Overview, Attributes (CARTELS-1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- START HERE This section is not in any way meant to be comprehensive, but covers a few key topics. What is a gang? Gangs and Cartels can be entirely different things, but they can also interconnect. Gangs are usually thought of as smaller, more localized entities, or if larger, something with a name, like Bloods. If larger and more spread out, the name can represent a leader, a racial faction or a type of belief system, approach or orientation, and can also represent a region the group considers theirs. Some gangs have been around a long time, others are newer and ephemeral. Many upstart gangs come and go. Some gangs started out as a counter-movements to governments. One country’s gang might another group’s revolution to fight oppression. Gangs can be neighborhood cliques that come together to fight other gangs or to protect their property and families from violence. There can be ethnic reasoning and motives, like minorities against the USA. The more violent gangs often have initiations through violence.; people might have to suffer through an ordeal of group-based beatings or prove themselves loyal through thefts or even murder. Once in, people might have a hard time getting out, as gang members might threaten them or someone they care about. There can be mind control and intimidation through retaliation. What happens is that whether it is a gang or cartel, the United States has small to larger tyrants running around, some the local bully, others like complex shadow governments. Cartels are generally thought of as larger and with various high crime tendencies; they can be more systemic, networked and organized. Gangs as smaller or more distinct entities might interconnect with large organized cartels; groups might have started out as gangs and shifted to big player cartels. It is likely what some refer to as gangs are in fact organized crime structures, and thus could also be called cartels. Gangs that started in one area might grow and spread to other areas, but still retain certain criminal tendencies, while others might expand into mafia-like antics. No two detectives or state police departments might think of these groups quite the same way. National Institute of Justice 2011/10/27 Gang Definitions https //nij ojp gov/topics/articles/what-gang-definitions There is no universally agreed-upon definition of "gang" in the United States. Gang, youth gang and street gang are terms widely and often interchangeably used in mainstream coverage. Reference to gangs often implies youth gangs. In some cases, youth gangs are distinguished from other types of gangs; how youth is defined may vary as well. Motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, hate groups, adult organized crime groups, terrorist organizations and other types of security threat groups are frequently but not always treated separately from gangs in both practice and research https //nij ojp gov/topics/articles/what-gang-definitions Why people can be in a gang Think it is cool (there is a point beyond cool, but newbies might toy with being a “wannabe”) A sense of power Would-be gang - kind of an image thing without really doing it all the way, wear a few icons, wear clothes a certain way, have a certain attitude Born into it Influenced by people in one’s life Forced into it, like kidnapping and abuse, mind control Intimidation, crime network surround (they’re everywhere) It’s a fight world, everybody’s fighting, feel like a person has to get in a group to have some protection against the other gangs Culture, people are in gangs in this culture Getting Out, Staying Out What are some things maybe tempting me to go back in? Domination/submission issues: Intimidation, harassment, stalking, threats to kill me or someone I care about Maybe loneliness: I miss my guy, my girl friend, my culture, my family, etc. Maybe adrenaline rushes; drugs I feel alienated by the witness protection protection culture (or something like that) TERMS Coyotes Sfgate 2008/03/31 Mexican drug cartels move into human smuggling Mexican traffickers force immigrants to act as 'mules' in bloody battle to control corridor. By David Francis https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mexican-drug-cartels-move-into-human-smuggling- 3221740.php#:~:text=As%20U.S.%20border%20security%20has%20tightened%2C%20Mexican%20drug,the% 20United%20States.%20The%20traffickers%20now%20use%20their Excerpt: As U.S. border security has tightened, Mexican drug cartels have moved in on coyotes, human smugglers who are paid to bring illegal immigrants into the United States. The traffickers now use their expertise in gathering intelligence on border patrols, logistics and communication devices to get around ever tighter controls. They are slowly gaining control of much of the illegal passage of immigrants from Mexico to the United States, U.S. border officials say…eanwhile, drug cartel coyotes from Texas to California are playing an increasingly sophisticated game of cat-and-mouse, of surveillance and countersurveillance, with U.S. authorities, border agents say. When coyotes are caught, violence against U.S. officials is becoming more common. Romero says that even though illegal immigration and crime has decreased in the El Paso area, attacks on U.S. agents have increased by 150 percent. