Mexico 'cartel ties' mayor detained

29 April 2014 Last updated at 12:37 Police last month confiscated an iron ore mining operation belonging to the cartel near Lazaro Cardenas The mayor of the Mexican port city of Lazaro Cardenas has been arrested on suspicion of taking part in kidnappings and extortion.

Arquimedes Oseguera is also accused of having ties to the Knights Templar drugs cartel, all of which he denies.

Lazaro Cardenas is one of the main port cities on the Pacific coast and a stronghold of the cartel.

The city's treasurer has also been arrested on suspicion of having links to the Knights Templar.

Smuggling hotspot

Lazaro Cardenas has a deepwater seaport, and police say the Knights Templar ship illegally mined iron ore from the city to China.

Tonnes of precursor chemicals used to manufacture illegal synthetic drugs have also been seized in the port over the past years.

The Knights Templar are one of the main suppliers of methamphetamines to the United States.

Their leader is believed to he hiding in or around Lazaro Cardenas.

Federal police officers have been combing the area in their search for the Knights Templar leader

Three of the cartel's top bosses have been killed or captured since the beginning of the year in a crackdown by the security forces.

Two weeks ago, the mayor of Apatzingan, another Knights Templar stronghold, was arrested on suspicion of extorting money on behalf of the cartel.

Farmers in western Michoacan state have long complained about the power of the Knights Templar and the corrupt nature of local officials.

Many have joined "self-defence" groups which have taken control of a number of small towns in the state.

On Monday, Mexican security forces started registering the weapons of the vigilante groups as part of a deal with the government to incorporate them into the official security forces.

The vigilantes have until 10 May to register their guns. Anyone found carrying weapons illegally after the disarmament would be detained, officials warned.

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Mexico 'cartel ties' mayor detained

29 April 2014 Last updated at 12:37 Police last month confiscated an iron ore mining operation belonging to the cartel near Lazaro Cardenas The mayor of the Mexican port city of Lazaro Cardenas has been arrested on suspicion of taking part in kidnappings and extortion.

Arquimedes Oseguera is also accused of having ties to the Knights Templar drugs cartel, all of which he denies.

Lazaro Cardenas is one of the main port cities on the Pacific coast and a stronghold of the cartel.

The city's treasurer has also been arrested on suspicion of having links to the Knights Templar.

Smuggling hotspot

Lazaro Cardenas has a deepwater seaport, and police say the Knights Templar ship illegally mined iron ore from the city to China.

Tonnes of precursor chemicals used to manufacture illegal synthetic drugs have also been seized in the port over the past years.

The Knights Templar are one of the main suppliers of methamphetamines to the United States.

Their leader is believed to he hiding in or around Lazaro Cardenas.

Federal police officers have been combing the area in their search for the Knights Templar leader

Three of the cartel's top bosses have been killed or captured since the beginning of the year in a crackdown by the security forces.

Two weeks ago, the mayor of Apatzingan, another Knights Templar stronghold, was arrested on suspicion of extorting money on behalf of the cartel.

Farmers in western Michoacan state have long complained about the power of the Knights Templar and the corrupt nature of local officials.

Many have joined "self-defence" groups which have taken control of a number of small towns in the state.

On Monday, Mexican security forces started registering the weapons of the vigilante groups as part of a deal with the government to incorporate them into the official security forces.

The vigilantes have until 10 May to register their guns. Anyone found carrying weapons illegally after the disarmament would be detained, officials warned.

View the original article here

Mexico 'cartel city' mayor arrested

16 April 2014 Last updated at 13:29 Vigilante groups moved into Apatzingan in February saying they would clear the city of the Knights Templar The mayor of the Mexican city of Apatzingan, a stronghold of the Knights Templar drug cartel, has been arrested on suspicion of extorting money on behalf of the cartel.

Prosecutors say Uriel Chavez pressured city councillors to hand over $1,500 (£900) of their salaries to the Knights Templar.

Mr Chavez denies the allegations.

In February, armed vigilante groups marched into the city in an attempt to "clear" it of the cartel.

Extortion

The prosecutor's office said they had received a number of complaints against Mr Chavez by local councillors alleging he had taken them to a rural area.

The self-defence groups celebrated the first anniversary since their foundation with a parade

There, armed men claiming to belong to the Knights Templar demanded money for weapons, the councillors said.

Last year, farmers tired of being extorted by cartel members joined "self-defence" groups in the western state of Michoacan.

They took control of a number of towns earlier this year, promising to rid them of the influence of the Knights Templar, a criminal organisation engaged in extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and the illegal methamphetamine trade.

The government originally tolerated the groups, inviting them to join a Rural Defence Corps under the command of the security forces.

Few took up the offer, so on Tuesday the interior minister set the vigilantes a deadline of 10 May to register their guns and to decide whether to join the rural corps or face arrest for illegally carrying weapons.

The government argues that the vigilante groups are no longer needed because the security forces have captured or killed three of the four main leaders of the Knights Templar.

