Mexican Cop Arrested In Connection To Massacre Of American Mormon Family that Included Three Women and Six Children


Federal authorities arrested Fidel Alejandro Villegas, the police chief of Janos, a small town in the state of Chihuahua, following the massacre near the border on November 4, 2019 of three women and six children from Mormon families who were dual citizens of Mexico and America. Fidel Alejandro Villegas was arrested for his alleged ties to La Linea, part of the Juárez drug cartel that is believed to have ambushed the nine relatives last month. Authorities believe that the Mormons got caught between the warring Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels. Mexican law enforcement has long been criticized for being on the payroll of the drug cartels.

The Mexican government estimates more than 250,000 people have been slain in cartel-related violence since 2006. The homicide rate has climbed to historical levels under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with well over 29,000 homicides in 2019 so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB8p9GVn-hU

In a shocking development in the hunt to locate those responsible for the massacre of nine U.S. citizens at the hands of suspected cartel gunmen, authorities arrested a Mexican police chief.

Federal authorities arrested Fidel Alejandro Villegas, the police chief of Janos, a small town in the state of Chihuahua, earlier this week, Mexico’s Public Security Ministry announced Friday. Villegas is suspected of not only being involved in local organized crime, but of also having a hand in the killings that took place in November.

The arrest confirms a longstanding criticism of the country’s law enforcement: that many are on cartels’ payroll.

“It’s common knowledge down here that the police work with the criminals,” Julián LeBarón, a relative of the victims, told The New York Times. “They have a monopoly on security and they get paid a wage for protection, and later we find out that they participate in the murder of women and children,” he continued. “These people take resources to protect us and they are murderers themselves.”

The arrest follows the Nov. 4 murders of a binational Mexican-American Mormon family. While driving through a remote area near the southern border, the family was suddenly gunned down by suspected members of a cartel. The massacre left three women and their six children — two of whom were infants — dead. It’s still not entirely clear why the family was targeted, but authorities suspect they were mistakenly suspected of belonging to a rival cartel.

The incident was just one example of the immense violence taking place in Mexico, particularly in the country’s northern region. The Mexican government estimates more than 250,000 people have been slain in cartel-related violence since 2006 — and the violence appears to be only be escalating. The homicide rate has climbed to historical levels under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with well over 29,000 homicides in 2019 so far, surpassing 2018’s sky-high rate.

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Additional source:

https://nypost.com/2019/12/27/mexican-security-chief-arrested-in-connection-to-mormon-family-massacre/




Mexican Drug Cartel Suspected in Murder of Three American Women and Six Children Near the Border. Mexican President Rejects Trump’s Offer to Wipe the Cartels Off the Face of the Earth.

Mexican drug cartel gunmen are suspected of the ambush and murder of three women and six children near a rural Mormon community in Sinaloa, Mexico, close to the US border. All of the victims are dual US and Mexican citizens. The women from the Lebaron family, an offshoot of a Mormon sect, were driving their 14 children in a motorcade with three SUVs that may have been mistaken for a rival gang, however, the cartels are aware of the religious community and have a violent history with them. One of the SUVs, with a mother and four children in it, exploded and was set afire. All three of the women and six children were killed, with another five children suffering from gunshot injuries.

President Trump tweeted that a family from Utah got caught between two vicious drug cartels and were killed. He offered Mexico the services of the US military to “wage war” against the cartels and wipe them off the face of the Earth. Mexico has registered more than 250,000 murders since the government controversially deployed the army to fight drug trafficking in 2006. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) rejected Trump’s offer, saying that war is not the answer. AMLO claimed in the past that his government will not fight drug cartels with violence, but through economic opportunities and social programs.

At least nine U.S. citizens, including six children, were killed Monday in an apparent ambush on a highway in the Mexican border state of Sonora, according to relatives of the victims and local media reports.

The dead included 8-month-old twins, said a family member, Kendra Lee Miller. Eight children survived, some seriously wounded, including a 9-month-old who was shot in the chest and a 4-year-old shot in the back, Miller said.

Willie Jessop, who is related to one victim, told NBC News by phone from Utah that the attack was on a motorcade consisting of several families, and that survivors at the scene told him that three cars were shot at and one was set on fire.

The Mexican government said Tuesday that three SUVs were hit in the assault.

“Everyone is in so much shock,” Jessop said, adding that he has been in contact with Mexican federal officials and the FBI. “It’s just unbelievable, and there’s just no way to comprehend it.”

Mexican government authorities said the family of three women and 14 children were on their way from Galeana, Chihuahua, to Bavispe, Sonora, and were attacked near the border between the two states.

