Border Watch Headline Animator
Thursday 1 April 2010
Buxton Harrison was found dead shortly after midday with his throat slashed.
Investigators are now probing the murder of a Westmoreland businessman who was found dead at his home this afternoon. He’s 57-year-old Buxton Harrison. The police say Harrison was found dead shortly after midday with his throat slashed. It’s reported that Harrison’s father, who had visited the house, found the body. No motive has been established for the killing. However, the police say a van belonging to the deceased is missing.
Indian soldiers on Saturday encountered and killed 10 heavily armed terrorists in separate border areas of J&K.
Indian soldiers on Saturday encountered and killed 10 heavily armed terrorists in separate border areas of J&K. Officials say equipment and technology — ground sensors and electrified fences along the LoC — have made it difficult to infiltrate and driven terrorists to desperation. The terrorists have started taking greater risks by trying to sneak into the Valley in March and April, instead of the traditional infiltration season between May and August when the snow-bound routes across the LoC are fully open. Defence spokesman Lt Col J S Brar said six terrorists were killed in an ongoing operation against the infiltrators at Keran along the LoC in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Earlier, three terrorists were killed in the operation that Army’s 12 JAK Rifles launched in a densely forested area on Wednesday evening. ‘‘One terrorist was killed on Wednesday while two more were killed on Thursday,’’ a source said. The operation was launched when security forces noticed the movement of some terrorists in the area, who are believed to have been part of a group that sneaked into India from PoK on Wednesday. The spokesman said the operation was on when the reports last came in. ‘‘A search operation is still in progress and the identity of the slain terrorists is yet to be ascertained.’’ In another encounter at Kalakote in Rajouri district, security forces killed two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, following a tip-off from the army’s Counter-Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. Defence spokesman Lt Col Biplabh Nath said arms, ammunition and sophisticated navigation equipment, including a GPS device, a satellite phone, a compass and a matrix sheet, were recovered from the two terrorists — Abu Soraab and Abu Osama. Around the same time, two more LeT terrorists, including a battalion commander, were killed along the banks of Merul river in the neighbouring Poonch district. The defence spokesman identified the two as Rehmatullah and Nisar Ahmed. ‘‘The slain terrorists were responsible for reviving the LeT in Kishtwar district,’’ he said. CISU has warned of an increase in the infiltration attempts from across the border. Apart from the technology, the security forces have also over the years effectively countered infiltration, thanks to effective human intelligence gathering. The success reflects in the considerable decrease in violence in J&K. In 2009, the violence dipped
by around 20% to its lowest levels since 1989. Seventeen terrorists and eight soldiers were killed in March last year in a protracted gunbattle along the LoC in Kupwara. The battle to thwart the heavily-armed terrorist mini-incursion had lasted five straight days and broken a lull that had set in as snow blocked the infiltration routes. J&K CM Omar Abdullah had said last year that earlier, the rule of infiltration was that it was nonexistent during the winter months. June to September used to be the peak infiltration season, before the passes closed up yet again. Now, March-April is seen as the peak infiltration, when the snow starts melting and makes the ground sensors dysfunctional.
by around 20% to its lowest levels since 1989. Seventeen terrorists and eight soldiers were killed in March last year in a protracted gunbattle along the LoC in Kupwara. The battle to thwart the heavily-armed terrorist mini-incursion had lasted five straight days and broken a lull that had set in as snow blocked the infiltration routes. J&K CM Omar Abdullah had said last year that earlier, the rule of infiltration was that it was nonexistent during the winter months. June to September used to be the peak infiltration season, before the passes closed up yet again. Now, March-April is seen as the peak infiltration, when the snow starts melting and makes the ground sensors dysfunctional.
Cayman Islands are seeking British help to tackle an ongoing wave of violent crime that has included five murders, a kidnapping for ransom,
Authorities in The Cayman Islands are seeking British help to tackle an ongoing wave of violent crime that has included five murders, a kidnapping for ransom, and a rash of gang-related shootings. Police Commissioner David Baines says Caymanian authorities have asked the UK for 14 officers with experience in fighting gang-related crime. Commissioner Baines says the 14 will include specialists.
violence and crime at the U.S.-Mexico border continues unabated.
In yet another example of violence spreading north of the border, a deadly Mexican gang is actively plotting to kill U.S. law enforcement officers and their families in Texas, according to a Department of Homeland Security alert that warns U.S. cops to wear body armor and vary routes to avoid being tracked.The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to fight Mexican drug cartels yet they continue to be the nation’s largest supplier of illicit narcotics and violent Mexican gangs have expanded into every region of the country, including idyllic rural areas.
