Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

DPS & THP Daily Operations Summary With Border-Centric Open Source Reporting

Date of Report: December 15, 2011

Marijuana Seizures

Hydroponic Marijuana Seizures

Heroin Seizures

Methamphetamine Seizures

Currency Seizures

272 lbs 7 0 4 kg $ 21,000

Cocaine Seizures

Weapons Seized Hashish Xanax

Seizures Criminal Arrests

0 lbs 0 0 0 7

Seizures: Marijuana – 5 lbs; Criminal Arrests – 2 Reported by: THP Date/Time: 12/14/2011; 1440 hrs Location: IH-10, MM: 803/E, near Anahuac, Chambers Co. Following a routine traffic stop, a THP Trooper seized 5 lbs of hydroponic marijuana and arrested two subjects (driving a 2000 Ford Taurus, bearing TX registration). A consent to search revealed 4 large plastic bags of marijuana on the front passenger floor board and small bag under the driver’s seat. The marijuana was traveling from Houston, TX to Port Arthur, TX. Seizures: Marijuana – 254 lbs; Criminal Arrests – 2 Reported by: THP Date/Time: 12/14/2011; 1348 hrs Location: IH-40, MM: 104/E, near Conway, Carson Co. Following a routine traffic stop, a THP Trooper seized 254 lbs of marijuana and arrested two subjects (driving a 2011 Chevrolet IMT, bearing AZ registration). A consent to search was denied and a K-9 unit was deployed and gave positive alert. Probable cause search revealed 12 taped bundles of marijuana in the trunk. The marijuana was traveling from Phoenix, AZ, to Pittsburgh, PA. Seizures: Methamphetamine – 4 kg; Currency - $21,000 USD; Criminal Arrests – 1 Reported by: THP Date/Time: 12/13/2011; 1714 hrs Location: US-77, MM: 588/N, near Victoria, Victoria Co. Following a routine traffic stop, a THP Trooper seized 4 kg of methamphetamine, $21,000 UDS, and arrested one subject (driving a 2001 Ford F150, bearing MX registration). A consent to search revealed six bundles of crystal meth and five bundles of US currency located in a false compartment in the front wall of the bed of the truck. The meth and currency were traveling from Matamoros, MX, to Houston, TX. Seizures: Marijuana – 18 lbs; Criminal Arrests – 1 Reported by: THP Date/Time: 12/14/2011; 1423 hrs Location: US-59, MM: 462/N, near Cleveland, Liberty Co. Following a routine traffic stop, a THP Trooper seized 18 lbs of marijuana, and arrested one subject (driving a 2001 Dodge Caravan, bearing TX registration). A consent to search revealed

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

approximately 8 lbs of marijuana inside of a cardboard box and 10 lbs of marijuana inside a cooler. The marijuana was traveling from Houston, TX, to Natchitoches, LA. Seizures: Marijuana – 2 lbs; Criminal Arrests – 1 Reported by: THP Date/Time: 12/14/2011; 2250 hrs Location: IH-10, MM: 834/E, near Beaumont, Jefferson Co. Following a routine traffic stop, a THP Trooper seized 2 lbs of hydroponic marijuana, and arrested one subject (driving a 2000 Chevrolet pickup, bearing LA registration). A consent to search revealed approximately 2lbs of marijuana in several paint buckets in the bed of the truck. The marijuana was traveling from Houston, TX, to Melville, LA.

