[GueseVekdet]

72 bodies found dumped on a farm 90 miles from the U.S. border. The dead included illegal migrants from Ecuador, Brazil, Honduras and El Salvador. Apparently, the cartels are charging these illegal immigrants for passing through the city on their way to the U.S. If they refuse to pay or help smuggle drugs to the U.S., they are murdered.

I wonder if any of this is to also prevent Central and South American latinos from competing with Mexicans for illegal entry to the U.S.?

Victims of Massacre in Mexico Said to Be Migrants
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Published: August 25, 2010

MEXICO CITY — The bullet-pocked bodies of 72 people, believed to be migrants heading to the United States who resisted demands for money, have been found in a large room on a ranch in an area of northeast Mexico with surging violence, the authorities said Wednesday.

Initial reports after the victims were found Tuesday suggested that the mass of bodies was the largest of several dumping grounds, often with dozens of dead, discovered in recent months and attributed to the violence of the drug business.

But if the victims, found after a raid on a ranch in Tamaulipas State by Mexican naval units, are confirmed as migrants, their killings would provide a sharp reminder of the violence in human smuggling as well.

It was not clear if the victims, from Central and South America, were shot all at once. The police were relying on a harrowing but sketchy account from a wounded survivor, published by the newspaper Reforma and confirmed by government officials, who said several people were killed in short order after the migrants refused to pay or cooperate with the gunmen.

A law enforcement official said all were found in a large room, some sitting, some piled atop one another.

Alejandro Poiré, the government’s spokesman for security issues, said that though the investigation was just beginning, the killings seemed to be an outgrowth of pressure on drug gangs by a government crackdown.

“This act confirms that criminal organizations are looking to kidnapping and extortion because they are going through a difficult time obtaining resources and recruiting people willingly,” Mr. Poiré told reporters here.

United States law enforcement officials have warned that drug trafficking groups have increasingly moved into the lucrative business of human smuggling, extorting fees from migrants for safe passage across the border and sometimes forcing them to carry bundles of drugs. Smugglers are also known to rob, kidnap and sometimes kill migrants on both sides of the border.

The unidentified survivor, an Ecuadorean traveling with people from Ecuador, Brazil, Honduras and El Salvador, told investigators that the migrants had entered Mexico from the south and that they were making their way to Texas when they were confronted by the gunmen in San Fernando, about 100 miles south of Brownsville, Tex.

In a statement to the police, he said the leaders of the armed group had tried to extort fees from them and, when the migrants resisted, ordered their gunmen to open fire.

Wounded in the neck by the gunfire, the survivor heard screams and pleas for mercy. Once the men retreated, the witness said, he ran from the ranch where they were being held Monday and found a military checkpoint.

The military units reached the ranch on Tuesday and engaged in a firefight in which one marine and three suspects were killed. One Mexican, a minor, was taken into custody.

The authorities said 58 men and 14 women had been killed in the room by the gunmen. It was unclear how long they had been dead or detained.

The discovery of the bodies was the largest of at least three such finds this year. In May, 55 bodies were pulled from an abandoned mine south of Mexico City, and in July, 51 bodies were discovered in a field near Monterrey, an industrial and commercial hub in northeast Mexico that had been relatively quiet until this year.

A shootout last week in Monterrey outside the American School Foundation, a private school popular with American expatriates and Mexican business executives, prompted the United States Consulate to advise families to keep their children home pending an assessment of security at the school.

More than 28,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderón began a crackdown on organized crime in 2006.

In a meeting with mayors on Wednesday, Mr. Calderón said, “We’re in the middle of a criminal spiral that we have to cut.”

“I don’t know of any crime that isn’t organized,” Mr. Calderón said. “They are all very organized, and much more than the police.”

Antonio Betancourt contributed reporting. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/wo...ml?_r=1&src=me

[UJRonald]

I wonder if any of this is to also prevent Central and South American latinos from competing with Mexicans for illegal entry to the U.S.?

????

That makes no sense...

As you said, it's about not paying or helping smuggle drugs....

[BV6lwvXf]

Its been all over the news since last night, the exact reasons for the killing are still being investigated.

[Dilangos]

????

That makes no sense...

As you said, it's about not paying or helping smuggle drugs....

But it is targeted at migrants passing through Mexico to the U.S. (i.e. non-mexicans). The payment is for the privilege of passing through Mexican territory. Doesn't it send a message as to what happens if migrants come through Mexico?

[Gulauur]

But it is targeted at migrants passing through Mexico to the U.S. (i.e. non-mexicans). Doesn't it send a message as to what happens if migrants come through Mexico?

I think the message they send is what happens if they don't pay...

[Cheeniandab]

Those cartels don't play around. Makes American gangs look like cub scouts.