Thousands of metric tons of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine were smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico in the last year and tens of billions of dollars in drug proceeds flowed back south, according to the Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center. The cargo is usually transported in private or commercial vehicles, through cross-border tunnels or subterranean passageways and low-flying ultra light aircraft. Much of it is smuggled across the Southwest border through the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation in Arizona. Once in the U.S. the drugs are distributed by feared street and prison gangs, which have spread from urban cities to suburban areas once thought to be impenetrable by such corruption. Nearly 1 million criminally active gangbangers representing about 20,000 street gangs in more than 2,500 cities sold drugs in the U.S. for Mexican cartels last year. Issued this week, a government directive instructs area law enforcement officers -- local and federal -- in El Paso to be extra vigilant because the Mexican-based Barrio Azteca gang is retaliating for a recent sweep targeting its thugs for murdering two Americans at the U.S. Consulate Juarez, according Judicial Watch. Dubbed “Operation Knock Down," the huge crackdown focused on the lethal Barrio Azteca gang, which operates in El Paso jails, and its counterpart in Mexico, which is allied with the renowned Juarez drug cartel. In all, 54 gang members and their criminal associates were arrested in El Paso’s largest law enforcement operation which involved more than 200 officers from 21 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)."This annoyed the gang’s hierarchy, so its military-style leadership quickly issued a “green light" authorizing the murder of El Paso area law enforcement officers," according to the Homeland Security alert.
The notoriously violent gang was founded three decades ago and its leader appears on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. It’s not uncommon for Mexican drug cartels to openly issue hits on law enforcement officers who may interfere with their lucrative enterprise, though it doesn’t happen as often in the U.S. as south of the border.
A few years ago Mexican drug traffickers offered a $200,000 bounty for the deaths of U.S. federal agents along the border as well as bounties on drug-sniffing dogs, according to Judicial Watch officials. A principal "player" in the Mexican drug-trafficking enterprise is Los Zetas. Los Zetas were originally a security force used by the Gulf Cartel in their trafficking operations. The Zetas, whose origin includes former members of the Air Mobile Special Forces Group of the Mexican military, have evolved into not only a security force but a drug trafficking organization in their own right.
"This is hardly earth-shattering news since Mexico has long represented the single greatest drug trafficking threat to the U.S., despite Uncle Sam's multi billion-dollar effort to halt the northbound flow of narcotics. The costly investment has failed miserably, according to a federal report that reveals Mexican heroin production has actually doubled in the last year," state officials from the public-interest group Judicial Watch.
Thousands of metric tons of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine were smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico in the last year and tens of billions of dollars in drug proceeds flowed back south, according to the Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center. The cargo is usually transported in private or commercial vehicles, through cross-border tunnels or subterranean passageways and low-flying ultra light aircraft. Much of it is smuggled across the Southwest border through the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation in Arizona. Once in the U.S. the drugs are distributed by feared street and prison gangs, which have spread from urban cities to suburban areas once thought to be impenetrable by such corruption. Nearly 1 million criminally active gangbangers representing about 20,000 street gangs in more than 2,500 cities sold drugs in the U.S. for Mexican cartels last year. Issued this week, a government directive instructs area law enforcement officers -- local and federal -- in El Paso to be extra vigilant because the Mexican-based Barrio Azteca gang is retaliating for a recent sweep targeting its thugs for murdering two Americans at the U.S. Consulate Juarez, according Judicial Watch. Dubbed “Operation Knock Down," the huge crackdown focused on the lethal Barrio Azteca gang, which operates in El Paso jails, and its counterpart in Mexico, which is allied with the renowned Juarez drug cartel. In all, 54 gang members and their criminal associates were arrested in El Paso’s largest law enforcement operation which involved more than 200 officers from 21 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)."This annoyed the gang’s hierarchy, so its military-style leadership quickly issued a “green light" authorizing the murder of El Paso area law enforcement officers," according to the Homeland Security alert.
The notoriously violent gang was founded three decades ago and its leader appears on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. It’s not uncommon for Mexican drug cartels to openly issue hits on law enforcement officers who may interfere with their lucrative enterprise, though it doesn’t happen as often in the U.S. as south of the border.
A few years ago Mexican drug traffickers offered a $200,000 bounty for the deaths of U.S. federal agents along the border as well as bounties on drug-sniffing dogs, according to Judicial Watch officials. A principal "player" in the Mexican drug-trafficking enterprise is Los Zetas. Los Zetas were originally a security force used by the Gulf Cartel in their trafficking operations. The Zetas, whose origin includes former members of the Air Mobile Special Forces Group of the Mexican military, have evolved into not only a security force but a drug trafficking organization in their own right.
southeast Arizona rancher likely was killed by an illegal immigrant
The body of Robert Krentz, 58, was located before midnight Saturday on his 35,000-acre ranch about 35 miles northeast of Douglas after his brother reported that he had lost radio contact with Krentz earlier in the day.southeast Arizona rancher likely was killed by an illegal immigrant, but there's no evidence to suggest there was any confrontation that led to the shooting, authorities said Monday.At a news conference Monday, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said Krentz was out checking water line and fencing on the land Krentz's family has ranched since 1907. Krentz had weapons with him in his all-terrain vehicle but didn't use them, according to Dever.Investigators said Krentz apparently came upon one person when he was shot. Krentz was heard telling his brother "illegal alien" on the radio earlier Saturday, and the area of the killing is a known smuggling corridor, according to authorities.