OPEN SOURCE INPUTS McAllen Monitor, December 15, 2011 After Students Wounded, Target Shooting Stressed Over Hunting As Possible Cause

David Guerrero Navarro is arraigned on criminal trespass and taking wildlife without the consent of the owner at the Hidalgo County Jail on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, in Edinburg

EDINBURG — Evidence collected Tuesday changed investigators’ working theory of a Monday shooting at a middle school that put two students in the hospital. Hidalgo County sheriff’s investigators no longer believe hunting played a factor in the shooting nor do they think the suspect who faced criminal charges Wednesday is responsible for the boys’ injuries, Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. ―Our working theory on this particular shooting has somewhat changed a little bit based on the evidence that we have gathered,‖ he said, refusing to disclose details. The sheriff did say that target shooting might have been involved. The students were in critical but stable condition Wednesday, the sheriff said. The bullet that hit the 14-year-old boy was removed Tuesday, and surgeons were trying to determine Wednesday whether it was safe to remove the bullet from the 13-year-old. Justice of the Peace Charlie Espinoza charged David Guerrero Navarro, 26, with two class A misdemeanors — poaching and criminal trespass — Wednesday afternoon, but the sheriff said he and his investigators don’t suspect Navarro was involved in the children’s shooting. Deputies arrested Navarro on Monday evening after a Texas Department of Public Safety crew aboard a helicopter spotted his black Nissan pickup truck at a ranch north of Harwell Middle School, where two boys had just been shot by apparent stray bullets. The projectiles wounded the 13-year-old and 14-year-old as they tried out for the school’s basketball team about 4:45 p.m. at a makeshift court in a parking lot west of the school. Navarro, an illegal immigrant, confessed to shooting at a javelina at a ranch owned by Juan Jose Avila, court documents show. Navarro used a .223-caliber assault rifle to kill the animal.

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

Avila provided deputies a sworn affidavit indicating he did not give Navarro consent to hunt at his ranch near the 9000 block of Carmen Avila Road in rural Edinburg, records show. ―We still do not believe that he might’ve been involved in the actual shooting of the children,‖ Treviño said about Navarro. ―But nonetheless, we’re going to be doing a ballistic analysis not only on his weapon, but the other two weapons of the other two individuals.‖ The sheriff referred to two target shooters his deputies also detained near the scene of the shooting Monday evening. The pair told investigators they were calibrating the sights on their .30-caliber rifles at the time the shots rang. Authorities did not disclose their identities and released them Tuesday morning after questioning. ―We don’t believe it was a hunting accident or a shooting that resulted from shots fired during a hunting incident, but rather maybe from a target practice session,‖ Treviño said, perhaps alluding to the two target shooters. Investigators did not have enough probable cause to arrest the pair and they could not be held for more than two days without filing a formal criminal complaint against them. The target shooters, however, could still face charges in the coming days if experts from DPS’s crime lab determine they shot the bullets that injured the children and if sheriff’s investigators can prove they acted recklessly, negligently, knowingly or intentionally, Treviño said. Both elements must be present. Espinoza issued Navarro a $20,000 bond, but he might not be able to bail out of jail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives placed detainers, or holds, on Navarro because he is an illegal immigrant and was also in possession of a firearm, which federal law prohibits, Treviño said. ―We still don’t know where that gun came from and he’s not telling us,‖ he added. El Paso Times, December 15, 2011 (Updated) Federal Agents Raid Law Enforcement Uniform Store; Watch Video Federal agents handcuffed two men and seized truckloads of items from a law enforcement uniform store in Central El Paso after executing a search warrant Wednesday morning. Almost 50 agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations swarmed the parking lot of the Uniforms of Texas store, 6601 Montana, a little after 8 a.m. Officials of ICE and the U.S. attorney general's office said that more information could not revealed publicly and that the courts have sealed all documents. The store sells law enforcement uniforms and supplies such as flashlights, boots, winter gear and other accessories. It also carries ammunition and body armor. Before the store opened, agents approached a man who arrived in a Hummer and quickly took him inside. Soon after that, more ICE agents and analysts arrived. Agents interviewed store employees as they arrived. Around 10 a.m., two men were handcuffed and placed in the back of an unmarked truck. ICE agents and contracted workers began loading hundreds of bags of confiscated items into four large moving trucks. The confiscated items appeared to be ammunition and law enforcement uniforms and supplies. Rachel Gutierrez said she was at the shopping strip where the store is located around 7 a.m., taking her child to Santé Pediatrics. She saw ICE agents in the back area waiting. "They were blocking the back and watching out for employees," Gutierrez said. "I thought they were just doing some training or something." Eventually, from the Santé lobby, she saw the parking lot fill up with uniformed agents. "When I saw they blocked the parking lot and I saw the media was here, I knew something was up," Gutierrez said. "They were asking everyone who entered the parking lot what they were doing." Employees of the Lucchese Factory Outlet, a store that sells boots and Western wear, said they are used to seeing law enforcement members at the store to shop. However, on Wednesday, they were shocked to see so many officers around the area so early in the morning. Jesse Acevedo, an employee at Lucchese Factory Outlet, said he knew something was obviously different on Wednesday. "I thought it was a crime scene," Acevedo said. "I was a little bit in shock." At first, he thought there was some sort of immediate danger in the area. "I saw a cop when I pulled into the

