| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2009 
Mexico Security Memo: July 27, 2009
 Stratfor
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July 28, 2009
Cocaine seizure and maritime drug trafficking
The Mexican navy registered one of the country's largest cocaine seizures this past week when it intercepted two small go-fast boats loaded with more than 8 tons of cocaine off the country's southern Pacific coast. In a statement, the Mexican navy said the operation began July 20 when a U.S.-operated P-3 Orion surveillance airplane detected two suspicious vessels operating about 150 miles south-southeast of Huatulco, Oaxaca state.
Several Mexican military aircraft and surface vessels responded to the alert and eventually intercepted a 36-foot open boat loaded with some 5 tons of cocaine and five passengers, including three Mexicans and two Colombians. Then, early on July 21, authorities located the second boat "presumably on land" which contained the remainder of the recovered drugs. No passengers from the second boat were reported arrested, which suggests they escaped, perhaps after successfully unloading some of the cargo.
Further details about the boats - such as how much fuel they had, which Mexican cartel was involved, their points of departure and where they could have been heading - were not released. However, their heavy cargos would have significantly limited their range, making it likely that the boats had left from a nearby spot in Central America - probably Guatemala - and were heading for a destination not much farther than Oaxaca.
This approach matches a trend that STRATFOR has observed over the past year: Mexican cartels' increasing reliance on Central America-based smuggling routes in order to traffic drugs from South America to Mexico. This case is somewhat unique in that it involved much larger quantities of drugs and slightly larger boats than is typical of littoral maritime trafficking. But far more important are the questions over the boats' specific departure and destination points and the Mexican cartel that was involved. Such details will help paint a clearer picture of the routes being managed by specific drug trafficking organizations and give a broader understanding of how Central America's role in drug smuggling could change which territory in Mexico will become strategically important to drug traffickers.
U.S. Border Patrol agent shot to death
U.S. Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas died late July 23 near Campo, Calif., when he was shot multiple times while pursuing several suspects in a rural area by himself. He was found with gunshot wounds in the head and abdomen and with some of his equipment missing. Blood traces from someone other than Rosas reportedly were found at the scene with Rosas' body, leading investigators to suspect that at least one of his assailants had been wounded, perhaps by gunfire.
Later, on July 24, authorities in the nearby Mexican town of Tecate, Baja California state, detained a suspected alien smuggler, who they said was in possession of a pistol issued by the U.S. Border Patrol. Four other suspected members of the smuggling organization were arrested the following day, though Mexican officials have not stated how they might have been involved with Rosas' death.
Based on the information currently available, it appears that Rosas was killed when the alien smuggling suspects he was chasing fired at him, perhaps at close range or during a struggle. This case is a reminder of the potential for Mexican organized crime-related violence on the U.S. side of the border, as well as the specific threat to law enforcement in the United States. STRATFOR has mentioned before that members of Mexican organized crime groups have demonstrated a willingness to engage police in the United States.
Although Rosas' murder was the first shooting death of a Border Patrol agent since 1998 and it is concerning from an officer-safety perspective, his death does not appear to mark a new or elevated threat to law enforcement in the United States. For example, there is no indication that his death was a planned or targeted killing, or that his attackers were armed with the powerful military ordnance characteristic of the violent nature of Mexican drug traffickers and other criminals. To be sure, an officer being shot while pursuing armed suspects is always tragic and a clear reflection of Mexican smugglers' willingness to use violence against police if threatened. But it is still a far cry from a criminal organization in Mexico regularly ordering and carrying out targeted assassinations of police officers in the United States - something the cartels do daily in Mexico. In the meantime, such deaths in the United States can be considered almost inevitable, especially considering that authorities report nearly 50 Border Patrol agents were fired on during 2008.
At least six people were reported killed in separate instances of organized crime-related violence in Sonora state, including one man who was shot multiple times in the border city of Nogales.
July 21
Authorities in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, found the body of a man wrapped in a plastic bag and bearing signs of torture.
Two police officers in Torreon, Coahuila state, were unharmed when several armed men opened fire on the patrol vehicle they were sitting in.
Four people were reported killed in separate incidents in Sinaloa state, including two men who were shot to death by four armed assailants outside a hotel in Choix.
July 22
Authorities in Mexico City identified eight prison inmates as members of a virtual kidnapping gang that had been operating in the city for an unknown period of time.
July 23
Six people, including four investigative police officers, died during a firefight in Tequila, Jalisco state.
Soldiers and gunmen exchanged gunfire in Zitacuaro, Michoacan state, in what authorities believe was a failed attempt to rescue a suspect that had recently been detained.
July 24
Police in Veracruz, Veracruz state, detained two men in possession of a small amount of drugs, a fragmentation grenade and an assault rifle.
Authorities in Mexicali, Baja California state, found the bodies of three people, including a female police officer who was reported missing several weeks before.
Honduran military forces detained 10 people, including five Mexican nationals, in a boat containing some 1,700 pounds of cocaine off the country's Caribbean coast.
July 26
Three unidentified people were shot to death by several armed assailants in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state.
Two men died when they were shot by at least two gunmen while leaving a casino in Zamora, Michoacan state.
A police officer in Hermosillo, Sonora state, found the bodies of three people inside a car. Each appeared to have been shot at least once.
Police in Cusihuiriachi, Chihuahua state, discovered a makeshift grave containing at least three bodies. |
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