Nuevo Laredo

topes · 06-15-2005, 11:39 AM

Something I wrote in response to a PM. Thought someone might be interested or perhaps someone might have better insight into the situation.

Quote:

Nuevo Laredo isn't a good place to be at the moment. The latest police chief lived an entire 6 hours after he was sworn in to the position. This week, the feds arrested a few hundred local police officers. There's a major drug turf war occurring and not even Mexico's elite Federal police units can stop the killing. No one ventures out at night and Americans are avoiding the place. Of course, the State Department has issued travel advisories. I, personally, wouldn't be afraid to pass through during the day, but I'd avoid the place at night. A friend of a friend of a friend even reported the prostitutes have all moved to Tijuana where's it's safe and there are plenty of Amercians.

topes · 06-15-2005, 11:41 AM

Followed by:

Quote:

Yeah, go through during the day. If you'd like to avoid the place, go across the Colombia Bridge. You'll see the signs about 10 miles north of Laredo, TX. You can do your paperwork on the Mexican side of the Colombia Bridge and not have to enter Laredo. The highway puts you out on the road to Monterrey, Mx. I'd suggest you take the toll road.

Don't let this deter you from going to Mexico. Nuevo Laredo seems to be the only place where this type of problem exists.

chuckklr04 · 06-24-2005, 06:00 PM

Thanks for the info. Looks like a buddy and myself will be rolling through Mexico in September.

NAVIGATOR · 06-24-2005, 06:40 PM

Mexican drug commandos expand ops in 6 U.S. states
Feds say violent, elite paramilitary units establish narcotics routes north of border

World Net Daily | June 21 2005

FLASHBACK: Former DEA Agent: Mexican Commandos Killing In South West US To Protect Bush Drug Cartel

WASHINGTON â€“ The ultra-violent, U.S.-trained elite, Mexican paramilitary commandos known as the "Zetas," responsible for hundreds of murders along the border this year, have expanded their enforcement efforts on behalf of a drug cartel by setting up trafficking routes in six U.S. states.

A U.S. Justice Department memo says the U.S.-trained units have recently moved operations into Houston, San Antonio and the states of California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. They have been operating in Dallas for at least two years, according to the feds.

The original Zetas are former Mexican army commandos, some apparently trained in the U.S. by Army special forces to combat drug gangs. Members of a broader Zetas organization have worked for the Gulf cartel since 2001. They provide firepower, security and the force needed to oversee shipments of narcotics and smuggled aliens along the border and up Interstate 35, which runs through Texas and Oklahoma.

According to FBI officials, the Zetas are attempting to consolidate their grip on the smuggling route along I-35. Anyone caught not paying the 10 percent commission they charge on all cargo â€“ drugs or humans â€“ is killed, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement sources.

The Zetas have also brought their cold-blooded killing tactics to the U.S., say federal law enforcement authorities â€“ murdering rival drug dealers and sometimes innocent bystanders.

"Texas law enforcement officials report that the Zetas have been active in the Dallas area since 2003," said the Justice Department intelligence bulletin circulated among U.S. law enforcement officials. "Eight to ten members of the Zetas have been involved in multiple assaults and are believed to have hired criminal gangs in the area ... for contract killings."

The feds say the group has begun establishing its own trafficking routes into the United States and will protect them at any cost.

"U.S. law enforcement have reported bounties offered by Los Zetas of between $30,000 and $50,000 for the killing of Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers," the bulletin said. "If a Zeta kills an American law enforcement officer and can successfully make it back to Mexico, his stature within the organization will be increased dramatically."

The Zetas take their name from a radio code once used by its members. While originally there were 68, the Zetas have trained a second generation of commandos â€“ many of them sons and nephews of those trained by U.S. military forces to combat drug trafficking in Mexico. U.S. law enforcement officials say they now number more than 700. Their numbers also include some Mexican army deserters and former federal police officers.

U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities say the Zetas operate special training camps in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and MichoacÃ¡n, where newly recruited Zetas take intensive six-week training courses in weapons, tactics and intelligence gathering.

The Zetas conducting a bloody war for control of the entire southern border in an effort to secure a monopoly on drug-smuggling and people-smuggling routes, according to law enforcement officials.

At least 600 have been killed this year in a wave of violence waged by the Zetas gang, headed by reputed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, said Mexico's Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca.

Among the victims of the U.S-trained Zetas have been other suspected smugglers, hit men, police, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the 2,000-mile border.

There are widespread reports of the commandos making cross-border runs into U.S. territory in military-style vehicles, armed with automatic weapons.

The U.S. government spent millions of dollars training Los Zetas to intercept drugs, some of them coming from Mexico's southern border, before they could reach the U.S. The U.S. government has also sent U.S. Border Patrol agents to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to train law enforcement and military forces to intercept human smugglers destined to reach the U.S.

