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A Zetas leader arrested in the streets of Nuevo Laredo is being accused of masterminding the Falcon Lake murder of American tourist David Hartley and the massacres in San Fernando. Mexican marines arrested Salvador Alfonso Martínez-Escobedo in Nuevo Laredo around 7 p.m. Saturday. Martinez-Escobedo, who goes by the nickname "La Ardilla" or "The Squierrel", is reported to be a regional commander for the Zetas drug cartel. Mexican Navy officials report he escaped from gun battle with marines that left one person dead in the San Agustin subdivision early Saturday morning. Marines found Martinez-Escobedo hours later in an SUV in the...

Twelve Zapata county residents have been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly conspiring to traffic marijuana meth and crack cocaine and conspiring to smuggle cash into Mexico. The raids happened on June 10, 2010 in Zapata, Texas. An 11-count indictment accuses all 12 of conspiring together for the last five years beginning in June of 2006 and most recently on April 4th of this year. It also induces a notice of intent to forfeit approximately 18-million dollars from those arrested as proceeds of the alleged illegal trafficking activity. The indictment is the result of an over three year investigation of...

DENVER -The Colorado woman whose husband was allegedly killed in Mexico says Americans became more aware of border violence. Tiffany Hartley met in Denver with the Texas sheriff who investigated the shooting of her husband David Hartley. Zapata County Texas Sheriff "Sigi" Gonzales was the first to blame Mexican drug cartels for killing David Hartley and nearly killing his wife. The sheriff has been in office for 16 years in Zapata County and he says the last five years have been far worse than ever before. "Saturday and Sunday of last week was total war between the cartels and the...

ZAPATA - A dozen Border Patrol boats, including some from the Valley are now in Zapata. They will be used to patrol and protect Falcon Lake. The increase comes after the disappearance and presumed murder of David Hartley. Both the Mexican and American governments are still searching for his body. People who live along Falcon Lake say the increased security helps. Still, they'd like to see even more. "I think they can do a lot better and bring more troops so that we can have the homeland security. We need more law enforcement around the border," says Leo Cuellar. No...

ZAPATA - Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr. tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS armed pirates shot at a McAllen couple on Falcon Lake this afternoon. The husband and wife were jetskiing near Old Guerrero. One their way back to shore, pirates in a boat pulled up next to them and started shooting at them. The husband was hit, possibly in the head. The woman tried to save him and ended up being at shot as well. She had to turn around and leave her husband in the water. She fears he's dead.

Authorities foil an attempted kidnapping and murder, with the Zapata County Sheriff's Department arresting five men believed to be drug cartel members. The Zapata County Sheriff's Department received information on Friday that five men were planning a kidnapping in Zapata. The sheriff along with Texas Rangers and Border Patrol set surveillance for two days at a mobile home, on Saturday deputies saw a vehicle they believed to be connected delivering food to the home. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested 30-year-old Arturo Cisneros of Zapata, for no driver's license. Also 33 year old Ariel Perez Mendoza from Toluca, Mexico,...

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The defense department says it is investigating reports of a Mexican military helicopter seen flying in Texas. Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez says several people reported seeing the aircraft on Sunday flying over an RV park near Zapata, some 100 miles northwest of McAllen on the border with Mexico.

ZAPATA - Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr. says a Mexican Military Helicopter was seen crossing into U.S. airspace around 3:30 Sunday afternoon. A number of witnesses including a justice of the peace reported the helicopter as it hovered over Zapata County. The witnesses say the helicopter was flying pretty low. This is the second time this month a Mexican Military helicopter has crossed into South Texas. The first was a over Falcon Heights, about 14 miles from Roma. Witnesses there say the chopper hovered over a home that used to belong to a drug dealer before flying back to...

More than 300 votes were discovered during a Zapata County recount in the District 28 congressional battle, giving Laredo's Henry Cuellar a slight lead over U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez. The votes apparently came from one of the two early vote boxes, according to officials with the Zapata County Elections Department. It was unclear this afternoon how large Cuellar's lead is. The discovery of the missing votes is highly suspicious, according to Rodriguez. “There's no doubt that there's some fraud going on, some illegal activities,” he said today. Rodriguez is planning to file a lawsuit contesting the recount results, said his...