Occupy Wall Street continues in full force; some labor unions announce they will join

The movement shows no sign of abating. Mirror demonstrations are already underway or being planned in other cities across the United States. I don't read palms or Tarot cards, but I predicted the likelihood of this -- and worse -- just a few weeks ago. Here's why Occupy Wall Street is happening, and how it could rapidly spin out of control (don't think the U.S. government is not watching the protests very closely -- it is): http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/08/at-the-edge-of-the-precipice/.

Les recomiendo leer también un buen articulo por Eng. Raúl Ponce de León Curmina: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/espanol/2011/10/la-toma-de-wall-street-un-sentimiento-compartido/.

The make believe world of Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte

On September 23 I posted a brief note about Veracruz governor Javier Duarte, "a man out of touch with reality." That was right after 35 bodies had been casually dumped out of cattle trucks one afternoon, on one of the city's principal avenues, and in full view of rush hour traffic no less. Ordinarily I wouldn't beat up on the same guy twice in as many weeks, but Duarte is such a complete clown that he has it coming (that's him in the photo, chuckling in front of the Scales of Justice).

Tonight (October 4) Duarte appeared in a national television interview on Milenio, a major Mexican network. He was finely dressed in a very dark business suit, a carefully knotted tie and of course, the indispensable Mexican flag lapel pin. He looked every bit like a U.S. presidential candidate, grinning ear to ear and never once even marginally answering the questions. A very smooth and confident speaker, by the way, albeit with zero content.

About those 35 nude corpses dropped off downtown (and 14 more dumped nearby two days later)? Well, the governor doesn't have any real news to report yet, but "everything is being diligently investigated with the ultimate end of securing justice in this unfortunate matter." And about the security these days in Veracruz (one of the three or four most dangerous places in all of Mexico)? Said Duarte, "Really, it's all a matter of perception. The city is full (of tourists), the hotels are full, the restaurants are full, why, I was just out Saturday night with my family, we walked along the boardwalk, friends and constituents waved to me and greeted me, we stopped at a little coffee shop to eat, it was wonderful, and I didn't even have a single security person with me." All of this in Veracruz, a city of death, where there is enormous corruption and infiltration by the drug cartels (of course, Duarte says that everybody in police and local government has been thoroughly checked out, and they're all "clean").

As I said two weeks ago, Javier Duarte, ever the beaming politician, lives in a world of his own design. Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte is a man out of touch with reality: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2011/09/veracruz-governor-javier-duarte-man-out.html).

FN: Javier Duarte wants to jail anybody who sends out "erroneous information" via Twitter messages or Facebook posts. Just a few days ago he was pushing for such legislation in Veracruz -- and his government would get to decide just what is "erroneous." Details here: (Mexico Should Proceed With Caution In “Twitter Terror” Cases: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.mx/2011/11/mexico-should-proceed-with-caution-in.html).

Federal troops take over police functions in Veracruz - 1,000 cops dismissed: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2011/12/federal-troops-take-over-police.html.

U.S. Congressional hearing focuses on bitter cartel power struggle in Mexico; whether to declare narcos "terrorists"

Oct. 4 - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made a lot of news today. Most of it was bad (see my two posts immediately below). To top things off, DEA director Rodney Benson appeared on Capitol Hill and testified before a House of Representatives subcommittee which had convened to review the status of Mexican president Felipe Calderon's five year old war against the drug cartels. The committee is also looking at the U.S.-Mexico Mérida Initiative, a 2007 mutual security pact between the two nations which carries a $1.6 billion dollar price tag. Mexico is still awaiting most of the money promised under the initiative.

