Posted on 12/16/2009 8:45:10 AM PST by AuntB
The ties between drug cartels and street gangs in Mexico are well-established.
But now, there are signs the cartels are looking to exploit gang connections in the U.S. military.
But Apodaca’s past caught up with him this summer. He’s now facing capital murder charges for the contract killing of a drug cartel informant in El Paso.
"They picked him because of his background. Before he went in the military, he was a member of a gang – the east side whatever,....
The Department of Defense doesn’t deny there are gang members in the military ranks....
The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division said there have been a few dozen felony-level criminal cases worldwide in the past few years.
"The troubling trend from my perspective is that if you do have a former or active duty or reserve military that’s engaged in this kind of activity, it brings a level of discipline as well as military training and military bearing," Fred Burton of Stratfor Global Alliance said..
"What’s potentially even more dangerous in this situation is you have people who have been trained and actually seasoned by combat itself. With that potential in place we have to definitely pay attention to it and stay on top of it," El Paso Police Chief.....
Another gang-related shooting recently erupted near a popular El Paso night spot. The suspected gunman and two victims were all soldiers at Fort Bliss.
The cases may grow along with Fort Bliss. The Army will add 13,000 soldiers to the El Paso post in the next few years.
The military has banned all personnel from traveling to Mexican border towns, but that didn’t stop a Holloman Air Force Base staff sergeant from visiting a Mexican strip club. David Booher was among six people gunned down at the club in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...
Soldiers sworn in as U.S. citizens
[snip] On Monday, Prado was one of 19 foreign-born soldiers -- seven from Cuba -- who became U.S. citizens during a special ceremony in Kendall before they deploy overseas.
The ceremony comes on the eve of when the Congress is set to introduce the latest bill to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants who have been unable to obtain immigration status after illegally crossing the border or overstaying a visa.
On Tuesday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., is planning to file the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, a bill that may be embraced by the White House when President Obama is ready to pitch immigration reform.
Immigrant soldiers receive expedited naturalization. A recent report from the Immigration Policy Center said that as of June 30 there were 114,601 foreign-born individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces or about 7.91 percent of the 1.4 million military personnel on active duty.
And between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009, 10,505 immigrant soldiers became citizens, the report said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1381853.html
So the next massacre on a military base will be by a Mexican American yelling viva Zapata? Somehow that just doesn’t seem likely, but....
Or Yo Quera Taco Bell
This is true! I did not know that the Texas Army National Guard had been infiltrated until we were called to support the Border Patrol. The problem was rectified immediately.
Ah, diversity!
What are you talking about? The article made no such reference.
There are 1 million documented gang members in the US. Of them, 500,000 are of Latino/Hispanic origin.
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