The Americas Post - This was the last face ever seen by a minimum of 75 murder victims

Police in northern Mexico have captured a suspected member of the Zetas drug cartel, who confessed to killing at least 75 people, authorities announced Monday.

Elizondo was captured Jan. 20 in the town of Salinas Victoria, but authorities postponed announcing his arrest in order to verify details of his confession, state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said.

Domene said the 35-year-old suspect told investigators he had worked in the region over three years and that his duty was killing members of the rival Gulf drug cartel en route to the towns of Cerralvo and General Trevino.

Elizondo and other gunmen last January started pulling passengers off buses as they arrived at Cerralvo’s bus station, Domene said. They were among at least 92 bus passengers the Zetas are accused of killing in three attacks in January and March 2011.

Elizondo was famous “for torturing, maiming and then killing his victims,” Domene added.

Last year, authorities in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas exhumed 193 bodies from unmarked graves in the town of San Fernando. Security forces were led to the site by Zetas who confessed to kidnapping and killing bus passengers in the area.

The exact motive for the bus abductions is undetermined. Prosecutors  suggested the gang may be recruiting at gunpoint or killing suspected rivals aboard the buses.

Northeastern Mexico has been inflamed by a turf war between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas since their 2010 division.  Over 47,000 people have been killed nationwide since President Felipe Calderon launched his December 2006 crackdown against drug traffickers.

The Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank,  reported Monday that $872 billion in proceeds from crime flowed out of Mexico between 1970 and 2010.

Luis Alberto Cabrera Sarabia, alias “The Architect,” was killed Friday during an air and ground operation in Canatlan, Durango state. The action began with a firefight at a ranch, army spokesman general Ricardo Trevilla announced at a news conference.

According to Trevilla, he was “one of the main lieutenants of Joaquin Guzman Loera alias ‘El Chapo.’”

Another gunman died in the raid and 11 others were arrested, Trevilla said. Three soldiers were also wounded.

The army said Luis Alberto Cabrera Sarabia took over as assistant to the fugitive head of the Sinaloa drug cartel after his brother, Felipe Carbrera Sarabia or “The Engineer,” was detained in December.

The northern states of Durango, Sinaloa and Chihuahua are known as the “Golden Triangle,” a key area of production of Mexican opium and marijuana.

The CIA Director visited La Macarena in the state of Meta, center of Colombia. He met with the Defense Minister and Military Commanders of the Colombian Armed Forces.

Colombia’s government today praised U.S. support for strengthening systems of technical (Sigint) and human intelligence (Humint)  in the fight against illegal organizations like FARC operating in this South American country.

“With the support of the U.S. government we are strengthening our systems of technical and human intelligence,” said Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón, through a statement.

He added that “there must be no place in Colombia where terrorists and criminals can hide undetected.”

Minister  Pinzon and Director of the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) United States, Gral. David Petraeus, visited La Macarena last Friday in the southern province of Meta, one of the areas where the illegal groups and drug traffickers operate.

With these meetings Colombia “will continue to strengthen cooperation ties between the two countries and strengthen the commitment to continue fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime,” said the Defense Ministry statement.

The Americas Post - Honduran criminals won't have Peace Corps volunteers to prey on anymore

Worsening drug and organized-crime violence in Central America has forced the Peace Corps to pull out of Honduras and halt the flow of new volunteers to Guatemala and El Salvador, that organization has announced.

Last month Peace Corps officials reviewed worsening conditions and decided to withdraw all 158 volunteers from Honduras in January and suspend training for 29 recruits.  That evacuation has now been carried out.

The Americas Post - Unless it's your job to do so, you probably shouldn't look inside that car

Mexican officials report that almost 13,000 people were killed in violence blamed on drug cartels between January and September of 2011.

That would bring the death toll to 47,515 since President Felipe Calderon launched his offensive against drug traffickers at the end of 2006.  Officials claimed the 11% rise in murders was slower than in previous years, but with presidential elections in July, violence is set to be a key issue for voters.

This week, Mexico’s Federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) released data showing 12,903 people killed in drug-related violence during the first nine months of 2011.  The first official statistics released since January 2011, they came in response to multiple freedom of information requests filed during the last several months.