Director Benson told the legislators there are four main organized crimes groups in Mexico today: the Gulf cartel, the Sinaloa cartel, the Familia Michocana (Michocan Family) and Los Zetas (the Zs). The first three have entered into an informal alliance to take on Los Zetas, whose power and terror are rapidly spreading throughout Mexico. Until 2008, Los Zetas ("Z's") served as the "enforcer" of the Gulf cartel, but later branched out on its own in a bitter struggle for control of drug routes leading north to the United States. It's known for unbridled violence and extreme brutality. The government says that most of the Zetas are former elite special forces troops of the Mexican military

The House subcommittee is also considering legislation which would declare the cartels terrorist organizations under U.S. law, just as was Columbia's FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) during president Bill Clinton's administration. Such a designation would be more than just symbolic. It would enable several federal agencies to directly participate in the war against the cartels, and would authorize the seizure of cartel assets anywhere within the United States and its territories.

For more details on the Mérida Initiative, read here: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-us-ambassador-to-mexico-stands.html.

U.S. Attorney General in the cross-hairs over Fast and Furious; Republicans demand investigation; Mexico outraged over latest news of DEA & ATF programs

The Republican Chair of the House Judiciary Committee today demanded that a special counsel be appointed to investigate whether U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder lied when he told Senate investigators earlier this year that he was unaware of the secret DEA Fast and Furious arms sale program until March or April 2011. For details on Fast and Furious, and a similar program called Wide Receiver operated by the ATF in 2006 and 2007, use the MGRR search engine to locate numerous articles.

"Allegations that senior Justice Department officials may have intentionally misled Members of Congress are extremely troubling and must be addressed by an independent and objective special counsel," wrote U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, in a letter to President Barack Obama released today.

Attorney General Holder told a congressional committee on May 3, 2011 that he had only been aware of the existence of Fast and Furious for "several weeks." But Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, says that Holder knew about the program by no later than January 31, because the two men discussed the case on that date. Email and documentary evidence in the hands of a Senate committee investigating Fast and Furious indicate that Holder likely knew about both Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver by October 2010, and perhaps even earlier. There has been no reaction from the White House to today's developments.

Mexican officials continued to express dismay over both programs. A PAN (National Action Party) senator said today, "the United States shares a great deal of responsibility for the blood bath taking place in Mexico. It's as if they're trying to destabilize our country."

Can guns really walk from the U.S. to Mexico? Federal agents say they can

Two U.S. agencies may arguably be out of control when it comes to their participation in Mexico’s war against the drug cartels. By "participation," I mean on the wrong side of the war.

Earlier this year we learned that federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents deliberately allowed the sale of assault weapons to drug dealers or their purchasing agents in the United States, with full knowledge that the military grade firearms were headed to Mexico. The idea was to track the weapons and “monitor their use” (transponder microchips were actually embedded in them). When the program was revealed, some heads rolled – although three officials who were major proponents of “Fast and Furious,” as it was known, were recently promoted. A U.S. Senate subcommittee has the matter under investigation, and it’s probable there will be some indictments out of the mess.

Barack Obama and his top man in the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured), have denied that they knew anything about Fast and Furious before the rest of the world learned of it in 2011. But now there is evidence that suggests the contrary. Email and other documents being reviewed by the Senate committee have revealed that even before Fast and Furious, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents had used a similar program called "Wide Receiver," with much the same purpose. In “Wide Receiver,” which lasted from 2006 to 2007, firearms were allowed to be “walked into” Mexico – that’s the term used by ATF agents – where they were delivered to criminal organizations. The ATF referred to the weapons as “lost” in internal documents. Most of the firearms in Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver were sold in Arizona, in locations close to the border. The paper trail under review by Senate investigators establishes that both programs were known to top Justice Department officials by October 2010 at the latest, well before Fast and Furious was publicly busted earlier this year.

Between 2,000 and 2,500 assault weapons were sold to the cartels under Fast and Furious. Only about 700 have been accounted for.

One Justice Department official investigating both secret arms sales programs, quoted in today’s Los Angeles Times, said "It's not going to be any big surprise that a bunch of U.S. guns are being used in Mexico." In reference to the unaccounted for firearms, he expressed optimism that officials wouldn’t "catch a lot of grief for their gone walking strategy," since people would understand that agents were just trying to track the cartels. "Walking the weapons" was a term repeatedly used by ATF agents in Wide Receiver, according to the Times.

