Frontera NorteSur June 2001

Previously the PGR had agreed to stop using "madrinas" in Chihuahua without first notifying local police. Madrinas work as informants for the PGR or sometimes act more like unofficial deputies. It has not been stated in this case if local and state police were aware that Bear was working for the PJF.

In July, 2000 two madrinas were arrested in a stolen vehicle filled with ammunition and communication equipment. The men said that the truck belonged to a PJF agent and later PJF agents tried to intimidate local police into releasing the men, according to city police testimony. To see a July article about this arrest go to http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/jul_aug00/today.html

Source: El Diario, May 18 & 23, 2001. Article by Roberto Ramos and Armando Rodríguez.

State Police Find Plot to Kill Chihuahua Governor

Arturo González Rascón, the Chihuahua Attorney General, said yesterday that investigators have definitively ruled out the possibility that Cruz Victoria Loya acted alone when she allegedly shot Chihuahua Governor Patricio Martínez on January 17, 2001. This stands in contrast to statements made by González in late January when he said that his office was not investigating any sort of plot in the assassination attempt.

Previously, on January 24, Mexican President Vicente Fox said on television that he saw the attempted murder of Governor Martínez as the work of narcotraffickers. This view was substantiated in following weeks by a letter from the FBI which has been much-discussed in the Cd. Juárez media. The letter said that the FBI had heard from an informant inside the Cd. Juárez drug cartel that there was a plan to assassinate Governor Martínez.

González said that he began to believe in a murder conspiracy after mercury capsules were found in Loya's jail cell. González told El Diario that according to the Centro de Investigaciones de Materiales Avanzados (Advanced Materials Investigation Center) the liquid mercury would have caused the rapid death of Loya. Investigators are now trying to determine who may have brought the capsules to Loya.

Source: El Diario, May 2, 2001. Article by Olga Aragón.

Tijuana Courts and Convictions

According to Tijuana's eight criminal courts, 69.6% of last year's 3,227 cases resulted in a conviction. This figure is for cases in which suspects were already in custody.

According to the judges that head the city's eight courts, nearly 10% of the above mentioned cases had to be dropped because of poor investigations.

Approximately 20% of cases are dropped when police do not have anyone in custody for a crime and are seeking an arrest warrant.

Source: Frontera (Tijuana), May 7, 2001. Articles by Jorge Morales.

BC Law Enforcement's "Citizens' Wednesday" and "Black List" Fail

The Baja California office of the Procuraduría General de la República (Federal Attorney General's Office, PGR) recognizes that its "Miércoles ciudadano" (Citizens' Wednesday) crime hotline has had very little participation, according to BC PGR spokesperson Abraham Sarabia.

Sarabia indicated that over the past few days the hotline had received just two calls, one informing on a group of "polleros" (human traffickers) at Otay (on the BC-California border) and another call informing on a house where drugs were being sold.

The hotline's goal was to receive information on crimes within the PGR's federal jurisdiction (such as the sale and distribution of drugs) and to act on these tips in a confidential way.

The PGR believes that people do not use the "Miércoles ciudadano" program because they are afraid of reprisals, do not have faith in the PGR or are not aware of the program.

"La lista negra"

The publication of a "black list" by the BC Attorney General's Office with the names of 4,510 people with outstanding arrest warrants for non-violent crimes has been deemed a failure by state judges. The list was made public by the Procuraduría General de Justicia en el Estado (PGJE) on April 23, 2001 and so far only two people and one person's lawyer have presented themselves at state courts.

Gilberto Cota Alaniz, judge of the Tercero de lo Penal court, said that the PGJE should act on outstanding arrest warrants rather than publish them. Cota said that over time arrest warrants go unfulfilled for various reasons and are eventually canceled which means that criminals escape going to jail.

Source: Frontera (Tijuana), May 3, 2001. Articles by Jorge Morales.

Méxicali Public Safety

The Méxicali Sistema Municipal del Transporte (City Transport System, SMT) announced that it has ended its program for drug testing bus drivers. Begun in February 2001, SMT officials would surprise bus drivers with the tests. The program was created by an agreement between private bus companies and the city. When half of the bus lines quit the program the remaining companies no longer wanted to participate. No new drug-testing program has been announced.

Under the agreement 133 tests were performed, of which 21 (16%) came back positive for drug use. Two of the drivers found to have one or more illegal drugs present in their system quit their jobs and the other 19 joined a drug-treatment program and may be allowed to drive again if they can stay clean. Each test cost 175 pesos (approximately US$18.50).

Border Patrol Attacked by Rock Throwers

On Wednesday May 16, 2001, US Border Patrol agents requested help from Méxicali city police because people on the Mexican side of the border were allegedly throwing rocks at them. The city police responded to the call for help but did not find the suspects. The rocking throwing occurred in a part of the city where a high fence separates Méxicali from the US.

Source: La Crónica, May 17, 2001. Bus driver article by José Manuel Yépiz Ruiz.

Méxicali Murder Statistics

Statistics from the Baja California Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado (State Attorney General's Office, PGJE) reveal that 18 of the year's 58 murders have been resolved with suspects now in the custody of law-enforcement officials.

At least 21 of the 58 slayings are related to drug trafficking and organized crime, according to the Policía Ministerial del Estado (State Police, PME). Besides the 21 narco-style murders most of the other killings resulted from fights in which the participants were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A few of the murders have been deemed "crimes of passion" by the PME or were revenge killings.

Homicide specialists have identified the irrigation canals preferred by killers when getting rid of bodies. Police say that canals are a preferred method of disposal because they provoke the rapid deterioration of cadavers and aid in the destruction of evidence.
Source: Frontera (Tijuana), May 7, 2001. Article by Marco Vinicio Blanco.

PGR Seeks Officials Video Taped at Gulf-Cartel Quinceañera

Arrested on April 11, 2001, Gilberto García Mena "El June," is one of the alleged leaders of the Gulf drug cartel. Now, according to Nuevo Laredo's newspaper El Mañana, the Procuraduría General de la República (Federal Attorney General's Office, PGR) has identified three of the 130 government officials visible in video tape taken at the quinceañera of one of García's daughters. The officials are allegedly from all three levels of Mexican government (local, state and federal).

El Mañana revealed other details about the quinceañera saying that local police in Miguel Alemán, a city of 23,000 located between Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, diverted traffic off of the street where the club for the party was located. El Mañana's sources, which requested anonymity, also stated that more than fifty men provided security for the fiesta including state and local police. The newspaper's sources also say that US officials were seen at the party.

Source: El Mañana (Nuevo Laredo), May 16, 2001. Article by Alma Leticia González.