Transnational Criminal

Organizations (TCOs)

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

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Purpose

Definitions

History of Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs)

(Formerly ~ Drug Trafficking Organizations – DTO)

History of TCOs

Mexican TCOs

TCOs Influence in the Region

TCOs Area of Operations (AO)

TCOs & Islamic Extremists Recruiting Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

The Growing Threat

TCOs / Islamic Extremists

TCOs Capabilities and Intentions

Statistics

In Perspective

Final Thought

Agenda

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The purpose of this briefing is to provide open source information to LEAsand Intel communities in the current situation in Mexico.

This unclassified briefing is based on open source information; this will facilitate the distribution and dissemination of the current TCOs threat in Mexico in order to raise awareness and maybe prevent travelers / U.S. citizens from becoming victims of TCOs.

For further information about the current threat in Mexico, please visit the below sites:

– http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/01/maps-of-mexico-cartels.html

– http://www.blogdelnarco.com/

Purpose

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22 USC 2656f, the United States official definition of terrorism: premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non combatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents.

Department of Defense: “[t]he calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA): Narco-terrorism - may be characterized by the participation of groups or associated individuals in taxing, providing security for, or otherwise aiding or abetting drug trafficking endeavors in an effort to further, or fund, terrorist activities.

U.S. Agencies Definition of Terrorism

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The United States Department of Justice defines TCOs as: “complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs. The structure many of these organizations are of a Para-military nature using armed combatants to protect their stock of illegal drugs from growth to delivery.

Narco-Terrorism: Term narco-terrorism it is generally used to describe illicit activities by groups that use drug trafficking to fund terrorism.

TCOs vs. Terrorism: Definitions of criminal organizations and terrorism sometimes overlap; characteristics - decentralized cell structures, tend to target civilians, and use similar tactics such as kidnapping and drug dealing. Many experts distinguish these groups by their motive: criminals are driven by financial gain and terrorists by political, sometimes religious goals.

U.S. Agencies Definition of Terrorism (Cont.)

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Criminal (Street Gangs/TCOs), Narco-terrorism, or Terrorism?

TEPIC, NAYARIT (MEXICO)Two men were brutally murdered in the Guadalupe

neighborhood; according to preliminary reports, the men were both skinned alive before their hearts were removed. 7 April

2011. Pic (1) below.

Unlawful use of violence to inculcate fear; intended to

coerce or to intimidate governments or societies?

MONTERREY, NUEVO LEÓN (MEXICO)Two men were left hanging from a pedestrian bridge over a main street with part of the leg on one of them

cut off. Pic (3) below.

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Nightmare in Nayarit: Another body found Skinned and Posed body was found at Los Lobos bridge Tepic, Nayarit.

11 Apr 2011. Pic (2) below.

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Given its geographic location, Mexico has long been used as a staging and transshipment point for narcotics, illegal aliens and other contraband destined for U.S. markets from Mexico, South America and elsewhere. During the 1980sand early 1990s, Colombia’s Pablo Escobar was the main exporter of cocaine and dealt with organized criminal networks all over the world.

When enforcement efforts intensified in South Florida and the Caribbean, the Colombian organizations formed partnerships with the Mexico-based traffickers to transport cocaine through Mexico into the United States. This was easily accomplished because Mexico had long been a major source of heroin and marijuana, and drug traffickers from Mexico had already established an infrastructure that stood ready to serve the Colombia-based traffickers.

At first, the Mexican gangs were paid in cash for their transportation services, but in the late 1980s, the Mexican transport organizations and the Colombian drug traffickers settled on a payment-in-product arrangement. Transporters from Mexico usually were given 35 to 50 % of each cocaine shipment.

This arrangement meant that organizations from Mexico became involved in the distribution, as well as the transportation of cocaine, and became formidable traffickers in their own right. Currently, the Mexican Cartels have taken over trafficking cocaine from Colombia to the worldwide markets.

History of TCOs

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Over time, the balance of power between the various Mexican cartels shifts as new ones emerge and older ones weaken and collapse. A disruption in the system, such as the arrests or deaths of cartel leaders, generates bloodshed as rivals move in to exploit the power vacuum as we are seeing today in the streets of Mexico.

Many experts maintain that terrorists are increasingly funding themselves through crime. They have been linked with criminal groups in money laundering, counterfeiting, trafficking of weapons, and other illegal activities.

TCOs tend to develop in nations where law enforcement institutions are weak and citizens have limited economic alternatives (sub-Saharan Africa, the former Soviet Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean); its effects are global.

