a man from the cartel Downtown and he then drove him to a Lower Valley home.

"When we got there, they had him tied up -- Chato Flores," he said.

The man's wrists, feet and mouth were duct-taped and he was put in a vehicle and taken to Juárez where the cartel was waiting.

(EL PASO TIMES ERICA MOLINA JOHNSON)

AP should syndicate this story. Gulp! I wonder what happened in Mexico. I guess we'll never know.

Red Lake Indian Reservation Cocaine Trafficking Ring Sentenced

View Larger Map

I am so into maps after the Presidential election. Can you tell? Look at where this indian reservation is located- cut off from the rest of the United States, with a big lake in between. Ideal smuggling point, no? From Canada/U.S. or vice-versa:

Sixteen people have been sentenced in Bemidji this week in connection with a large-scale cocaine distribution ring on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Jackley says the investigation led to a total of 34 indictments. Two defendants were previously sentenced, charges against one person were dismissed and 15 defendants await sentencing.

(AP)

Record Deportations = Huge Waste of Taxpayer Money

immigration is a global issue.

Here is something to think about: the same pot of money used by the government to deport "record numbers" of illegal aliens could easily go to stoppping multi-kilo shipment of cocaine and methamphetamine. Shouldn't that be our top priority- not deporting meat packing plant workers. (MIAMI HERALD)

Black Policemen in South Africa are Awesome

Isn't this story like a mirror image of America?

Johannesburg - "It's time you whites packed your bags and fucked off."
With these words a black police inspector from Tembisa on the East Rand allegedly scolded the victims of an armed robbery and hijacking attempt in Kempton Park on Monday night.
This officer, whose name is known to Beeld, apparently refused to arrest a black suspect on the scene.
He also refused to open a case after Nic Lubbe, 51, from Kempton Park West, his daughter, Antoenet Cronjé, and her two sons, Morné, 11, and Kyle, 3, were assailed by robbers on Monday night.
He ostensibly also refused to allow white members of the Norkem Park police to search the suspects' car and called them "white dogs".

(NEWS 24 SOUTH AFRICA)

Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Skylar Deleon

The article says he was sentenced to death, but at this point it's just a jury recommendation, I believe. (LOS ANGELES TIMES)

Face Mob Family Take Down in North Carolina

Face Mob! Face Mob. Never heard of them before.

RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA Federal and local law enforcement officials say a six-month investigation has brought down a major North Carolina drug-trafficking ring known as the Face Mob Family.

Authorities said the investigation netted eight arrests and resulted in the seizure of more than 2 pounds of heroin, $150,000 in cash, 17 weapons and six high-end vehicles.(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)

More from the U.S. Attorney's Office:

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation entitled Face Off.

(EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE)

What is OCDETF:

OCDETF cases target major drug trafficking operations responsible for the distribution of large quantities of narcotics. OCDETF cases involve federal, state and local law enforcement members working together in a cooperative, coordinated and sustained manner and OCDETF AUSAs are assigned to work hand in hand with these collaborative law enforcement investigations and are responsible for the prosecutions that result from such investigations.

What about the OCDETF Fusion Center?

The OCDETF Fusion Center (OFC) will gather, store and analyze all-source drug and related financial investigative information and intelligence to support coordinated, multi-jurisdictional investigations focused on the disruption and dismantlement of the most significant drug trafficking and money laundering enterprises.

(OCDETF WIKI)

That sounds like a good program:

Intelligence Sharing – Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Fusion Center: $8.6 million and 1 position to provide base funding for the operation and maintenance of the OCDETF Fusion Center’s technical infrastructure, as well as 1 SES-level position to provide oversight and management for the Fusion Center. These resources will enhance analytical support to the Fusion Center, thereby assisting in initiating and developing multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional OCDETF investigations and prosecutions targeting drug trafficking and related money laundering organizations. FY 2008 current services resources for the OCDETF Fusion Center are $3.1 million; total FY 2008 resources are $11.7 million and 1 position.

