Posted on 05/27/2005 7:16:01 AM PDT by Mikey
WASHINGTON Elite Mexican commandos, trained by U.S. forces to combat the drug cartels have switched sides and are working for the drug smugglers in the border area posing a special hazard to American law enforcement and Border Patrol agents, according to a U.S. Justice Department memo.
The commandos, trained by the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, are known as "Los Zetas.".
The Justice Department warning was sent to law enforcement agencies throughout the Southwest..
Using the commando training, Los Zetas are known to be extremely violent and have been blamed for an outbreak of violence along the Mexican border..
There are reports of the commandos making cross-border runs into U.S. territory in military-style vehicles, armed with automatic weapons..
The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars training Los Zetas to intercept drugs, some of them coming from Mexico's southern border, before they could reach the U.S. The U.S. government has also sent U.S. Border Patrol agents to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to train law enforcement and military forces to intercept human smugglers destined to reach the U.S..
"Things like that are a concern to us, especially trained here on the U.S. side," Pima County Sheriff Tony Estrada told KVOA, channel 4 in Tucson, Arizona. "They've gotten pretty special training. ... Now, they are working with drug traffickers on the Mexican side.".
Lt. Ron Benson added: "Not only did they receive some early military training but they developed their own internal training as well increasing their violence far beyond their own original capabilities.".
Benson has worked with the Department of Homeland Security and tracked the rogue Mexican commandos. He is now retiring from the Pima County Sheriff's Department and will be working with the FBI..
"They are a threat to authorities not only in Texas, but in New Mexico, Arizona and California," he said. "Because we believe Los Zetas are being used as protectors for narcotics coming into this country.".
Benson says sons and nephews of Los Zetas are starting their own organization and taking part in the drug wars.
Yep the United States government does it again, trains another dog that turns and bites the hand that feeds it.
Mexico loves to bite us. We need to kick back with steel toe boots.
Nah. Just annex all of Mexico so the whole country becomes subject to US laws and jurisdiction.
What and have the ACLU screaming unfair? [/sarcasm]
Not a problem. Just remember to bring those 'family values', too.
Related Report From http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3366962&nav=23Kua3w1
NBC 5 - Phoenix, AZ - 05.19.2005
MEXICAN DRUG COMMANDOS
They were the elite "special forces" of the Mexican military, trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia and sent to "wipe out" one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels.
But these soldiers deserted and became the muscle for the very cartel they were supposed to destroy.
According to this Department of Justice "Intelligence Bulletin" obtained by the 5i-Team, these rogue commandos now known as "Los Zetas" may be heading our way.
The normally busy streets and busy stores in Nogales Sonora have been a little less bustling lately. Caesar Fierro says, "It's been slow this year." Caesar Fierro says his empty store is the result of rumors about a drug war. Tourists are scared.
Out on the streets, other vendors play down the speculation the Mexican Commandos are already here. Tony Marques says, "The Zetas.. I don't think they'll operate here you know." Marques says, "Maybe in the big cities like Juarez , Tijuana , now you're talking seriously like that."
The Intelligence Bulletin we obtained says the Zetas are responsible for hundreds of violent drug-related murders. It says they've executed journalists, murdered people in Dallas, McAllen and Laredo, Texas. They even detained two DEA agents and recently they've shot at Border Patrol agents. At the Arizona border with Mexico agents are already seeing a major increase in violence.
Jose Garza says, "Last year we had documented only nine shootings against our agents. This year we're up to about 18 shootings already."
Agent Jose Garza says his agents have seen no direct evidence the Zetas are responsible for the shootings here, but as far back as three-years ago, the Zeta-like tactics started to appear.
In March of 2002, U.S. Customs agents were involved in a shootout south of Phoenix with an enemy they had not seen before. Equipped with automatic weapons, body armor, and state-of-the-art communications, in a word - it looked "military."
Kyle Barnette says, "I'd be lying if I didn't say it concerns us."
Now, as a drug war between the Gulf Cartel to the east and the Tijuana Cartel to the west starts to heat up, the Justice Department bulletin warns: "The violence will spill over the Mexican border into the United States and law enforcement agencies in Texas, Arizona and Southern California can expect to encounter Los Zetas in the coming months."
I bet they don wear no steekin badges.
Bad idea! Just giving all these poor people the Earned Income Tax Credit would bankrupt our treasury and that ignores all the other demands 100 million impoverished third worlders would make on our treasury.
And then there is the matter of politics. The former Mayor of Mexico city is the most popular politician in Mexico and the guy is a flaming socialist. You can count on the majority of these people voting Democrat because the Democrats can out-pander the Republicans every time and you can bet they'll be offering lots of freebies.
How many Democratic US Senators would you give Mexico? Based on a population of 100 million we could expect about 150 new Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Lets just guard our border.
We should do it like those remote online hunting sites where you sit at your computer. Shoot, we could get a hundred thousand patriotic Americans to each do a few hours a week, each person monitoring a gun, all from the comfort of your home.
Actually, that's close to what we have in some areas, down in Tucson Sector near Douglas, AZ for example. Right on the border line there are regularly-spaced towers with thermal, low-light, and visible-light scopes. They're remotely monitored, so people don't have to be present in them. One problem they've had is that some are in pretty remote areas, so they've had incidents in which people climb up there and bash the hell out of the equipment. Maybe remotely-operated machine guns for tower defense would be a good idea.
"You can count on the majority of these people voting Democrat because the Democrats can out-pander the Republicans every time and you can bet they'll be offering lots of freebies."
Where have you been...it's a neck and neck race between the dems and republicans on the Great American Give-Away. Bush has created one of the biggest give-aways in history with the medicare prescription plan. It's a plan even democrats could be proud of....
For Christ sake, Militarize that Damned border already and do it YESTERDAY!
-Chris Anderson is only half-joking when he offers a solution for the hungry cormorants that are eating the fish in Leech Lake and taking money out of his pocket. "Kill them all," he says of the voracious, predatory birds.-
OOPS-wrong post! Heh-heh.
ping
They would all vote Democrat.
More bad news from our bad news neighbor to the south.
i would just LOVE to hear a question on this aimed at President Bush during a news conference. wth would he say? that they are just doing jobs American's won't? or that we need to be compassionate? or that we should respect how hard the commandos are willing to work?
but i have a feeling no such question would ever be asked..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.