Guzman, whose nickname means "Shorty," bribed guards to escape from prison in 2001. He is one of Mexico's most-wanted fugitives. U.S. authorities have offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

The spike in killings and kidnappings in northern Mexico in recent months has made headlines and prompted federal agents and soldiers to patrol the streets of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas. Recently, a new police chief in Nuevo Laredo was assassinated nine hours after taking office.

Among the 600 people murdered in gang shootings across the Mexican border this year, many were slain execution-style, with their hands tied behind their backs.

The violence along the border has reached a point where some are questioning President Vicente Fox's ability to govern the country.

A senior U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official, Anthony Placido, told Congress last week that Mexico's corrupt police forces were "all too often part of the problem rather than part of the solution" in fighting the drug cartels.

Fox won office in 2000, ending 71 years of one-party rule and promising to clamp down on the multibillion-dollar cross-border trade in cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

While initially winning praise for putting bosses like Benjamin Arellano Felix and Osiel Cardenas behind bars, his crime-busting reputation has been undermined by the alarming rise in violence, along with evidence Fox has failed to clean up Mexico's police forces.

Faced with the fallout on its southern frontier, the State Department has twice issued travel warnings for the Mexican border, where more than 30 U.S. citizens have been kidnapped.

Mexico's apparent inability to curb the bloodshed on the 2,000-mile border is affecting the financial markets. Banking group HSBC said "staggering" levels of violence could raise questions about Mexico's stability in the run-up to next year's presidential election. Fox is constitutionally barred from running for re-election.

His approval rating has taken a hit, dropping 3 points to 56 percent in a poll in May, with many Mexicans complaining of safety fears, particularly in the north.

Fox has pledged a "mother of all battles" against the drug traffickers he says are openly challenging the government.

"We have taken on the challenge and we will do battle against all the cartels' criminals and against organized crime," Fox said in a speech Friday.

He sent hundreds of troops and federal agents to the states of Tamaulipas, Sinaloa and Baja California last week after suspected drug hit men killed the police chief of Nuevo Laredo.

Despite the move, drug gangs shot and killed at least 11 people across the three states during the week, prompting observers to declare the operation, dubbed "Mexico Secure," a failure.

westnash · 06-25-2005, 04:34 PM

Just try not too look like an American,,,stay away from large border cities and be careful after dark, especially if you are alone. Might also think about giving a wide berth to Mexico City, as even most Mexicans do.

You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time in Iowa, Iraq, Illinois, or in Mexico.

AndyT · 06-26-2005, 09:15 AM

I live in San Antonio, and this stuff has been front page news here for the last couple of months. The company I work for gets supplies from a sister plant in Piedras Negras daily ( another town on the TX border) and the people I talk to there say things are normal there, so it does appear to be isolated in N. Laredo. I will be going to Copper Canyon this fall, and am not going to let this bother me a bit, but given the choice, I guess I would cross somewhere besides N. L.

topes · 07-24-2005, 10:53 PM

I have a friend who is a Star Fleet Commander in a law enforcement agency along the border. He tells me the stories of bounties for Border Patrol Agents are bull. He also tells me, that the Zetas avoid US entanglements because they know the US will hunt their goat smelling asses down. My friend talks with Border Patrol on a daily basis and converses with Mexican authorities every once in a while. He says that while the murders are real, they are almost exclusively dope smugglers killing other dope smugglers, and dope smugglers killing cops on payroll of other dope smugglers.

If the stories of training camps in the desert are true, you'd think the US would extinguish the problem it allegedly created. Somehow, I don't think the Mexicans would complain.

topes · 07-24-2005, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyT

I live in San Antonio, and this stuff has been front page news here for the last couple of months. The company I work for gets supplies from a sister plant in Piedras Negras daily ( another town on the TX border) and the people I talk to there say things are normal there, so it does appear to be isolated in N. Laredo. I will be going to Copper Canyon this fall, and am not going to let this bother me a bit, but given the choice, I guess I would cross somewhere besides N. L.

I really liked taking Highway 1 from Nuevo Laredo down through Anahuac to Highway 30. From there, it's Highway 30 to Monclova and then down to Torreon. From Torreon we went up 49 to 30 again and then west. At 45 it's north again to Hildago De Parral. Hildago De Parral is a cool little city. From Parral it's out Highway 24 to 20 and then up to Creel. The ride from Parral to Creel is very cool. There's little traffic once you turn onto 20 with miles and miles of some of the best twisties around. I would have gladly traded my KLR for my GS on that stretch of road.

You see these type of scenes immediately after turning onto Highway 30 south of Anahuac.