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mexican-drug-cartels-move-into-human-smuggling- 3221740.php#:~:text=As%20U.S.%20border%20security%20has%20tightened%2C%20Mexican%20drug,the% 20United%20States.%20The%20traffickers%20now%20use%20their Rolling Stone 2021/06/14 In the Rio Grande Valley, human smuggling is overseen by a powerful crime syndicate, forcing the migrants arriving in record numbers to put their lives in violent hands. By Seth Harp https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/border-crisis-2021-gulf-cartel-rio-grande-valley- 1182608/ Mules Sfgate 2008/03/31 Mexican drug cartels move into human smuggling Mexican traffickers force immigrants to act as 'mules' in bloody battle to control corridor. By David Francis https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mexican-drug-cartels-move-into-human-smuggling- 3221740.php#:~:text=As%20U.S.%20border%20security%20has%20tightened%2C%20Mexican%20drug,the% 20United%20States.%20The%20traffickers%20now%20use%20their U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Special Agent Joe Romero and other law enforcement officials say the Mexican drug cartels have even merged human smuggling with drug trafficking, forcing immigrants to act as "mules" in transporting drugs as the price of passage. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mexican-drug-cartels-move-into-human-smuggling- 3221740.php#:~:text=As%20U.S.%20border%20security%20has%20tightened%2C%20Mexican%20drug,the% 20United%20States.%20The%20traffickers%20now%20use%20their CULTURAL CONTEXTS Approaches to study and respond to them most effectively Also see Americans First Key Concept It’s in the family; it’s learned human behavior. Passed down from generation to generation. It is embedded in language, body language, sign language, vocal intonation. What you see, what you hear. How you are treated, how people talk to you and others around you. Habits in cussing, deriding women, making fun of people. Top dog ways - people beating each other out to become the leader or dominant one. Occult and Gangs Police Mag dot com 2008/03 Criminal gangs and the occult http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2008/03/criminal-gangs-and-the-occult.aspx Religion and Gangs Hispanic, Latino and Mexican Catholic Vice 2016/02/23 A Brief History of the Relationship Between Mexican Drug Cartels and the Catholic Church: Pope Francis used a recent visit to urge Mexicans to steer clear of the temptations of drugs and illicit cash, but when it comes to local cartels, the Catholic Church has its own questionable history to contend with. By Brian McManus https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wd79db/a-brief-history-of-the-relationship-between-mexican-drug- cartels-and-the-catholic-church Excerpt: Since Posadas's death, and in particular over the past decade or so, the church has exercised top- down dealings with the cartels—condemning them in public, but, critics charge, colluding with drug criminals on the ground. Pope Francis spoke to that fraught dynamic during his historic visit to Mexico last week. In a sermon in the Michoacán state capital Morelia, which has been hit hard by cartel violence, he cautioned bishops, priests, nuns, and seminarians against shirking away from the unique challenge posed by the cartels in their area. "What is the temptation that we face in environments dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disrespect for personal dignity, and indifference to suffering?" he asked, before answering his own question. "Resignation. Resignation terrifies us and makes us barricade ourselves in our vestries." That alleged resignation has long plagued the Catholic Church in Mexico, and though they weren't named directly by Francis, no discussion of the cartel-church relationship would be complete without mention of "narco alms"—or blood money supposedly offered by cartels to help fund public works and other church activities. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wd79db/a-brief-history-of-the-relationship-between-mexican-drug- cartels-and-the-catholic-church LA Times 1999/05/08 Gangs and Their God. By Margaret Ramirez http://articles.latimes.com/1999/may/08/local/me-35168 Many Latino gang members invoke the protection of Jesus or Mary in the form of tattoos and graffiti. Some observers say the practice is a genuine attempt to connect with a spiritual heritage. Department of Justice - Criminal Division - Organized Crime and Gang Section - Cases https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ocgs/ocgs-press-room/2017 ARTICLES - List from everything on this page *A* *B* Borderland Beat: Cartel Violence, Cash Infiltrating U.S. (05/2011) http //www borderlandbeat com/2011/05/cartel-violence-cash-infiltrating-us html Business Insider: Fast and Furious Guns Sinaloa Cartel (2012) Tag-Sinaloa http://www.businessinsider.com/fast-and-furious-guns-sinaloa-cartel-2012-8 *C* University of Chicago: Irving Spergel Leading Scholar Gangs 1924-2010. By William Harms (12/08/2010) https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2010/12/08/irving-spergel-leading-scholar-gangs-1924-2010 CNN: On the border: Guns, drugs -- and a betrayal of trust. Cartels Columbus, New Mexico By Michael Martinez. (06/102012) Tag Columbus, New Mexico http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/10/us/cartels-columbus-new-mexico/ Whitey Bulger six surprising facts (09/17/2014) http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/17/justice/whitey-bulger-six-things/index.html CNS News: Effort Combat Drug Cartels Operating New Mexico Spurs Racial Profiling Complaints. By Susan Jones (07/12/2012) http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/effort-combat-drug-cartels-operating-new-mexico-spurs-racial-profiling- complaints D, E, F The Daily Beast: Jeremy Kryt http://www.thedailybeast.com/author/jeremy-kryt Fighting Mexico’s New Super Cartel. By Jeremy Kryt (03/26/2016) The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is known for its hyper-aggressive, paramilitary tactics—now it’s bringing the terror to America’s doorstep. http://www.thedailybeast.com/author/jeremy-kryt http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/26/fighting-mexico-s-new-super-cartel.html Cartel Watch - Why the Military Will Never Beat Mexico's Cartels. By Jeremy Kryt (04/02/2016) As the murder rate in Mexico rises yet again, it’s time to admit current policies aren’t working—and start looking for new solutions. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/02/will-mexico-s-surreal-drug-war-ever-end DEA dot gov: Synthetic Drugs Excerpt: (2012) more than five million packets of finished designer synthetic drugs were seized across the country in the first-ever nationwide law enforcement action against the synthetic designer drug industry responsible for the production and sale of synthetic drugs that are often marketed as bath salts, Spice, incense, or plant food https://www.dea.gov/divisions/elp/2012/elpaso073012p.html FBI: Organized Crime: History of La Cosa Nostra https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime/history-of-la-cosa-nostra G-K The Gray Zone 2021/05/06 US Special Forces trained Mexican drug cartels linked to decapitation, torture, rape ZACH EL PARECE·MAY 6, 2021 https://thegrayzone.com/2021/05/06/us-special-forces-mexican-drug-cartels/ Huffington Post: 7 Things to Know About La Santa Muerte. By Latina Magazine (10/26/2015 05:30 pm ET | Updated Oct 25, 2016) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/latina-magazine/7-things-to-know-about-la_b_8385476.html Meet The Man Who Runs The Sinaloa Cartel... With Or Without ‘El Chapo’; Unlike “El Chapo,” Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada hasn’t spent years in prison. By Roque Planas (01/21/2016) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ismael-el-mayo-zambada-sinaloa_us_56a0becce4b0404eb8f05313 Insight Crime: Corrupt Mexico police concentrated in ten [Mexican] states http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/corrupt-mexico-police-concentrated-in-ten-states KTVA: (2019/07/11) How Alaska residents help the Sinaloa cartel smuggle drugs north https://www.ktva.com/story/40768037/how-alaska-residents-help-the-sinaloa-cartel-smuggle-drugs-north Excerpt: She was stopped at a border patrol checkpoint north of Nogales, where she was found to have 200 grams of cocaine on her person. The woman is identified as "Female Individual 2" in a federal court document that was sealed on Tuesday, after being accessible to the public for months. The document is a warrant filed by a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent investigating the trafficking of drugs to Alaska. Female Individual 2 was carrying roughly $20,000 worth of cocaine, according to a street value estimate from the Anchorage Police Department.She represents a small piece of a puzzle that is largely kept secret: The inner workings of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) based in Sonora, Mexico. L, M, N Judith Miller: Mexicanization American Law Enforcement http://www.judithmiller.com/6482/mexicanization-american-law-enforcement LA Times: ATF Fast Furious http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygallery.html ATF Guns http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20111009-story.html#axzz2qP3R9IU4 U.S. warns citizens about traveling to Mexico's Cancun and Los Cabos as violence surges. By Kate Linthicum (08/22/2017) http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-cancun-warning-20170822-story.html LAPD authors: Dunn http://www.lapdauthors.com/dunn.html MSN: Fighting MS 13 Officials Detail Best Ways to Combat the Violent Gang. By Kaitlyn Schallhorn (08/02/2017) http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/fighting-ms-13-officials-detail-best-ways-to-combat-the-violent-gang/ar- AApjepI?