Fourteen gunmen and five soldiers were killed in three separate clashes in the northeastern state of Coahuila, Mexican authorities said Friday.
Troops assigned to the 6th Military Zone came under attack twice Thursday by criminals while on a “terrestrial reconnaissance” mission in the La Palma neighborhood of Saltillo, the state capital, the Defense Secretariat said in a statement.
One gunman was killed in the first clash and eight others perished in the second shootout, which also left one soldier dead and another wounded in the arm.
After the fighting concluded, the soldiers confiscated 12 rifles, seven vehicles, ammunition and ammunition clips, the secretariat said.
In a third clash Thursday in the border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, five gunmen and four soldiers were killed and three other troops were wounded, a municipal government spokesperson told Efe.
After the clash, authorities seized four vehicles and 16 weapons and detained six people who were turned over to federal prosecutors.
Army soldiers have been deployed to the states of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila and San Luis Potosi as part of “Operation Northeast,” whose objective is to weaken organized crime gangs.
The Gulf drug cartel, which has an alliance with the Sinaloa mob, has been waging a turf war in that crime-racked region against Los Zetas, a band of army special forces deserters turned hired guns and drug traffickers.
After several years as the armed wing of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories.
President Felipe Calderon militarized the struggle against the nation’s heavily armed, well-funded drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006, deploying tens of thousands of army soldiers and federal police to drug-war flashpoints.
The strategy has led to headline-grabbing captures of cartel kingpins, but drug-related violence has skyrocketed and claimed over 50,000 lives nationwide over the five-year period.
Source: EFE
Almost every article is always critical of Calderons Cleanup, using the Military,killing criminals ,human rights this or that, JUST WHAT CHOICE WAS THERE< IS THERE ?? Who rae these smug know it all journalist and why aren't they CHEERLEADERS for the reform of a rotten society!!
ReplyDelete@ reporter Buggs, why is it that in every article you must highlight that los Zetas are a special forces group and a Cartel? They are neither. In that case you must write in every article in which CDS, CDG etc...are part of the story, that you also highlight their beginnings. Like state The Sinaloa cartel wich is the most powerful and biggest. El CDG was the employers of the original Zetas. Etc Etc....not in tose exact words but you get it, no?
ReplyDeleteSomeone is hating on Buggs haha,its funny how people criticize even the smallest of things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with anon December 17, 2011 7:54 AM we need to support the President 100% in the fight against the cartels, as far as I know he is doing something positive, fighting crime.
ReplyDeleteTexcoco, I like your posts and your input is usually thoughtful, but I'm baffled by your unbridled support for Calderon. He's a whiny little bureaucrat who's unleashed the army on his own people, with disastrous results.
ReplyDelete50,000 dead, 10,000 missing, and for what? The people are no safer, the cartels are more powerful than ever, and the Mexican people are living in fear from not only the cartels, common criminals, and corrupt police, but the murderous army as well.
Mexico has descended into the abyss of anarchy, and the blame rests squarely at the feet of Calderon. The most disgusting part is that when he's confronted with the truth, he dismisses the victims of his "drug war" as human garbage that needed to be thrown away.
Calderon is a coward who thought he could conquer crime by being bloodier than the criminals, but instead he's stooped to their level, killing for the sake of killing, with no sympathy for the innocent women and children he's killed.
Calderon is right and has done a hell of a job considering how sorry most Mexican local and State Law Enforcement is! Keep it up .
ReplyDeleteSiskiyou_Kid I honestly don't know or see which other way Calderon can fight crime when more than half of the police force is corrupted.
ReplyDelete50,000 dead, 10,000 missing, and for what? I think at least 70% of these death people were hard core criminals, Calderon didn't created this criminals, this criminals were created way before he got to power.
Before Calderon send the Army the cartels used to think they were invisible because they were paying the police, the corrupted police used to think nothing will happened to them for selling their services to criminals, I'm sure they don't fell that way anymore.
Before Calderon send the Army the cartels used to think they were invisible.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I meant to say invincible.
Siskiyou_Kid said...and always says and talks bullshit.People need to support Calderon,unlike you and your ilk.He had the balls to at least try to do something.Seeing as you are a sage and onion philosopher,what is the solution oh learned one?Oh you would just let the situation continue and deteriorate?Thought so.C,mon Siskiyou_Kid,sort the world out with your "learning".
ReplyDeleteSiskiyou kid is right.Calderon is the biggest killer of them all,yet he claims to be an angel haha fuck Calderon.I love how Calderons image managed to fool some people into defending his undefendeable acts.
ReplyDeleteAfter Calderons presidency he is simply going to be remembered as Chapos puppet and one of Mexico most despised presidents who couldnt even guarrantee safety to a Marines family,the Marine was killed in battle. Its obvious Calderon has and had from the beggining no idea how to take on these Cartel,so he does the easiest thing,ooh send the military. I have a simple question what is Calderon war on drugs about??? Does Calderon think he could stop,poor,hungry people with literately no support from the goverment,with no jobs,you have to pay to get a high school education,stop then from feeding their families any way they can???? Theres a reason why people favor Cartels,because people are REALISTIC,they know Calderon is an idiot,and his war is only meant to waste the mexican ppls money,and make Calderon look good.Cartels have been in Mexico for decades and no matter what you do,they are here to stay,just like in the United States a never ending supply of street gangsters has the goverment scratching their heads on how to get rid of them.Idiots dont realize that there is ALWAYS a small portion of undesired people,and they are always going to be around,the best and most logical answer would be negotiate and reach an agreement to live in peace.Isnt that what we all want,peace??? I guess Calderon doesnt since his doing the exact opposite of peace.
Its more than obvious people who support Calderon and his corrupt goverment are more than IGNORANT,and have definately never lived in Mexico.
I love when people say ooh Calderon at least had the balls to do something,haha yeah hes had the balls to allow over 50,000 murders to go unpunished,and thats what I call an excellent president. Haha Calderon and Obama are the living image of corruption.
ReplyDelete