While Krentz was still in his vehicle, mortally wounded, he managed to drive the ATV away from the scene at a high rate of speed before becoming unconscious. The ATV still had its lights on and the engine running when authorities found it.Foot tracks were identified and followed approximately 20 miles south to the Mexico border by sheriff's deputies, U.S. Border Patrol trackers and Department of Corrections dog chase teams, authorities said.The sheriff's office said Krentz's body was transported to the Cochise County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine approximate time of death.So far, there have been no suspects identified and no arrests.
Dever told a Tucson newspaper that while investigators don't have a motive yet, retaliation has been raised as a possibility. The day before the shooting, the victim's brother, Phil Krentz, reported drug smuggling activity on the ranch to the Border Patrol.Agents found 290 pounds of marijuana on the ranch and followed tracks to where they found and arrested eight illegal immigrants. All were still in custody when the shooting occurred, the Arizona Daily Star reported.U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., whose Congressional district covers the area, issued a statement saying Krentz's killing is a horrible tragedy that deserves a swift and strong response."The cold-blooded killing of an Arizona rancher is a sad and sobering reminder of the threats to public safety that exist in our border communities," Giffords said. "It has not yet been determined who committed this atrocity or why, but I know that federal and local authorities are mobilizing every possible resource to locate and apprehend the assailant."Giffords said if Krentz's killing is connected to drug cartels or smugglers, the federal government must respond appropriately.
"All options should be on the table, including sending more Border Patrol agents to the area and deploying the National Guard," Giffords said.Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said government has a clear responsibility to aid law enforcement resources at all levels along the border."I call on our federal and state governments to work together to bolster the law enforcement resources needed to better protect Arizonans living on the border," Goddard said.Meanwhile, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer joined U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in calling for federal officials to send more National Guard troops to the Mexican border."The federal government must do all it can within its power to curb this violence and protect its citizens from criminals coming across the border from Mexico," McCain wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor.U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall of New Mexico, along with Rep. Harry Teague, said Napolitano's agency needs to take more security steps and increase the Border Patrol's presence in the Boot Heel of New Mexico.
While Krentz was still in his vehicle, mortally wounded, he managed to drive the ATV away from the scene at a high rate of speed before becoming unconscious. The ATV still had its lights on and the engine running when authorities found it.Foot tracks were identified and followed approximately 20 miles south to the Mexico border by sheriff's deputies, U.S. Border Patrol trackers and Department of Corrections dog chase teams, authorities said.The sheriff's office said Krentz's body was transported to the Cochise County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine approximate time of death.So far, there have been no suspects identified and no arrests.
"We are assuming he escaped south into Mexico," Dever said of the shooter.
Dever told a Tucson newspaper that while investigators don't have a motive yet, retaliation has been raised as a possibility. The day before the shooting, the victim's brother, Phil Krentz, reported drug smuggling activity on the ranch to the Border Patrol.Agents found 290 pounds of marijuana on the ranch and followed tracks to where they found and arrested eight illegal immigrants. All were still in custody when the shooting occurred, the Arizona Daily Star reported.U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., whose Congressional district covers the area, issued a statement saying Krentz's killing is a horrible tragedy that deserves a swift and strong response."The cold-blooded killing of an Arizona rancher is a sad and sobering reminder of the threats to public safety that exist in our border communities," Giffords said. "It has not yet been determined who committed this atrocity or why, but I know that federal and local authorities are mobilizing every possible resource to locate and apprehend the assailant."Giffords said if Krentz's killing is connected to drug cartels or smugglers, the federal government must respond appropriately.
"All options should be on the table, including sending more Border Patrol agents to the area and deploying the National Guard," Giffords said.Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said government has a clear responsibility to aid law enforcement resources at all levels along the border."I call on our federal and state governments to work together to bolster the law enforcement resources needed to better protect Arizonans living on the border," Goddard said.Meanwhile, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer joined U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in calling for federal officials to send more National Guard troops to the Mexican border."The federal government must do all it can within its power to curb this violence and protect its citizens from criminals coming across the border from Mexico," McCain wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor.U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall of New Mexico, along with Rep. Harry Teague, said Napolitano's agency needs to take more security steps and increase the Border Patrol's presence in the Boot Heel of New Mexico.
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