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

parking lot, and I asked if everything was OK or secure and he said, 'Yes,' " Acevedo said. "It was a little overwhelming." Elvira Lopez, who was also at Santé Pediatrics, said she suspected there was a drug bust at the store. "I always suspected something about that store," Uniforms of Texas, said Lopez. "I think (the agents) are there for a good reason." Later, several customers -- some with law enforcement uniforms -- arrived to shop at the store and were turned away by agents. A person in a Fort Bliss Fire Department-marked vehicle arrived to pick up about a dozen uniforms. Agents brought the uniforms out to the vehicle from inside the store.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations agents confiscated hundreds of bags of items Wednesday at the Uniforms of Texas store on the 6600 block of Montana. (Ruben R Ramirez / El Paso Times)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security... (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations agents confiscated hundreds of bags of items today at the Uniforms of Texas store on the 6600 block of Montana. Two men were handcuffed and placed in the back of an unmarked truck. Behind the store, agents piled the bags and loaded them into trucks. Confiscated items appeared to be ammunition and law enforcement uniforms, as well as flashlights and shoes. Agents said they

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

were executing a federal search warrant at Uniforms of Texas, a police and military uniform store that also sells ammunition and body armor. Agents approached a man who arrived at the store in a Hummer a little after 8 a.m. They walked into the store with him. More than 50 agents participated in the raid. Employees of neighboring stores said they were shocked to see so many law enforcement officers around the area so early. "It looked like a crime scene," said Jesse Acevedo, who works at Lucchese Factory Outlet. Several customers who arrived to shop at the store were turned away. El Paso Times, December 15, 2011 Authorities Raid Shops Selling Synthetic Drugs Spice, Bath Salts

A locally owned convenience store in Northeast El Paso sells "Spice," an incense that has become popular to smoke despite being marked that it is not for human consumption. (Vanessa M. Feldman / El Paso Times)

El Paso County sheriff's deputies and Drug Enforcement Administration agents Wednesday morning raided shops allegedly selling Spice and bath salts, synthetic drugs whose abuse has jumped in recent years. The Spice raids were the first of a kind since the drugs had been legal until outlawed earlier this year. About 75 law enforcement officers served search warrants at seven locations in El Paso as part of an ongoing investigation. Investigators late Wednesday were still counting the amount of drugs seized. Arrests were pending. More information was expected to be released at a news conference today. Sheriff's officials said the investigation started in September after chemicals used in the synthetic drugs were banned. The raids took place after drug buys by undercover officers, followed by the drugs being lab-tested for the banned chemicals. Sheriff's officials showed a video on YouTube.com of a young man reportedly high on bath salts laughing uncontrollably, babbling incoherently and then screaming while seated in the back of a police car. Long-term effects of the drugs and their chemicals are unknown. Spice, sold as incense or potpourri, is smoked as a type of synthetic marijuana while bath salts are snorted, resulting in effects similar to cocaine. Both items come in packages labeled "not for human consumption" and marketed as "legal." "They are masking it to try to get around the law. They know it is not going to be put in the bath," said a narcotics detective who asked that his name not be published because he works undercover. At a shop named Herb N Legend at Hawkins Plaza, crime scene investigators carried out boxes and even a poster advertising a Tuesday special of "buy two and get one free." Customers were turned away. Sheriff's officials said concerns about "fake pot" and bath salts had grown with drug abuse reported at high schools as well as by young soldiers at Fort Bliss. Investigators said users preferred the synthetic marijuana to the real thing because since it was sold at stores, it

