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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Borderland Beat

Borderland Beat

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Members of Los Ciclones of CDG captured in Matamoros

Posted: 11 Feb 2015 01:46 AM PST

Translated for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article by Otis B Fly-Wheel

Elements of the Tamaulipas Forces captured ten presumed operators of a criminal organisation, they are believed to be sicarios (hitmen) from Los Ciclones of the Cartel Del Golfo.

Fernando Vazquez Mendoza and his accomplices, presumed sicarios of Los Ciclones of Matamoros.

The Group for Coordination in Tamaulipas also confirmed the capture of five guns, nine vehicles, 50 magazines, 663 cartridges, two communication devices and 10 tire puncturing spikes.

The detained are: Fernando Vazquez Mendoza, who declared himself to be a commander of sicarios that has control of over a 100 delinquents. Julio Cesar Martinez Peirania, who has five safe houses where kidnapping victims are hidden, one of the detained is alleged to be a family member of "El Gafe", one of the heads of Los Ciclones.

El Gafe
Also Jesus Rojas Torres, who told Ministerial Authorities his job was the sale of stolen gasoline, and Guillermo Perez Martinez "El Fursio".

In another action the following were detained: Victor Hugo Cepeda Rodriguez, Manuel Mejia Gallegos, Cristian de Leon Lerma, Jorge Adrian Gutierrez Romero, Jose Luis Cabrera Hernandez and Abraham Mares Romero.

The capture of the first group of criminals, occurred in Matamoros central zone, when the state police carrying out a patrol, spotted a vehicle with four occupants acting suspiciously.

After intercepting them, they found a radio communication devices on which they listened to Halcones, reporting the movements of state and federal forces.

Original article in Spanish at Proceso

Tamaulipas conflict continues, death toll now 21

Posted: 10 Feb 2015 11:47 PM PST

Lucio translated and republished from Milenio

The day of violence in Tamaulipas continues. A couple of shootouts were registered yesterday and Sunday between federal forces and armed civilians, leaving a toll of three suspected criminals killed and one arrested, bringing the total to 21 deaths since February 1, reported the Coordination Group for Public Safety.
Yesterday, just before nine o'clock, a clash occurred in Reynosa; passengers in a truck, which was traveling by the ejido la Retama, towards the town of San Fernando, opened fire on members of the Department of Defense and  Federal Police.

In that conflict, two suspected criminals were killed by security elements, who also arrested a third offender identified as Abraham Linares, 29.
Two rifles, a grenade launcher, cartridges and chargers also seized.
Meanwhile, last Sunday, gunmen attacked military elements on the Reynosa-Matamoros highway, at the junction of La brecha 124, in the municipality of Rio Bravo.
At around 23:45 hours where two vehicles carrying the assailants confronted the military, who repelled the attack. One of the suspects was killed and the rest fled.
On vehicles two rifles, 440 cartridges, 22 magazines, ponchallantas(road tire spikes) and a bulletproof vest, among other articles were found.

'El Grande' gives testimony against Iguala Mayor's wife; "Meetings with ABL"

Posted: 10 Feb 2015 07:34 PM PST

Lucio translated and republished from Reforma

El Grande says Maria and Arturo Beltran Leyva may have had an affair


Eager to strengthen the case of money laundering against Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, wife of the former municipal President of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, the Attorney General office (PGR) resorted to a controversial witness.

The witness is Sergio Villarreal Barragan, "El Grande".

On December 11th SEIDO traveled to the Joe Corley detention center in Conroe Texas, to question Villarreal,  the alleged drug trafficker, who said that the infamous woman had meetings with Arturo Beltran Leyva' "El Barbas"

Additionally, he says, she managed the profits of  her brothers Mario and Alberto Pineda Villa," EL MP" and "El Borrado", operators of the capo, both who were  tortured and murdered for betraying Beltran.

Villarreal said that Maria de los Angeles went to parties, of the Beltran Leyva Cartel leaders and that she was straw man of 'El Borrado",  in purchases of  several Real estate  holdings in the area of Tres Palos, Acapulco.

In 2013, the PGR  agency informed a judge that it couldn't prove the allegations that made by this witness, former  command of the BLO, against the General Tomas Angeles Dauahare and other military, who he linked to  organized crime.

Without corroborating they were then released.

In trials against the federal officers arrested in "Operation Clean", judges and magistrates also determined the statements of Villarreal "unlikely" and "lacking truthfulness", which is the reason why the majority of the defendants were released.

But in the criminal case 105/2014 on the third district court in penal processes of Toluca, against Pineda, PGR says that it does have credibility. 

