MexConnect.com Forums: General: Traveling Mexico: Heads up: travel through Monterrey: Page 3

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Altahabana

Mar 27, 2010, 11:11 AM

Post #51 of 59 (5947 views)

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Re: [donemry] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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Yeah, I know. But I prefer relative tranquilidad since I have to live here. All kidding aside, what is happening in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon is real.

jimboynton

Mar 29, 2010, 6:12 PM

Post #52 of 59 (5864 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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It was quiet in Monterrey as we drove around the outskirts at around 11 today. No visible military presences on the Cuota. The Laredo newspaper had an article about a large demonstration today in the city against the violence of the last few weeks.

esperanza

Apr 1, 2010, 5:08 PM

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Re: [ken_in_dfw] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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http://apnews.myway.com/...00401/D9EQ2H400.html

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Reefhound

Apr 1, 2010, 6:39 PM

Post #54 of 59 (5749 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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That is odd. What are the cartel gunmen thinking? Attacking army bases in a fight they cannot win. So 18 gunmen dead and seven arrested with one soldier slightly injured. They also lost dozens of rifles and grenades and six bulletproof vehicles. That is the sort of fanatical martyrdom we expect to see in the Middle East.

I do agree with the general quoted that it indicates a losing desperation on the part of whichever gang is involved. My hunch is the Zetas are getting devastated by the Gulf cartel, which has vowed to wipe them out, and their only hope is to draw a massive army presence into the area to stifle the inter-gang conflict. And I agree that it is going to get worse before it gets better. Nothing fights more fiercely than a cornered animal in a fight to the death. I only hope their last gasp efforts don't involve terrorist attacks on the civilian population.

ken_in_dfw

Apr 1, 2010, 6:46 PM

Post #55 of 59 (5745 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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Sounds to me like México and the US are getting serious about working together to confront the growing problems on the border: México asks for US collaboration against border violence - El Universal.

Quote

Dijo que la atención "debe centrarse prioritariamente en el fortalecimiento de la colaboración, el respeto mutuo y la generación de esquemas coordinados para actuar frente a amenazas comunes."

My translation: The Mexican foreign ministry said that the focus "should be primarily on strengthening the collaboration, the mutual respect and creation of coordinated plans to confront the common threats."

Given that, I don't think those comments by Janet Napolitano were far off the mark last week. Sounds to me like the coordination is very close on both sides of the border.

Altahabana

Apr 2, 2010, 4:54 AM

Post #56 of 59 (5694 views)

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Re: [Reefhound] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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In Reply To

That is odd. What are the cartel gunmen thinking? Attacking army bases in a fight they cannot win. My hunch is the Zetas are getting devastated by the Gulf cartel, which has vowed to wipe them out, and their only hope is to draw a massive army presence into the area to stifle the inter-gang conflict.

I think it was the writer who described the incidents as an "attack." What the Zetas were probably trying to do was block the entrances to the bases to prevent larger numbers of troops from leaving the base.and reinforcing the units in the field. That is how it was described in an artilce that appeared in Milenio de Monterrey. The military knows where the Zetas are most of the time and will confront them when they move around in larger groups. When some sort of movement is planned the Zetas create diversions like they did on Tuesday to draw troops away and prevent them from responding to the main movement.

Nearly all of the fighting so far has been between the military and the Zetas. The Gulf is sitting back and watching. There is a lot of speculation that much of the current violence is tied to the plea bargain in Federal Court in Houston by former Gulf leader Osiel Cardenas who was sentenced in late February to 25 years . Part of the deal --which supposedly involved input from the Calderon Administration --had Cardenas giving up information on the Zetas.

The Zetas are not your grandfather's narcos and are involved in all sorts of criminal enterprises other than drugs. They have gotten out of the hand and the government decided they had to be eliminated. That is my hunch.

(This post was edited by Altahabana on Apr 2, 2010, 4:57 AM)

Reefhound

Apr 2, 2010, 8:43 AM

Post #57 of 59 (5662 views)

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Re: [Altahabana] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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Block the bases? By parking cars and trucks at the entrances? It's a military. Most of their vehicles can go off road around them, the heavier ones can drive through them.

I can see where creating such a diversion to cover for a main movement elsewhere would work... once or twice. But if you can think of that so can the army leaders. Such a diversion attempt is then a tipoff that a movement is occurring.

Altahabana

Apr 2, 2010, 2:23 PM

Post #58 of 59 (5604 views)

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Re: [Reefhound] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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Slow down the deployment was probably a better way to describe the tactic than block. This story has some comments from the army about the incidents on Tuesday.

http://www.milenio.com/node/413854

This was the tactic they employed in Monterrey a couple of weeks ago. I think the idea is to block the roads and cause traffic to back up making it more difficult for the Army to get to where they needed to go. That is the tactic they used a couple of weeks ago in Monterrey. I only commented because the writer made it sound like the Zetas launched a direct attack on two military bases which is not what national reports said.

Thus far the Army and Special Marine forces are handing the Zetas their heads (pardon the bad pun) in the latest rounds of fighting. But what is troubling is that the violence is spilling over into public. We had an incident last Sunday in Nuevo Laredo where the Army took out a house and killed three just two blocks from a crowded city partk. At the rate though the military is taking these guys out this may be over soon.

tacito

May 13, 2010, 5:02 PM

Post #59 of 59 (5147 views)

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Re: [ken_in_dfw] Heads up: travel through Monterrey

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Just a confirmation about corruption of the city police in Monterrey: about a year and a half ago we were stopped by Monterrey city police for "speeding by a park" on a Sunday in a motor home with Texas plates The two officers wanted $800 USD for the ticket. I talked them down a bit and paid in pesos, not having any dollars as we live in Mexico and use pesos. My hunch was to get out of there and not go down to any station to protest. A short while later the news came out that the Mexican Federal govt replaced a lot of corrupt Monterrey city police. We met some. We never go through Monterrey anymore. You can take the toll road around it to the border. There is a wonderful new toll road high up on the mountain open now that connects Saltillo and the Laredo toll road.
Taco

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