Rhonita Miller was on her way to a shopping trip in Arizona with her family, while the others were going to Chihuahua to visit relatives, Kendra Lee Miller said.

The victims were identified by Miller as Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 29; Dawna Langford, 43; Trevor Langford, 11; and Rogan Langford, 2-and-a-half.

Also killed were Rhonita Miller, 30; Howard Miller, 12; Krystal Miller, 10; and the 8-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana Miller.

Kendra Lee Miller said a 13-year-old, Devin Langford, escaped uninjured and then walked for about 14 miles to La Mora, where the family lived, for help after hiding his wounded siblings in bushes and covering them with branches.

Read full article here…

Additional sources:

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/11/05/narco-terror-10-u-s-women-children-murdered-by-cartel-gunmen-near-new-mexico-border/

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/11/05/mexico-declines-president-trumps-offer-for-war-against-cartels/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7653577/Life-inside-LeBaron-Mormon-stronghold-Mexico-blighted-cartel-violence-murder.html




Houston: Two Innocent People Dead after ‘No-Knock Raid’ Based on False Report of Drug Buy by Undercover Officer



Houston Police Department (HPD) Senior Officer Gerald Goines, 54, is accused of lying about a tip from an informant indicating that a couple, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, were dealing drugs and had large amounts of heroin and weapons in their home.  Several weeks ago, HPD obtained a warrant and conducted a “no-knock raid” surprise attack on the Tuttles, and police shot the couple dead when they tried to defend themselves.  Four Houston police officers were also shot.  Confidential informants said that they did not buy drugs from the couple on behalf of Officer Goines.  It is unknown if any of the other officers were aware of the false report.  Goines was involved in a prior shooting in 1997 involving road rage.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston police officer at the center of the botched drug raid has been shot twice before. The facts of one of those shootings changed dramatically in the days after it.

Senior Officer Gerald Goines, 54, was shot in 1992 and 1997.

In
1992, Houston police said Goines had just completed a narcotics
transaction when he stopped to urinate on a tree. The homeowner, who was
worried about burglars, walked outside and spoke to Goines. Moments
later, police said at the time, he returned with a pistol. Goines was
shot in the jaw.

In 1997, what was first believed to be a
narcotics bust turned out to be a deadly case of road rage on the
Southwest Freeway, according to police. Days after the shooting that
left Goines injured and another man, Reginald Dorsey, dead, police said
the two were competing for space on the freeway. Dorsey pulled out a
gun. Both men fired. Goines was shot in the arm and abdomen.

Read full article here…




Mexican President AMLO Decrees the War on Drugs in His Country Has Officially Ended


Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) declared the end of his country’s ‘war on drugs’, saying that the army will stop prioritizing the capture of kingpins and will focus on reducing homicide rates. [Which is strange reasoning when one considers that the main purpose of putting the drug kingpins out of business is to reduce homicide rates caused by those kingpins.] Obrador says he wants to form a national guard, which has caused critics to speculate that the country will be further militarized. Court documents claim that the Sinloa Cartel paid off a former campaign associate of López Obrador during his first failed run for the presidency in 2006. -GEG

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared the end of his
country’s “war” on drugs Wednesday — saying his administration would no
longer prioritize the prosecution of kingpins.

His statement came as US prosecutors urged jurors in Brooklyn to convict infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

“There is no war, officially there is no more war,” López Obrador
said in response to a question from a reporter regarding the lack of
kingpin arrests since he took office, according to AFP.

“We want peace, we are going to get peace. We haven’t detained capos,
because that is not our principal mission. The principal mission of the
government is to guarantee public security.”

Guzman, 61, was extradited to the US in January 2017 — when López Obrador’s predecessor, President Enrique Peña Nieto, was in office — where he is on trial for his role as a leader of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.

When Mexican authorities recaptured the notorious cocaine smuggler a
year earlier, Peña Nieto lavished praise on the law enforcement officers
who made the collar, saying they were “a source of pride” for the
nation.

But López Obrador said law enforcement will now instead focus on reducing homicide rates.

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Mayor of Mexican Town Assassinated During His First Day in Office

Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico: Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, a member of Mexican President AMLO’s National Regeneration Movement, had just taken office in the town of Tlaxiaco when he was gunned down. Local politicians are often targeted because they crack down on corruption and local crime or because they favor a certain cartel and are killed by its rivals. 175 politicians were murdered between September 2017 and August 2018. -GEG

Mexico is no stranger to the assassinations of elected officials and candidates for office. And on Tuesday, the latest act of political violence to rock the nation occurred in a town in the southern state of Oaxaca, when the newly sworn in mayor was murdered by a group of gunmen while on his way to his first official meeting.

Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, a member of AMLO’s National Regeneration Movement, had only just taken office in the town of Tlaxiaco when he was gunned down, according to the New York Post.

Holding elected office in Mexico is a perilous task. According to one figure, 175 politicians were murdered between September 2017 and August 2018. Aparicio Santiago wasn’t the only NRM member to be murdered over the past week: On Sunday, María Ascención Torres Cruz was murdered in the state of Morelos.

Read full article here…

 




President Trump Signs Farm Bill that Legalizes Hemp

The 2018 Farm Bill was passed that legalizes the commercial cultivation of hemp nationwide. It now is designated as an agricultural crop. Hemp has very low THC content, the mind-altering chemical but is used to make textiles, foods, fabrics, cosmetics, agriculture products, plastics, and more. In 1970, President Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act that made no distinction between hemp and marijuana. Both were classified as Schedule-I drugs on the list of controlled substances, along with heroin and LSD.  Despite state and federal restrictions, current US hemp-product sales already are at nearly $820-million per year – mostly from overseas sources. Hemp farmers will now be able to buy crop insurance, apply for loans and grants, and write off business expenses. The new law does not allow people to grow their own hemp plants. -GEG

Hemp — a close relative of marijuana that can be used to make textiles and other products — has long been classified as a Schedule I drug by the federal government. That’s set to change.

President Trump is soon expected to sign a farm bill that includes a section that legalizes the commercial cultivation of hemp nationwide.

The bill, years in the making, comes as public support for cannabis legalization has increased over the years, offering a cover of sorts to politicians who see the potential for boosting state tax revenue.

Here’s a look at the movement to legalize hemp and whether it could open the way to lifting the federal prohibition on marijuana.

First, what is hemp exactly?

Hemp, like marijuana, is a form of cannabis.

The two plants look similar, with an important difference. Marijuana produces a flower — the sticky buds filled with THC, the chemical compound that creates a high when smoked or ingested. Hemp does not produce high levels of THC.

Instead, it is prized for its stalks, which contain fiber that can be used to make rope and fabric for clothing.

Its cultivation dates back to 8000 B.C. — and ancient Mesopotamia — and is believed to be among the oldest examples of human industry.

But hemp has been illegal in the United States?

Yes.

Since 1970, when President Nixon launched the so-called war on drugs by signing the Controlled Substances Act, drug laws have made no distinction between hemp and marijuana when it comes to cultivation.

Both are classified as Schedule I drugs on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of controlled substances, alongside heroin and LSD.

Over the years, this has led to misinformation about hemp. Earlier this year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) summed up the bad news for anybody who tries to get high on hemp.

“Federal law treats hemp like it’s a dangerous drug, but the only thing you’re going to accomplish by smoking hemp is wasting breath, time and lighter fluid,” he tweeted.

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Newly Elected Congresswoman Kidnapped on Highway in Mexico. More than 120 Politicians and Candidates Have Been Killed Since September 2017


Hidalgo, Mexico: Norma Azucena Rodríguez Zamora, who was elected on July 1 as part of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, was driving along a highway when two men shot at her vehicle, causing it to flip and injure an assistant and Rodríguez’s driver. The congresswoman was then pulled from the vehicle and forced to leave with the gunmen. She was elected to represent one of Mexico’s most violent states, Veracruz, and would have taken office next month. More than 120 Mexican politicians and political candidates have been killed since September, 2017. More than 200,000 people have been murdered since 2006. -GEG

Mexican congresswoman was kidnapped at gunpoint on Tuesday, just a month and a half after she was first elected.

Norma Azucena Rodríguez Zamora, who was elected on July 1 as part of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution to represent Veracruz state, was driving along a highway in central Hidalgo, the BBC reported. Two men shot at her vehicle, causing it to flip and injuring an assistant as well as Rodríguez’s driver. The elected congresswoman was then pulled from the vehicle and forced to leave with the gunmen.

According to the driver, the two men had their faces covered with hoods. It was also reported that the men were driving a black car.

Photos shared by Mexican media showed the politician’s car turned on its side, with emergency officials and bystanders inspecting the damage. Smoke billowed from the vehicle and glass was scattered along the highway.

Rodríguez, who was voted to represent one of Mexico’s most violent states, was set to officially take office on September 1. She previously served as the mayor of the Veracruz town, Tihuatlán.

The politician’s kidnapping came after Genaro Negrete Urbano, the mayor of Naupan, was abducted along the same Hidalgo highway in July. He was later found shot dead earlier this month.