(DEA BUDGET)

We should be spending like, $50 million on that program

Maoists Arrested for Indian Bombing

Calcutta India


Maoist guerrillas? Indian bombings? Bulgarian pistons? Italian pistols? Maoist literature- holy mama call Bollywood.

Calcutta/West Midnapore, Nov. 6: Police today arrested two “hardcore Maoists” and an alleged informer in connection with Sunday’s Salboni blast.

The suspects landed in West Midnapore police’s net after raids in Salboni and Lalgarh last night.

A 7.65mm Bulgaria-made pistol, a 9mm pistol of Italian make, 43 bullets and Maoist literature have been seized from Sunil Hansda alias Rimil, 25, and Sunil Mandi, 30, and Bhagabat Hansda, 40.

“The police have come to know that Sunil Mandi and Sunil Hansda have been carrying on operations in several places and they are hardcore Maoists. Bhagabat Hansda is a Jharkhand Party activist,” home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said after a meeting with inspector-general of police (law and order) Raj Kanojia.

“Sunil Hansda and Mandi are members of the Maoist guerrilla squad and used to frequent Jharkhand. Their interrogation can reveal their connections with Sasadhar Mahato, the absconding mastermind of the November 2 landmine blast” Singh said. “Of the 43 bullets seized, three had been used,” he added.

Mandi is accused of involvement in the killing of 11 policemen in Jharkhand’s Ghatsila area in August this year, the police said.

According to the police, the two pistols seized from the trio belong to Mahato. “Mahato used to keep in his possession the Italian and Bulgarian pistols. He would hand them over to Mandi and Sunil when he went somewhere,” an officer said.

(CALCUTTA TELEGRAPH)

Testimony Ends in Seth Craven Murder Trial

San Diego Superior Court: Modernist Court Par Excellence.

Maybe that means the video cameras at the end of the hallway will be taken away. Today I asked them, "Does this get broadcast anywhere?"- they're there ALL DAY. And they were like "No- it's just being taped." Well played, television station. So they can show a one minute clip on the nightly news? Waste of money.

The defense is "self defense" plus "victim was intoxicated:

Attridge said Kauanui, who was there with Grosso, either spilled or poured a drink on House, sparking a brief confrontation. All of the participants in the fight that night had been long-time friends, Attridge told the jury.

She said the bar manager asked Kauanui to leave because he was severely intoxicated. The victim's blood-alcohol level was later measured at .17 percent, and he had smoked marijuana that night, Attridge said.

The attorney said House and Kauanui had stupidly argued about who was more local to the area.

The punch thrown by Cravens, in combination with the drugs and alcohol consumed by Kauanui, caused him to lose consciousness and hit his head, causing his death, Attridge told the jury.

(CHANNEL 10 SAN DIEGO)

This case is two court rooms down from my current trial, so I'm not saying anything. Frankly, it looks intense. These kinds of cases are potentially huge wins for the defense attorney, but the publicity is always kind of hostile to criminal defense attorneys. It's bullshit- this country was FOUNDED by criminal defense attorneys.

Tijuana Wednesday Murder Bodycount: 14

I like to check in with the body count in TJ every other wednesday. Today? 14:

Yesterday's decapitated victims, both men, were discovered about 6 a.m. near the Otay Mesa border crossing, their bodies inside large plastic barrels, and their heads placed on the lids. They were not identified, but a handwritten message was left: “This is what will happen to those that hang out with the filthy Arellano Félix.” It was signed la maña, a term for mafia.

(San Diego UNION TRIBUNE)

That's a pretty clear message.

Clemons Tinnemeyer Arrest Yields Trove of Sinaloa Cartel Details

NASCAR in Fontana

Leave aside the fact that the Riverside Press Enterprise clumsily leaves unnamed the "mexican cartel" involved in this case- it's Sinaloa- and enjoy the plethora of interesting details about the cartel's Mexican Mafia led southern california distribution operation:

In a unit at Mary Street Self Storage, $3.5 million in cash bundles was found Oct. 18 in a set of luggage, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week in U.S. District Court.

The complaint states that informants identified Tinnemeyer as a significant drug trafficker working with the Mexican Mafia. They say he transported cocaine and cash in hidden compartments of his 2006 Mandalay RV.

