Posted on 01/26/2010 9:16:02 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
MERCEDES - One Valley family says they were robbed while visiting Reynosa.
They tell CHANNEL 5 NEWS they went to Mexico to buy a pair of boots. They say when they were about to pay for them, a man snatched the money from their hand.
"He took $200 from his wallet. This man just came and just grabbed the $200. And he didn't even run away or anything he just stood there," says the woman.
She tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS when her husband tried to get the money back, they were surrounded and threatened. She says when they tried to tell police they got nowhere.
According to her, "He said, 'Well too bad, ma'am. I mean, you're not in the United States. You are in Mexico.'"
The family says that will be their last trip into Mexico.
Sheesh. Talk about a dog-bites-man story...
This would be news if the couple went to Mehico and DIDN’T get robbed.
Don’t Americans ever read the news coming out of Mexico????
Today’s NAFBPO report is the usual eye opener. NOte the first one, where ONE Mexican isn’t blaming the USA for the big cartel problem. Also, the growing connection of and agreements between Columbian growers and Mexican suppliers.
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Foreign News Report
Saturday 1/23/10
El Financiero (Mexico City) 1/22/10
The powerful drug market
Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro Garcia Luna asserted that the rising level of violence in Mexico is a consequence of the increase in drug consumption in Mexico that is generating keen interest within the domestic market. He maintains that the growth in drug usage is very large. Just in amphetamines alone, the usage multiplied five times between 2002 and 2008. It is estimated that 1.7 million people use cocaine daily and 3 million Mexicans use marihuana, all of which represents an important internal market. Garcia Luna says that “profits in the dirty drug business are very attractive since each kilogram of cocaine is equivalent to $95,000 just for transporting it from Colombia to the US. He said that in Colombia, the country of production, the kilo of cocaine costs $2,198, but in Mexico the wholesale price is $12,500 and in the US it rises to $97,400, representing a profit of slightly over $95,000. Furthermore, this same kilo that leaves Colombia for Europe can increase in price up to $101,490, representing millions in profits. Comparing the domestic wholesale market in Mexico, Garcia Luna points out that the national total drug consumption (marihuana, cocaine, heroin and synthetic) amounts to a wholesale value of $811.08 million, representing a very compelling economic attraction to the organized criminal gangs, which contributes to the increased violence in the country. Legislators reject Garcia Luna’s assessment, holding firm to the idea that the US is responsible for the increasing violence because of its greater consumption and absence of war between criminal gangs there. [All monetary figures are in US dollars.]
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Cambio de Michoacán (Morelia, Michoacán) 1/22/10
Drugs and arms seizure
The Mexican Army located three clandestine drug laboratories in Michoacán and seized synthetic drugs and an arsenal of weapons. The armament confiscated included 118 40-caliber grenades, 21 firearms, clips and ammo. The operation was carried out in the areas of Cheran, Purepero and Tangancicuaro, Michoacán. [Photo relates.]
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Mayor again wounded in armed attack
The mayor of Tiquicheo, Michoacan, Maria Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, who was gravely injured last October in an armed attack that killed her husband, has again been wounded by an armed group while attending a meeting of regional city officials in Altamirano, Guerrero. She and her entourage were singled out at the gathering by the gunmen. Latest reports are that the mayor will once again survive as well as four others wounded in the attack, including a news correspondent.
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Sunday 1/24/10
El Tiempo (Bogota, Colombia) 1/23/10
Details of pact between FARC and ELN revealed
Details of a pact recently reached between the communist guerilla groups Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were published after El Tiempo learned of them through intelligence sources. The accord supposedly ends the often fractious relationship between the two rebel organizations and brings them into an alliance regarding disputed territories, a problem that has interfered with the trafficking of narcotics. One article of the pact addresses the threat of the “Yankee imperialism” and use of military bases. Although not the central issue of the pact, the representatives of both rebel groups committed themselves to making a joint plan to counter the presence of US personnel in Colombia and their use of Colombian air bases.
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El Debate (Sinaloa) 1/23/10
Another multiple execution in Sinaloa
The bodies of three men were found piled together in an open field near Ahoma, Sinaloa, apparent victims of continuing mob killings. The three were blindfolded, their feet tied and each had been shot in the head.
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Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 1/23/10
Alien smuggling interrupted
An alien smuggler was arrested and five of his clients, all from the state of Oaxaca, were detained for questioning at the bus center in Tecate, Baja California. The alleged smuggler, 18, had charged the five aspiring illegal border crossers $2,000 each for bringing them into the US.
——————–
Monday 1/25/10
El Universal (Mexico City) 1/24/10
Federal judiciary official assassinated
The body of the Official Secretary of the Mexican Federal Judiciary in Veracruz City, Veracruz, was found decapitated and dismembered with a narco message stabbed into her chest. Attorney Nayeli Reyes Santos had been abducted four days before when intercepted in her car by an armed group. The message found attached to her mutilated body was signed “Los Zetas.” Unofficial sources reported her death was related to the arrest last week of a Gulf drug cartel boss.
