Got an armored truck for your Sonora hunt?

[billrquimby]

20 killed over weekend in Mexican border city

 

By OLIVIA TORRES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico Nov. 7, 2010 -- At least 20 people were killed in drug-gang violence over the weekend in this northern Mexican border city, including seven found dead outside one house.

 

The seven men were believed to have been at a family party when they were gunned down Saturday night, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the attorney general's office in Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is located. Five were found dead in a car, and the other two were shot at the entrance of the home.

 

There have been several such massacres in Ciudad Juarez, a city held hostage by a nearly three-year turf battle between the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels.

 

Few residents now venture out to bars and restaurants. And like those attacked on Saturday, others have discovered that they aren't even safe in their own homes: Last month, \gunmen stormed two neighboring houses and massacred more than a dozen young people attending a party for a 15-year-old boy.

 

Eleven other people were killed Saturday in the city, including two whose bodies were found dismembered, Sandoval said. On Sunday, two city police officers, a man and a woman, were shot to death inside their patrol car.

 

Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, has become one of the world's deadliest cities in the time that the two cartels have been fighting. More than 6,500 people have been killed since the start of 2008.

 

The U.S. Consulate in the northern city of Hermosillo, meanwhile, announced new travel restrictions for its U.S. employees in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora.

 

A consulate warden message said all official travel is banned along Benito Juarez highway between Estacion Don and Guamuchil, Sinaloa, "due to extreme threats of violence."

 

U.S. employees must travel in armored vehicles in the rest of Sinaloa, a state considered the cradle of the drug cartel by the same name and where drug-gang shootouts are frequent. The consulate made an exception for the city of Mazatlan, though it did not explain why.

 

In Sonora, the consulate said armored vehicles were required south of Ciudad Obregon and it banned travel south of Navojoa and in the mountainous areas in eastern Sonora.

 

U.S. personnel also must travel in armored vehicles in the area around Nogales, a town across the border from Nogales, Arizona, "due to widespread violence" and "the threat of known drug trafficking activity throughout northern Sonora."

 

U.S. employees traveling from Nogales, Arizona, to Hermosillo, can only use their own vehicles on the Mexican toll road Higway 15 during daylight hours, the statement added.

 

The U.S. State Department has increasingly taken drastic measures to protect U.S. employees in northern Mexico from rising violence, including temporarily closing some consulates.

 

In southern Mexico, meanwhile, police in Oaxaca city found a human head in a gift-wrapped box left Saturday night on the side of a cliff popular for its view of the picturesque colonial center.

 

Reporters at the scene saw a threatening message left with the head signed, "the last letter Z," an apparent reference to the Zetas drug gang.

 

The gruesome find came a week after two young men who had been involved in violent university protests and other conflicts were gunned down in the middle of the day in a public plaza.

 

An e-mail purportedly from the Zetas claimed responsibility for those slayings and said that the two were killed for falsely representing themselves as members of the gang.

Oaxaca state Attorney General Maria de la Luz Candelaria Chinas said the e-mail is suspected to be fake, although she said authorities had not ruled out the possibility that the Zetas sent it.

 

Mexican government officials describe the Zetas - former hit men for the Gulf cartel who became independent this year - as a sort of franchise with units across the country. But officials say some of those cells are copycats using the Zetas name to intimidate extortion and kidnap victims.

 

The Zetas have grown in power over the past decade, and experts warn their clout could grow following the death Friday night of one the gang's major enemies, Gulf cartel leader Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen. The kingpin, known as "Tony Tormenta" or "Tony the Storm," was killed in a shootout with marines.

 

Although there have been some beheadings in recent years, cartel-style violence is rare in Oaxaca, the capital of the southern state by the same name, especially compared to northern Mexico or the central Pacific coast.

 

[cw4192]

they are already in the U.S. so get ready. The AZ Republic and local news stations REFUSE to elaborate on the KILLINGS in this COUNTRY. But when you read the papers or listen to the news pay attention to the ORIGION of the names

[Outdoor Writer]

Geez, if I had known this, I would have had armor plate and bullet-proof windows added to my Durango before my wife and I foolishly drove all the way from Nogales to Mazatlan and back last month. We even made the mistake to overnight in Navajoa on the way down and Hermosillo on the way home. BTW, the shrimp chipolte was excellent at the Del Rio in Navajoa and at the La Casa Grande in Hermosillo.