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp National Review: Fast Furious = Obamas First Scandal. By Ian Tuttle (01/21/2016) http://www.nationalreview.com/article/430153/fast-furious-obamas-first-scandal NPR: Prison gang reach increasingly extends into streets (2013) http://www.npr.org/2013/04/02/176035798/experts-prison-gang-reach-increasingly-extends-into-streets O, P, Q, R Police Mag:Criminal Gangs and the Occult http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2008/03/criminal-gangs-and-the-occult.aspx Of all the criminal groups that I have worked over the more than three decades in law enforcement, the most credible attempts on my life have come from these occult true believers.Be aware of these trends and beliefs. Gang members who take the occult seriously can be truly dangerous. http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2008/03/criminal-gangs-and-the-occult.aspx Rolling Stones 2018/04/18 Mexican drug lords have transformed the narcotics trade in America — and the DEA appears powerless to stop them. By Guy Lawson This article appeared in the September 17, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-the-cartels-work-245912/ The current crop of Mexican drug lords is not a bunch of Scarface-style lunatics high on coke and hellbent on violence. Instead, they are highly sophisticated executives, pursuing profit by the cheapest and most efficient means possible.Torturing rivals and beheading victims serves a purpose in Mexico, where drug-related violence has killed 12,000 people in the past three years; narcotraficantes routinely use brutality to subdue competitors, eliminate witnesses and frighten off police recruits. But north of the border, the drug lords are as corporate and hyperorganized as Walmart, replacing the top-down approach of their Colombian predecessors with a new business model — one that outsources the street-level grunt work to an army of illegal immigrants. With business booming — prices are steady and demand remains high — unleashing a Mexican-style rampage in this country would only risk riling up U.S. law enforcement. The Mexican cartels aren’t fighting the War on Drugs in the United States for a very simple reason: They’ve already won. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-the-cartels-work-245912/ S, T, U Slate: “A Unique Death Cult” How the Romanian Iron Guard blended nationalistic violence with Christian martyrdom to spread a singularly morbid fascist movement. By Stanley G. Payne (02/21/2017) See photo in article with heading: Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and members of the Legion of the Archangel Michael (also known as the Iron Guard) in Bucharest, Romania, in 1937. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fascism/2017/02/romania_s_unusually_morbid_fascist_movement_blend ed_nationalistic_violence.html Note: although this entry is not actually “cartel” material, since it connected to the 1930s, I feel there is applicability to current times in those cases where there is a mix of religiosity and governmental control systems. Tech Dirt: DEA loses big drug case thanks to illegal wiretap warrants prosecutor calls procedural errors https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151214/08492533071/dea-loses-big-drug-case-thanks-to-illegal-wiretap-warrants- prosecutor-calls-procedural-errors.shtml UCLA, Newsroom: Jorja Leap Jumped In book (03/08/2012) http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/jorja-leap-jumped-in-book-230195 V, W, X, Y, Z Vice Mexico’s efforts to tackle police corruption are failing. By Paul Imison. (03/21/2016) https://news.vice.com/article/mexicos-efforts-to-tackle-police-corruption-are-failing The Mexican-Mormon War Part I (video clip) https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/the-mexican-mormon-war-part-1 Washington Post House Democrats say Phoenix ATF to blame in fast and furious. By Sari Horwitz (01/31/2012) Excerpt: Federal agents based in Phoenix, not officials at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, were responsible for the controversial tactics used in the gun operation known as “Fast and Furious,” Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a report released Tuesday. A year after it became known that the operation relied on a tactic known as gun walking, the 89-page report called Fast and Furious “reckless and fatally flawed.” It puts the blame squarely on the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It also concludes that the strategy began as early as 2006. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-democrats-say-phoenix-atf-to-blame-in-fast-and-furious- fiasco/2012/01/31/gIQAUQ9HfQ_story.html?utm_term=.92b235cb8ae8 In Mexico’s Nueva Laredo, Drug Cartels dictate media coverage. By William Booth (08/01/2010) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/01/AR2010080103481.html Excerpt: Two weeks ago, Mexican soldiers clashed here with drug cartel gangsters in running gun battles that lasted five hours. The outlaws hijacked vehicles, including a bus, for use as barricades and battering rams. Terrified residents scrambled for safety. At least a dozen people were killed, including bystanders. Children were wounded in the crossfire. Not a single word about it appeared in the local news media. Nuevo Laredo has three television news channels, four daily newspapers and at least five radio stations that broadcast news, but every outlet ignored the biggest story of the year. Nuevo Laredo is not an isolated village but the busiest city along the U.S.-Mexico border, a vital U.S. trade partner with a population of 360,000, professional sports teams, universities and an international airport. Fearing for their lives and the safety of their families, journalists are adhering to a near-complete news blackout, under strict orders of drug smuggling organizations and their enforcers, who dictate -- via daily telephone calls, e-mails and news releases -- what can and cannot be printed or aired. "We are under their complete control," said a veteran reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Editors and managers of news organizations who agreed to speak with The Washington Post insisted that the interviews take place away from their offices, at back tables in empty bars. "The cartels have eyes and ears inside our company," one editor said. Wikipedia Smuggling Tunnels - See Smuggling Tunnels below conjunction with R&R full-time personnel are recruited from Puerto Rico. Taking people with English as a second language, for the missile defense of the hemisphere, from a tropical environment to a sub-arctic environment. There are no recruiting projects to get personnel from any other state. Puerto Rico is the Drug Cartel Connection to the GMD. x The push to recruit from Puerto Rico did not start until Katkus became the AKARNG commander and directed it to happen. x Drugs are flown in from Puerto Rico to the FT Greely airstrip and dropped off without having to go through any type of inspection. Private planes and visitors pick up packages and take them away. Greely personnel stand guard while the transactions take place. x In October of 2010 the largest FBI raid in history was done in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican Military, Police, Prison Guards, and National Guard personnel were arrested as part of a Colombian Cartel. http://cryptome.org/2012/12/ng-alaska-blaylock.pdf On January 30, US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a Mexican citizen who was linked to the tunnel via the US warehouse, operated by V&F Distributors LLC. On the Friday before, January 27, immigration authorities reportedly received information that the Mexican cartel behind the operation was threatening the lives of any agents involved with the construction or occupation of the tunnel. US Customs and Immigration, however, pledged to protect them as best they could. Authorities believe Tijuana's Arellano-Felix drug syndicate, or some other well-known drug cartel, was behind the building and operation of the tunnel.[8] On November 26, 2010, a 2,600-foot (790 m) tunnel was discovered linking Tijuana to Otay Mesa, San Diego, California.[9] In the same month another tunnel was discovered between these two cities. Both tunnels were discovered by a San Diego task force and are believed to be the work of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Over 40 short tons (36,000 kg) of cannabis was found and confiscated between the two.[10] An analysis of US-Mexico smuggling tunnels, the US-Canada smuggling tunnel, and the smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip, was completed by Lichtenwald and Perri as part of a transnational analysis of smuggling tunnels.[11][12] Lichtenwald and Perri outlined sources and methods for evaluating which tunnels are used by different populations in various parts of the world to smuggle contraband that does not threaten a nation’s security, which tunnels that smuggle contraband that does threaten a nation’s security, and hybrid tunnels that smuggle contraband that threaten a nation’s security as well as that which does not. In December 2012, a tunnel 3 feet in diameter and 100 yards long, with electricity and ventilation, was found near the Nogales, Arizona, port of entry.[13] Since 1990, there have been almost 170 tunnels found leading into Mexico, mostly in Arizona and California.[14] On February 14, 2014 another underground drug tunnel was discovered in Nogales. The tunnel spanned 481 feet (147 m), or longer than 1.5 American football fields. The tunnel was being used to smuggle marijuana and other drugs into the US. Another 590 pounds (270 kg) of marijuana was seized after federal agents stopped a vehicle they saw driving away from the residence. Some 46 pounds (21 kg) of marijuana and 0.5 pounds (0.23 kg) of heroin were found inside the tunnel. Three people have been arrested in connection with the bust.