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

didn't have the appearance of being illegal, could be smoked in the open, and some urine drug tests didn't check for it. Synthetic drugs are more expensive than the real thing, selling for up to $30 per inch-size package. Most of the drug products are thought to come from Asia but some are made locally. Investigators said Spice is made when a liquid chemical, which has effects similar to marijuana, is mixed with acetone and sprayed on incense or potpourri. The mixture is then dried and packaged. The homegrown stuff, made for $1, can retail for $20 to $30. San Antonio Express News, December 15, 2011 Houston Man, Nephew, Accused Of Drug Conspiracy BROWNSVILLE — A Houston man and his nephew have been indicted on charges they led a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine from Mexico to distribution points in Houston. Rigoberto Vargas-Munoz and his nephew Edgar Munoz-Munoz, both illegal immigrants from Mexico, were charged in a 14-count indictment partially unsealed in Brownsville on Thursday. The two were taken into custody on Nov. 15, after agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Vargas-Munoz's home. Prosecutors said the organization is linked to nine separate drug seizures. Borderland Beat, December 15, 2011 Eight killed In Gangland Violence In Mexico’s Industrial Hub

Eight people were killed in recent hours in this northern Mexican industrial city in attacks attributed to organized crime, officials said. Five people between the ages of 20 and 30 were shot and killed early Tuesday in downtown Monterrey, capital of the violence-racked state of Nuevo Leon, according to a report from the State Investigations Agency. A group of gunmen lined their victims up against a wall at the corner of two streets and fired at them with AR-15 assault rifles before finishing them off with a 9 mm pistol, the report added. Experts from the state Attorney General’s Office gathered more than 20 spent .223-caliber shell casings and a spent 9 mm shell casing at the scene. In a separate incident attributed to organized crime, a woman of about 35 and a male teenager were killed by gunmen on Monterrey’s north side outside a residence. A Holy Death altar was found on one side of the home. And a 25-year-old woman also was found dead Tuesday morning of a gunshot wound near a Holy Death altar in northwestern Monterrey. Holy Death is a sect with roughly 2 million followers in Mexico,

