Idaho feels impact of drug trafficking from border
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFiTwBf6HwI
Gov. Abbott blasts Biden's 'catastrophic open border policies' for migrant crisis
EXCLUSIVE: Texas Border City Builds Ties with Mexican Officials Facing Money Laundering Investigations
Officials in a Texas border city have been working to develop ties with key political and financial figures in Mexico who appear to be promoting growth. These same figures are the targets of ongoing money laundering investigations.
This week, the City of Mission, hosted a delegation of representatives from the Mexican port city of Mazatlan, Sinaloa. During their visit, Mission Mayor Armando O’cana and Mazatlan Mayor Luis Guillermo Benito Torres signed a “Sister City” agreement claiming to promote commercial and cultural ties.
Since then, city officials voted to give 25 ballistic vests from the Mission Police Department to their new sister city through a process called “surplus and convey.” Mazatlan is approximately 140 miles away from Culiacan, the main base of operations of the Sinaloa Cartel. Mazatlan is the same city where in 2014, Mexican authorities arrested Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently serving a life term in a U.S. prison.
The state of Sinaloa is currently listed as a “Do Not Travel” Destination by the U.S. Department of State over “crime and kidnapping.” In their travel advisory, the State Department claims that criminal organizations are based out of Sinaloa and that U.S. citizens have been victims of crime and kidnapping. A do-not-travel designation is the same used for war-torn countries where the safety of a traveler is not guaranteed.
One of the key members of the delegation from Mazatlan, whose photograph was posted on the Mission Facebook page but has since been removed for unknown reasons, is Juan Jose Arellano Hernandez, the head of Grupo Arhes, a Mexican commercial conglomerate. Arellano Hernandez is believed to have been responsible for transporting the delegation from Mexico to Mission. Breitbart Texas was not able to independently verify that claim.
Juan Jose Arellano Hernandez (front), Texas State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (rear) during a sister city event in Mission, Texas
Arellano Hernandez and Grupo Arhe are currently under investigation by Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) in connection with the use of shell companies to launder money. According to an investigation by Rio Doce, which was then republished by Telemundo, Arellano Hernandez and his brother Erick (since 2005) managed to build a conglomerate of companies out of nothing. The list of companies now includes hotels, gas stations, construction companies, schools, and Mexican professional sports teams.
In previous years, the two brothers had some of their assets frozen by Mexican authorities. In 2018, under the Enrique Pena Nieto presidency, those assets were unfrozen and returned to them. Since then, Mexico’s UIF has once again set its sights on the two brothers and Grupo Arhe in an ongoing investigation. Grupo Arhes denied the expose by Rio Doce claiming that the story is false. Their denial can be seen here.
In September, the City of Mission invited the new governor of Nuevo Leon, Samuel Garcia Sepulveda, for multiple events including a vaccination drive for Mexican nationals hosted in conjunction with the city of McAllen. As Breitbart Texas reported exclusively, Garcia Sepulveda is under a money-laundering investigation in Mexico for the alleged use of shell companies to funnel illicit funds into his gubernatorial campaign. Breitbart Texas also revealed that one of those shell companies listed a drug distributor with Los Zetas as the business owner. The father of the Mexican politician has also been singled out by authorities for the alleged embezzlement of properties and funds from a former leader of the Gulf Cartel who is also the governor’s relative.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Mexican Army Finds Cocaine on Bus Bound for Border City
Mexican soldiers found a shipment of cocaine hidden in a passenger bus headed for the border city of Matamoros. The seizure took place at a time when authorities have stepped up their presence at highway checkpoints amid the immigration crisis.
The case took place this week at a highway checkpoint known as La Coma, south of the city of San Fernando, along the highway that connects the state capital of Ciudad Victoria with the border city of Matamoros, the Mexican Army revealed.
The seizure took place when a bus from the Turistar company pulled up to the checkpoint and soldiers pulled it aside for a closer inspection using an x-ray machine. Authorities found 29 bricks of cocaine that were hidden within the floor of the bus. The soldiers arrested the driver and his assistant and turned them over to agents with Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office.
That highway is one of the main trafficking routes used by the Gulf Cartel to move drugs and migrants into the border city of Matamoros. Once there, the criminal organization is able to use their various methods to move cargo across the Rio Grande.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” from Tamaulipas.
EXCLUSIVE: CBP to Report Record of Nearly 2 Million Migrants Encountered in 2021
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to report just under 2 million migrant encounters nationwide for the recently ended Fiscal Year 2021. The number of migrants encountered by Border Patrol agents and CBP officers jumped 202 percent over the previous year’s roughly 647,000.
CBP Officers and Border Patrol agents encountered nearly 1.96 million migrants nationwide during FY21 which ended on September 30, according to a highly placed source operating under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. A document from the agency reviewed by Breitbart Texas revealed the record-breaking level of migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Of the nearly 1.96 million migrants encountered, more than 1.66 million, a new record for Border Patrol, were migrants apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the southern, northern, and coastal borders. This represents an increase of 310 percent over the previous year’s 405,000 migrants.
The report for FY21 set a new record for the apprehension of migrants by Border Patrol agents for the nine southwest border sectors. The previous apprehension record of 1.64 million was set in FY2000, Breitbart Texas reported in late September.
Of the nearly 2 million migrants encountered by CBP and Border Patrol in FY2021, nearly 1.6 million took place following changes in immigration and border security policy following the Biden inauguration.
Single adult migrants accounted for more than 1.3 million of the total encounters, the report is expected to reveal. This is up from just under 537,000 the year before — an increase of nearly 146 percent. Of those, more than 616,000 came from Mexico and nearly 315,000 came from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Family units accounted for the second-largest demographic of migrants encountered with just under 484,000 — an increase of more than 545 percent. More than 275,000 of those came from the Northern Triangle nations.
Encounters with Unaccompanied Minors also jumped by more than 333 percent. CBP officers and agents encountered more than 148,000 unaccompanied minors — up from only 34,000 the year before. Of those, more than 114,000 came from the Northern Triangle countries.
The numbers reported above do not include an estimated 400,000 migrant “got-aways.” The number is determined by counting migrants who ultimately escape apprehension after being observed by surveillance systems. Border Patrol agents also use traditional sign-cutting techniques to spot footprints. It is not a perfect investigative method, however, and sources say the actual got-away count is usually higher.
In a news interview on September 26, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the increase in apprehensions is nothing new. Mayorkas told Fox News’ Chris Wallace, “We are certainly seeing a large number here this year, but in 2019, we saw a large number. In 2014, in 2010. This is nothing new,” he says.
The statement contradicts the reality that the total number of migrant apprehensions along the southwest border with Mexico is higher than any recorded yearly apprehension statistic, dating to 1925 when 22,199 migrants were arrested by the Border Patrol–mostly on horseback.
Editor’s Note: The numbers cited from the source are preliminary numbers and could change slightly before the official report is published by CBP.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
No comments:
Post a Comment