[15] On March 19th, 2020, a tunnel connecting Tijuana to San Diego was discovered by the San Diego Tunnel Task Force. The tunnel extended 2,000 feet (610 m) and was outfitted with an underground rail system, ventilation and lighting. Over 1,300 pounds (590 kilograms) of cocaine, 86 pounds (39 kilograms) of methamphetamine, 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of heroin, 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of marijuana and 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms) of fentanyl were seized.[16] List of References from Wikipedia on Smuggling Tunnels, includes non-USA tunnels. References Grieshaber, Kirsten (2019-11-07). "Escape tunnel underneath Berlin Wall opens to public". Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-01-07. "Slovaks find railway smuggling tunnel to Ukraine". Reuters. Retrieved 2014-03-01. "Hiding places where smugglers concealed contraband". Smuggling.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-01. Salkeld, Luke (27 February 2008). "Builders unearth 200-year-old smuggling network in Cornish pub | Daily Mail Online". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 December 2015. Ken MacQueen (2 November 2005). "B.C.'s tunnel busters". Macleans.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. "Chapter 6: Washington State". United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border. The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Winter 2015. Cross-Border Tunnels and Border Tunnel Prevention: Fiscal Year 2015 Report to Congress (Report). United States Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 2016. p. 6. Retrieved 22 December 2018. As of September 30, 2015, 183 illicit cross-border tunnels have been discovered in the United States since Fiscal Year 1990 "Drug haul in secret border tunnel". BBC News. 27 January 2006. "Second Mexico-US drug tunnel found in Tijuana". BBC News. 26 November 2010. "Mexico's army finds drug tunnel to Arizona". GlobalPost. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2014-03-01. Lichtenwald, Terrance G.; Perri, Frank S. (Spring 2011). "Smuggling Tunnels:The Need for a Transnational Analysis". Inside Homeland Security. 9 (1). Lichtenwald, Terrance G.; Perri, Frank S. (2013). "Terrorist Use of Smuggling Tunnels". International Journal of Criminology and Sociology. 2. "Mexican Authorities Find Smuggling Tunnel Equipped With Electricity Near Border". KILT (AM). Associated Press. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013. Billeaud (14 January 2014). "How tunnels are built, used along U.S.-Mexico border". KPBS. Nogales, Arizona. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Largest-ever drug tunnel in Nogales found". azcentral.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014. "US finds major cross-border tunnel used to smuggle drugs". AP NEWS. 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2020-04-02. https //en wikipedia org/wiki/Smuggling_tunnel#:~:text=As%20of%20September%2030%2C%202015,US%20Border%20Patrol%20task%20force. Updates: 2020/06/02 more additions and reorganization/shuffling; pages 1-5 were incorporated into Cartels/Gangs section; 2020/06/01 brief def of gang added to start here; Smuggling Tunnels section added; 2020/05/03 added Time/Opioid Crisis, Project Python-2020 as well as video of Coast Guard/Narcoterror-2019 to START HERE; 2019/12/20added the gomez/marine/chicago-new york/puerto rico-dominican republic drug thing in Alaska-Puerto Rico section; 2019/10/26- 27 La Familia added; Puerto Rico added. 2019/07/22 SNM section added with Justice dot com-2015/12/04 article on it added; some overall editing, organizational changes incl. moving search and seizure to its own page. 2019/06/14 cartel section moved from River GOLD (rivergold.net) to Police Factor. 2019/01/01 Org. Retail Crime-Albq Jrnl-2017/11/02; (05/29/2018 Gangs & Religion-Catholic/LA Times Gangs & Their God; 08/04/2017 New Mexican Mafia corrections/az; 08/02/2017 MSN on MS-13; 07/01/2017; 06/30/2017; 05/28/2017; 05/21/2017; 05/20/2017; 03/17/2017
Start Here: o What is a Gang? o Why People Can Be in a Gang o Getting Out, Staying Out Terms o Coyotes o Mules o Sicario - Assassin o See Stash/Drop Houses - Drugs, Humans Articles Cultural Contexts Behind Cartels Occult Religion Other: o Department of Justice-Organized Crime Cases o The Puerto Rico connection in Alaska o US Special Forces teaching Cartels like C and Z in Mexico? See Articles Grayzone o Plan Mérida: The Special Forces training has been funded under the Plan Mérida, which has resulted in the U.S. providing more than $1.6 billion for fighting the War on Drugs, most of it in military aid. (Grayzone-2021/05/06)
Resources and Input Policing, Borders, Drugs, Cartels and System Corruption
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