Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

[peejay 327]

Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

Ohio cities prove fertile ground for distribution hubs

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 16, 2008, 5:40PM

MEXICO CITY — Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Dayton as a distribution hub for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug enforcement officials say.

According to an April report by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, groups connected with the Federation cartel, one of Mexico's two dominant cartels, control distribution in and around Dayton.

The Juarez Cartel, once Mexico's most powerful cartel but significantly weakened in recent years, operates in Hamilton County, according to the report.

"They are very well trained, very well schooled," said John Postlethwaite, coordinator of the Ohio HIDTA, a joint federal, state and local task force, of the Mexican trafficking groups. "It's become a lot harder than it used to be."

Spike in heroin

Drug enforcement officials blame the Mexican traffickers for an alarming spike in the availability of heroin, saying prices have fallen precipitously recently, from about $5,000 per ounce a few years ago to about $1,000 per ounce.

Officials say heroin use has increased, a trend they expect to continue.

A May report by the U.S. Justice Department on drug activity in Ohio predicts heroin abuse will increase among white, suburban users.

"The number of heroin abusers will very likely grow as more abusers of prescription opioids switch to heroin in the face of increasing Mexican heroin availability throughout the region," the report reads.

It goes on to say that in Dayton, Mexican traffickers have replaced African-American gangs as the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

Ohio officials say Mexican groups increasingly are bypassing traditional distribution hubs like Chicago and Detroit and moving drugs directly from the border to Ohio cities.

Todd Spradling, the resident agent in charge of the Dayton DEA office, said that smaller cities like Dayton and Columbus have become more attractive to trafficking organizations. "A lot of the organizations have shifted from larger cities to smaller cities to avoid detection," he said.

Mexican cartels dominate

In the last decade, Mexican cartels have surpassed Colombian traffickers as the ascendant force in the hemisphere: as they have moved into the United States they have also taken control of Central American trafficking routes and now dominate the market in South American countries like Peru, according to law enforcement officials.

"Their idea is to control the whole economic process of production and distribution," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security consultant in Mexico and executive director of a public safety think tank.

In Dayton, officials say Mexican traffickers are connected to the Federation, a loose group of trafficking organizations based in the state of Sinaloa. The Federation has fought a brutal, three-year war with its primary rival — the Gulf Cartel — for control of smuggling routes to the United States.

Its leader is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious drug capo, who attained an almost mythical stature after escaping from a federal prison in 2001. In recent months, the Federation, which officials say controls Pacific smuggling routes from Central America, has been torn apart by an internal feud that officials say is responsible for a spike in violence in Sinaloa.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the Mexican military to confront the cartels in 2006, nearly 7,000 people, including hundreds of Mexican police and officials, have been killed in the drug violence.

Very organized

Ricardo Ravelo, the author of several books on Mexican cartels and an investigative reporter for Proceso magazine in Mexico, said the Federation is well organized on the American side of the border. "I'm talking about distribution as well as the collection of profits, money laundering and smuggling money back to Mexico," he said.

Analysts fear the cartels will bring peripheral cash-generating crime like kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets, problems that are all too common in Mexico.

"The U.S. will begin to see a little of the same conflict that is happening in Mexico," Sanchez said. "If (the cartels) already have methods, and ways of diversifying into other crimes, it's normal that they won't stop at the border."

While some cartel violence has spilled across the border, mostly along the border and in large cities like Dallas and Atlanta, experts say it's unlikely the U.S. will see the large-scale drug wars that have paralyzed various Mexican cities and forced Calderon to send about 25,000 federal troops to confront the cartels.

Carlos Humberto Toledo, a military affairs expert in Mexico City, predicted the cartels will continue to fight their major battles within Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ld/5947100.html

[panamania79 2]

Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

Ohio cities prove fertile ground for distribution hubs

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 16, 2008, 5:40PM

MEXICO CITY — Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Dayton as a distribution hub for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug enforcement officials say.

According to an April report by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, groups connected with the Federation cartel, one of Mexico's two dominant cartels, control distribution in and around Dayton.

The Juarez Cartel, once Mexico's most powerful cartel but significantly weakened in recent years, operates in Hamilton County, according to the report.

"They are very well trained, very well schooled," said John Postlethwaite, coordinator of the Ohio HIDTA, a joint federal, state and local task force, of the Mexican trafficking groups. "It's become a lot harder than it used to be."