One witness said Tinnemeyer would frequently park the RV on a Victorville street, where he was instructed to leave it for an extended period of time. While it was parked there, "people unknown to Tinnemeyer would load approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine" into hidden compartments in the vehicle, the complaint states.

"Tinnemeyer was then instructed (presumably by members of the Mexican Mafia) to deliver the cocaine to various locations across the United States," prosecutors wrote.

She also told agents that she had specific information on a Mexican drug cartel's "U.S.-based distribution network in Fontana."

(RIVERSIDE PRESS ENTERPRISE)

Wow. Detailed! 500 kilogram shipments heading east.

The Budget for Drug Control Funds

Treatment (research): 30%
Prevention: 16%
Domestic Law Enforcement: 28%
Interdiction: 18%
International: 9%

I'm saying take that 46% spent on "treatment" an "prevention" (i.e. public relations) and spend it on domestic law enforcement (jobs!) and interdiction (pays for itself!)

So then it's like:

Domestic law enforcement: 52%
Interdiction: 32%
International: 9%

Smart- effective.

New Tactics & Strategies for the War on Drugs

This is the Republican office of national drug control policy: fucking advertisements. Weak.

Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of the 'war on drugs' but what can you do? Drug trafficking is a problem on many levels, and it's something that is best addressed by the Federal Government. Hopefully the Obama administration will take a look at some new strategies- particularly when they save money!

So let's start with money we spend supporting south American governments. Take "Plan Colombia." Under Plan Colombia:

The nearly $5 billion U.S. aid package known as Plan Colombia failed to meet its goal of halving illegal narcotics production in this Andean nation, says a U.S. congressional report released Wednesday.

Its release comes as U.S. officials make it clear that aid for Colombia, an estimated $657 million in fiscal 2008, will be now be trimmed because of the U.S. financial crisis.

(MIAMI HERALD)

$657 million to the government of Colombia? Holy shit. Here's an idea: let's just let Colombia make the drugs and spend that money on seizing the product & money $$$ that results. Let me ask you a question: What financial benefit does the United States government receive for eradicating an acre of coca plant- or say- paying the Colombian government $1 million to eradicate an acre of coca plant? Zero.

Now- what financial benefit does the United States government receive from seizing a business that uses drug money or say- a car filled with $5 million in United States currency? Uh huh. Are you with me here?

Let's create some jobs at the drug enforcement administration or I.C.E. Here's one suggestion: crack squad of border investigators that transfer between POE's. That's job creation- bam. What about increasing surveillance technology on United States freeways- huge infrastructure project. pow.

What about: installing video cameras at interstate truck stops. That is a free idea. Here's a federal program to dump some money into: The Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center. That money will pay for itself. Like: What if they had a currency sniffing dog? Or a machine that could "smell" money.

Meanwhile, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has a blog with articles like:

Did You Know? There Are More "Medical" Pot Shops in San Francisco Than There Are Starbucks (OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY)

What a bunch of idiots. Hopefully this will change under Barack Obama. Forget this marijuana shit: focus on cocaine and methamphetamine. International drug trafficking- those are priorities one two and three. Do you know how much damage a kilo coke does in the form of crack. And yet we prosecute our own citizens instead of going after the traffickers of kilos. Let's spend the money where it does the most good: Multi kilo trafficking of cocaine and methamphetamine & the repatriation of profits to international trafficking organizations.

Mexican Drug Cartel Map

I pasted this map in the page, but it doesn't really work for whatever reason, so I wanted to drop a link- I'm updating it with information I blog about, and some stories that don't make it to the blog. Everything is sourced, but I don't reference some of the sources. (MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL MAP)

Links Between Juarez Cartel and El Paso Street Gang Detailed

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The Juarez Cartel or "La Linea" as it's called has been in eclipse as of late- but man- they are still out there. At their height they controlled 50% of the drug traffic between Mexico and the U.S.- i.e. the 90s. Currently, they are in a turf war with the Sinaloa Cartel over the El Paso/Juarez Point of Entry. Here are some interesting details from a racketeering trial in El Paso federal court:

An FBI informant who testified two days in the federal racketeering trial of the Barrio Azteca gang told the jury the gang had strong connections with "La Linea," the drug cartel in Juarez.

