Black Commandos Mexican national threat UPDATES ON THE CRIMINAL WAR ON THE STREETS OF BAJA NORTE, TIJUANA-ROSARITO-ENSENADA, ESCALATION
Mexican Senator Daniel Ludlow said that 3 out of 10 deserters from Mexico's armed forces join the drug cartels (some as Black Commandos) because of the lure of higher income. He added that those who do so ought to be considered "traitors to the homeland." Official Mexican government figures show an average of 35 desertions a day from the armed forces of Mexico.
Recent all-out gunbattles underscore the extent to which Baja’s drug violence has the potential to affect the United States. U.S. authorities have stepped up security at border crossings and medical facilities out of concern that wounded cartel members would seek medical treatment in the United States. Moreover, three of the 10 suspects detained following the shootouts in Rio Bravo were reported to be U.S. residents, or possibly U.S. citizens. Mexican drug cartels commonly use Hispanic gangs in the United States to transport drugs to market in various U.S. cities. The fact that these suspects were arrested in Mexico highlights the potential for cross-border violence to increase this year.
The Black Commandos have begun operating independently of the cartel’s leadership, according to a Mexican government assessment reported this past week by Mexican media. The report indicates that the Black Commandos have gained more autonomy recently and no longer answer completely to the leadership of the cartels. The report is particularly interesting in the context of the latest border violence, since Baja authorities were reportedly targeting Black Commando cells and not cartel personnel. Even if this report is accurate, the Black Commandos interests are largely intertwined with those of the cartel, since both require a substantial drug-trafficking income to continue operating.
MORE NEWS: --"Bloody start of 2008: going on 78 executed". In Mexico, there have been 78 executions in the first 12 days of this year, a daily average of 6.3 cases related to organized crime. Among them: four federal agents and four women. Heading the list murder types were murders associated to drug trafficing, "narcoexecutions".
--Since the new local "Secretary of Public Security" took over in Tijuana 40 days ago, 20 Tijuana police officers have been dismissed and 47 others have quit on their own.
--In Tijuana a group of armed men kidnapped Luis Valdés Otáñez, a Baja Norte political candidate and former aide to PRI member Jorge Hank Rhon.
--The attack near playas de Tijuana on the incoming Baja Norte security chief, is believed to have been accomplished by narco criminals within the Rosarito Beach police department. Maybe that's why the police didn't respond to the calls for help from the victims!
Lol