Spike in heroin

Drug enforcement officials blame the Mexican traffickers for an alarming spike in the availability of heroin, saying prices have fallen precipitously recently, from about $5,000 per ounce a few years ago to about $1,000 per ounce.

Officials say heroin use has increased, a trend they expect to continue.

A May report by the U.S. Justice Department on drug activity in Ohio predicts heroin abuse will increase among white, suburban users.

"The number of heroin abusers will very likely grow as more abusers of prescription opioids switch to heroin in the face of increasing Mexican heroin availability throughout the region," the report reads.

It goes on to say that in Dayton, Mexican traffickers have replaced African-American gangs as the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

Ohio officials say Mexican groups increasingly are bypassing traditional distribution hubs like Chicago and Detroit and moving drugs directly from the border to Ohio cities.

Todd Spradling, the resident agent in charge of the Dayton DEA office, said that smaller cities like Dayton and Columbus have become more attractive to trafficking organizations. "A lot of the organizations have shifted from larger cities to smaller cities to avoid detection," he said.

Mexican cartels dominate

In the last decade, Mexican cartels have surpassed Colombian traffickers as the ascendant force in the hemisphere: as they have moved into the United States they have also taken control of Central American trafficking routes and now dominate the market in South American countries like Peru, according to law enforcement officials.

"Their idea is to control the whole economic process of production and distribution," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security consultant in Mexico and executive director of a public safety think tank.

In Dayton, officials say Mexican traffickers are connected to the Federation, a loose group of trafficking organizations based in the state of Sinaloa. The Federation has fought a brutal, three-year war with its primary rival — the Gulf Cartel — for control of smuggling routes to the United States.

Its leader is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious drug capo, who attained an almost mythical stature after escaping from a federal prison in 2001. In recent months, the Federation, which officials say controls Pacific smuggling routes from Central America, has been torn apart by an internal feud that officials say is responsible for a spike in violence in Sinaloa.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the Mexican military to confront the cartels in 2006, nearly 7,000 people, including hundreds of Mexican police and officials, have been killed in the drug violence.

Very organized

Ricardo Ravelo, the author of several books on Mexican cartels and an investigative reporter for Proceso magazine in Mexico, said the Federation is well organized on the American side of the border. "I'm talking about distribution as well as the collection of profits, money laundering and smuggling money back to Mexico," he said.

Analysts fear the cartels will bring peripheral cash-generating crime like kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets, problems that are all too common in Mexico.

"The U.S. will begin to see a little of the same conflict that is happening in Mexico," Sanchez said. "If (the cartels) already have methods, and ways of diversifying into other crimes, it's normal that they won't stop at the border."

While some cartel violence has spilled across the border, mostly along the border and in large cities like Dallas and Atlanta, experts say it's unlikely the U.S. will see the large-scale drug wars that have paralyzed various Mexican cities and forced Calderon to send about 25,000 federal troops to confront the cartels.

Carlos Humberto Toledo, a military affairs expert in Mexico City, predicted the cartels will continue to fight their major battles within Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ld/5947100.html

Where are they ? I don't see them.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Good. Let's all hope the local addicts overdose and die soon

[HAL 9000 96]

Oh noooo!

First the commies... now the cartels!

[amiquechu 0]

Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

Ohio cities prove fertile ground for distribution hubs

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 16, 2008, 5:40PM

MEXICO CITY — Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Dayton as a distribution hub for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug enforcement officials say.

According to an April report by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, groups connected with the Federation cartel, one of Mexico's two dominant cartels, control distribution in and around Dayton.

The Juarez Cartel, once Mexico's most powerful cartel but significantly weakened in recent years, operates in Hamilton County, according to the report.

"They are very well trained, very well schooled," said John Postlethwaite, coordinator of the Ohio HIDTA, a joint federal, state and local task force, of the Mexican trafficking groups. "It's become a lot harder than it used to be."

Spike in heroin

Drug enforcement officials blame the Mexican traffickers for an alarming spike in the availability of heroin, saying prices have fallen precipitously recently, from about $5,000 per ounce a few years ago to about $1,000 per ounce.

Officials say heroin use has increased, a trend they expect to continue.

A May report by the U.S. Justice Department on drug activity in Ohio predicts heroin abuse will increase among white, suburban users.