Although the documents indicate that Attorney General Holder knew of both operations by the last quarter of 2010, he has told congressional members that he did not learn of Fast and Furious until March or April of 2011.

Here's an earlier article on the subject: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/two-us-officials-quit-over-fast-and.html.

Mas detalles en español: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/10/%e2%80%9creceptor-abierto%e2%80%9d-mas-armas-perdidas-en-manos-del-narco/.

No U.S. troops in Mexico, says ambassador

Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhán, made it clear today that U.S. troops would never be invited into the country to help fight the ongoing war against drug cartels. Campaigning in New Hampshire yesterday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested just that possibility (see my post below). "It's not on the table," Sarukhán said during a press conference in Washington. The ambassador noted that Mexico and the U.S. are already using "extremely innovative measures to confront transnational organized crime."
As a campaign theme, it looks like Perry's suggestion is dead on arrival.

56% of Mexican undocumenteds arrested in U.S. are repeat offenders

The numbers were published in today's New York Times, which said that many undocumenteds now regard the United States as their permanent home. Although economic opportunities in Mexico have notably improved in recent years, illegals are prepared to take significant risks by repeatedly crossing the frontier so that they can unite with family members in the U.S. Undocumented persons are arrested and deported, but more than half eventually return in what the Times calls the "yo-yo effect." The rate was up from 44% in 2005.
It is estimated that 11 million undocumented persons live in the United States, of which about 60%, or 6.6 million, are Mexican.

More violence in Guerrero state; bodies dumped in popular beach town

Zihuatanejo is a city in Guerrero state on Mexico's Pacific coast, about 150 miles northwest of Acapulco. It has become a popular tourist destination in recent years, offering unspoiled beaches and beautiful coastal views coupled with a small town feel. It is also a cruise ship port of call. The drug war horrors of places like Acapulco and Veracruz have seemed distant events in Zihuatanejo.

But this morning about 2:00 a.m., an anonymous call alerted police to seven bodies laying next to one another at a town bus stop, their feet bound together. All had been shot. The area was quickly secured by soldiers stationed in the region. The identities of the victims have not yet been established, but there is little doubt that this is the work of a cartel.

In Acapulco, nine other persons were executed today in separate, unrelated incidents.

A sad anniversary for Mexico: 43 years since the mass murders of students in Tlatelolco, Mexico City

On October 2, 1968, hundreds of high school and university students gathered near a large public housing project in Mexico City. Their purpose was to stage a protest. Probably they had multiple social and political issues on their agenda that day. 1968 was very much a year of student protests worldwide.

In the early evening the protestors were surrounded by thousands of armed Mexican troops, backed by armored vehicles. With virtually no provocation, the soldiers opened fire shortly after 6:00 p.m. Protestors were mowed down and bodies fell on all sides. Others, including journalists, bystanders and people who simply lived in the area, were likewise executed. The killings went on for hours. To this day, the Mexican government avoids the topic like a plague, and refuses to make available meaningful details on exactly how the events unfolded -- and why.

Justice has most assuredly not been done in this case.

Photo: Memorial to the dead, where "The Sad Night" is commemorated every year.

When Texas yet belonged to Mexico - The Battle of Gonzales

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Gonzales -- the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution (1835-1836). This fascinating account comes from Wikipedia and is worth the reading, especially if you're a history buff:

"The Battle of Gonzales was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texan settlers and a detachment of Mexican army troops.

"In 1831, Mexican authorities gave the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales a weapon and requested the return of the cannon.

"When the initial request was refused, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon using peaceful means. The soldiers neared Gonzales on September 29, but the colonists used a variety of excuses to keep them from the town, while secretly sending messengers to request assistance from nearby communities. Within two days, up to 140 Texans gathered in Gonzales, all determined not to give up the cannon. On October 1, settlers voted to initiate a fight. Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texans approached their camp in the early hours of October 2. After several hours of desultory firing, Mexican soldiers withdrew.

