MEXICO CITY, April 15, 2008
Help Wanted: Mexican Gang Seeks Hitmen
Violent Drug Cartel Brazenly Advertises Its Need For Hired Guns In Border Town
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A truck, carrying Mexican army soldiers, drives past a pedestrian bridge where a giant banner signed by the Zetas, the enforcement arm of the Gulf drug cartel, hangs in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, northern Mexico, Sunday, April 13, 2008. The banner reads in Spanish: "Operative group 'The Zetas' wants you, soldier or ex-soldier. We offer a good salary, food and benefits for your family. Don't suffer anymore mistreatment and don't go hungry. We wont give you instant noodle soup." (AP Photo)
The banner appeared over the weekend in Nuevo Laredo near the border with Texas: “Operative group 'The Zetas' wants you, soldier or ex-soldier. We offer a good salary, food and benefits for your family. Don't suffer anymore mistreatment and don't go hungry.”
The Zetas is the enforcement arm of the Gulf cartel and is made up of former Mexican soldiers. Photos of the banner were displayed prominently in Mexico's national media on Monday.
An official of the federal attorney general's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give his name, told The Associated Press that authorities believe the banner is authentic, although they are still investigating.
He said officials believe the banner may be a response to the government after it posted signs in several cities with the photos of three Zeta members, asking people to call police if they see them.
In Nuevo Laredo, those signs were recently defaced and several had a telephone number written across them, the official said. The same telephone number appeared on the banner. The Associated Press called the number, but a recording said the number does not exist.
Security expert Jose Luis Pineyro said the recruiting effort could be drug traffickers' way of thumbing their noses at the federal government, but is unlikely to be an effective way of bringing in new blood.
“On the contrary, those who have decided to desert or remain inside the armed forces as spies are already doing that,” Pineyro said.
Earlier this month, law enforcement officials said drug cartels were using classified ads to lure young Mexicans in Ciudad Juarez into unknowingly working as drug couriers.
Mexico City's El Universal newspaper first reported the trend, citing ads in Ciudad Juarez newspapers that require applicants to have the U.S. visa needed to drive a vehicle across the border but do not mention job experience.
A federal official, not authorized to give his name, said applicants often think they are applying to become messengers, but they end up unwittingly driving vehicles loaded with drugs into neighboring El Paso, Texas.
Chris Mears, a spokesman for the El Paso Police Department, said he was aware of the trend and had seen several teenagers charged after being found with loads of drugs in their cars.
Tighter border security on both sides has forced drug cartels to find creative ways to move their contraband into the U.S.
Mexican authorities say cartels are training new recruits in the face of President Felipe Calderon's nationwide crackdown. Since taking office in 2006, Calderon has sent more than 20,000 troops to areas plagued by drug violence.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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A lot of communities from coast to coast WOULD DIAGREE WITH YOU..
Americans are so bored with life, they have to resort to drugs to get a little high/excitement out of their sick life. The previous generation of Americans threw all good family traditions out the window. Today youth Americans grew up with just video games. They have wasted and are wasting so much life. This is a huge intangible cost to society in Mexico and United States. Americans are sure addicted to Oil and Drugs.
Americans are so bored with life, they have to resort to drugs to get a little high out of their life. The previous generation of Americans threw all joyful traditions out the window. Today youth Americans grew up with just video games. They have wasted and are wasting so much life. This is a huge intangible cost to society.
Furthermore, I have seen born-and-bred americans doing this, too. It''s not a cultural thing, it''s an i d i o t thing.
How about thrashing the environment? Two houses down from mine there are around 22 adults mexican in a 1100 sq. ft. house & about 9 cars spread out on the streets & in the yards. Last month they all got together to change the oil in about 8 of the cars and guess where the old oil went? Right on the ground on the empty lot next to thier house.
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Posted by Questionnews at 12:53 PM : Apr 15, 2008
No, not justified. But would you steal to feed your children? I guess not, given your comment. I would. I would steal to feed my kids in an instant. If I had exhausted every possible legal means to do feed them, of course. You don''t know, no one does, whether this woman HAD used every resource available to her.....
Posted by sunshie25 at 12:41 PM : Apr 15, 2008
I see. In your mind, if you come to the US from a poor country then theft is justified & should not be looked upon as a bad thing.
How about thrashing the environment? Two houses down from mine there are around 22 adults mexican in a 1100 sq. ft. house & about 9 cars spread out on the streets & in the yards. Last month they all got together to change the oil in about 8 of the cars and guess where the old oil went? Right on the ground on the empty lot next to thier house.
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Posted by fastfredy1 at 12:43 PM : Apr 15, 2008
I live near a very large mexican community - in fact, I share an apartment building with three mexican families. Maybe they are different here (Washington State) than they are there, because they are polite and respectful and quiet. They work hard (leaving when I am walking my dog at 5 a.m and arriving home long after I have finished my dinner) and do not live in squalor. I am not saying they are all like that, but I have a hard time relating your stories to the large number of hispanic-descent people I know here.
As corrupt and criminal as our own government is, can Calderon claim his is any better?
Better them than you.
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Posted by fastfredy1 at 12:37 PM : Apr 15, 2008
What IS it with you, dude? Calm down. You know not of what you speak. Of course, your threads make you sound like you know not much of anything. If you want to start stereotyping, let''s start with "people like you" - ignorant j e r k s that spout off at issues which you do not understand. Sure, IF your story is true, then that woman stole, but have you ever lived in abject poverty? People live it every day in this country. In a first-world country. Think about that before you spout of at the a** the way you have been.
Ahhh, racism and ignorance - alive and well in the US of A....s h u t u p, you moron.
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Posted by sunshie25 at 12:36 PM : Apr 15, 2008
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Posted by fastfredy1 at 12:19 PM : Apr 15, 2008
Ahhh, racism and ignorance - alive and well in the US of A....s h u t u p, you moron.
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