"The number of heroin abusers will very likely grow as more abusers of prescription opioids switch to heroin in the face of increasing Mexican heroin availability throughout the region," the report reads.

It goes on to say that in Dayton, Mexican traffickers have replaced African-American gangs as the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

Ohio officials say Mexican groups increasingly are bypassing traditional distribution hubs like Chicago and Detroit and moving drugs directly from the border to Ohio cities.

Todd Spradling, the resident agent in charge of the Dayton DEA office, said that smaller cities like Dayton and Columbus have become more attractive to trafficking organizations. "A lot of the organizations have shifted from larger cities to smaller cities to avoid detection," he said.

Mexican cartels dominate

In the last decade, Mexican cartels have surpassed Colombian traffickers as the ascendant force in the hemisphere: as they have moved into the United States they have also taken control of Central American trafficking routes and now dominate the market in South American countries like Peru, according to law enforcement officials.

"Their idea is to control the whole economic process of production and distribution," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security consultant in Mexico and executive director of a public safety think tank.

In Dayton, officials say Mexican traffickers are connected to the Federation, a loose group of trafficking organizations based in the state of Sinaloa. The Federation has fought a brutal, three-year war with its primary rival — the Gulf Cartel — for control of smuggling routes to the United States.

Its leader is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious drug capo, who attained an almost mythical stature after escaping from a federal prison in 2001. In recent months, the Federation, which officials say controls Pacific smuggling routes from Central America, has been torn apart by an internal feud that officials say is responsible for a spike in violence in Sinaloa.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the Mexican military to confront the cartels in 2006, nearly 7,000 people, including hundreds of Mexican police and officials, have been killed in the drug violence.

Very organized

Ricardo Ravelo, the author of several books on Mexican cartels and an investigative reporter for Proceso magazine in Mexico, said the Federation is well organized on the American side of the border. "I'm talking about distribution as well as the collection of profits, money laundering and smuggling money back to Mexico," he said.

Analysts fear the cartels will bring peripheral cash-generating crime like kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets, problems that are all too common in Mexico.

"The U.S. will begin to see a little of the same conflict that is happening in Mexico," Sanchez said. "If (the cartels) already have methods, and ways of diversifying into other crimes, it's normal that they won't stop at the border."

While some cartel violence has spilled across the border, mostly along the border and in large cities like Dallas and Atlanta, experts say it's unlikely the U.S. will see the large-scale drug wars that have paralyzed various Mexican cities and forced Calderon to send about 25,000 federal troops to confront the cartels.

Carlos Humberto Toledo, a military affairs expert in Mexico City, predicted the cartels will continue to fight their major battles within Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ld/5947100.html

Where are they ? I don't see them.

They're watching you right now

[HAL 9000 96]

Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

Ohio cities prove fertile ground for distribution hubs

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 16, 2008, 5:40PM

MEXICO CITY — Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Dayton as a distribution hub for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug enforcement officials say.

According to an April report by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, groups connected with the Federation cartel, one of Mexico's two dominant cartels, control distribution in and around Dayton.

The Juarez Cartel, once Mexico's most powerful cartel but significantly weakened in recent years, operates in Hamilton County, according to the report.

"They are very well trained, very well schooled," said John Postlethwaite, coordinator of the Ohio HIDTA, a joint federal, state and local task force, of the Mexican trafficking groups. "It's become a lot harder than it used to be."

Spike in heroin

Drug enforcement officials blame the Mexican traffickers for an alarming spike in the availability of heroin, saying prices have fallen precipitously recently, from about $5,000 per ounce a few years ago to about $1,000 per ounce.

Officials say heroin use has increased, a trend they expect to continue.

A May report by the U.S. Justice Department on drug activity in Ohio predicts heroin abuse will increase among white, suburban users.

"The number of heroin abusers will very likely grow as more abusers of prescription opioids switch to heroin in the face of increasing Mexican heroin availability throughout the region," the report reads.

It goes on to say that in Dayton, Mexican traffickers have replaced African-American gangs as the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

Ohio officials say Mexican groups increasingly are bypassing traditional distribution hubs like Chicago and Detroit and moving drugs directly from the border to Ohio cities.