"Although the skirmish had little military significance, it marked a clear break between the colonists and the Mexican government and is considered to have been the start of the Texas Revolution. News of the skirmish spread throughout the United States, where it was often referred to as the "Lexington of Texas". The cannon's fate is disputed. It may have been buried and rediscovered in 1936, or it may have been seized by Mexican troops after the Battle of the Alamo."

[Top image: battle flag raised by Gonzales settlers; map shows Gonzales' location]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he'd send U.S. troops to Mexico

A few days ago I ran a post quoting Governor Rick Perry's tough "boots on the ground" warning to Mexico. Campaigning in New Hampshire today, Perry repeated the same theme -- only now those boots could be marching right across the border and into Mexico. The governor says that the level of narco violence is so extreme that military cooperation with Mexican forces may be required. "By exterminating the cartels we can secure our borders," said Perry. But his campaign spokesman emphasized that the governor wants to cooperate with the Mexican government in any joint endeavor.

No response yet by Mexican officials, but president Felipe Calderon is on record as saying that it's unnecessary and would be inappropriate for U.S. military personnel to participate directly in the five year old drug war here. Some experts say that to date, that war has cost over 40,000 Mexican lives.

Perry's proposal is sure to generate controversy in the months ahead, on both sides of the border. Mexico, too, will have a presidential election in 2012.

For Rick Perry's previous tough guy talk, click here: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/texas-governor-rick-perrys-big-threat.html

"We can't win this battle without the U.S."

That's what Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, Governor of Mexico's Federal District, said today in a press conference . Ebrard will likely be a candidate on the PRD (Democratic Revolution Party) ticket in next year's presidential contest. Referring to the drug war, Ebrard said "The truth is, it will be very difficult to win a battle of this size without the participation of the United States." He offered no specifics on what form that help should take, but he emphasized that if the U.S. doesn't bring its own demand for drugs under control, nothing in Mexico will change. The latter is a familiar refrain of current Mexican president Felipe Calderon.
The so-called Mérida Initiative, which became law in the U.S. in June 2008, contains provisions for training and equipping Mexican forces and for intelligence gathering and sharing. The name derives from meetings held by former President George Bush and President Calderon in Mérida, Yucatán several years ago.
The U.S. pledged Mexico about $1.5 billion in direct aid under the plan, but the money has been very slow in arriving despite unprecedented levels of violence in many regions of the country. Mexican officials have increasingly complained about delays in promised funds and assistance. The new U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Earl Anthony Wayne, told Senators at his July 20 confirmation hearing that Mexican legislators were of a “strong consensus” that the Mérida Initiative must continue. While admitting the plan has its critics, Wayne said “I’ve not heard other alternatives that we could put into effect.” He told Senators that after Mexico’s 2012 elections he plans to meet with new government officials in an effort to accelerate the initiative, which presumably would include a release of more funds.
Some critics of the Mérida Initiative have complained of its extraordinary cost in a time of prolonged recession and resultant budget slashing. Others have pointed to an apparent lack of success in Mexico’s drug war, and have compared the initiative to the similar Plan Colombia implemented 15 years ago, with mixed results. It is far from certain how much Mérida Initiative money Mexico will receive during the remaining months of Calderon’s presidency, which ends in December 2012.
More on Mexico's political parties and the 2012 presidential election here: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/07/mexicos-2012-presidential-election-364-days-and-counting/
More on the new U.S. ambassador to Mexico: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/08/new-u-s-ambassador-to-mexico-stands-behind-merida-initiative/

Abortion likely to be revisited in Mexico

Abortion is an issue which appears to be never permanently resolved. It is as much a hot button social and political topic as it is legal. This week the Supreme Judicial Court of Mexico considered challenges to laws in the states of Baja California and San Luis Potosí, which define human life as beginning at the moment of conception. Those statutes provide criminal penalties for abortion, as do laws in 15 of Mexico's other states.

