Frontera NorteSur September-October 2003

Violence Shifts Trade from Nuevo Laredo to Matamoros

The recent disappearance and murder of law enforcement authorities in Nuevo Laredo and the city's eight-month long war between rival drug cartels has resulted in the increased flow of goods through Matamoros, according to Jorge Alberto Chávez Camacho, the head of Customs in that city. 

Between July 2003 and August 2003, Customs saw a 7% increase in the fees it collected from importers, Chávez said. Chávez noted that the magnitude of the revenue increase exceeded what had been expected. 

One Japanese electronics giant that previously imported material into Mexico through Nuevo Laredo has already rerouted its goods through Matamoros, Chávez told the Matamoros newspaper El Bravo. 

"Companies with recognizable brand names have made known their desire to work in Matamoros," said Chávez. "This is because they see that conditions in Nuevo Laredo are no longer appropriate."

Chávez also mentioned that customs brokers are meeting with his office to discuss opening operations in Matamoros. 

"Matamoros Customs is prepared to work in import and export operations and we're happy that they are doing it through here," said Chávez of the city's newfound customers. 

Source: El Bravo (Matamoros), September 1, 2003. Article by Oscar Treviño.

Alleged Cartel Leader Arrested, Linked to Recent Nuevo Laredo Crimes

Mexico's Attorney General's Office has announced that alleged Milenio cartel leader Armando Valencia Contreras was formally placed under arrest on Wednesday, August 20, 2003. Valencia and seven other men were detained on Friday, August 15 in Jalisco.

Arrested along with Valencia was Eloy Treviño, the alleged head of the Milenio cartel in Tamaulipas. All eight men have been charged with unspecified offenses related to drug trafficking and organized crime. 

The Mexican Attorney General's Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) said that Milenio was trying to take control of Nuevo Laredo away from the Gulf cartel. According to the PGR, this led to two widely-publicized street battles in Nuevo Laredo on August 1, 2003 that included the use of automatic weapons and a grenade launcher. 

In the first August 1 confrontation, authorities allege that Treviño and his men battled with Los Zetas, deserted, Mexican Army special forces that work for the Gulf cartel. In the second battle, federal authorities say they were attacked by men from the Milenio cartel. 

Also according to the PGR, Valencia's organization allegedly moved 200 gunmen into 20 rental houses around Nuevo Laredo so that they could aid in the take over of the border city. In response to this, in April 2003, the PGR alleges that Los Zetas kidnapped and murdered nine men from one of the homes and left their bodies in the neighboring state of Nuevo León. 

The PGR says that over the past two years the Milenio cartel has moved large quantities of cocaine into the US. It also holds Milenio responsible for two shipments of cocaine that totaled approximately 400 kilograms and that were later intercepted by the DEA in Atlanta. 

Sources: El Mañana (Nuevo Laredo), August 21, 2003. Reforma, August 16, 2003.