Todd Spradling, the resident agent in charge of the Dayton DEA office, said that smaller cities like Dayton and Columbus have become more attractive to trafficking organizations. "A lot of the organizations have shifted from larger cities to smaller cities to avoid detection," he said.

Mexican cartels dominate

In the last decade, Mexican cartels have surpassed Colombian traffickers as the ascendant force in the hemisphere: as they have moved into the United States they have also taken control of Central American trafficking routes and now dominate the market in South American countries like Peru, according to law enforcement officials.

"Their idea is to control the whole economic process of production and distribution," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security consultant in Mexico and executive director of a public safety think tank.

In Dayton, officials say Mexican traffickers are connected to the Federation, a loose group of trafficking organizations based in the state of Sinaloa. The Federation has fought a brutal, three-year war with its primary rival — the Gulf Cartel — for control of smuggling routes to the United States.

Its leader is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious drug capo, who attained an almost mythical stature after escaping from a federal prison in 2001. In recent months, the Federation, which officials say controls Pacific smuggling routes from Central America, has been torn apart by an internal feud that officials say is responsible for a spike in violence in Sinaloa.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the Mexican military to confront the cartels in 2006, nearly 7,000 people, including hundreds of Mexican police and officials, have been killed in the drug violence.

Very organized

Ricardo Ravelo, the author of several books on Mexican cartels and an investigative reporter for Proceso magazine in Mexico, said the Federation is well organized on the American side of the border. "I'm talking about distribution as well as the collection of profits, money laundering and smuggling money back to Mexico," he said.

Analysts fear the cartels will bring peripheral cash-generating crime like kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets, problems that are all too common in Mexico.

"The U.S. will begin to see a little of the same conflict that is happening in Mexico," Sanchez said. "If (the cartels) already have methods, and ways of diversifying into other crimes, it's normal that they won't stop at the border."

While some cartel violence has spilled across the border, mostly along the border and in large cities like Dallas and Atlanta, experts say it's unlikely the U.S. will see the large-scale drug wars that have paralyzed various Mexican cities and forced Calderon to send about 25,000 federal troops to confront the cartels.

Carlos Humberto Toledo, a military affairs expert in Mexico City, predicted the cartels will continue to fight their major battles within Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ld/5947100.html

Where are they ? I don't see them.

They're watching you right now

Mande?

Uy que miedo!

[Mononoke28 137]

I bet Tony Soprano is pissssssssssssssssssssed right now!

Diana

[HAL 9000 96]

I bet Tony Soprano is pissssssssssssssssssssed right now!

Diana

Or the Russkaya Mafiya for that matter.

[panamania79 2]

Good. Let's all hope the local addicts overdose and die soon

No they won't die.The local crack heads just keep going and going and going,kinda like the Energizer bunny.

I bet Tony Soprano is pissssssssssssssssssssed right now!

Diana

Or the Russkaya Mafiya for that matter.

They deal in human trafficking mostly.

I bet Tony Soprano is pissssssssssssssssssssed right now!

Diana

He's gonna get somebody "whacked" he's so pissed.Christopher,however is as happy as a beaver on a log,he loves drugs.

Drug cartels from Mexico invading Middle America

Ohio cities prove fertile ground for distribution hubs

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 16, 2008, 5:40PM

MEXICO CITY — Powerful and well-organized Mexican drug trafficking groups have seized control of drug distribution throughout Ohio, flooded local markets with increasingly cheap heroin and are using Dayton as a distribution hub for southwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana, local and federal U.S. drug enforcement officials say.

According to an April report by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, groups connected with the Federation cartel, one of Mexico's two dominant cartels, control distribution in and around Dayton.

The Juarez Cartel, once Mexico's most powerful cartel but significantly weakened in recent years, operates in Hamilton County, according to the report.

"They are very well trained, very well schooled," said John Postlethwaite, coordinator of the Ohio HIDTA, a joint federal, state and local task force, of the Mexican trafficking groups. "It's become a lot harder than it used to be."

Spike in heroin

Drug enforcement officials blame the Mexican traffickers for an alarming spike in the availability of heroin, saying prices have fallen precipitously recently, from about $5,000 per ounce a few years ago to about $1,000 per ounce.

Officials say heroin use has increased, a trend they expect to continue.

A May report by the U.S. Justice Department on drug activity in Ohio predicts heroin abuse will increase among white, suburban users.

