Judge sees organized crime in case of high-ranking military officers

El Universal: Americas Program Original Translation by Sarah Brady

A formal arrest warrant was issued against retired General Tomas Angeles Dauahare, as well as the Generals Roberto Dahue, Ricardo Escorcia, Ruben Perez Ramirez, and Lieutenant Silvio Isidro de Jesus Hernandez.

Silvia Otero. Mexico City. A federal judge ordered a formal arrest warrant for the participation of high-ranking military officers in organized crime, who were being informally held for their alleged links with Beltran Leyva's cartel.

The indictment, made by a federal judge in Toluca, is against the retired General Tomas Angeles Dauahare, as well as against Generals Roberto Dawe, Ricardo Escorcia, Ruben Perez Ramirez and Lieutenant Colonel Silvio Isidro de Jesus Hernandez.

The Attorney General's Office (PGR) reported that the army officers are suspected of participating in organized crime in perpetrating drug trafficking.

In the statement of consignment also includes charges against Edgar Valdez Villareal, a.k.a. "the Barbie," and a group of alleged drug dealers and operators for Beltran Leyva's cartel.

The Third District Judge of federal criminal prosecutions, based in Toluca, issued an arrest warrant against the military officers who were being held since this past May with the expectation that they be transferred at any moment to the maximum security prison Altiplano in Almoloya de Juarez.  See Spanish Original.

Drug Cartels Ready Themselves for Mexico Elections

AP: EMILIANO ZAPATA, Mexico – Elections in Mexico are Sunday and drug cartels have taken notice, but forget who is going to be president these cartels are interested in who is going to be mayor.

It's easier to influence a local election than an extensive well-financed national one.

It's a principal Mexican drug cartels swear by.

As Mexicans head to the ballot box Sunday, cartels are influencing Mexico's local elections by registering their votes with scare tactics, and cold hard cash to make sure whoever is elected doesn't interfere with their lucrative operations. Read more.

Drug Probe Targets Mexican Army

WSJ.com: MEXICO CITY—The arrest of a former deputy defense minister and three other retired and active high-ranking Mexican army officers on suspicion of having been in the pay of a drug cartel is shaping up as the biggest scandal to hit the army in years.

Last week, a judge issued preliminary detention orders for three generals and a lieutenant colonel. The move allows prosecutors from the organized-crime division of the Attorney General's Office to question the men for up to 40 days before formal charges would need to be filed.

Officials haven't said why the men are being held. But according to the men's relatives, a person familiar with the legal proceedings and media accounts citing unnamed sources in the Attorney General's Office, the four are being questioned over allegations they were in the pay of one of Mexico's leading organized crime groups, the Beltran Leyva cartel. Read more. 

Whack-a-mole Drug War: Upstart Gangs Eat into Cartel Hegemony

From 'InSight Crime,' an analysis of the dynamics of the fragmentation of Mexican cartels

Mexico: Upstart Gangs Eat into Cartel Hegemony: "While the most obvious symptom of Mexico’s current struggle with organized crime is stratospheric rates of violence, the fracturing of powerful trafficking organizations into a constellation of smaller groups could have a more lasting impact on the country. ...

The most obvious reason for the growth of the smaller gangs is pressure from the federal government. A significant number of kingpins have been killed or arrested in the past two years in particular, and one capo’s demise often sparks fighting between subordinates and rivals for control of his network. (The government denies this, though not very convincingly.) But even beyond the takedowns of capos, a more aggressive federal policy creates space for newcomers, because one group losing a significant chunk of its operators or having its favored cocaine route shut down by the army creates opportunities for ambitious small-timers.

But this is not a one-off phenomenon; instability breeds further instability, because the new groups don’t enjoy the same level of dominance as their predecessors did. Even after winning control over a given territory, their reign is subject to continued challenges."