Johnny "Conejo" Michelletti, a former Azteca gang member, told the jury in U.S District Court that the money collected from the rentas, or extortion fees, charged to street-level drug dealers in El Paso was sent to bosses in Juárez.

It was the second day of one of the largest organized-crime trials in El Paso.

U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman said in April that Barrio Azteca assisted the Juárez drug cartel with importing drugs and with killing in exchange for narcotics at discounted prices. The Aztecas also offered members sanctuary in Mexico from U.S. law enforcement.

(EL PASO TIMES)

Texas Syndicate Member Pleads to Being Zeta Hit Man

Webb County Court House, Laredo Texas

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A tactic that originated in the San Diego area(?): Mexican drug cartel's using American gang members as assassins- has spread to the Rio Grande Valley. Typically in the case of San Diego- the American gang member was used in Mexico, here it appears to be a straight up contract killing:

A man police have tied to the Texas Syndicate pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering two people who were Zeta targets.

Juan Manuel Marquez Rodriguez pleaded guilty to the murders of Julio A. Serrano and Michael Lopez in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.

Marquez Rodriguez, 27, and other members of the Texas Syndicate plotted in December 2006 to kidnap Serrano, a 19-year-old Sinaloa Cartel hit man, on behalf of the Zetas, the branch of the Gulf Cartel that controls most of the drug trafficking in this area, according to a criminal complaint filed by Laredo police.

Miguel "40" Treviño Morales and Ivan "El Taliban" Velasquez Caballero wanted Serrano delivered to them in Nuevo Laredo, according to the complaint.

Serrano was involved with a woman Velasquez had dated, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

When Marquez Rodriguez and his associates arrived at the trailer Serrano was living in on Gallagher Avenue, Serrano tried to flee and Marquez Rodriguez shot and killed him, according to the criminal complaint.

(LAREDO TIMES)

Well, it didn't have the panache of your typical Zeta "grenades from the fourth story of a downtown hotel" attack, but what can you expect. Also- who wants to bet he's co-operating and that had something to do with the recent Texas Syndicate take-down in... Texas, of course.

Crazy Marine Murder Case in Riverside, CA.

Sceloporus magister uniformis says "What the fuck?"

The allegations in this case sound like some of the war crimes prosecutions that have been happening in southern California. What, if any, is the relationship of this crime to the war in Iraq?

Four Marines have been arrested for the slaying of a Marine and his wife at their home in the Winchester neighborhood of Riverside County, the county sheriff's department announced.

The four have confessed in the killing of Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quianna Jenkins Pietrzak, 26, authorities said. The motive allegedly was robbery.

Pvt. Kesuan Sykes, 21, is being held in a Riverside jail. Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20; Pvt. Kevin Darnell Cox, 20, and Pvt. Emrys John, 18, are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton. Two of the four served in the same unit as Pietrzak.

Pietrzak and his wife were found shot to death in their home Oct. 15. The two had been bound and gagged. Sykes is also charged with a sex crime in the attack. A fire was set in the home, allegedly to destroy evidence.

All four suspects will face murder charges with special circumstances, which can bring the death penalty, the sheriff's department said.

(LOS ANGELES TIMES)

I mean, they're only allegations but holy shit. That is some incendiary stuff: robbery, murder, arson and rape?

Request to Exradite Eduardo Arellano Felix Suprisingly Denied

Oh hai I'm the Mexican court system:

After his arrest the federal police filled the provisional arrest warrant for extradition to the U.S. government promoted and that the alleged kingpin sought to curb an amparo(?).

Despite the refusal of amparo, Eduardo Arellano Felix may not be transferred immediately to the U.S. because their defense filed a petition for review in a court Collegiate.

(EL UNIVERSAL)

If I was a Mexican drug lord I would embrace the Mexican justice system. Your chances of escaping are like, 50%. Plus, no death penalty. Plus, thirty year MAXIMUM sentence for ANYTHING. I'm not a big death penalty fan but thirty years maximum? You have GOT to be kidding.

