Hi Gang:
The Washington Times published an encouraging news report today, the day we celebrate the birthday of our nation- the fact that yesterday, July 3rd, 2011, the alleged leader and founder of Los Zetas, the extremely violent Mexican drug gang that has been racking up unprecedented numbers of casualties in its quest for dominance of the incredibly lucrative drug trade has been captured and a Mexican police officer who was in his company at the time of his arrest was detained.
Here is a photo of Jesus Enrique Rejon-Aguilar as published by MSNBC:
The reason I am providing this photo of this alleged sociopathic criminal is that I would ask a simple question- if you passed him on the street would you think he was a vicious criminal who is alleged to have been the crime boss who is behind the murder of thousands of people including men, women and children who simply were in the way of his purported criminal objectives?
Imagine this guy wearing blue jeans or, perhaps and expensive suit, smiling and strolling along in any neighborhood in Mexico or, for that matter the United States. How easily would he likely blend in?
Does he even look “Mexican?” (As is the case with Americans, citizens of Mexico can be of any ethnic appearance and anyone who believes that they can simply look at another person and know the nationality of that person is frankly, being naive at best and racist at worse!)
Some time ago I recall accepting an invitation to address my daughter’s fourth grade class and discuss my career as an INS Special Agent. I was called upon to address many of my children’s classes when the school had “Career Day,” apparently their teachers felt my career would be of interest to the children in those classes.
I would generally take the opportunity my appearances in those classes afforded me to not only talk a bit about immigration but to warn the kids about the dangers of firearms, drugs and that strangers might present to them. On that particular day I remember telling the children in my daughter’s class that if a stranger was to approach them and ask for directions that they should not place themselves at risk- particularly if the stranger was driving a car. One of the ploys used by criminals is to speak in a low voice and ask the person to step towards the car. I pointed out that generally adults would not do such a thing and that it might be dangerous to get too close to a car being driven by a total stranger. I made the point that it is impossible to simply look at a person and know if they pose a threat to their safety. One ten your old boy in the class vigorously waved his hand and asked to be heard. I accommodated him and he said, “Mr. Cutler, I can easily spot a bad guy- he has a bad complexion, he wears a black ninja suit and probably is carrying nunchuk sticks!”
I took great pains to explain to the young man and his classmates that not every “bad guy” would be that easy to spot!
Certainly Jesus Enrique Rejon-Aguilar could serve as a prime example of someone who is truly evil but hardly “looks” evil!
I have not only provided you with the Washington Times news report below but with a couple of other news reports that paint a more complete picture.
Just a couple of days ago I was forwarded a CBS News report about how the Mexican drug cartels have spray painted messages on buildings in Mexico near the U.S. border threatening the locate American DEA agents and decapitate them. That report was forwarded by Brad Stone, the Special Projects producer of WSB-TV, the ABC-affiliated news program that is broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia. I have been interviewed by Brad on a few occasions as his team of journalists reported on the lack of security to the border that is supposed to separate the United States from Mexico. Here is a link to one of those reports:
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/23686786/detail.html
Meanwhile there have been published news reports that indicate that the weapon that was used to kill U.S. ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and, presumably wound his partner was one of the hundreds, if not thousands of weapons that were permitted to “walk” under the auspices of “Operation Fast and Furious” that was conducted by ATF. The news reports about the arrest of Rejon-Aguilar indicated that many guns were recovered at the time of his arrest- I would love to know how many of those guns are attributable to our government outrageous “investigation!”
Another article you should read was posted by MSNBC shortly after Jaime Zapata was murdered. The Mexican government released information that Jesus Enrique Rejon-Aguilar was behind the brutal execution style murder of our country’s ICE agent, but claimed that it was a case of “mistaken identity.”
As you read the account of the arrest yesterday, of Rejon-Aguilar, it would certainly appear that the murder was anything but a case of mistaken identity! The report which was written by Jerry Seper, one of the most experienced journalists who has been extensively covering the “immigration beat” for more than a decade.
Consider this excerpt from Jerry Seper’s excellent report:
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The shooters forced the agents’ vehicle from the rodeway at what appeared to be a highway checkpoint and then opened fire, some using AK-47 assault rifles. More than a dozen members of Los Zetas have been arrested in the case, including Julian Zapata Espinoza, identified as a Los Zetas cell leader in San Luis Potosi.
Mr. Zapata was mortally wounded, struck five times in the chest. Mr. Avila was shot twice in the leg but survived. Neither of the agents was armed, as the Mexican government does not let U.S. law enforcement personnel carry weapons into that country.