[gedsiz]

I think the message they send is what happens if they don't pay...

And you don't find it strange that no Mexicans were found among the dead in that town?

[excivaamome]

And you don't find it strange that no Mexicans were found among the dead in that town?

Who cares dude, more Mexicans have died than Central Americans and Brazilians. We're not immune to bullets.

[bumxumer]

Who cares dude, more Mexicans have died than Central Americans and Brazilians. We're not immune to bullets.

WTF! A lot of people care, dude. Are you defending the cartels?

[elapicearpisp]

WTF! A lot of people care, dude. Are you defending the cartels?

I am just saying that it's not like they're on a killing spree on Central Americans. Just that. Poor migrants are hardly their main target.

[Phighicle]

Almost all the victims of that violence have been Mexican. They are well over twenty thousand now. The cartels don't discriminate by nationality. In addition, up until now, most of those killed were members of rival cartels, distributors, dealers etc. What is worrisome is the cartels may expand this to target people in general and resort to terrorist actions. Seems like a plan to desestabilize Mexico is on.

[sauppyshurb]

WTF! A lot of people care, dude. Are you defending the cartels?

You read El Norte, and you find out 3 people were killed...every day.

How can you think somebody would defend the cartels?

[orison]

Are cartels like gangs in Mexico? I've always thought they were the ones who supply drugs and basically control everything. (Sorry, I have limited knowledge based on Hollywood movies!)

[affewheillMapew]

Are cartels like gangs in Mexico? I've always thought they were the ones who supply drugs and basically control everything. (Sorry, I have limited knowledge based on Hollywood movies!)

Highly organized group of drug dealers. Like a family of the mafia.

In this war, it's not only the army against the cartels, but also the cartels against other cartels...

[pongeystrhjst]

You read El Norte, and you find out 3 people were killed...every day.

How can you think somebody would defend the cartels?

I don't know. That's why I asked.

You have to realize this war between the Mexican cartels and the Mexican government is watched very closely in U.S. border states. It is a huge matter of concern here.

[laperuzdfhami]

I don't know. That's why I asked.

You have to realize this war between the Mexican cartels and the Mexican government is watched very closely in U.S. border states. It is a huge matter of concern here.

It should be, because a lot of the drug goes to U.S.

[Rabbahpuptiopp]

I'm not one for creating fantasy doomsday scenarios, but it is conceivable that some of these cartels are taking their violent activity closer to the US border and one day could create an international incident (an American getting killed). All it could take is one stray bullet into an American town. And this would be their plan to create more destabilization, although I really can't fathom why would they want to attract the attention of the US. '

[arrismVam]

It should be, because a lot of the drug goes to U.S.

No. That's not why it is of concern. It is of concern because it is a matter of national security that this war and the cartels violence not be allowed to cross over into the United States. And if it does, we must respond.

---------- Post added 2010-08-26 at 20:30 ----------

I'm not one for creating fantasy doomsday scenarios, but it is conceivable that some of these cartels are taking their violent activity closer to the US border and one day could create an international incident (an American getting killed). All it could take is one stray bullet into an American town. And this would be their plan to create more destabilization, although I really can't fathom why would they want to attract the attention of the US. '

Thank you. It's not a fantasy at all. We could conceivably go to war with Mexico if the cartels take control.

[Npbfamgt]

No. That's not why it is of concern. It is of concern because it is a matter of national security that this war and the cartels violence not be allowed to cross over into the United States. And if it does, we must respond.

The cartels take the drug to United States, obviously because of the high demand for drugs there is in America.

They cross over, and they have been doing that since time ago.

---------- Post added 2010-08-26 at 20:34 ----------

I'm not one for creating fantasy doomsday scenarios, but it is conceivable that some of these cartels are taking their violent activity closer to the US border and one day could create an international incident (an American getting killed). All it could take is one stray bullet into an American town. And this would be their plan to create more destabilization, although I really can't fathom why would they want to attract the attention of the US. '

Didn't you hear about what happened in Juarez? About the Consulate?

---------- Post added 2010-08-26 at 20:36 ----------

Thank you. It's not a fantasy at all. We could conceivably go to war with Mexico if the cartels take control.

Now, that's ridiculous.

[PhillipHer]

The cartels take the drug to United States, obviously because of the high demand for drugs there is in America.

They cross over, and they have been doing that since time ago.

---------- Post added 2010-08-26 at 20:34 ----------



Didn't you hear about what happened in Juarez? About the Consulate?

---------- Post added 2010-08-26 at 20:36 ----------



Now, that's ridiculous.

Ummn. Sure. I'm glad you think it is ridiculous but you may underestimate Americans, if you think we won't.

No argument that the cartels send drugs to the U.S. That isn't the same as allowing the violence to cross over.

What happened in Juarez? Other than the typical.