Mexico’s recent election—which was the largest ever in the country’s modern history—was also hailed as the nation’s bloodiest. More than 120 politicians and political candidates were reported killed since September 2017.

More than 35,000 people in Mexico have gone missing, and over 200,000 have been murdered since 2006. Last year saw a record number of killings, with the country’s interior ministry reporting 29,168 in total—the highest level since the government started keeping records in 1997.

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Mexico: A Record-Breaking 24,000 Homicides Reported from January through September

Mexico’s war on drugs spirals out of control with 24,000 homicides reported from January through September 2017.  73% of those murders are tied to organized crime.  In 2007, prior to the so-called war on drugs, there were 2,828 executions by organized crime. Now the number is 18,017. All crime has increased. 85,000 insured vehicles were stolen over the past 12 months, and 60% of the robberies were violent. -GEG

As our elected officials in Washington D.C. continue to debate whether or not Trump’s proposed border wall would be an effective deterrent to those looking to come to the U.S. illegally, the one thing that is becoming increasingly clear is that Mexico’s drug wars are spiraling out of control…a fact that the Trump administration will almost certainly leverage as it seeks additional funding for border security.  As PanAmPost notes, Mexico has recorded a staggering 24,000 homicides in 2017 through September with 73% of those murders being tied to organized crime.

2017 might be the most violent year in Mexican history, one NGO claims. Semáforo Delictivo said that, due to the 24,000 homicides between January and September, the year is proving even worse than 2011, when President Felipe Calderón’s war on drugs led to 22,000 homicides.

President of the organization, Santiago Roel, said that 73 percent of murders committed in the first eight months of the year were related to organized crime. He said that in 2007, there were 2,828 executions. Now, a decade later, 18,017 have been reported.

All high-impact crimes have increased during the current year, including abductions, homicides and grand theft auto at gunpoint. According to Roel, the main cause of violence and corruption is the “Mérida Plan,” which focuses on eradicating drug cartels.

Moreover, some 85,000 insured vehicles have been stolen over the past 12 months, with 60% being considered ‘violent’.

According to the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions, violent car robberies are at their highest point in the country’s history. Between October 2016 and September 2017, 85,943 insured cars have been stolen. Sixty percent of the robberies were violent.

Recaredo Arias, the association’s Director General, said that elements of organized crime have been identified in these cases, and that more urgent measures are needed to combat the problem.

The states of Guerrero, Sinaloa, Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Morelos, Tabasco and Tamaulipas, have the highest numbers of violent car thefts, he said.

Meanwhile, as Fox News pointed out earlier this week, the drug wars south of the border are seemingly on the precipice of becoming way more sophisticated after 4 men were arrested by federal police carrying a drone equipped with an improvised explosive device wired for remote detonation.

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Duterte Vows to Have Son Murdered If Drug-Trafficking Charges Are True

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he will not hesitate to have his own son murdered if allegations of his involvement in a $125-million drug shipment of crystal methamphetamine from China to Manila prove to be true. He has also vowed to “protect the police who kill him.”  Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ program has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 suspected users and dealers since 2016. -GEG

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he will not hesitate to have his own son murdered if allegations of his involvement in a $125-million drug shipment prove to be true. He has also vowed to “protect the police who kill him.”

“I said before my order was: ‘If I have children who are into drugs, kill them so people will not have anything to say,’” Duterte said in a speech on Wednesday night, as quoted by AFP.

“So I told Pulong [son’s nickname]: ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught. And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.’”

The statement comes amid an allegation that Paolo Duterte is connected with an international drug cartel that attempted to ship $125 million worth of crystal methamphetamine from China to Manila in May.

The accusation was brought forward by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a vocal opponent of the president.

As part of his argument, Trillanes provided photographs of Paolo beside the businessman alleged to be responsible for importing the drugs. He also cited unspecified foreign intelligence that Paolo is a member of a crime syndicate while alluding to a “dragon-like” tattoo on his back as proof.

Paolo, 42, has denied the allegation, telling a Senate inquiry earlier this month that the allegation was “baseless.”

Duterte’s bold statements regarding his son are the latest in a string of shocking remarks expressed by the leader as part of his ‘war on drugs’.

The controversial campaign has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 suspected users and dealers since July 1, 2016, according to figures released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in July.

According to HRW, the deaths have been committed by a combination of security forces and “unidentified gunmen,” with the government claiming to have killed more than 3,800 people.

Duterte has repeatedly defended his hardline stance against drugs, previously saying he would be “happy to slaughter” 3 million drug addicts and describing children shot dead in the campaign as “collateral damage.”

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