one for the government

Mexican soldiers have captured a suspected drug cartel operator with a list of the names of local police officers who apparently received payoffs, the army said Saturday.

A statement said Omar Ibarra was caught Friday on a street in the northern city of Monterrey. It said he possessed the names of 33 policemen in the wealthy suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia "who presumably received money from this individual."

San Pedro officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ibarra also had two hand grenades, two packages of marijuana and a 9-mm submachine gun with a silencer, the army said. One of his alleged accomplices was also captured with marijuana, cocaine and a gun, the statement said.

In the western state of Michoacan, gunmen opened fire on a car carrying two forensic investigators, killing one — a chemist — and wounding the other, a doctor.

The attack occurred Saturday in the city of Zamora, state prosecutors said in a statement.

Also on Saturday, nine men and two women were ordered to stand trial on organized crime and money laundering charges. They were arrested in the border city of Reynosa in March on suspicion of stealing oil from state-owned pipelines and smuggling it across the border to sell it to U.S. refineries.

Four of the suspects, including, a former local leader of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, were also charged with selling stolen goods.

The Attorney General's Office said the gang allegedly worked with the drug cartel hitmen known as the Zetas in the scheme to take oil and natural gas from the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos.

And in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, a women and her 3-year-old son were shot to death by unidentified assailants on a highway.

Witnesses told state prosecutors that armed men fired on the car from a moving vehicle; the victim's daughter and another woman were wounded in the attack.

Drug gangs are known to operate in Veracruz, where police reported that 51 central American migrants were found on a train along with 12 suspects who the migrants said had robbed, extorted and beaten them. The suspects and some of the train's crew were detained for questioning.

The migrants told police in the town of Las Choapas that the suspects — two Mexicans and 10 Central Americans — had thrown a woman and two children off the train, presumably to their deaths.

Drug gangs have also been known to prey on Central American migrants seeking to reach the United States.

same old bullsh&*

Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama’s strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region.

The National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy directs Federal agencies to increase coordination and information sharing with State and local law enforcement agencies, intensifies national efforts to interdict the southbound flow of weapons and bulk currency, and calls for continued close collaboration with the Government of Mexico in their efforts against the drug cartels. The strategy is an important component of the Administration’s national drug control policy and complements the Administration’s comprehensive efforts to respond to threats along the border.

“Drug trafficking cartels spread violence and lawlessness throughout our border region and reach into all of our communities, large and small,” said Attorney General Holder. “By focusing on increased cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican governments as well as enhanced communication within U.S. law enforcement agencies, the National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy we introduce today provides an effective way forward that will crack down on cartels and make our country safer.”

“The President’s counternarcotics strategy will play a critical role in our efforts to stop cross-border drug trafficking and violence,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The plan calls for tougher inspections, more enforcement personnel and close coordination with our partners in Mexico as we work across Federal, State and local governments to achieve safety and security in our communities. Together, we will continue to reduce the flow of illegal drugs across the Southwest border and ensure that those who ignore our laws are prosecuted.”

“Under President Obama’s leadership we have designed a new plan to pull together the capabilities not only of Federal agencies, but also state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials,” said Director Kerlikowske. “This new plan, combined with the dedicated efforts of the Government of Mexico, creates a unique opportunity to make real headway on the drug threat. At the same time, we are renewing our commitment to reduce the demand for drugs in the United States, which will support this effort. The National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy will improve the safety of communities on the border and throughout our Nation.”

National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy Objectives

• Enhance intelligence capabilities associated with the Southwest border.
• Interdict drugs, drug proceeds, and associated instruments of violence at the ports of entry, between the ports of entry, and in the air and maritime domains along the Southwest border.
• Ensure the prosecution of all significant drug trafficking, money laundering, bulk currency, and weapons smuggling/trafficking cases.
• Disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations.
• Enhance counterdrug technologies for drug detection and interdiction along the Southwest border.
• Enhance U.S.-Mexico cooperation regarding joint counterdrug efforts.

The Director of National Drug Control Policy will oversee the implementation of the strategy, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, and the Department of Justice, Office of the Deputy Attorney General. The Director will also ensure that the strategy is coordinated with other border related efforts, including the Merida Initiative, led by the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Southwest border operations plan.