Farmers frequently turn to drug cultivation, boosting the international narcotics trade. Unemployed citizens seek work abroad and fall victim to people-trafficking rings. Across the globe, government corruption and illicit trade fuel sustain each other.

Collaboration between Terrorists & Transnational Criminal Organizations are the biggest threats to the United States and its interests.

History of TCOs (Cont.)

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Courtesy of the National Defense Intelligence College

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Courtesy of the National Defense Intelligence College

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Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, Colima Cartel, Guadalajara Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Juarez Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, Los Zetas Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, South Pacific

Cartel, Tijuana Cartel

Today’s Mexican TCOs are seeking control of long

expensive logistics networks for facilitating their drug

routes

Mexican TCOs

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Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala known as “the northern triangle” suffer especially debilitating levels of crime associated with TCOs and street gangs (MARAS).

A recent Economist article placed murders per 100,000 people in Honduras (67), El Salvador (71), Guatemala (46), and Mexico (61). These high murder rates have made “the northern triangle” one of the most violent regions in the world.

As Mexican cartels exploit the impoverished and more vulnerable countries to the south, a shift in strategy towards Central America by the U.S. is seen as imperative. A Reuters article contends that “escalating government crackdown” in Mexico is a primary reason for increased violence and drug-trafficking in Central America.

TCOs ~ Destabilizing Influence in the Region

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TCOs operate through Central/South America, and move their wares through Mexico into the U.S.

TCOs use street gangs to transport drugs inside the United States.

Gang members are easily recruited by TCOs in jails and prisons. Gang members follow orders from their chain of command; are familiar with life on America’s streets.

TCOs are known to have ties with African-American, Asian, White Supremacist, Latino, and other street gangs to sell and redistribute illegal drugs in the U.S.

TCOs pockets the bulk of the profit from the drug trade, while gang members take most of the heat from law enforcement agencies.

Gang’s principal recruiting

grounds are jails and prisons.

TCO’s Area of Operation (AO)TCOs Threat in the Region

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Gangs like the Barrio Azteca and MS-13 work along the side and in certain cases associated with TCOs. Street gangs and TCOs depend on each other for money making and survival. Gangs like the Barrio Azteca which began working with the Sinaloa Cartel and currently works with the Juarez Cartel is a good example of survival and business convenience.

Gangs mostly do the distribution, selling, and safe passing of drugs as well as the use of “unlawful violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies” on behalf of TCOs.

Some gangs like the MS-13, M-18, and Barrio Azteca are believed to have the capabilities in fighting over and competing with TCOs over territories, illicit activities, and market control. If this happens, this change in the drug trade would mean more violent conflicts since drug markets would be rationalized by guns and not negotiations.

In many cases, street gangs are more brutal than TCOs as they historically have been the strong hand behind the scenes carrying out the brutal murders and criminal activities of the TCOs. TCOs are also dangerous but they rather have street gangs do the dirty jobs as they regard street gangs as reckless and hard to control.

The Growing Threat

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http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/21/hezbollah-working-with-cartels/

Extremist Terrorist Group has

Alliance with TCOs!

Military and Department of Homeland Security contacts are

insistent…it’s not if Hezbollah operatives have been smuggled

into the U.S….but how many? They note that drug tunnels are

becoming much more sophisticated and striking similar as

tunnels being used by terror organizations to smuggle weapons

into the Gaza Strip. My contacts also say they have real concern

that bombing techniques used in the Middle East to promote

terror are now also being used inside Mexico, as the cartels war

with each other and anyone in their way.

This comes as Mexican authorities busted a senior Hezbollah

operative who employed Mexicans nationals with family ties to

Lebanon to set up the network, designed to target Israel and the

West, according to multiple reports. The man’s name is Jameel

Nasr and he was arrested after a Mexican surveillance operation

revealed that he traveled frequently to Lebanon to receive

information and instructions from Hezbollah commanders and he

also spent several months in Venezuela working with the terror

group and Hugo Chavez’s people. American security contacts

say the Mexican operation was impressive and they are seeing

some increased pressure on the cartels from Mexican authorities

and thus…their friends.

By: Adam Housley, Los Angeles-based correspondent for Fox.

Read more:

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/21/hezbollah-

working-with-cartels/#ixzz1PXybA96k

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TCOs in Mexico have demonstrated both capability and intent to subvert and directly challenge the Governments of the U.S. and

Mexico

Governors of the Northern Mexican Border States are past their capacity to protect their citizens and are requesting the GOM/Military

assistance

TCOs have infiltrated U.S. law enforcement agencies like the Customs and Border

Protection Agency

This is not Iraq of Afghanistan, but Ciudad Juarez - Mexico's fourth

largest city and literally a stone's throw away from the U.S.