"The number of heroin abusers will very likely grow as more abusers of prescription opioids switch to heroin in the face of increasing Mexican heroin availability throughout the region," the report reads.

It goes on to say that in Dayton, Mexican traffickers have replaced African-American gangs as the primary wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

Ohio officials say Mexican groups increasingly are bypassing traditional distribution hubs like Chicago and Detroit and moving drugs directly from the border to Ohio cities.

Todd Spradling, the resident agent in charge of the Dayton DEA office, said that smaller cities like Dayton and Columbus have become more attractive to trafficking organizations. "A lot of the organizations have shifted from larger cities to smaller cities to avoid detection," he said.

Mexican cartels dominate

In the last decade, Mexican cartels have surpassed Colombian traffickers as the ascendant force in the hemisphere: as they have moved into the United States they have also taken control of Central American trafficking routes and now dominate the market in South American countries like Peru, according to law enforcement officials.

"Their idea is to control the whole economic process of production and distribution," said Georgina Sanchez, an independent security consultant in Mexico and executive director of a public safety think tank.

In Dayton, officials say Mexican traffickers are connected to the Federation, a loose group of trafficking organizations based in the state of Sinaloa. The Federation has fought a brutal, three-year war with its primary rival — the Gulf Cartel — for control of smuggling routes to the United States.

Its leader is Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious drug capo, who attained an almost mythical stature after escaping from a federal prison in 2001. In recent months, the Federation, which officials say controls Pacific smuggling routes from Central America, has been torn apart by an internal feud that officials say is responsible for a spike in violence in Sinaloa.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the Mexican military to confront the cartels in 2006, nearly 7,000 people, including hundreds of Mexican police and officials, have been killed in the drug violence.

Very organized

Ricardo Ravelo, the author of several books on Mexican cartels and an investigative reporter for Proceso magazine in Mexico, said the Federation is well organized on the American side of the border. "I'm talking about distribution as well as the collection of profits, money laundering and smuggling money back to Mexico," he said.

Analysts fear the cartels will bring peripheral cash-generating crime like kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets, problems that are all too common in Mexico.

"The U.S. will begin to see a little of the same conflict that is happening in Mexico," Sanchez said. "If (the cartels) already have methods, and ways of diversifying into other crimes, it's normal that they won't stop at the border."

While some cartel violence has spilled across the border, mostly along the border and in large cities like Dallas and Atlanta, experts say it's unlikely the U.S. will see the large-scale drug wars that have paralyzed various Mexican cities and forced Calderon to send about 25,000 federal troops to confront the cartels.

Carlos Humberto Toledo, a military affairs expert in Mexico City, predicted the cartels will continue to fight their major battles within Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ld/5947100.html

Where are they ? I don't see them.

They're watching you right now

Ayyyyy,que susuto ! I'm sooooooo scared !

[peejay 327]

I see the cheerleaders are here in force. You know you love it. You wouldn't dig up my old posts if you didn't.

Unfortunately the Houston Chronicle has been a bit slow lately, but there is plenty of fodder out there. I don't make this stuff up. It's a daily occurrance in these parts. There is more where these posts came from.

[HAL 9000 96]

Hey you gotta keep everybody happy.

I see the cheerleaders are here in force. You know you love it. You wouldn't dig up my old posts if you didn't.

Unfortunately the Houston Chronicle has been a bit slow lately, but there is plenty of fodder out there. I don't make this stuff up. It's a daily occurrance in these parts. There is more where these posts came from.

Get a video camera and notebook for you to report for all the slack they're leaving behind.

[Teacher Mark 53]

Their new pitchman:

"Yo quero heroin".

Edited August 28, 2008 by WideAwakeInTheUSA

[panamania79 2]

Their new pitchman:

"Yo quero heroin".

Damn,what an ugly dog

[Teacher Mark 53]

Their new pitchman:

"Yo quero heroin".

Damn,what an ugly dog

Heroin is a he!! of a drug!

[t0+ 1]

Unfortunately the Houston Chronicle has been a bit slow lately, but there is plenty of fodder out there. I don't make this stuff up. It's a daily occurrance in these parts. There is more where these posts came from.

You have been slacking off lately PeeJ.

I would check the Pew Hispanic Research Center's website on those slow days so people don't have to dig up your old posts....or you could just take the easy way out and hire an illegal alien.