U.S. law enforcement authorities said the two agents identified themselves as Americans. They also noted that their vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, had diplomatic plates. The officials also said the gunmen made comments before opening fire on the agents indicating they knew who their targets were.
Mexican authorities said Rejon Aguilar, known as “El Mamito,” had been a member of the Mexican special forces but deserted his unit in 1999. He was described as a founding member of Los Zetas, who initially served as armed enforcers for the infamous Gulf Cartel.
Los Zetas have since split with their former bosses and have been engaged in brutal turf wars for control of smuggling routes into the United States.
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It is also worth noting that the report stated that Rejon-Aguilar had defected from Mexican Special Forces in 1999. Los Zetas is comprised of former elite Mexican police and military officers who were actually trained by the government of the United States and then found a far more lucrative way of making use of their training- working for and then, ultimately, competing with the very same drug cartels of Mexico they were supposed to combat and eradicate!
The question is- what operation has been more disastrous- the training of those elite Mexican police and military officials or “Operation Fast and Furious?”
Certainly the arrest of Rejon-Aguilar is an achievement that all who were involved with in the law enforcement community should be proud of- but the reality is that he is only one of many such violent thugs who threaten the lives of people in Mexico and, increasingly, inside the United States of America as well.
Just as the killing of bin-Laden does not mean that the “War on Terror” is over, the capture of Rejon-Aguilar does not mean that the “War on Drugs” is any closer to being won!
There are, no doubt, many other narco-terrorists operating in Mexico who will welcome the arrest of this thug! They cannot wait to replace him and move up the “ladder!”
On May 10th, President Obama went to El Paso, Texas to once again, push for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
Here is a link to a You Tube video of a portion of what Obama had to say:
[youtube VAOEInEzpec]
The title for this segment was:
‘Alligators in the Moat’: Obama Mocks Concerns About Border Security
Incredibly he said that the fence was “basically complete!”
Now I ask that you check out the AP report that was published by the Boston Globe on March 16, 2011 that noted that the GAO had reported that the fence would not be completed any sooner than 2021 and likely not be completed until 2026!
Here is the link to that news report:
To put this madness into proper perspective- when our nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, it took our nation, working in close cooperation with our allies, to defeat the enemies of the Axis nations all of 44 months. In order to accomplish this, our nation built fleets of airplanes that had previously not existed. Our nation built fleets of ships of all sorts that had previously not existed. Our nation created radar installations, all sorts of weapons systems and even nuclear weapons with unproven technology and in just 44 months it was over!
Our nation was attacked by international terrorists in 1993- nearly 2 decades ago. This September, our nation will be observing the tenth anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. These attacks were only possible because the visa issuing process and the immigration benefits program were fatally flawed and, remain fatally flawed today. Additionally, there have been a seemingly endless succession of Congressional hearings into the lack of security along our nation’s borders.
In response to concerns about the potential for terrorist attacks, the expectation of privacy and freedom under the Fourth Amendment have been whittled away yet our borders remain as porous as sieves- acting as little more than speed bumps to illegal aliens and smugglers.
Here is are signs that have been erected by the DHS and Bureau of Land Management and subsequently photographed near the U.S. Mexican border that is supposed to separate our nation from Mexico and the insanity of violence that has reported resulted in the slaughter of some 40,000 Mexican citizens since Felipe Calderon was sworn in as President of that beleaguered country
Meanwhile the Mexican cartels are now focusing their attention on the United States and on our citizens and our law enforcement officials. Consider these recent headlines concerning the seriousness of this threat posed to the safety of our citizens and other who live in our country and, indeed, consider the threat this poses to the national security of our country!
Here are a few of those disturbing news reports:
The ABC News report was entitled:
Hundreds of Mexican Drug Gang Members Caught in Crackdown
Gang Sweep Shows How Mexican Drug Cartels Have Penetrated the United States
Here is the link:
FEATURES Weak Link
Drug cartels are working hard to corrupt federal agents and drive a hole through border security
Perhaps we would all sleep a bit easier if the DHS and BLM signs warning about the likelihood of encountering illegal aliens and heavily armed smugglers were replaced by a different sign! Maybe Obama was finally right about something where our borders are concerned- a moat filled with alligators might represent a real improvement over the lunacy that passes for border security today!
I would certainly cast my vote for the sign below- how about you?
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
I
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our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians. I implore you to get involved!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!
If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-
Please check out my website:
Additionally- this summer, on Friday afternoons from 4:00 PM until 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, I will be filling in for Tom Garcia as the host on The USA Talk Radio Network’s excellent radio show, “The American Hour.”