The laws just missed being struck down as unconstitutional -- by one vote. Seven judges of the Supreme Court --they're called ministers here -- voted to invalidate the anti-abortion provisions. They argue that states are not free to arbitrarily define when sustainable life begins since that question, in their view, is fundamentally a medical rather than a legal issue. They also contend that the laws interfere with a woman's decision to make decisions, together with her physician, which affect her own health and well-being. Those are classic arguments against anti-abortion legislation which have been presented in many countries over the years. In fact, they precisely summarize why the United States Supreme Court struck down most anti-abortion statutes in the U.S. 40 years ago.

The four dissenting ministers in this week's Mexican Supreme Court ruling found that the country's constitution -- as well as treaties and international legal principles implicitly if not expressly incorporated within it -- provide for the protection of life from the moment of conception. But although the dissenters were far outnumbered, their side still won -- because eight votes are necessary to rule unconstitutional the legislation of a state.

Yesterday one of the Court's two female justices, Olga Sánchez Cordero, was interviewed by a major national television network. She predicted, in net effect, that the issue will soon return to the Supreme Court, although in a different type of legal challenge -- one brought directly by a woman facing prosecution for getting or wanting to get an abortion. Minister Cordero made no secret of her own views on the issue, or of her belief that eventually, abortion will be legal throughout the country.

Abortion is lawful in Mexico's federal district up to 12 weeks. Some Mexican states have no abortion legislation at all.

Los Matazetas are just a competing drug gang, says Mexican government

Mexico's new press secretary for national security matters, Alejandra Sota, says that Los Matazetas -- the self-proclaimed "Zeta Killers" who first surfaced a week ago via an internet posted video -- are just a competing organized crime group.

During a September 29 news conference Sota suggested that the Matazetas may want a share of the lucrative drug trade in Veracruz, and are prepared to challenge other cartels, principally Los Zetas, for the prime territory. In the widely shown video, Los Matazetas said their members were "anonymous, faceless fighters, proud to be Mexican." They referred to the public dumping of 49 bodies on Veracruz streets in late September, and said they were prepared to respond and extract vengeance on behalf of terrified citizens there.

Sota denied that Los Matazetas constitute a paramilitary force, and added that "insofar as the government can tell, Mexico does not have any group which could properly be called paramilitary." She also said the government doesn't believe Los Matazetas had anything to do with the murders of the dozens of victims in Veracruz.

Los Matazetas video uploaded to YouTube Sept. 24, 2011. The speaker says, "We are faceless warriors, and proudly Mexican."

Paramilitary groups on the rise in Mexico; a serious threat to both sides of border

A report issued by the Institute of Strategic Studies of the United States War College concludes that paramilitary groups in Mexico represent the "third generation of crime, and present a serious threat to the authority of the State." Such groups are frequently employed by and affiliated with the drug cartels, but are larger and more powerful, said the study. The report also noted that paramilitaries have made incursions into U.S. territory while supporting or guarding drug trafficking activities. The report quoted a former U.S. State Department official who has said that "not since the days of the Mexican Revolution has [border] violence presented such a disturbing challenge to the United States."
The author of the Institute's report, Hal Brands, argues that the United States should treat Mexico's drug related violence as a true political insurgency, a position which the U.S. has officially declined to adopt. "The well financed cartels are waging war against the government to control drug routes north towards the United States," Brands argues, adding that the paramilitaries are terrorists who have effectively adopted classic guerrilla tactics. He noted in the report that drug cartels like Los Zetas use the paramilitaries as "private armies, technologically advanced, sophisticated and particularly brutal and violent." By committing spectacular crimes widely reported throughout Mexico, they even "control the flow of information."
In recent days Mexican officials have flatly denied that paramilitary forces exist within the country, characterizing them instead as ordinary criminals.
[Photo: Mexican Revolutionary War Hero Emiliano Zapata Salazar (August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919)]