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

including some drug traffickers and criminals who pray and make offerings to the ―White Girl,‖ a skeletal image dressed in women’s clothing. Monterrey, which is home to many of Mexico’s industrial giants, had long seemed immune to the drug war but since early 2010 has been the scene of a brutal war for control of smuggling routes to the United States pitting the Gulf cartel against former allies Los Zetas. Almost 2,000 people have died violently in Nuevo Leon this year amid the turf battle and clashes between members of those crime syndicates and the security forces. Elsewhere, the director of the prison in the northern state capital of Saltillo, Serafin Peña Santos, was shot and killed while traveling by car in the city, the Coahuila state Attorney General’s Office said. Reports of gunshots in Saltillo’s Jardines del Valle neighborhood were received at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Tuesday),‖ the state AG’s office said in a statement, adding that police were immediately dispatched to the scene. Authorities found the prison director dead inside his vehicle, which was discovered just a few meters from a high school, and collected 10 spent shell casings at the scene. Classes were suspended at the school and the students were sent home early. Over the past year, the Coahuila cities of Saltillo and Torreon have seen an uptick in violent crime attributed to a turf battle between the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels. Founded by deserters from an elite special forces unit, Los Zetas began as the armed wing of the Gulf cartel, but ended that relationship in March 2010 to go into business for themselves. Hundreds have died in the ensuing turf battles between the aggressive upstarts and the established drug-trafficking organizations. Also Tuesday, two bodyguards were killed in an attack on the public safety secretary of the northern Mexican town of Gran Morelos, the Chihuahua state government said. Miguel Angel Gomez Carrera, his wife and the couple’s two young children were wounded in the assault, which took place in Chihuahua city, the state capital. All four members of the family are listed in serious but stable condition at a hospital in the city, state Attorney General’s Office spokesman Carlos Gonzalez told Efe. Gomez Carrera took over responsibility for public safety in Gran Morelos, a town of around 4,000 people, after the Nov. 21 arrest of predecessor Ramon Muñoz Cepeda, who was apprehended by army troops along with a reputed drug trafficker and several other suspects. The town’s current mayor, Ricardo Solis Manriquez, was elected in July 2010, but did not take office until late last month due to injuries he received in a September 2010 attack. Mexican federal authorities view municipal officials as particularly susceptible to being threatened or co-opted by the country’s powerful drug cartels. Drug-related violence has resulted in nearly 50,000 deaths in Mexico since December 2006, when newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderon militarized the struggle against the cartels. Latin American Herald Tribune, December 15, 2011 Mexican Soldier To Face Trial In Civilian Court MEXICO CITY – In a groundbreaking decision, a Mexican judge has ordered that a soldier accused of homicide in the 2009 death of an indigenous man in the southern state of Guerrero be tried in a civilian court instead of a military tribunal. Judge Carlos Alfredo Soto ruled on a motion from the victim’s father and brother asking that the case be removed from military jurisdiction, the Judiciary Council said. Soto’s ruling follows a decision in June by Mexico’s Supreme Court that substantially restricted the immunity of military personnel from prosecution by the civilian justice system. The high court’s review of the case of Rosendo Radilla, a former mayor and community activist who disappeared after soldiers seized him at a checkpoint in 1974, led to the conclusion that the armed forces’ immunity did not extend to human rights violations. The Mexican Constitution requires that members of the military accused of crimes against individuals be subjected to civilian justice, Judge Soto said in his ruling. The current case involves an unnamed infantryman who opened fire on a bus on June 20, 2009, killing one of the occupants. While the Guerrero state Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation, the matter was quickly turned over to the military justice system, which indicted the soldier for

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

homicide. Lacking confidence in the military courts, the victim’s family filed the motion seeking to have the case transferred to the civilian justice system. Mexico’s independent National Human Rights Commission has ―received nearly 5,000 allegations of human rights violations against the military since 2007, including killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and rape,‖ Human Rights Watch said in July. The purported crimes have occurred in the context of President Felipe Calderon’s deployment of tens of thousands of soldiers, marines and federal police to battle drug cartels. Members of the armed forces charged with rights abuses against civilians have enjoyed ―near total impunity‖ in military courts, HRW said. EFE McAllen Monitor, December 14, 2011 Three Deputies Face Termination After Dirty Drug Tests

Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office

EDINBURG — Three Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies face termination after random drug testing revealed they had tested positive for cocaine. The tests reportedly occurred on Friday, a source close to the Sheriff's Office said. At least two of the troubled deputies work in positions where they handle narcotics. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño confirmed the three deputies are under an internal investigation related to the drug tests, stopping short of saying they tested positive for narcotics. "I cannot confirm right now that anyone came out positive," he said. "But I can confirm that I am conducting several internal investigations of drug use by several of our employees." But Treviño did say the investigation will likely result in the three deputies' termination from the department. "Once the investigation is completed, then I will name names," the sheriff said. "I will probably say these individuals were under investigation of our drug control policies and as a result of this investigation, they have been terminated." The sheriff said he had to afford the employees in question "all their rights" before making their names public, should they be fired. Whether they could also face criminal charges remained unclear. "Once I have concluded internal investigation and afforded them all of their rights, I will take my actions against them and I will make it public," Treviño said. Treviño said he expects to go public with the findings early next week. The sheriff noted he regularly orders random drug tests on employees "multiple times" per year. "Some departments don't even do that," he said. Treviño has afforded deputies one strike if they are arrested for driving while intoxicated for the first time while off duty. But that policy does not apply to illicit drugs, which results in termination, he said. "I do have a zero-tolerance policy on illegal drug use and I will not tolerate it," Treviño said.