The only real traffic we encountered was in Monclova and Torreon. The distance is about the same as it would be through Presidio. I enjoyed taking the above route to Copper Canyon and then returning through Presidio for some different scenery.

topes · 08-23-2005, 07:54 AM

Okay, I'll admit I got sucked in by all the bad press. I've just spent 1.5 days in and around Nuevo Laredo. If it's a dangerous place, they do well disguising the danger. There are more cops per square mile in Nuevo Laredo at the moment than in any US city. Yes, I would take my family. By all appearances, Nuevo Laredo is far safer than Houston.

gageezer · 03-24-2006, 06:39 AM

I was in NL in Feb. and saw a lot of cops in pickup trucks, 2 in front and 6 in back on a bench built down the middle of the bed so they were looking out and they all had automatic weapons. I think I'll cross at Columbia or Brownsville next time. I'd hate to get caught in a cross fire.

06-24-2005, 06:40 PM	#4
NAVIGATOR Wanderer Joined: Dec 2002 Location: SOUTH OF THE USA BORDER(friendlier Mexico) Oddometer: 1,646	Some related info Mexican drug commandos expand ops in 6 U.S. states Feds say violent, elite paramilitary units establish narcotics routes north of border World Net Daily \| June 21 2005 FLASHBACK: Former DEA Agent: Mexican Commandos Killing In South West US To Protect Bush Drug Cartel WASHINGTON â€“ The ultra-violent, U.S.-trained elite, Mexican paramilitary commandos known as the "Zetas," responsible for hundreds of murders along the border this year, have expanded their enforcement efforts on behalf of a drug cartel by setting up trafficking routes in six U.S. states. A U.S. Justice Department memo says the U.S.-trained units have recently moved operations into Houston, San Antonio and the states of California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. They have been operating in Dallas for at least two years, according to the feds. The original Zetas are former Mexican army commandos, some apparently trained in the U.S. by Army special forces to combat drug gangs. Members of a broader Zetas organization have worked for the Gulf cartel since 2001. They provide firepower, security and the force needed to oversee shipments of narcotics and smuggled aliens along the border and up Interstate 35, which runs through Texas and Oklahoma. According to FBI officials, the Zetas are attempting to consolidate their grip on the smuggling route along I-35. Anyone caught not paying the 10 percent commission they charge on all cargo â€“ drugs or humans â€“ is killed, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement sources. The Zetas have also brought their cold-blooded killing tactics to the U.S., say federal law enforcement authorities â€“ murdering rival drug dealers and sometimes innocent bystanders. "Texas law enforcement officials report that the Zetas have been active in the Dallas area since 2003," said the Justice Department intelligence bulletin circulated among U.S. law enforcement officials. "Eight to ten members of the Zetas have been involved in multiple assaults and are believed to have hired criminal gangs in the area ... for contract killings." The feds say the group has begun establishing its own trafficking routes into the United States and will protect them at any cost. "U.S. law enforcement have reported bounties offered by Los Zetas of between $30,000 and $50,000 for the killing of Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers," the bulletin said. "If a Zeta kills an American law enforcement officer and can successfully make it back to Mexico, his stature within the organization will be increased dramatically." The Zetas take their name from a radio code once used by its members. While originally there were 68, the Zetas have trained a second generation of commandos â€“ many of them sons and nephews of those trained by U.S. military forces to combat drug trafficking in Mexico. U.S. law enforcement officials say they now number more than 700. Their numbers also include some Mexican army deserters and former federal police officers. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities say the Zetas operate special training camps in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and MichoacÃ¡n, where newly recruited Zetas take intensive six-week training courses in weapons, tactics and intelligence gathering. The Zetas conducting a bloody war for control of the entire southern border in an effort to secure a monopoly on drug-smuggling and people-smuggling routes, according to law enforcement officials. At least 600 have been killed this year in a wave of violence waged by the Zetas gang, headed by reputed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, said Mexico's Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca. Among the victims of the U.S-trained Zetas have been other suspected smugglers, hit men, police, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the 2,000-mile border. There are widespread reports of the commandos making cross-border runs into U.S. territory in military-style vehicles, armed with automatic weapons. The U.S. government spent millions of dollars training Los Zetas to intercept drugs, some of them coming from Mexico's southern border, before they could reach the U.S. The U.S. government has also sent U.S. Border Patrol agents to Mexico's southern border with Guatemala to train law enforcement and military forces to intercept human smugglers destined to reach the U.S. Guzman, whose nickname means "Shorty," bribed guards to escape from prison in 2001. He is one of Mexico's most-wanted fugitives. U.S. authorities have offered a $5 million reward for his capture. The spike in killings and kidnappings in northern Mexico in recent months has made headlines and prompted federal agents and soldiers to patrol the streets of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas. Recently, a new police chief in Nuevo Laredo was assassinated nine hours after taking office. Among the 600 people murdered in gang shootings across the Mexican border this year, many were slain execution-style, with their hands tied behind their backs. The violence along the border has reached a point where some are questioning President Vicente Fox's ability to govern the country. A senior U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official, Anthony Placido, told Congress last week that Mexico's corrupt police forces were "all too often part of the problem rather than part of the solution" in fighting the drug cartels. Fox won office in 2000, ending 71 years of one-party rule and promising to clamp down on the multibillion-dollar cross-border trade in cocaine, marijuana and heroin. While initially winning praise for putting bosses like Benjamin Arellano Felix and Osiel Cardenas behind bars, his crime-busting reputation has been undermined by the alarming rise in violence, along with evidence Fox has failed to clean up Mexico's police forces. Faced with the fallout on its southern frontier, the State Department has twice issued travel warnings for the Mexican border, where more than 30 U.S. citizens have been kidnapped. Mexico's apparent inability to curb the bloodshed on the 2,000-mile border is affecting the financial markets. Banking group HSBC said "staggering" levels of violence could raise questions about Mexico's stability in the run-up to next year's presidential election. Fox is constitutionally barred from running for re-election. His approval rating has taken a hit, dropping 3 points to 56 percent in a poll in May, with many Mexicans complaining of safety fears, particularly in the north. Fox has pledged a "mother of all battles" against the drug traffickers he says are openly challenging the government. "We have taken on the challenge and we will do battle against all the cartels' criminals and against organized crime," Fox said in a speech Friday. He sent hundreds of troops and federal agents to the states of Tamaulipas, Sinaloa and Baja California last week after suspected drug hit men killed the police chief of Nuevo Laredo. Despite the move, drug gangs shot and killed at least 11 people across the three states during the week, prompting observers to declare the operation, dubbed "Mexico Secure," a failure.