[billrquimby]

Geez, if I had known this, I would have had armor plate and bullet-proof windows added to my Durango before my wife and I foolishly drove all the way from Nogales to Mazatlan and back last month. We even made the mistake to overnight in Navajoa on the way down and Hermosillo on the way home. BTW, the shrimp chipolte was excellent at the Del Rio in Navajoa and at the La Casa Grande in Hermosillo.

 

 

 

It's a good thing you're not "U.S. personnel," Tony.

 

 

Bill Quimby

[Outdoor Writer]

It's a good thing you're not "U.S. personnel," Tony.

 

 

Or a member of the Mexican Army, a Mexican law enforcement officer or a member of a drug cartel.

[CouesWhitetail]

It's a good thing you're not "U.S. personnel," Tony.

 

 

Or a member of the Mexican Army, a Mexican law enforcement officer or a member of a drug cartel.

 

 

How do we know you are not a member of a drug cartel?? You make an awful lot of trips back and forth to Mexico Tony!!!

[Outdoor Writer]

How do we know you are not a member of a drug cartel?? You make an awful lot of trips back and forth to Mexico Tony!!!

 

 

Good point! I did bring back 60 albuterol inhalers -- my yearly supply until my next trip. I guess those are drugs.

[CouesWhitetail]

How do we know you are not a member of a drug cartel?? You make an awful lot of trips back and forth to Mexico Tony!!!

 

 

Good point! I did bring back 60 albuterol inhalers -- my yearly supply until my next trip. I guess those are drugs.

 

 

I knew it!! No wonder you get safe passage in and out of Mexico all these years...

[Outdoor Writer]

The fact that I look Mexicana probably helps a bit, too.

 

Every time we hit a check point, they speak to me in Spanish to start. My standard reply is "no comprende Espanol," which usually gets a surprised look and a "No Mexicano?" in response. I answer with, "No Mexicano, Italiano." The exchange usually results in a "passe," -- go ahead.

 

Now here's some humor. While traveling in Mexico away from the border, I questioned several folks about their opinions on SB1070. Not a one of them had the faintest idea what I was talking about, even after I provided a short explanation of what it was.

 

Evidently the only one down there that has heard about it is Caulderon.

[firstcoueswas80]

Tony,

 

Please dont take this personally but your attitude about the dangers of Mexico remind me of a 18 year old kid (aka myself or any hormone filled teenager). You seem to have this attitude that you are bullet proof and the dangers in Mexico are a myth because you travel once a year back and forth and are yet to have a problem. Now, I know you are smarter than that but come on man... All it takes is one bad experience and it not only is a bad experience, but possibly leaves you dead! Please, quit the ostrich like mentality and open your eyes.

 

Again, I mean that in all due respect, but everytime something comes up about Mexico you seem to think it is all a falicy and there is no danger down there unless you are "a member of the Mexican Army, a Mexican law enforcement officer or a member of a drug cartel". Innocent have and commonly do get killed over there for no reason.

 

BTW, "The fact that I look Mexicana probably helps a bit, too." You just said you look a bit like a Mexican woman/girl.

[Outdoor Writer]

Thanks for the lecture, Casey.

 

I neither think I'm bullet-proof or stupid, and as a grown-up feel quite capable to make my own decisions about my well-being. See, I just look at it real simple: the dangers of anything happening to US in Mexico is greatly exaggerated. In fact, I feel less safe driving in the area where I live, especially if I should inadvertantly cut off someone whose first reponse is to shoot me. And it happens quite often in the PHX metro area. Last week, two guys were shot in their car while driving. They don't have a clue who did it. This past weekend an 18-yr. old kid out jogging at 7 a.m. to lose a few pounds was shot and killed. They don't have a clue who did it. So it appears "innocents" also get killed here for no reason.