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

KRGV.com, December 14, 2011 2 Men Accused of Trying to Smuggle Ammo into Mexico

BROWNSVILLE - Two men are in federal custody, accused of trying to smuggle a shipment of ammunition into Mexico. Homeland Security investigators say they set up surveillance on a sporting goods store in Brownsville on Monday and then followed the men on an ammo-buying spree across the Valley. Documents filed in U.S. district court list the defendants as Guillermo Villarreal and Leonicio Sanchez. Homeland Security investigators say they watched the men buy a large amount of 7.62 x 39-millimeter ammunition. Then they followed the men as they bought more ammo at stores in Weslaco and Edinburg. Investigators say the men went back to Brownsville and were in the process of hiding the bullets in Villarreal’s truck when agents moved in. They say the men admitted buying 10,000 rounds of ammunition and that they were taking it to Mexico. Congressman Henry Cuellar of Laredo says current laws on the books are strong enough in restricting the sales of ammunition. ―Do we need to put more resources? Yes, and this is under the Homeland, the ICE, and this is why when we talk about border security, some folks think that if we put Border Patrol, and we put National Guard, and we put a fence, that's going to secure it. But like anything else, you've got to do investigations; you've got to do the background,‖ says Cuellar. Cuellar says Congress needs to remember the needs of border law enforcement as it begins to make major cuts aimed at deficit reduction. Federal agents say Villarreal and Sanchez admitted they had smuggled ammunition into Mexico at least three times before. They have a detention hearing scheduled for Friday in federal court in Brownsville. Brenham Banner Press, December 14, 2011 Mccaul Pushes For Tighter Border Security WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has continued his push for tighter border security. McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, Tuesday urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to use a strategic military assessment by two retired military generals to develop a template for a comprehensive strategy to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. The report, ―Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment‖ by Gens. Barry McCaffrey and Bob Scales, was presented to the subcommittee during an Oct. 14 hearing. ―A comprehensive strategy is needed for our southern border,‖ McCaul said in a letter to Napolitano based on hearing testimony. He said the report ―provides a strategic framework incorporating state and local participation.‖ The report outlined how Mexican drug cartels exploit holes in U.S. border security to infiltrate the United States and establish drug trafficking lanes and that cartels are working to set up a safe zone one county deep within U.S. border states. It also noted the success which state agencies such as the Texas Rangers have had in countering cartel operations. Missing, however, is adequate support from the federal government, McCaul said. Subsequent investigations and reports have revealed Iran’s ties to Latin America and its attempt to coordinate with a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador on U.S.

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

soil. ―The Mexican drug cartels present a dangerous threat to the national security of the United States,‖ McCaul told Napolitano in the letter. ―I strongly urge you to use every capability of the U.S. government to counter this growing threat to our economy, our security and well being of our citizens.‖ Fronteras, December 14, 2011 Mission Change For National Guard At U.S.-Mexico Border: A Federal Official Briefed On The New Strategy Said The Reduced Force Will Focus Their Efforts On Aerial Surveillance Or Drone Aircraft.

