US trucker arrested in Mexico with 268,000 bullets charged with smuggling military ammunition

The Washington Post: "The Mexican government has charged a U.S. truck driver caught with 268,000 rounds of ammunition at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez with smuggling military ammunition, U.S. embassy officials in Mexico said Thursday.

Jabin Bogan, 27, of Dallas, is confined to the Villa Aldama federal prison in the state of Veracruz and could face up to 35 years in prison, the embassy said in a statement. Bogan was trying to drive the truck across the border from El Paso, Texas, when Mexican customs inspectors found the assault rifle ammunition, according to authorities. read more

'Murder Capital of the World': Sobering take on Mexico's drug war

The Seattle Times: "We've all seen the news reports: Across the border of El Paso, Texas, the city of Juárez, Mexico, has become a war zone where bloodbaths are a daily routine. As Mexican drug cartels continue their deadly campaigns of narco-terrorism, it quickly becomes clear why Charlie Minn's film is titled "Murder Capital of the World."

The film is rife with news clips and staggering statistics, like more than 50,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since 2006. Many of the victims were innocent civilians, including journalists and law-abiding officials who've been rendered helpless against rampant corruption at every level of police, military and political power. read more

Did Mexico's most wanted man order a Texan kidnapped?

Houston Chronicle: "Federal prosecutors in El Paso have indicted Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, accusing him of controlling an organization that, along with drug trafficking and violence in that country, killed two U.S. citizens, including one kidnapped in Texas and taken across the border.

The 14-count indictment levels racketeering charges against Guzmán, 57, head of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, his top capo and 22 others, including lieutenants. They are all Guzmán fugitives. It accuses him of running a drug-smuggling enterprise since 2000, shortly before he escaped from a Mexican prison. The indictment focuses on the period since 2008 when the Sinaloa Cartel launched an assault on turf controlled by the Juárez Cartel, killing thousands. read more

Drug War: US Congress Bill Authorizes Wiretapping of Border Tunnel Builders

Insight Crime: "In response to the rising number of smugglers' tunnels found along the US-Mexico border, the House Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Tuesday that would authorize the use of wiretapping to investigate and prosecute those conspiring to build such passageways.

The current law criminalizes the outright funding or building of tunnels and prohibits landowners from "recklessly" permitting others to build or use an unauthorized tunnel on their property. The Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012, sponsored by US Representative Silvestre Reyes (D- El Paso), would expand the existing law by making it a crime to conspire to build, use, or finance a border tunnel." read more

U.S. Corruption and Drug War: Gandara Moved to Federal Courthouse to Arrange for Release

KVIA El Paso: "El Paso Sheriffs deputies tell ABC-7 that Guillermo "Willie" Gandara Jr. was moved from the El Paso County Jail to the U.S. Federal Courthouse this morning where he is making arrangements to bond out of jail.

A federal judge on Monday set Gandara's bond at $50,000 cash bond. Gandara has been charged with federal drug trafficking charges and has been in jail since Thursday morning.

During Monday's hearing, prosecutors played video surveillance evidence they said shows Gandara and Juan Canales engaged in illegal activity. Canales was released early Wednesday morning on a $20,000 cash bond.

Gandara is expected to officially resign his seat on Commissioners Court on Wednesday, according to County Judge Veronica Escobar." read more

Drug War & Rule of Law: Arrest of Texas Official Raises Questions of Cross-Border Corruption

InSight Crime: "The recent arrest of an El Paso, Texas official on drug trafficking and money laundering charges has fueled concerns over corruption along the border with Mexico.

Last week, DEA agents arrested El Paso County Commissioner Guillermo “Willie” Gandara Jr. on suspicion of being part of a mid-size drug trafficking network. Gandara, who is running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, stands accused of distributing more than 110 pounds of marijuana since November 2010, and laundering the profits." read more

Cross-border Cooperation: Border mayors strive for united voice

UTSanDiego.com: "The interdependence of U.S. and Mexican border communities was the central theme of a conference Thursday attended by mayors from both countries.

Topics such as border infrastructure, economic development and the importance of changing negative perceptions about public safety in Mexican border cities were highlighted during the daylong meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association. It was hosted by Tijuana Mayor Carlos Bustamante, who co-chairs the group with El Paso Mayor John Cook, and held at Tijuana’s World Trade Center.

Founded last August in El Paso, the group has 17 members; 12 of them attended Tuesday’s meeting — five from the United States and seven from Mexico." read more

Collateral Damage: Texas high school helps victims of Mexico drug war

Fox News Latino: "A Catholic secondary school in El Paso that draws nearly 20 percent of its student population from Mexico is offering a program to help the victims of violence in the neighboring country overcome their traumas.

While the armed conflict among the drug cartels continues to leave numerous victims just across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, Cathedral High School has begun a program directed at the students who have to live with the violence. "Many of our students live in Juarez and ... they are exposed daily to the war that exists in (that) city," the school's principal, Br. Nick Gonzalez, told Efe." read more

Drug Legalization-Voices from El Paso: U.S. marijuana laws' costly failures

OpEd by Beto O'Rourke and Susie Byrd, who co-wrote “Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico.” O'Rourke is seeking the Democratic nomination to represent El Paso (Texas) in the U.S. House. Byrd is serving her second term on the El Paso City Council.

San Antonio Express-News: "In 1913, El Paso became one of the first cities to ban marijuana. Other communities soon followed suit, and by 1937 the drug was banned by the federal government. The drive to prohibit marijuana was not motivated by efforts to reduce dependence, improve health outcomes or alleviate criminal activity in the general population. Its prohibition has a much more dubious provenance in the fears and prejudices that accompanied growing Mexican migration at the beginning of the 20th century.

... Nearly 100 years after El Paso enacted its initial ban on marijuana, the city bears daily witness to the violence that the marijuana economy inflicts on Juarez, our neighbor on the U.S./Mexico border. Since 2008, more than 9,000 people have been murdered in Juarez.

In a ground-breaking 2010 Associated Press report, Martha Mendoza found that the U.S. has spent over $1 trillion on the drug war .... And our return on that investment? In 2010, 35 percent of high school seniors reported that they had used marijuana, a number that has been fairly consistent since 1975. In fact, more high school sophomores tried marijuana last year than tobacco. At some point, sooner rather than later, we must admit that our current course has not worked." read more