 

Actually, I often drive to Mexico more than once a year and will continue to do so. And I'll continue to take the same precautions I take here: do not get involved with the wrong people; stay out of areas where I don't belong and obey the laws. Most importantly, I'll try to mind my own business.

 

BTW, do you have any figures on how many American tourists have been crime victims there over the last year or so? I would be willing to bet that number is quite low, probably not more than the number of crime victims in Phoenix last weekend.

[joeybari]

The fact that I look Mexicana probably helps a bit, too.

 

Every time we hit a check point, they speak to me in Spanish to start. My standard reply is "no comprende Espanol," which usually gets a surprised look and a "No Mexicano?" in response. I answer with, "No Mexicano, Italiano." The exchange usually results in a "passe," -- go ahead.

 

Now here's some humor. While traveling in Mexico away from the border, I questioned several folks about their opinions on SB1070. Not a one of them had the faintest idea what I was talking about, even after I provided a short explanation of what it was.

 

Evidently the only one down there that has heard about it is Caulderon.

Italiano. then you should be sent back more so then anyone else.

 

[Snapshot]

U.S. citizens warned to change travel procedures to Mexico

Posted: Nov 10, 2010 5:06 PM MST

Updated: Nov 10, 2010 5:06 PM MST

Web Producer: Adriana Desiderio

 

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – U.S. citizens traveling to or living in Mexico are warned by the American Citizen Services Office to change their travel paths to and from U.S. Consulate General Hermosillo.

 

Extreme threats of violence along Highway 15/Benito Juarez Autopista have lead to the prohibition of travel between Estacion Don and Guamuchil, Sinaloa.

 

U.S. government employees much be transported in armored vehicles while officially traveling in the state of Sinaloa unless they are within the city limits of Mazatlan where non-armored cars are acceptable for travel.

 

Official travel south of Ciudad Obregon must be escorted by police and performed in armored GOVs. No personal travel for Consulate Hermosillo employees is allowed south of Navojoa, Sonora.

 

When traveling through Ciudad Obregon and Navajoa towards Alamos, U.S. government personnel must exercise extreme caution. Traveling in eastern Sonora, north to south from Nacozari de Garcia through Moctezuma, through Arivechi, through Rosaria and ending in Alamos, is prohibited.

 

Violence across parts of the Nogales Consular District and the threat of known drug trafficking activity throughout northern Sonora has lead to all official travel to and in the Nogales Consular District to be conducted in armored GOVs. Currently, consulate employees only are permitted to travel between the U.S. border at Nogales, AZ, to Hermosillo in personally owned vehicles only on Mexican toll road Highway 15 during daylight hours.

 

The Consulate advises all American citizens living in, visiting or traveling through the consular district to only drive during daylight hours. In addition, Americans are reminded to have a U.S. passport when driving to Mexico and that a visa is required for travel to Mexico. Mexican automobile insurance is required when driving to Mexico and only Mexican pesos are accepted for payment at toll booths.

 

Drivers are encouraged to follow the security precautions detailed in "A Safe Trip Abroad" which can be found at http://travel.state.gov/tips/safety/safety_1747.html.

 

 

 

 

[AZLance]

+1

 

Tony,

 

Please dont take this personally but your attitude about the dangers of Mexico remind me of a 18 year old kid (aka myself or any hormone filled teenager). You seem to have this attitude that you are bullet proof and the dangers in Mexico are a myth because you travel once a year back and forth and are yet to have a problem. Now, I know you are smarter than that but come on man... All it takes is one bad experience and it not only is a bad experience, but possibly leaves you dead! Please, quit the ostrich like mentality and open your eyes.

 

Again, I mean that in all due respect, but everytime something comes up about Mexico you seem to think it is all a falicy and there is no danger down there unless you are "a member of the Mexican Army, a Mexican law enforcement officer or a member of a drug cartel". Innocent have and commonly do get killed over there for no reason.

 

BTW, "The fact that I look Mexicana probably helps a bit, too." You just said you look a bit like a Mexican woman/girl.

 

[Broken Wheels]

Heck the shrimp alone is gonna kill our poor bookworm before the bad guys do folks! It already has him thinking he looks like a chica!