However, their top leader, former school teacher Servando "La Tuta" Gomez, remains at large.

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Mexico arrests top cartel suspect

6 October 2011 Last updated at 02:44 Police say Noel Salgueiro Nevarez was taken in a carefully planned operation Mexican forces have arrested a man they say is a key figure in the country's most powerful drugs cartel.

Noel Salgueiro Nevarez is accused of running the Sinaloa cartel's operations in the northern state of Chihuahua, where drug violence is rampant.

Defence officials said his arrest would seriously weaken the cartel in Mexico and abroad.

The arrest was made on the same day as that of Martin Rosales Magana, who is accused of leading the La Familia gang.

The army said Mr Salgueiro Nevarez was seized in a carefully planned military operation, without a shot being fired.

Defence Ministry spokesman Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said Noel Salgueiro Nevarez was behind much of the extreme violence which has plagued Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's murder capital.

He said the suspect, also known as El Flaco (The Skinny One), led a gang of hitmen who extorted local businessmen, kidnapped for ransom, and tortured and killed members of a rival gang, the Juarez cartel.

'Criminal career'

Continue reading the main story Ignacio de los Reyes BBC Mundo, Mexico City

The Sinaloa Cartel controls the production of large quantities of heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine (in the US) and boasts an extensive network of associates to facilitate its US trafficking operations, US officials say.

On Saturday, Texas Governor Rick Perry said he would even consider sending US troops into Mexico to combat drug-related violence and "keep the cartels off the border".

This is why the arrest of "The Skinny One" could be a severe blow to the Sinaloa cartel activity both sides of the fence.

It is also a public relations boost for Mexican President Felipe Calderon at home and in the US, amid growing criticism of his government's strategy to fight criminals and the drug trafficking.

Yet, the Sinaloa Cartel leader is still free. Joaquin "The Shorty" Guzman escaped from a maximum security prison in 2001, embarrassing the Mexican government.

Since then, he's become the number one target with a $3m reward for his capture.

The security forces say the bitter war between the two gangs was the trigger for most of the 3,000 killings in Ciudad Juarez last year.

Prosecutors said Mr Salgueiro Nevarez started his criminal career 15 years ago, producing marijuana for the Sinaloa cartel.

They said his gang had been exporting up to 15 tonnes of marijuana and two tonnes of cocaine per month to the United States.

The government had offered a three-million-peso ($220,000; £130,000) reward for information leading to his capture.

Security officials said his arrest, in the city of Culiacan in northwestern Sinaloa state, was a major blow to the Sinaloa cartel and its leader, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Mr Guzman, 54, is Mexico's most wanted man and thought to be one of the country's richest.

Two years ago, he made Forbes magazine's list of the 67 World's Most Powerful People. At number 41, he was just below Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Crumbling cartel

Mr Salgueiro Nevarez's arrest was announced at the same time as that of another top figure in the Mexican drugs trade.

Police say Martin Rosales Magana lead the remnants of the La Familia cartel

Martin Rosales Magana, 47, was seized in Mexico state on Tuesday. Police say he is one of the founders of the once-powerful La Familia cartel.

Until the beginning of this year, La Familia ran much of the methamphetamine trade in Mexico.

It claimed to protect local communities and promote family values, but also engaged in gruesome violence.

The security forces say it has been almost entirely dismantled, with its top leaders either in jail or dead.

They say Mr Rosales Magana lead a number of small cells still loyal to the cartel, which had holed themselves up in a rural area between Michoacan and Mexico state.

At a news conference, federal police counter-narcotics chief Ramon Pequeno described how La Familia splintered after the security forces killed the cartel's then-leader Nazario Moreno in December 2010.

He said part of the gang set up a rival cartel, which they named Knights Templar, and which quickly took over many of the methamphetamine labs in the west and south-west of the country.

Mr Pequeno said Mr Rosales Magana and those loyal to him tried to regain control of the drugs trade in Michoacan state by forging an alliance with their long-time rivals, the Zetas cartel.

He told reporters how "they met with the Zetas to ask for operational assistance, weapons and salaries [for gunmen] and expenses money, in order to recoup important cities held by the Knights Templar".

However, according to police, the alliance soon faltered because Mr Rosales Magane no longer had access to the precursor chemicals needed to make methamphetamine, their main source of income.

Mr Pequeno said with La Familia severely weakened, police would now focus their attention on taking down the Knights Templar.

'Rival' killed Mexico politician

6 October 2011 Last updated at 03:07 Judicial officials in Mexico say the murder of a federal Congressman in the southern state of Guerrero last month was ordered by a political rival.

Moises Villanueva, a representative in Mexico's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, was found dead two weeks after being abducted.

Police said two men confessed to the crime and implicated a local mayor.

The suspects said the mayor, whom the authorities have not named, paid them $22,000 to kill Mr Villanueva.