—–
US applauds departure of Army from Cd. Juarez
Carlos Pascual, US Ambassador to Mexico, applauded the security strategy in Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, that exchanges the military command for Federal Police. Referring to the change as an intelligent and proper measure, he reasoned that the federal agents were better suited for the security job because, unlike the military, they have the legal authority to participate actively in judicial proceedings, collect evidence, cordon areas and introduce evidence. Pascual said that with the military confrontations with narcotraffickers, they either killed the criminals or took them into custody for the purpose of obtaining confessions or more information, but such information was not admissible in a judicial process. ”The number of arrests rose, but the number of cases tried didn’t change,” said the ambassador in an interview with the news agency Notimex.
——————–
El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 1/24/10
Six dead in gun battle
An armed confrontation between the Mexican Army and a group of criminals left at least six dead and others wounded. The fight took place in the town of Doctor Arroyo, Nuevo Leon, in the southern tip of the state. No official information has been released. According to early reports, the fight lasted a little over an hour.
——————–
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 1/24/10
US joins in search for missing children
US authorities have joined in the search for two children swept away in flooding from recent heavy rains in Tijuana. It is considered very possible that the bodies of the two brothers, 2 and 5 years old, could be in US territory. San Diego firemen and the Border Patrol have begun the search on that side of the border. It is hoped that US rescue personnel will be able to provide more information. [Photo relates.]
US border Patrol Agent searches for missing children.
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-end of report-
What on earth possesses someone to “visit Reynosa”?
My friend and I are not such good friends anymore. I don't think the Mexican MSM reports the stuff that is going on down there to the people in Mexico. My friend seems unaware.
Are they Democrats? I was raised on our Texas border, man, what does it take for people to "catch on" to that country? I'm sure you've been reading AuntB's posts, right? Ought to send your friend a few. AuntB has her ear to the ground on this issue.
This is news?
“I am shocked that people still go to Mexico for vacation, but that’s just me.”
The interior of Mexico wasn’t always so bad and I travelled all over Mexico by buses and other public transport along with the natives. I never had a problem and met a lot of nice people who went out of their way to help the very obvious gringo. But no longer - I quit going there 10 years ago as things got meaner. The border towns were always rough, as long as I can remember.
“Don’t Americans ever read the news coming out of Mexico????”
OPINION: Apparently most do not.
In two weeks, I will be in Costa Maya (Chacchoben Mayan ruins) and Cozumel, I am betting the streets will be full of Police and soldiers. They were out in force, when I was in Cabo four months ago.
Thanks for that, I understand. I used to take a contingent of Boy Scouts into Mexico where they take Scouting very seriously, did it for years. As time wore on our friends in Mexico, families that the boys stayed with started dropping hints about the rising crime rate INCLUDING the potential of kidnapping for mega bucks. What better target than some Scouts?
My friends would drive me around showing me where certain gangs of note had tagged buildings, one of the gangs was MS-13. My friend said that when we started seeing those tags in Texas there would be major trouble.
It took awhile then we started seeing the tags and we stopped taking Scouts down there. Some said I was being overly cautious, nope, I said we were using common-sense, my call as Scoutmaster. I’m glad we stopped in light of what’s happening over there, bad enough on OUR side of the “frontier”.
Did mexican scouts come to visit you?
These folks are from Mercedes? Some of the best boots made are made in Mercedes Texas at Rios of Mercedes.
http://www.riosofmercedesboots.com/
Yes, we hosted them several years in a row, lots of fun. We had a traditional "Scout Hut" that we refurbished ourselves, had two over the years and had lots of real projects going on that they were able to join in with us on.
We are in a small Central Texas town, NW of San Antonio. We tried at first to dazzle them with San Antonio, they said they just preferred to "hang out" with us in our rural area, fishing and such. That was pretty stupid of us at first because the Mexican Scouts were from Monterrey! They NEEDED that country activity.
We spent November wandering around Texas and several days in your area....... great place, fantastic folks.
Our troop had a troop we hooked up with in England and there was considerable back and forth. The families still correspond years later.
Scouts are great
I don’t know Star...I know things have changed fast, but 40 yrs ago...problems weren’t there like today.
When I was a kid or young man we went to Mexico to look around buy boots and sombreros or whatever.Drive across park the car, pay a cop to watch the car and come back at 1:00am..whenever we wanted...I don’t remember any trouble at all.
But, big time dangerous now...times have changed since then.
And that was a Texas border also where we went across.Also now in Texas El Paso is having alot of problems.
Different era now,,drug dealers have gotten unmerciful and blatantly killing people.It’s full scale war now.We can stop it if the US government really wanted to.
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