I hope you will be joining my cohost, Paula Lauzon Ostman and me, on Fridays this summer!
Here is the link for this program:
Top Zetas boss arrested in killing of U.S. agent
Mexican Federal Police agents escort Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, alias “El Mamito,”
to his presentation to the media in Mexico City on Monday, July 4,
2011. Police believe he is connected with the killing of a U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in February. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
By Jerry Seper
–
The Washington Times
2:03 p.m.,
Monday, July 4, 2011
Jaime
Zapata, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
was fatally shot in February in an ambush. (U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement)
A co-founder of the Los Zetas drug cartel suspected in the broad
daylight ambush killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) agent in February on a Mexican highway was arrested Sunday by law
enforcement authorities in that country.
Jesus Enrique Rejon
Aguilar, 35, was taken into custody in the town of Atizapan, a Mexico
City suburb, “without firing a shot,” Mexico’s public security ministry
announced Monday.
He was one of Mexico’s most wanted men, and
the U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for
information leading to his arrest. A Mexican police officer with Rejon
Aguilar also was detained, and arresting officers seized weapons,
money, various documents and communication equipment.
ICE Agent
Jaime Zapata, 32, was killed Feb. 15 while he and his partner, Victor
Avila, were driving from Monterrey to Mexico City, where they were
assigned to ICE’s attache office. Drug cartel members ambushed the
agents near San Luis Potosi, about 250 miles north of Mexico City.
The
shooters forced the agents’ vehicle from the rodeway at what appeared
to be a highway checkpoint and then opened fire, some using AK-47
assault rifles. More than a dozen members of Los Zetas have been
arrested in the case, including Julian Zapata Espinoza, identified as a
Los Zetas cell leader in San Luis Potosi.
Mr. Zapata was
mortally wounded, struck five times in the chest. Mr. Avila was shot
twice in the leg but survived. Neither of the agents was armed, as the
Mexican government does not let U.S. law enforcement personnel carry
weapons into that country.
U.S. law enforcement authorities said
the two agents identified themselves as Americans. They also noted
that their vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, had diplomatic plates. The
officials also said the gunmen made comments before opening fire on
the agents indicating they knew who their targets were.
Mexican
authorities said Rejon Aguilar, known as “El Mamito,” had been a
member of the Mexican special forces but deserted his unit in 1999. He
was described as a founding member of Los Zetas, who initially served
as armed enforcers for the infamous Gulf Cartel.
Los Zetas have
since split with their former bosses and have been engaged in brutal
turf wars for control of smuggling routes into the United States.
Mexican
authorities said Rejon Aguilar was “connected to the attack” against
the ICE agents, noting that he was in charge of operations for Los
Zetas in the north-central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi when the
American agents were ambushed.
“When Jaime Zapata was murdered on
February 14, El Mamito was in San Luis Potosi, coordinating actions
perpetrated by the Zetas,” said Ramon E. Pequeno, anti-drug division
chief of Mexico’s Federal Police.
Mr. Pequeno called Rejon Aguilar’s arrest “a triumph for the Mexican government.”
“El Mamito’s capture is emblematic because he was one of the original Zetas,” he said.
Rejon
Aguila was described by Mexican authorities as “one of the leaders
and founders of the Zetas criminal organization,” named as the third
most powerful leader of the drug cartel.
He also is being
investigated in the killing of dozens of Central and South American
migrants, whose bodies where found in the northern Mexican state of
Tamaulipas at a ranch just 100 miles south of the U.S. border. Over the
past few months, Mexican authorities have unearthed more than 140
bodies from mass graves in the state. Many of the victims were
kidnapped off buses and killed when they refused to work for Los Zetas.
Tamaulipas, in northeastern Mexico, is across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/01/national/main20076278.shtml
Mexico gangs threaten to behead DEA agents
(CBS/AP)
(AP) CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A spray-painted sign threatening death for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents was found Friday next to a school in a northern Mexico state capital, officials said.
Addressed with profanity to “Gringos (D.E.A.),” the unsigned graffiti warned: “We know where you are and we know who you are and where you go. We are going to chop off your (expletive) heads.”
Anonymous messages conveying threats and other warnings are common in areas hit hard by Mexico’s drug war, but it is rarer for them to threaten U.S. law enforcement. Authorities do not know who left the message, which was removed.
The DEA referred questions to the U.S. State Department. Officials there did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The message was left in the Chihuahua state capital, also called Chihuahua, which is about 220 miles from the U.S. border.