Mr Villanueva was abducted along with his driver, Erick Estrada Vazquez, on 4 September.

Their bodies were found by the roadside in the southern state of Guerrero two weeks later. Forensic reports at the time said they had been shot dead.

Attorney General for Guerrero State Alberto Lopez Rosa said the two suspects, who are brothers, had confessed to the murder.

He said the suspects, one of whom is a police officer, had intercepted Mr Villanueva and his driver in the town of Huamuxtitlan.

Mr Lopez Rosa said they confessed to beating the two men and forcing them into the boot of their car before driving them to a bridge, from which they dumped them.

It is not clear whether the politician and his driver were still alive at the time.

Mr Lopez Rosa said he would soon reveal the identity of the man the suspects said had hired them to kill Mr Villanueva.

Ford Focus production home from Mexico sublimedvds.com

I like cheap cars, and I cannot lie. Not that I mind testing $70,000 luxo-sedans or $98,000 sports cars, but reviewing entry-level, bottom-of-the-line cars is my true passion. Let's face it: Anyone can build a nice car to sell for fifty grand, but providing good value for $15,000 or less -- especially considering all the safety equipment now mandated by the Fed -- well, that's no easy feat.
The 2011 version of my cheapest cars list once again highlights the 20 least expensive cars in the US market, telling you which ones are best buys and which ones are best left on the dealer's lot. Compared to last year's list, there are two new additions: The $13,995 Ford Fiesta takes the #8 spot and the $14,795 Mazda2 premieres at #11, knocking the Toyota Corolla and the Scion xB off the bottom of the list. Another last-minute addition is the all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra. After seeing the car at the Los Angeles Auto Show, I expected it to be priced right off the list, but surprise, surprise! The new Elantra is only $685 more than last year's model, and so it stays on, down just one spot to #12.
At this point, the list is a work in progress; Smart has yet to announce exact pricing for the mildly-redesigned 2011 ForTwo, and the same goes for the Honda Fit. Scion is also holding out on its new iQ minicar, but it's sure to wind up on the list. Chrysler has announced pricing for the Fiat 500 -- $15,500 -- and assuming the destination fee is the same as other Chrysler models ($750), it'll be taking up residence on Page Two once it goes on sale.
I'm starting to ramble (see, I told you I love cheap cars!), so if you want to get the skinny, check out the list: Cheapest cars of 2011. -- Aaron Gold
Photo ? Mazda
Greetings from Arizona! We decided to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday traffic by heading out to my folks a little early. I see every road trip as a potential for experimentation, and this time I decided to try a four-cylinder SUV. Read more...
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Tonight at 10 pm (9 pm central, and goodness knows when in Arizona) on the History Channel, Top Gear USA will finally hit the airwaves (or, I suppose, the cable-waves). I've been waiting a long, long time for this -- and I don't just mean the last few months of making the show. I mean, like, years.
I'm really happy with the way the show came out, and I'm not just saying that as a staffer -- I'm saying that as a true Top Gear fanatic. Amazing cars, fantastic cinematography, lots of idiocy, and plenty of tire-smoking antics courtesy of Tanner. Episode One is pretty darn good, and the show will get even better in the coming weeks. Check it out tonight and be sure to let me know what you think. -- Aaron Gold
The Los Angeles Auto Show is now open to the public. So how is this year's show? It's good...but a bit quiet.
One thing that was missing was the pessimistic attitude that hung over -- well, pretty much every major auto show for the last couple of years. Still, the show is a little short on flourish but pretty solid on substance. Rather than hold a press conference for the nifty little Urban Luxury Concept, for example, Cadillac simply put the car on display with little fanfare. World premieres were few and far between, though they did include some notable cars such as the Nissan Quest and Mazda5 minivans, as well as the Porsche Cayman R and Nissan's whimsical (and production-ready) Murano SUV convertible.
Not that everything was quiet. Ford probably has the best booth of the show -- not only are they showing the all-new 2012 Focus, but they have a slot-car track modeled after the Laguna Seca raceway (complete with elevation changes!) and will be doing real-live dynamometer runs with a real-live Mustang Boss 302.
By far, my favorite vehicle at the show was the Jaguar C-X75 concept. Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful, but it's got the niftiest powertrain I've ever seen. It's a range-extended EV, with a plug-in battery pack that powers four electric motors (one for each wheel) for up to 67 miles. When the battery runs out -- or when extra power is needed for high speed -- the C-X75 has on-board generators driven by a pair of miniature jet engines. No, I am not making this up. Sadly, Jaguar will not be doing any demonstration runs of the car -- I'm sure the car's exhaust temperature (680 degrees F) wouldn't sit well with the fire marshal...
Anyway, you can check out all the new and notable cars in my Los Angeles Auto Show photo gallery. If you're thinking about visiting, my LA Show Visitor's Guide will tell you when to go and how to get there. Special thanks to Dwane Ferry for helping out with the photos. -- Aaron Gold
Photo ? Aaron Gold
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