Also "amparo" means:

Amparo literally means amparar or "to shelter" or "to protect". The name stems from the nature and intent of the writ a judicial procedure for the protection of certain constitutional rights. The Writ of Amparo [ recurso de amparo or juicio de amparo] originated from the Mexican legal system and has no exact equivalence in common law. Amparo however is not totally alien to Philippine jurisprudence because it essentially encompasses elements of several

legal actions of the common law tradition: writ of habeas corpus, injunction, error, mandamus, and certiorar

(NATIONAL UNION OF PEOPLES' LAWYERS)

Dayton: 18 Arrested for Trafficking Prescription Drugs

Dayton, Ohio.


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God bless our domestic drug trafficking organizations. They look pretty quaint placed next to the smuggling hundred of kilos/millions of dollars Mexican drug cartels, but I have a very soft spot in my heart for them- in fact- they should be a weapon in our fight against international organized crime:

A Dayton, Ohio, doctor and 17 other people have been rounded up in what police describe as a $5 million prescription drug ring that dipped into northern Warren County and reached all the way to Florida.

Arrests in the 11-month investigation included Sievers' office manager, Sherry Marshall, and her husband, Kenneth - described as the office "bouncer." The couple is accused of profiting from the elaborate scheme and keeping patient files at their Dayton home, said John Burke, commander of the Warren County Drug Task Force.

Seven of those arrested are considered distributors who recruited more than 200 bogus patients and addicts to take the prescriptions to be filled at pharmacies in exchange for keeping some of the drugs to use or sell, Burke said.

Some of the drugs also made it to Florida, where two former Warren County men - Paul Price, a convicted killer, and Granville Turner - were arrested and accused of running a similar scheme in Broward County, Fla. They also are accused of funneling OxyContin back to Southwest Ohio for sale.

(CINCINNATI ENQUIRER)

Let me tell you something: Using your medical license to push heroin to drug addicts is not "elaborate," even compared to street level crack sales. In fact, it's easier.

Hyperbole aside: Aren't they cute? It was a $5 million dollar ring! Aw- adorable. Did wittle doctah sell to suburban housewives?

Nogales Police Chief Murder Details

Copyright 2008 Arizona Star

The assassination occurred at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Marqués de Cima Hotel, about 2 1/2 miles south of the border off Avenida Alvaro Obregon, which runs south from the downtown Dennis DeConcini port of entry and out of the city.

Pavón was getting out of the car when gunmen in the upper part of the building opened fire and launched grenades, the release said. The Marqués de Cima is a five-story hotel on the west side of Avenida Álvaro Obregón.

(ARIZONA STAR)

Um... 'launched grenades'?

Speculation about motive:

El Imparcial newspaper in Sonora speculated that a shootout Saturday in Nogales that led to the arrest of four gunmen, one of whom was wounded, could have triggered the attack on Pavón. Police arrested the four and seized six rifles, ammunition, magazines, bulletproof vests and helmets and their vehicle.

Seriously, it could be anyone, but launching grenades out of a multi-story downtown hotel has the flair and panache of the zetas. I mean- that shit is like Bourne Identity territory.

Nogales Police Chief Slain

Nogales, Mexico

Who killed him? Sinaloa Cartel?

Gunmen killed a state police chief in the Mexican border city of Nogales.

Sonora police director Juan Manuel Pavon Felix was riddled with bullets as he entered a hotel Sunday night with his bodyguard and other officers, according to a statement from the state investigative police office.

The statement said Pavon had just finished directing police operations in the city.

(MIAMI HERALD)

Venezuela to Croatia Cocaine Trafficking Documented

Venezuela
Interesting article about drug trafficking arrests in Venezuela. Venezuela shares a border with Columbia, and is actually closer to Europe, so it makes a certain amount of sense that traffickers would use it as a point of exit:

So far this year, Venezuela had been arrested 10 alleged drug kingpins, including one of Croatian nationality, who was captured over the weekend, the government reported on Monday.