The PGR claimed that the 11% rise was “a significant decrease” on previous years.  In 2009-2010, murders climbed 70%; 2008-2009 had a 63% rise and there was a 110% increase in 2007-2008.  But with the 2011 figures running just until September, the final total could surpass 16,000.

The PGR pointed out the violence was concentrated in just 25% of Mexico’s states.  Security improvements have been achieved in some areas, such as the border city of Tijuana.  Ciudad Juarez, also on the US-Mexico, remains among the most violent cities with 1,206 murders, although that was half of the approximately 2,500 killings the year before.  However, experts say the decline in killings may be the result of one cartel exerting overall control rather than specific success by the military or police.

Last year also brought drug violence to previously calm areas, such as the Gulf port city of Veracruz.  The capital, Mexico City, has remained relatively untouched.

On Wednesday however, two decapitated bodies were discovered inside a burning vehicle outside an upscale mall in the Santa Fe neighborhood of Mexico City.  Two heads were placed in front of the car.

The government mentions that Mexico’s murder rate remains below that of several neighbors, including Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil and Venezuela.

The Americas Post - Drug trafficking accusations are no obstacle for the Chavez administration

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez this week appointed a new defense minister, described by the United States as a “drug kingpin” involved in cocaine smuggling from next-door Colombia.

“This good soldier, this humble soldier … this fighter for the people, today I publicly designate him as the new defense minister of the Republic,” Chavez announced while naming General Henry Rangel Silva to the post.

In 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Rangel and another top Venezuelan officer of supporting narcotics trafficking operations by Colombian FARC guerrillas.  Both men denied any connection.

President Chavez  has repeatedly denied U.S. accusations that his government has turned a blind eye to drug trafficking.  He in turn accuses the United States of being a decadent empire that exploits developing countries.

The Venezuelan leader is expected to reshuffle his cabinet in the next few months to allow several of his current ministers to run in regional elections later this year.

Sharing a long border with Colombia, Venezuela has become a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine en route to consumer nations.  Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005 when he accused its agents of spying and violating Venezuelan sovereignty.

He claims his administration has invested millions of dollars in anti-narcotic operations, pointing to the extradition of accused druglords to Colombia and an increase in drug-related arrests as proof of Venezuela’s efforts.

Diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States have been icy for years, in spite of the fact that South American nation still provides nearly 10 percent of US fuel imports.

In September, Washington accused four close Chavez allies of providing arms to FARC rebels in Colombia, a charge which Venezuela described as “abusive.”

The Americas Post - Apparently you don't need to be tall to burn down a casino

Police in Mexico have arrested an alleged member of the Zetas drug cartel for masterminding  a casino fire that killed 52 people in the northern city of Monterrey, authorities said Friday.

The Americas Post - The Tijuana cartel leader got off with a lighter sentence than his underlings

Former drug capo Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty this week to federal racketeering and money-laundering conspiracy charges, putting an end to a long case against Mexico’s formerly most powerful organized crime group.

Arellano Felix, 58, the former leader of the Arellano Felix drug cartel, converted Tijuana into a major trafficking route to the U.S. during a 16-year run before his arrest in Mexico in 2002.

His group, also known as the Tijuana cartel, funneled tons of drugs into California, terrorized rivals, bribed Mexican law enforcement officials and financed luxurious lifestyles that became symbolic of Mexican organized crime.

According to the plea deal with federal prosecutors in San Diego, Arellano Felix admitted making hundreds of millions in profits, exchanging weapons for drugs from a rebel group in Colombia and training teams to assassinate competitors and witnesses.

Extradited from Mexico in April, he now faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, according to the agreement.   Under terms of the extradition agreement with Mexico Arellano Felix was not subject to the death penalty, but many expected him to receive a life sentence.

His organization introduced paramilitary tactics, including .50-caliber machine guns and armored cars with oil and smoke dispensers to evade arrest.
The cartel regularly used chemicals to dispose of enemies, dissolving bodies in vats of acid.

As part of the plea agreement, four of the five original charges were dismissed. Arellano Felix pleaded guilty to only two counts: racketeering and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million, according to the agreement.

The U.S. attorney for San Diego, Laura Duffy, called the case historic.

“Arellano-Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today’s guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption, and his historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite, and prosecute you for your criminal activities.”