Los Zetas hit men of “narcofosas” started criminal career very young, some recruited at 11

TCOs Capabilities and Intentions

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In 2006, the Government of Mexico embarked in a brave campaign to remove TCOs from Mexican soil. Since this fight started, TOCs have been engaged in a vicious struggle to control drug trafficking turfs and other criminal activities. According to the Government of Mexico figures, 34,612 people have been killed in narcotics-related violence in Mexico since December 2006. So far 2010 has top the statistics which accounted for more than 15,000 narcotics-related homicides, this number is an increase of almost two-thirds compared to 2009. Most victims have been due to TCO related violence and activities.

Juarez, Tamaulipas, De Leon, Monterrey, among others, are some of the Mexican States where drug-related violence has reached all time highs in the Northeastern parts of Mexico. The various TCOs in the region have been engaged in disputes in what appears to be a long term struggle for supremacy and survival. Aside from cartel “sicarios” (assassins), police and military personnel have suffered from large losses. Many civilians in the area have also been caught in cross fires between rival cartels or cartels and the military.

Statistics

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The U.S. government says Los Zetas is "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.”

Gulf Cartel and the ZzIn the late 1990s, the Gulf Cartel leader, Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, began to

recruit former Mexican Army’s elite “Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales(GAFE)” soldiers. – Some which had received specialized military training at U.S. military

schools in counter-insurgency and locating and apprehending drug cartel members.

– From the original 31 members, Los Zetas has grown into one of the largest TCOs, operating separate from the Gulf Cartel and just as violent.

Current alliancesSince February 2010, the major cartels have aligned in two factions, one integrated by the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltrán-LeyvaCartel; the other faction integrated by the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel.

Most dangerous cartel in MexicoThe Zetas are believed to have assumed the role of being the No. 1 TCOresponsible for the majority of the homicides, the narcotic-related homicides, the beheadings, the kidnappings, and the extortions that take place in Mexico.

In Perspective

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Texas Cell On October 26, 2008, the Washington Times reported of an FBI warning that Los Zetas' cell in Texas were to engage law enforcement with a full tactical response should law enforcement attempt to intervene in their operations; their cell leader was identified as Jaime González Durán (The Hummer), who was later arrested on November 7, 2008, in the border city Reynosa, Tamaulipas. In this operation, three safe-houses in Reynosa were raided by elements of the Mexican Federal Police and Mexican Army, yielding the largest weapon seizure in the history of Mexico; it included 540 rifles including 288 assault rifles and several .50-caliber rifles, 287 hand grenades, 2 M72 LAW anti-tank weapons, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, 67 ballistic vests and 14 sticks of dynamite.

Operations Border Star Contingency PlanIn February 2009, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced a program called "Operation Border Star Contingency Plan" to safeguard the border if Zetas carry out their threats to attack U.S. safety officers. This project includes the use of tanks, airplanes and the National Guard "as a preventive measure upon the possible collapse of the Mexican State" to protect the border from the attack of the Zetas and receive an eventual exodus of Mexicans fleeing from the violence

In Perspective (Cont.)

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It took years for Mexican TCOs to developed to what they are today; recent killings demonstrate that Mexican TCOs are utilizing unseen brutal ways to murder and torture people that surpasses those used by middle eastern and other terrorist groups.

The biggest internal war in the U.S. is the war against drugs. Some may say that this is a necessary evil since it boost the economy, but it devastates the government (tax payers indirectly pay for hospital services, jails, prisons, and other illegal drugs related expenses).

If in fact Hezbollah is working with Mexican TCOs and influencing their TTPs; why is it that TCOs like the Zz and others are not considered terrorist groups?

Final Thought

The drug war is already here in the U.S. and it

has been here for years; how long it will be

before the same type of gruesome murders

start happening here in the U.S.? What can

we do to prevent it?

→ U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused Iran of engaging in

what he called "subversive" activity in several places in Latin

America. He called newly-opened Iranian offices in Central and South

America "fronts" for interfering in local affairs.

→ Admiral Stavridis, who heads U.S. Southern Command, noted

what he called "an increase in a wide level of activity by the Iranian

government," including the opening of six new embassies in Latin

America during the last five years, and what he called "proselytizing

and working with Islamic activities throughout the region." 23

Any Questions

?

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Mr. Leo Quintero

Cell: (210) 667-5252

Email: leandro.quintero@us.army.mil

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