Free Republic

A young woman sits cross-legged on the ground laughing playfully as she is fed a lychee. Another plays cards in pair of baggy pink pyjamas. The moving images could show any group of young women as they go about their daily lives in prison. But just hours - and in some cases minutes - after the pictures were taken, each of the four women were led into a concrete yard and executed.

“I have learned to live with trash,” said fifth-generation Arizona rancher Jim Chilton.He saw his once-beautiful ranch, just a few miles from the border with Mexico, is now dotted with clusters of crushed trees and cactus, whole hillsides have been turned into charred eyesores, years worth of his award-winning conservation projects obliterated — and the whole thing is littered with trash, tons and tons of trash. And some of the trash was dead bodies. Chilton had the misfortune of settling in the path of what would become a dangerous drug- and human-smuggling route on the U.S.-Mexican border, parallel with the...

A one-vehicle accident on rural Highway 141 on Monday triggered a search through the desert for passengers and eventually led to the arrest of one man for suspicion of human smuggling and the pending deportation of four of the passengers. Juan Denys Hernandez Varenez, a Cuban national, has been charged with four counts of smuggling of humans, a class 3 felony. The San Miguel Sheriff’s Office suspects that he was smuggling four undocumented foreigners to the Denver area when the sedan he was driving crashed. All of the passengers, including a 20-year-old female from Grand Junction whose involvement is unknown,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents trying to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border say they're hampered by laws that keep them from driving vehicles on huge swaths of land because it falls under U.S. environmental protection, leaving it to wildlife — and illegal immigrants and smugglers who can walk through the territory undisturbed. A growing number of lawmakers are saying such restrictions have turned wilderness areas into highways for criminals. In recent weeks, three congressional panels, including two in the GOP-controlled House and one in the Democratic-controlled Senate, have moved to give the Border Patrol unfettered access to all federally managed lands...

GENEVA — Swiss customs officials say they intercepted a man at Zurich airport carrying hundreds of endangered spiders in his luggage. Customs officials found 261 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas packed into individual plastic bags inside six boxes belonging to a Swiss man arriving from the Dominican Republic in August.

The son of a former Los Angeles fire chief was charged Monday with bribing a federal Transportation Security Administration officer at Los Angeles International Airport to help him smuggle marijuana past security on nine separate trips. Millage Peaks IV admitted to FBI agents that he and his associates made the trips with the aid of a TSA officer, whom they paid $5,000 to $6,000 in bribes to avoid detection... Peaks and TSA Officer Dianne Perez were arrested on bribery charges Sunday following what the FBI said was his most recent attempt ... Perez, a TSA officer for seven and a...

EL PASO, Texas -- Comments made about border security by former drug czar, retired general Barry McCaffrey, at a U.S. House subcommittee Friday caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso. "I really believe that it had a political purpose," said Reyes. McCaffrey testified that he participated in a seminar-style meeting in El Paso within the last 18 months alongside "100 people" from El Paso and Mexico. The topic was the threat of drug cartel-connected criminals operating in Texas. "People from both sides of the border said they feel intimidated and a senior police official in the city...

Carlos Martinez Gutierrez got caught smuggling three Mexican children into California. Now, his travails have reached the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the court agreed to hear Gutierrez's case and another that raise questions potentially crucial for other children of illegal immigrants. If Gutierrez wins, some immigrants may find it easier to avoid removal and stay in the United States.

The Italian government has blocked an investigation into the whereabouts of a massive consignment of weapons removed from a military depot in the Mediterranean, amid speculation that the cargo was secretly supplied to Libya. The weapons were from a consignment that included 30,000 Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifles, 32m rounds of ammunition, 5,000 Katyusha rockets, 400 Fagot wire-guided anti-tank missiles and some 11,000 other anti-tank weapons. They were transferred from a store on the island of Santo Stefano, off the north coast of Sardinia, and transported to the mainland where they were loaded onto army trucks , a source familiar with...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The former mayor of the New Mexico border town of Columbus has pleaded guilty to federal gun smuggling charges. ........

CHITA, July 8 (RIA Novosti) Customs authorities in Russia's Far East have launched a criminal case against a Chinese citizen who attempted to smuggle spare parts for Russian MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters last year, a customs' spokesperson said on Friday. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was caught at one of the border checkpoints in Transbaikal region in July last year. Customs officials found six stepping motors, two piston pumps, 54 connectors, an elapsed-time meter and other parts in the trunk of his car. "It took experts from the Defense Ministry almost a year to prove that the...