The trial for laundering money against Pineda Villa rests mainly on financial reports, specifically, from 2009 to 2014 she laundered 17,009,490  pesos in drug trafficking proceeds.

Sergio Villarreal said he was personally aware of Maria de los Angeles meeting, on at least on two occasions, with capo Arturo Beltran Leyva, "El Barbas".

The first one, according to the testimony, was in a meeting on New Year's Eve held in Cuernavaca morelos, near the military headquarters.



Although he said does not remember if that party was in 2007.  "El Grande" said  "El Barbas" was with his girlfriend, named Marcela, as well as his daughters and a sister in law.


Also "EL Borrado" attended with his wife and their two teenage children; 'EL MP" with  his wife Clarisa, and their  two children, as well as Maria, the wife of the former mayor of Iguala.  It appears former mayor Abarca was not in attendance.

The last time Villarreal says to have seen Maria de los Angeles was at  the beginning of 2008 in Cholula Puebla, on the Birthday of the drug trafficker from Guerrero, Jesus Nava Romero, "El Rojo" Beltran's most trusted person, who  died with "El Barbas" (below) in Cuernavaca in December 2009, in an intense shootout with Mexican Marines.

She came with her brothers "El Borrado" and "El MP" to the party, held in celebration of "El Rojo's birthday.  
 
Arturo Beltran Leyva  put his hand on the leg ofPineda's Villa sister, making her blush, he danced several dances with her.
 
"Maria and Beltran Leyva may have shared a romantic relationship, but I am not positive about that", said El Grande, before the Mexican prosecutors at the Texas Prison.

GRO: 2 kidnapping victims still missing from canadian mine project, mine stock declines 8% this week

Posted: 10 Feb 2015 06:15 PM PST

Lucio republished from Bloomberg  other posts on this story link here and here

Initially, Torex,  the mining company,  called the kidnappings"untrue" that any of the kidnapped worked for the Toronto based Company.  They changed their story, and attempted to offer an excuse as to why they distance themselves from the kidnapping, by saying the victims were mostly employees of "independent contractors" contracted for work at the mine, such as brick layers.  Seems Canada learned fast the ways of Mexico, shield the truth, or twist facts.  -Lucio-

Two people were still missing after Mexican (community) police freed 10. 

Rural (community) police  are working with federal officers and the army in the Cocula, Guerrero area to find the two, including a worker at Torex Gold Resources Inc.'s Media Luna gold mine, said a rural deputy commander who gave his name as David. He asked not to be identified, citing security concerns. Torex confirmed that the employee still hasn't been found, and the company's shares fell for the second day since the kidnapping.

The interior ministry said in a statement Sunday that authorities had rescued 10 victims(regional media report 18 kidnapped) and taken two people into custody as suspects in the kidnapping. The ministry made no mention of victims who remained missing and didn't speculate on the motive for the kidnappings. Authorities are using helicopters to comb the surrounding mountains, said a government official with knowledge of the probe who asked not to be named because details aren't public.


"The community and the Army continue to look for more people," Gabriela Sanchez, vice president for investor relations at Toronto-based Torex, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. She declined to give the name of the missing employee.

"We hire a lot of labor, as many people as we can from the local communities. He's one of those hires," she said.


The interior ministry's press office wasn't able to provide the identities of the people who were rescued and David declined to provide access to them.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised better security in states such as Guerrero, where organized crime and poverty are rife. In October, federal police took over responsibility for security in the Cocula area, which includes a garbage dump where authorities say members of the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel burned the bodies of the college students after kidnapping them with help from local police.  [believable to few in Mexico]

Torex, which is building the Media Luna mine, said in a statement on Saturday that one of the people reported missing was on the company's staff and three others were contractors. About 200 people work for the company full-time at the site and 1,200 work for contractors, Sanchez said. Torex hasn't received threats or been the victim of extortion attempts, she said. 
 
Military police dressed in green uniforms and holding assault rifles stopped and examined cars on Monday afternoon along the main hillside road from Cocula to Nuevo Balsas, the village that sits at the foot of the mine. 

Torex shares fell 2.3 percent to C$1.26 at 2:51 p.m. in Toronto after slumping 5.8 percent on Monday. 

 Security problems in Guerrero have hurt operations at some mines and other businesses, prompting the federal government to bolster its security efforts in the state, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters on Tuesday. 

 David, the deputy commander, said locals have faced extortion attempts and other attacks from gangs once Torex pays them for work at Media Luna.
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