03-24-2006, 06:39 AM	#10
gageezer Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2005 Location: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Oddometer: 155	Cops in NL I was in NL in Feb. and saw a lot of cops in pickup trucks, 2 in front and 6 in back on a bench built down the middle of the bed so they were looking out and they all had automatic weapons. I think I'll cross at Columbia or Brownsville next time. I'd hate to get caught in a cross fire. __________________ Gageezer When people start agreeing with you, it's time to reassess your position. Often wrong but never in doubt.

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06-24-2005, 06:00 PM	#3
chuckklr04 Banned Joined: Feb 2004 Location: on the LA/MS southern border Oddometer: 4,612	Thanks for the info. Looks like a buddy and myself will be rolling through Mexico in September.

06-25-2005, 04:34 PM	#5
westnash Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2004 Location: Phoenix, AZ Oddometer: 3,241	Just try not too look like an American,,,stay away from large border cities and be careful after dark, especially if you are alone. Might also think about giving a wide berth to Mexico City, as even most Mexicans do. You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time in Iowa, Iraq, Illinois, or in Mexico.

06-26-2005, 09:15 AM	#6
AndyT Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2004 Oddometer: 311	I live in San Antonio, and this stuff has been front page news here for the last couple of months. The company I work for gets supplies from a sister plant in Piedras Negras daily ( another town on the TX border) and the people I talk to there say things are normal there, so it does appear to be isolated in N. Laredo. I will be going to Copper Canyon this fall, and am not going to let this bother me a bit, but given the choice, I guess I would cross somewhere besides N. L.

07-24-2005, 10:53 PM	#7
topes ^OP Banned Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Tejas Oddometer: 6,351	I have a friend who is a Star Fleet Commander in a law enforcement agency along the border. He tells me the stories of bounties for Border Patrol Agents are bull. He also tells me, that the Zetas avoid US entanglements because they know the US will hunt their goat smelling asses down. My friend talks with Border Patrol on a daily basis and converses with Mexican authorities every once in a while. He says that while the murders are real, they are almost exclusively dope smugglers killing other dope smugglers, and dope smugglers killing cops on payroll of other dope smugglers. If the stories of training camps in the desert are true, you'd think the US would extinguish the problem it allegedly created. Somehow, I don't think the Mexicans would complain.

08-23-2005, 07:54 AM	#9
topes ^OP Banned Joined: Feb 2004 Location: Tejas Oddometer: 6,351	Okay, I'll admit I got sucked in by all the bad press. I've just spent 1.5 days in and around Nuevo Laredo. If it's a dangerous place, they do well disguising the danger. There are more cops per square mile in Nuevo Laredo at the moment than in any US city. Yes, I would take my family. By all appearances, Nuevo Laredo is far safer than Houston.