The State of Georgia’s attempt to enforce the nation’s laws against illegal immigration has netted it a lawsuit filed by the government of Mexico. It is the Mexican government’s contention that the Georgia law unconstitutionally interferes with international commerce. “The transport of people and commodities from Mexico to anywhere in the United States is a matter solely under the discretion of the United States federal government,” said Juan Malhechor, Deputy Minister of Commerce for the Mexican government. “The State of Georgia has no authority to interdict this trade.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) rndorsed the Mexican government’s suit. “The...

Italy unlaces N.Korea attempt to smuggle tap shoes Wed Jun 1, 2011 2:44pm GMT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Italy foiled an attempt by North Korea to import tap-dancing shoes in breach of a U.N. ban on the sale of luxury goods to Pyongyang, according to a U.N. report on the enforcement of sanctions against the North. The report said that many banned goods reached North Korea via an unnamed trans-shipment hub, which Western U.N. envoys speaking on condition of anonymity said was located in China. Although it has been leaked to the media, China has objected to...

SW area issues warning for firefighters working near US/Mexico border Written by Bill on June 2nd, 2011 In what seems to be an annual occurrence, the Southwest Geographic Area has issued another “Safety Alert” with the subject: “US – Mexico Border Fire Operations Safety”. Saying the border area has become “increasingly dangerous” to firefighters, they listed in the two-page document some watchout situations: “These are potential situations firefighters could encounter: 1. Illegal immigrant and smugglers warming fires have started wildland fires. 2. Illegal activity along the border has involved “copy cat vehicles” painted to look like agency vehicles. 3. Radios...

A humanitarian group said on Tuesday it has given emergency GPS location devices to Mexican human smugglers in a controversial bid to save immigrants' lives as they break into increasingly remote desert stretches of the U.S. border this summer. Rev. Robin Hoover, founder of Tucson-based Humane Borders, said he gave five cell-phone sized location beacons to a church group in Mexico's northern Sonora state earlier this month to distribute to human smugglers, known as "coyotes." The aim is for the coyotes to use the devices to summon rescue if they get into trouble as they guide migrants on the dangerous...

(Reuters) - Three employees of a tough Arizona sheriff were arrested on Tuesday on charges that they helped a drug and human smuggling organization from Mexico, authorities said. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said one deputy and two county detention officers were among 16 people arrested on Tuesday on charges including assisting in a criminal syndicate, illegal control of an enterprise, human smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering. Arpaio, who styles himself as "America's toughest sheriff" and is known for operations cracking down on illegal immigrants across the Phoenix valley, said the arrests followed a tip received a year ago....

I wanted to ask a question about something I saw looking out my window. Last week about 2 am my cat wakes me wanting his food dish brought out so he can eat. Since I could not go right back to sleep, I got on the computer. I had open a blade on mini blinds to see outside. So about 3 am a white commercial looking box truck pulls up. (Next door are some hispanics ) The truck pulls up, the driver quickly gets out of truck walks quickly to back of truck to open it, it had the pull...

More than 600 pounds of marijuana seized HIDALGO — A late-night chase Monday left one smuggler dead and led to the seizure of more than 600 pounds of marijuana. The smuggler has been identified only as a 25-year-old Mexican national because authorities are working with the Mexican Consulate to identify the immediate family, Hidalgo police Capt. Roberto Vela said. The chase began about 10:45 p.m., when an Hidalgo police officer spotted a black 1995 Chevrolet Suburban parked next to a manhole at the intersection of International Boulevard and Esperanza Avenue, Vela said. “Information that we have received is that certain...

Border Patrol agents recently arrested 13 illegal immigrants disguised as U.S. Marines and riding in a fake military van, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday. The illegal immigrants were clad in Marine uniforms when they were apprehended at the Campo Border Patrol Westbound I-8 checkpoint at 11 p.m. on March 14 near Pine Valley, Calif., border officials said. Two U.S. citizens in the van also were arrested. After the suspicious white van was subjected to secondary inspection, it was determined that the driver of the vehicle and its front seat passenger were U.S. citizens who were attempting to smuggle...

TUCSON — Nogales station Border Patrol agents prevented nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition from being smuggled out of the United States and into the hands of transnational criminal organizations in Mexico on Sunday. Agents from the Nogales Border Patrol station responded to reports of three suspicious individuals dressed in black carrying backpacks just north of the International Boundary Fence (IBF). Upon arrival, agents observed one subject fitting the description running south, leaving behind three backpacks. At the same time, operators using a Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS) observed two other subjects absconding into Mexico over the IBF. During an inspection...