Photo by Sgt. Jim Greenhill, courtesy National Guard.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The years-long deployment of National Guard soldiers at the U.S.-Mexico border is about to change significantly. Through various missions, soldiers have been at the border since former President George W. Bush dispatched 6,000 troops in 2006. The mission for the 1,200 currently deployed ends in December and no formal announcement of an extension has yet to come from President Barack Obama. But congressional sources say soldiers will remain, albeit in different roles. ―To our knowledge, throughout the first quarter at least of 2012 is when we’ll see the transition scaling back on one end and increasing intelligence and technological resources on the other,‖ said Mike Rosen, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-TX). But McCaul, and others who are hawkish on border security, say now is not the time to pull back the National Guard. They insist the border is far from being secure, despite the increase in border agents and technology in recent years. An Army National Guard soldier works as a member of an entry identification team watching the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz., during Operation Jump Start on Jan. 17, 2007. (Photo by Sgt. Jim Greenhill, National Guard Bureau) ―The border is only 44 percent operationally secure,‖ Rosen said. ―Even though we will be implementing greater technology and greater intelligence capabilities, you have to have those in conjunction with the boots on the ground.‖ Some border experts counter that soldiers are not properly trained, they double-up as border agents and were only meant as a temporary back-up. Doris Meissner was the country’s top immigration enforcer in the 1990s under the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). ―We’re spending billions on border enforcement, so at a certain point the Border Patrol should be able to bring about border security,‖ said Meissner, now a senior researcher at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. ―And evidence shows more and more that point is at hand.‖ Other congressional offices were told the current National Guard ―Southwest Border Mission‖ will be cut in half and soldiers will redeploy to different border points to serve as intelligence analysts. The Associated Press (AP) reports that a federal official briefed on the new strategy said the reduced force will focus their efforts on aerial surveillance. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been announced, according to the AP.

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

Chicago Tribune, December 14, 2011 Texas Woman Gets 20 Years For Largest Heroin Seizure In Kane County History

A Texas woman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and received a 20-year prison sentence for what is believed to be the largest heroin seizure in Kane County. Claudia Chagoya, 42, of El Paso, was arrested in April and charged after police found about 15 pounds of heroin hidden in the drive train of the pickup truck she was driving. She pleaded guilty Wednesday to unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver more than 900 grams and faced up to 60 years in prison. A Mexican drug cartel paid Chagoya $1,000 in expenses money to drive the cache from Texas to Chicago with the promise of more money later, Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Kelly Orland said. Chagoya was arrested after a police officer stopped her April 25 for failing to signal as she exited the Jane Addams tollway near Elgin. Chagoya consented to a search of her vehicle after she failed to produce a valid driver’s license, according to police. The truck was taken to a facility where police drilled a small hole in the truck’s drive shaft casing. After residue on the drill bit tested positive for heroin, officers dismantled the truck and found the drugs packaged in 14 half-kilo containers, Orland said. Chagoya told polce that she was instructed to drive to the Chicago area, rent a hotel room, and then call representatives of the cartel, who would off-load the drugs from the truck. At the time of Chagoya’s arrest, Sheriff Pat Perez said the seven kilograms was the largest single heroin seizure in county history. Valley Central. Com. December 14, 2011 Starr County Family Fears Teenage Daughter May Be In Mexico

Border Security Operations Center 6100 Guadalupe St., Bldg E, Rm 108 Texas Ranger Division Austin, TX 78752 Texas Department of Public Safety Office (512) 424-7561 Fax (512) 424-7041

A Starr County family is asking for help fearing their teenage daughter may be in one of the most dangerous areas of the Mexican border. The family of 16-year-old Janie Nedzelsky said she was last seen at Rio Grande City High School on Tuesday. Her parents told police that they dropped her off at school at 7 a.m. Tuesday. But they received a text from her at 5 p.m. saying, ―Sorry and hope you guys can forgive me… by the time you get this I will be gone.‖ Family members believe Janie left with her boyfriend Hugo Rodriguez, who is 18 or 19 years old. The family fears she may have crossed with him into Camargo, Tamaulipas or nearby community south of the border in Mexico. The area between Camargo and the Mexican side of Falcon Lake is one of the most dangerous along the border. Known as ―La Frontera Chica,‖ the area has seen some of the worst drug war violence as former allies the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas drug cartel fight for control of lucrative smuggling routes. Anyone with information about Janie’s whereabouts is asked to call the Rio Grande City Police Department at (956) 487-8892.