Whack-a-mole Drug War: A Survey of Mexico's Trafficking Networks

A look at the current status of the various Mexican cartels, from "InSight - Organized Crime in the Americas

A Survey of Mexico's Trafficking Networks: "With just a little over a year left in his term, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon is looking at a very different criminal landscape than when he took office in 2006, with the dominance of a handful of hegemonic groups replaced by a criminal free-for-all.

Perhaps the most obvious change in Mexico today is the relative decline of the large gangs that controlled the nation’s criminal scene five, or even two, years ago. The Sinaloa Cartel, which united capos like Joaquin Guzman, Juan Jose Esparragoza, Arturo Beltran Leyva, Ismael Zambada, and Ignacio Coronel as recently as 2008, has been beset by assaults from adversaries and strife within the group, especially the defection of Beltran Leyva and his network."

Whack-a-mole Drug War: Mexico's most powerful drug cartels

Christian Science Monitor is right when it says that if La Familia is fractured, its territory will taken over by remnant groups or other cartels. Narcos aren't going to give up the billion dollar amphetamine business that La Familia controlled. Already the battle between factions of La Familia is taking place in Michoacán, with an increase in murders and blockades of roads when the police come searching for them. 


The aticle provides a good overview of the current status of the major cartels.

Mexico's most powerful drug cartels  - CSMonitor.com: "Mexico declared a major victory Tuesday when it arrested the leader of the La Familia drug gang and 50 of its members, calling the group finished after the arrests. But the deadly drug war in Mexico is far from over. Many experts expect the remaining La Familia members to join allied groups and for its territory to be absorbed by other traffickers.(AMB emphasis) Here’s a look at Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels:"

Whack-a-mole Drug War: Zetas-La Linea Alliance May Alter Balance of Power in Mexico

What!? You mean the drug moles are forming allinaces? Sounds like the drug war is heating up even more.


This article, from the website, Insight - Organized Crime in the Americas, outlines a possibly emerging formation of two large, opposing alliances between major Mexican drug cartels: Zetas, La Linea, Juarez and Beltran Leyva cartels versus Gulf, Sinaloa, La Familia Michoacana cartels. And Ciudad Juarez continues to be ground zero for the battle.

Zetas-La Linea Alliance May Alter Balance of Power in Mexico: "In the fickle and fluid place that is the Mexican underworld, the alleged union between the Zetas and La Linea (affiliated with the Juarez cartel) may not be taken seriously at first, but a closer look reveals an alliance that could shift the balance of power in Mexico....

The Zetas started as a military arm of the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s, but definitively split from the organization in 2010.

For its part, the Gulf Cartel has since allied with its former rivals in the Sinaloa Cartel. The two groups joined forces with the Familia Michoacana to form the so-called “New Federation.” The federation’s goal, simply put, is to destroy the Zetas.

This may have just become slightly more difficult. The Zetas are already allied with former Sinaloa Cartel associates, the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO). And they have been in contact with La Linea, possibly training its members, for months or even years, according to some intelligence officials.

The Zetas may offer soldiers to help La Linea in Ciudad Juarez, in return for access to the city, or, more precisely, the Juarez Valley drug trafficking corridor."

Whack-a-mole drug war: Mexican army arrests suspected drug boss and police ally

Mexican army arrests suspected drug boss and police ally | Reuters: "Mexican soldiers arrested a suspected drug boss and a police chief accused of protecting him on Thursday, blaming them for much of the violence terrorizing tourist towns near Mexico City.

In an early morning swoop, soldiers in black ski masks captured Victor Valdez, known as 'El Gordo Varilla' (The Big Stick), in Cuernavaca, a popular getaway south of Mexico City where drug violence is escalating.

Valdez is believed to be the second-in-command of the Cartel de Pacifico Sur (South Pacific Cartel) run by drug lord Hector Beltran Leyva, which is fighting rivals for control of Cuernavaca and the strategic Pacific resort city of Acapulco.

In a brief army presentation to reporters, Valdez said local police chief Juan Bosco helped the gang evade capture. Bosco was later arrested by soldiers in Cuernavaca, the army said."