The director of the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), Nestor Reverol, told reporters that judicial police officers, seconded to the office of Interpol in Caracas, detained "a citizen of Croatian nationality, who was being sought by agencies Croatian security by illicit drug trafficking. "

Reverol indicated that the detainee, identified as Slobodan Kasic, 66 years old, existed in the hands of Interpol an arrest warrant for extradition purposes.(MIAMI HERALD)

Smuggling is concentrated in the west of Venezuela:

The anti-drug chief stressed that so far this year nine other suspected leaders of drug trafficking have been arrested in Venezuela, including Colombians and Marcos Orozco Wilches Aldo Alvarez Duran, who weighed about a request for capture of Interpol and the Drug Enforcement Agency of United States (DEA).

Venezuela, for its proximity to Colombia, has become one of the bridges to transport drugs into the United States and Europe.

Colorful Chicago Pol on Trial

South Chicago House

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Chicago city politics, so colorful. Really, the name says it all: 'Fast Eddie' Vrdolyak. What else do I need to tell you? That he's a Chicago alderman? That he's accused of public corruption? You already knew both of those facts- just from the name.

The Chicago Sun Times has a crib sheet available with the va. personalities/schemes involved. It's a public corruption trial: money, property development & ethnic city political machines. (CHICAGO SUN TIMES)

Death at the 405/710 Junction

Why would you kill five homeless people? That's what happened just off the freeway by Long Beach, CA. The victims were found shot to death. Police were notified via a pay phone near by. That's a puzzler. What could the motive possibly be?(KCAL 9 LOS ANGELES)

Mexican Drug Cartel Map

View Larger MapMexican Drug Cartel Map

Here is a map I created using Google Maps- showing the following:

1. Home turf of Mexican Drug Cartels.
2. Entry points for drugs into the US (blue pins)
3. Distribution hubs (purple pins)
4. Primary Markets (yellow pins)
5. Secondary Markets (green pins)

Peru Arrests 20 with Ties to Sinaloa Cartel

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian police have arrested 20 people suspected of working for Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel and seized 2.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in boat bumpers, Peru's interior ministry said on Monday.

The seizure, valued at $125 million, included the arrest of four Mexicans, three Colombians and 13 Peruvians. The bust was the strongest sign yet the powerful Sinaloa cartel is making inroads in Peru, the world's No. 2 grower of coca behind Colombia.

The cocaine was found over the weekend in a working-class neighborhood of Lima, tucked inside some 200 bumpers that are put around boats for protection while docked.(REUTERS)

From 9/08

Gulf Cartel Honcho Arrested in Reynosa Mexico

Reynosa, Mexico.

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Gulf Cartel to U.S., "It is SO ON!"(CAT DIRT SEZ)
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You know, the Mexican dailies do a pretty good job keeping up with the latest news on the Mexican fight against the drug cartels. Note how they got him on a highway- transportation is the most vulnerable part of any large scale enterprise. That's why I think that anti-drug law enforcement should focus on a "free way" strategy and basically ignore the suppression of supply or diminishing of demand.

Facts:
1. People are going to make drugs.
2. People are going to use drugs.
3. Drugs need to be moved from the producer to the consumer, money need to be moved from the consumers to the producers.
4. It is impossible for criminals to 'secure' the international passage of drugs- they need to be 'hidden.'

You don't need to put anyone in jail if you just take the drugs and the money. For example, Colombia produced 535 tons of cocaine- that is 535,000 kilograms. That all has to be transported to either the United States or Europe. If you stop the movement, everything else goes away. What can drug traffickers do? We also need to take advantage of the fact that Mexico is a much more functional state then ANY of the cocaine growing countries- Colombia? Bolivia? Please. Just flush our aid money down the toilet.

Antonio Coronado Galarza, 'The Yellow', alleged leader of the Gulf cartel in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, was arrested yesterday.

The arrest took place in the vicinity of the National highway to Reynosa, Monterrey, where federal troops stopped the vehicle Ford Lobo, black, model 2009, without plates movement, which was led by Antonio Coronado Galarza, who also he was nicknamed 'El Tigre'.

(EL UNIVERSAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION)