Article

2006-01-30 Home Front: WoT

DHS: MS-13 Planning Major Attacks along Border

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Posted by lotp 2006-01-30 14:03|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "Surprise" meter graphic requested.

Posted by Besoeker 2006-01-30 14:14|| 2006-01-30 14:14|| Front Page Top

#2 "It would be real dumb move," he said. "If that should happen, and if any of our agents are threatened or injured or killed, it's going to create a lot of unity and cooperation."

What the hell, you need something bad to happen to get everyone on the same page? Nice leadership.

Posted by Penguin 2006-01-30 14:15|| 2006-01-30 14:15|| Front Page Top

#3 The confluence of terror, leftist ideology, drugs and the corrupt political culture of Latin America is a real issue, but the idea of an 'insurgency' is fantasy.

No government has more legitimacy than ours, whatever your politics. They'll be foreign invaders and treated as such not rebels or insurgents. If it comes to it, they'll likely face off against National Guard units that have been to places like Iraq and Afghanistan in addition to well armed populace in addition to the cops.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-30 14:26|| 2006-01-30 14:26|| Front Page Top

#4 Penguin you're on to it, but it's already happened and our "leadership" remains stone silent. Let me make an unhappy, predictive analysis. Border Patrol or other law enforcement personnel will soon begin to turn up missing, possibly held for randsome, and murdered. Agents Newton and Azrak were some of the first many years ago. Ranger Kris Eggle was killed in 2002 by smugglers ner Organ Pipe National Park.

'A brutal murder'

In the early morning hours of that June 17, 1967 Newton and Azrak stopped an old military ambulance on the remote road near Temecula. Inside the vehicle was about 800 pounds of marijuana.

The two men in the ambulance, Mationg and Bono, and the Montoya brothers in a car following just behind, were all armed. They drew their weapons, overpowered the officers and forced them to drive to a remote cabin in Anza.

Newton, 25, married with two small children, and Azrak, 21, a bachelor with less than two months on the job, were told they'd be left alive, said Zermeno, recounting testimony from the murder trial.

"At the cabin they were given coffee and were assured that nothing was going to happen to them," he said.

The two agents were handcuffed together and also cuffed to a stove.

Mationg then walked up next to Newton and shot him in the head, Zermeno said. Azrak, still cuffed to his dead partner, began pleading for his life.

"From the doorway of the cabin Bono shot Azrak in the stomach," Zermeno said. "He was still alive and pleading to be spared when Bono shot him again, this time in the ear."

Mationg forced Bono to get closer to Azrak to finish him off, said Zermeno. Bono then moved in and shot Azrak in the head.

"They were tortured," Zermeno said. "This was a brutal murder."

The two agents had last radioed their supervisors at 2:30 a.m. When they failed to check in again at the end of their shift, about 6 a.m., a search was organized.

Over the next two days up to 400 law enforcement officers and volunteers combed the rural back country.

Posted by Besoeker 2006-01-30 14:29|| 2006-01-30 14:29|| Front Page Top

#5 JAB, read Manwaring's article. He's talking about the deliberate breakdown of law enforcement, which erodes governmental processes and respect for the law. It arguably happened in some inner city areas in the States which were centered on the drugs trade.

They don't have to attempt an overt alternative national government to aim for the same effect along the border. And MS-13 has been targetting law enforement for murder for some time now, especially in towns where their control of the drugs trade has been challenged or broken up by the cops and/or the feds.

Posted by lotp 2006-01-30 14:39|| 2006-01-30 14:39|| Front Page Top

#6 So, what are they going to do. Fight our police while the tourists are let through. If they think they are poor now, wait until this happens.

Posted by plainslow 2006-01-30 15:13|| 2006-01-30 15:13|| Front Page Top

#7 I call BS - the gangs and cartels flourish when out of the spotlight. Nothing would draw the U.S. military and media/political spotlight onto these cockroaches more than the blatant attacks mentioned. As long as they are allowed to glide under the radar, they get rich. Once they pull this stuff, it hits the fan and all safetys are off....

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-01-30 15:17|| 2006-01-30 15:17|| Front Page Top

#8 This really steams me. Heres what we're building in Iraq along its borders...Why in the hell can't we do that here?

There are 151 forts contracted for construction, 75 forts currently under construction and 41 forts already operational.

The MOI has pledged to support construction efforts by stationing border enforcement officers at construction sites to provide security and to begin patrolling the border from the construction locations.

The construction team is comprised of the Air Force Center for Environmental Engineering, Army Corps of Engineers, Navy Seabees and Parsons of Delaware, a construction company. A total of 1,500 Iraqi engineers, project managers and construction workers from around the country are currently employed in efforts such as design, quality assurance and construction.

Posted by Yosemite Sam 2006-01-30 15:18|| 2006-01-30 15:18|| Front Page Top

#9 This sounds very flaky. First of all, MS-13 has been getting its butt kicked in the US, with maybe 300 of its members rounded up in a few months and continual pressure from the FBI.

Second, MS-13 isn't the only game in town as far as smuggling and other illicit activities. There are long established Mafias and criminal organizations that already own that turf. Any efforts to move in would be met with ultraviolence.

Notice that though Nuevo Laredo is a running gunbattle, it is seldom if ever mentioned what the two factions are that are duelling it out there.

Maybe we are trying to turn MS-13 into an umbrella organization for our convenience, much like al-Qaeda has been useful for consolidating bad boyz. Easier than fighting two dozen different gangs.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-01-30 15:30|| 2006-01-30 15:30|| Front Page Top

#10 Registration required -- the Austin American Statesman (liberal) had an in-depth report on these guy a few weeks ago. They aren't just on the border...

The reach of 'America's most dangerous gang'
Sunday, January 22, 2006

The trail of crimes and arrests during the past five years involving the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang stretches from Central America to Middle America. Federal authorities say the gang is active in 33 states and the District of Columbia and is involved in crimes including murder, rape, drive-by shootings, carjackings, drug trafficking and immigrant smuggling.

As a result, the gang has become a top enforcement priority of federal law enforcement officials.

Arizona
A dozen members arrested last month in federal arrest sweep.

Arkansas
Linked to multistate theft and robbery sprees in 2004 that were used as a way to finance MS-13 operations in Houston and other cities.

California
More than 600 arrests in two sweeps last year on drug-trafficking, gun-smuggling, racketeering and auto theft charges, among others.

District of Columbia
Linked to three slayings during the past three years, including the slashing death of a federal informant who helped break a Texas case. Also linked to robberies, shootings and thefts.

Maryland
Indictments of 19 members on racketeering charges stemming from six murders and four attempted killings in 2003. Dozens of members arrested in August in two shooting attacks last year that wounded six teenagers. Fifty-five members arrested since 2001 on homicide, stabbing, prostitution and weapon charges, among others.

Massachusetts
Sixty-one members arrested in crackdown last year on weapon, theft, assault and immigration charges. Two members are charged with raping two deaf teenage girls in a park.

Nevada
Members blamed in 2004 shooting death of a 12-year-old boy while playing soccer. Three members arrested last year in federal crackdown.

New York
Two members sent to prison for life in shooting deaths of two rivals. Authorities say other killings have gang ties. Membership estimated at 300 last year.

North Carolina
Linked to 11 murders in 2000. Recent arrests on weapon and immigration charges. Membership estimated at 200 in 2004.

Oklahoma
Five members arrested last month on weapon and immigration charges in national arrest sweep.

Texas
Houston: Shootout in November with federal agents left two MS-13 members dead. Blamed in string of home-invasion robberies, carjackings, thefts and smuggling of over-the-counter medications, cigarettes, clothing, infant formula and weapons.

Dallas and San Antonio: Activities of a few MS-13 members are being watched closely, federal officials say.

Brownsville: Pakistani man is caught crossing the Rio Grande last year with an MS-13 member and several other illegal immigrants, giving rise to fears that the gang might be helping Middle Eastern terrorists sneak into the United States.

Falfurrias: Ebner Anibal Rivera-Paz, the leader of MS-13 in Honduras who is accused of masterminding a 2004 massacre of 28 men, women and children in Honduras, is arrested in February 2005 along with other illegal immigrants during a traffic stop.

Virginia
Two members sentenced to life in prison last year for murdering a rival. Recent arrests on weapon and immigration charges.

Wisconsin
Three members arrested, accused of stealing up to $55,000 in cough and cold medicines, used to help finance their illicit activities.

Canada
Links to Toronto street gangs confirmed by police last year.

El Salvador
Blamed for half the violent crime in the country and for a 23 percent increase in murders last year. Also blamed for involvement in recent prison riots. Thousands of members jailed in a recent crackdown.

Guatemala
Blamed for sparking coordinated riots at seven prisons in 2004 that killed 35 and injured 70, most of them rivals.

Honduras
Blamed for raid on bus in December 2004 that killed 28, including seven children, and the deaths of 13 people in three other bus hijackings purported retaliation for the deaths of 100 gang members earlier in a mysterious prison fire. More than 4,000 members arrested in 2004 crackdown. Recently left a decapitated victim with a message for Honduras' president, whose son was killed by gang violence in 1997.

Mexico
Crackdown in 2003 jailed 300 members on drug-trafficking and gun-smuggling charges. Gang called 'threat to national security.'

Colors: Blue and white, or blue and gray or silver. Blue and white are the national colors of El Salvador. Members also often wear black pro sports jerseys displaying the number 13.

Locations: 34 states. Houston, which has Texas' largest population of Salvadoran immigrants, is a center for MS-13 activity in the Lone Star State.

Rivals: SW Chongos in Houston; Mara-18 in various other U.S. cities; and Sombra Negra, a vigilante death squad in El Salvador.

Estimated membership
The numbers are based on estimates by law enforcement officials in the various countries.

Country Membership
El Salvador 20,000
Guatemala 12,000
Honduras 25,000
United States 8,000-10,000
Costa Rica 2,500
Mexico 2,000
Nicaragua 1,000
Canada 100

Sources: FBI, National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Associated Press reports

Posted by Sherry 2006-01-30 16:33|| 2006-01-30 16:33|| Front Page Top

#11 I tend to agree with Frank G. Any bad neighborhoods that are effectively out of police control are that way because nobody is interested in what goes on. But if violence spreads or a cop is killed, there is a crackdown. Therefore the bad guys learn it's profitable to keep a low profile.

That said, gangs like this are a real issue given that Al Queda and China have increasing influence in Latin America and an interest in making the US feel pain. The new crop of lefty leaders in LA is not encouraging.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-30 16:38|| 2006-01-30 16:38|| Front Page Top

#12 They think they're going to take over towns and areas here?

Tell that to Santa Anna. And remember, "Don't Mess With Texas."

Posted by growler 2006-01-30 16:40|| 2006-01-30 16:40|| Front Page Top

#13 I'm sure if you keep whacking the ankle of the giant eventually it will notice and crush you. I'd bet on the US military against MS-13 any day of the week.

Bush, nor Fox, could look the other way if these attacks are carried out.

Posted by rjschwarz">rjschwarz 2006-01-30 18:45|| 2006-01-30 18:45|| Front Page Top

#14 Machismo -- I can see low level members talking tough, to impress one another and intimidate the law-abiding. I can't imagine that upper management (and there has to be some, their activites are too profitable and widespread for it to be occuring spontaneously at the local gang level) wants the kind of interest that broadcasting such statements brings. But it was posted yesterday that the smuggling gangs are accustomed to intimidating reporters and news organizations into silence, so no doubt they are now shocked that the American authorities are aware and talking about it.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-01-30 19:44|| 2006-01-30 19:44|| Front Page Top

#15 Ben Laden thought the Americans were a paper tiger too, till that one 'ooops' incident. Now he lives on the run till the day he fills a grave. The Americans once provoked are going to hunt them down to the ground. Obvious someone else is looking to follow the same strategy.

Posted by Ebbert Pholurong2836 2006-01-30 19:51|| 2006-01-30 19:51|| Front Page Top

#16 Sorry -- to clarify, it should read,

...it was posted here at Rantburg yesterday...

Posted by trailing wife 2006-01-30 19:59|| 2006-01-30 19:59|| Front Page Top

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