As I Walked Out On The Streets Of Laredo...

As I walked out in Laredo one day

I spied Los Zetas gunmen fro the Mexican cartels taking over two ranches on the Texas side of the Mexican-US border.

Or, I didn't.

I would bet on Bob Owens, who called local law enforcement and got this:

The deputy that answered the phone there was less bemused, having also dealt with this rumor multiple times in a short amount of time. She also told me that there was no invasion and no law enforcement siege, and that deputies were continuing normal operations.

Don’t believe the hype.

However, if I were to believe the hype, this sort of story would be the reason - just a couple of days ago Nuevo Laredo, on the Mexican side of the border, was out of control:

Several intersections in the City of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico were shut down as gun battles erupted between the Mexican military and heavily armed “hit men” from a Mexican drug cartel. The gunfire could be heard across the U.S. border in Laredo, Texas leading citizens there to call 911.

The Latin American Herald Tribune reports, ““Nine criminals, two civilians and a soldier were killed in the three clashes between elements of the National Defense Secretariat and members of organized crime, and 21 people were wounded.” That information is attributed to the Government Secretariat from Mexico.

The U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo had posted warnings on its website hours before the gunfire was reported by Texas citizens, “We have received credible reports of widespread violence occurring now between narcotics-trafficking organizations and the Mexican army in Nuevo Laredo.”

Here is a US travel advisory from July 16 warning visitors to Mexico that, however bad the situation was, it's gotten worse.

So - is it possible that a group of outnumbered and outgunned cartel members crossed the border figuring it would be better to be captured by the American government than shot by the Mexican federales?  That strikes me as not-impossible.

The story saying that the cartels are coming adds this detail:

There is a news blackout of this incident at this time and the sources inside Laredo PD spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A news blackout makes sense while the diplomats sort this out (and certainly Team Obama wouldn't want this publicized while they are suing Arizona) but then again, any conspiracy theorist would know to include that.

I would say, stay tuned and stay skeptical.

Comments

[Sue]

The point is that this particular drug cartel is obviously interested in getting a hold of properties within the US to act as bases of operation and from which to strike perceived enemies.

Well, the point I see is this time the story was a hoax. And I didn't find it plausible to begin with not because I find the fact that it could happen implausible, I just found this particular story implausible.

[Extraneus]

From Larry's comments, you'd have to guess that the ranchers are summering somewhere north of Laredo. Maybe that's the reason for the confusion.

[larry]

Laredo: In 1962 had a population of 120,000, 3 paved streets and very, very few street signs. Had the lowest per capita income in the USA with 30 millionaires and an air force base with several thousand well above poverty. As a second lootennit, my base pay was $222.30 and I was rich by Laredo standards.

[larry]

Oops. Make the pop. 60,000. Nuevo was 120,000.

[matt]

White House on Wikileaks: Blame Bush....

These people make me sick.

[larry]

The LUN, his wife,mine and I used to play contract bridge in their mansion next door to where we lived in the upstairs apartment of a converted mansion. (Him saying, "There goes the neighborhood.") His family were jewelers with roots in Nuevo. He set several stones for us into v. nice pieces of jewelry. I probably haven't played bridge since, but I was a better player and my (first) wife and I put lots of whupass on them. Shows to go what sticktoitivity will do for you.

[Pam salt]

90 mega pixel camera in space with ras on each. Apertures and fixtures........

[larry]

When a spanish speaker wrongly dials your number and you answer hello, they say, "donde hablo?" From my H S Spanish I thought they were saying Don Diablo? and for a couple years told em, no the devil's not here and hung up with the vague feeling I wasn't getting the joke.

[narciso the harpoon]

First of all, Larry, they're doing it wrong, supposed to say 'Con Quien Hablo" with whom
am I speaking, where do you live again

[narciso the harpoon]

"With whom am I speaking" you see how you can
mess things up

[larry]

I hear ya, Narc. Apparently Laredo idiom is "A donde hablo?" "To where I speak?"

[larry]

The Nuevo golf course had grass fairways v. Laredo's caliche, so once a month or so we'd treat ourselves. Starting about 7 a m, 27 or 36 holes of golf. The club required you to use a caddy. The advantage to that as opposed to gringo golf was no matter where you hit the ball, when you found it, it was always teed up just perfect on a tuft or in bare areas a nice lil pyramid of dirt. You were never more than a whistle away from the dos equis cart (in those days it was actually operated by the world's most interesting man). After golf to the bottling plant to load up all the sodas for $.90 a carton we could fit in the car(s). From there to Alma Latina, a local bar with a running water gutter between the bar and the stools. Tequila sour, mixed in a milkshake cup was $.35 and included the whole cup. You asked for Jose and pretty soon he's tapping you on the shoulder with his list of American prime whiskeys we bought for $5 and paid, I think $.40 duty at the border. He bought it at the duty free store stateside. Normal booze runs buying from any Nuevo store yielded $1.20 Bacardi light, $1.40 dark. Cuervo and Oso Negro were $1.40. All these are quarts. Back home stateside, the local beer distributor DELIVERED cases for $4.40 and credited $.05 per long neck, deposit bottle, making the second and subsequent cases $3.20. If a guy wanted to drink, he wasn't going broke doing it.

[larry]

Semipenultimate Laredo post: At that time, Tumble Inn served the best Tex-Mex on the planet, tied with Lala's of Mirando City.

[Mike Giles]

In my opinion, if the cartels had the sense that God gave a box of hammers; they would have long since have BOUGHT a couple of those isolated ranches. By allowing the former owners to continue to live on the property, and continue to work it, the real ownership could easily have been hidden way down in the county records somewhere. Does the local government, come out and periodically check the entire property for structures and such? A couple of quietly built underground structures on the property, might prove useful to any of the cartels

[larry]

Antepenultimate?

[cathyf]

"Have some more Madeira, my dear," she sighed with her antepenultimate breath.