In February, suspected Zeta cartel members killed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent
Jaime Zapata and wounded colleague Victor Avila on a highway in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi.
Also on Friday, five copies of a message addressed to Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Duarte were found painted on blankets known as “mantas” in Ciudad Juarez, a city across the border from El Paso, Texas. Those messages, apparently posted by rivals of the Sinaloa drug cartel, accused officials of protecting the Sinaloa organization.
It was not clear if the messages in Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez were related.
“This sort of message will not stop us from continuing the fight to bring peace back to this state,” Chihuahua Interior Secretary Graciela Ortiz said.
The threatening message against Duarte comes amid threats to the governor of Nuevo Leon, another northern state bordering Texas. Two of Gov. Rodrigo Medina’s bodyguards were mutilated, killed and dismembered in June.
Mexico army: U.S. agent’s killing was cartel error
Military says suspect claims drug gang mistook agents’ SUV for rivals’
updated 2/23/2011 10:13:00 PM ET
MEXICO
CITY — A suspect in the killing of a U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agent told soldiers Wednesday the attack was
carried out by a group of Zetas drug gang gunmen who mistook the
agent’s SUV for a vehicle used by a rival gang, the army said.
Julian Zapata Espinoza — known by the nickname “El Piolin,”
or Tweety Bird, apparently because of his short stature — was
captured along with five other suspected Zetas members during an army
raid Wednesday on gang safehouses in the northern city of San Luis
Potosi, near where ICE agent Jaime Zapata was shot to death and
fellow agent Victor Avila was wounded Feb. 15.
“That event (the shooting) occurred because of the
characteristics of the vehicle, given that they (the suspects)
thought it was being used by members of a rival criminal group,”
an army spokesman, Col. Ricardo Trevilla, said.
The two agents were traveling in a Chevrolet Suburban. Mexico’s
drug cartels have frequently set up roadblocks and ambushes to steal
large SUVs and pickups, vehicles they like to use.
Trevilla said military intelligence officers had identified Zapata
Espinoza as the head of a cell of Zeta gang members in San Luis
Potosi since early December, when raids in the area turned up other
alleged gang members.
Zapata Espinoza and the five others arrested Wednesday were
presented to journalists Wednesday night. One of the men had a
swollen, bruised face. Soldiers found three women and one child, and
five rifles at the four houses raided, authorities said.
San Luis Potosi, en route to Mexico City, is at the center of a
power struggle between two rival drug gangs, the Zetas and the Gulf
Cartel.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul told Texas Senate members Wednesday that
one suspect is Jesus Rejon, a former corporal in an elite Mexican
army unit who defected to the Zetas. It was not clear whether Rejon
was in Mexican custody.
Rejon, 34, is wanted by Mexican and U.S. authorities. The U.S.
State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for his
capture.
The White House said President Barack Obama called President
Felipe Calderón to thank him for Mexico’s efforts in the case. The
statement noted that Calderon would be at the White House on March 3.
Zapata, 32, and Avila were attacked when gunmen forced their sport
utility vehicle off the highway. Avila was shot twice in the leg and
is recovering in the United States.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder attended Zapata’s funeral Tuesday in his
hometown of Brownsville, Texas. Both vowed to continue helping Mexico
in its war against drug cartels battling for lucrative trafficking
routes into the United States.
The Homeland Security and Justice Departments formed a joint task
force led by the FBI to help Mexico find the killers.
State Department spokesman Charles Luoma-Overstreet praised Mexico
for the suspect’s arrest, underscoring Washington’s strong public
support for Calderon’s crack down on drug cartels despite a growing
death toll of more than 34,000 since December 2006.
“We look forward to a judicial process that ensures justice
is served,” he said. “Effective cooperation serves the
interests of both countries,” he added.
Escalating violence in oil-producing Mexico, a key U.S. trade
partner, has caused alarm in Washington, which is providing $1.3
billion in funding and training for Mexico.
The two countries say cooperation is better than ever and U.S.
intelligence is believed to have played a major role in the killing
or capture of several top drug bosses.
But in an interview published this week, Calderon lashed out at
U.S. intelligence services, saying they were too busy competing with
one another to be effective.
U.S. law enforcement agencies have said they are working with
Mexican authorities to investigate the attack on the agents but it is
not clear if they were specifically targeted.
Officials have not said which of Mexico’s drug cartels may have
been behind the latest attack, although many suspect the Zetas
cartel, a group led by renegade Mexican soldiers and widely seen as
the most brutal of the gangs.
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