Mexico: Military catches another alleged Beltrán Leyva leader

By Dialogo
September 15, 2010

WITH BENITO: NEWS AND SOLUTIONS. Supposed leader, I mentioned, I told him no…no…no, read that and to whom he would read it, Adolfo Hit, a fixed shot. I don’t know how to pronounce it, I don’t care. And how did it end up. FOR BETTER CULTURE. wwwyoutube benito eduardo rojas wwwyoutbe triunfadoreduardo.


MEXICO CITY – Marines have apprehended Sergio Villarreal Barragán, the
alleged leader of the Beltrán Leyva cartel and one of the country's most
sought-after fugitives, during a recent raid in the central state of Puebla,
officials said. Sergio Villarreal Barragán, who goes by the alias “El Grande,” was
taken into custody without incident along with two other suspects as they were
leaving a house in the city of Puebla, Alejandro Poire, a government security
spokesman, said. “This is a new and resounding blow by the federal government
against crime, given the high rank of this [dangerous] person inside one of the
country's most extensive criminal organizations, which has now been deeply
weakened,” Poire said in a statement. About 30 marines participated in the
apprehension, which took about 30 minutes, according to The Associated
Press. The arrest of Sergio Villarreal Barragán is a major milestone
for President Felipe Calderón’s fight against narcotics in the past year. Felipe
Calderón’s first big win occurred when marines killed Arturo Beltrán Leyva, the head
of the Beltrán Leyva cartel on Dec. 16 of last year. About seven months later,
soldiers fatally shot Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, the No. 3 leader of the Sinaloa
cartel on July 29. Édgar Valdez Villarreal, one of the country’s most-wanted
fugitives, was taken into custody on Aug. 30. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office had
offered a reward of about US$2 million for the capture of Sergio Villarreal
Barragán, who is a key figure in at least seven drug trafficking and organized crime
investigations, Poire said. The Beltrán Leyva cartel “had constituted one of the
groups with the largest presence in the country,” Poire said, according to the
AP.

Colombia: Navy seizes more than a ton of cocaine


BOGOTÁ, Colombia – The navy recently seized about 1.2 tons of cocaine
stashed in a cache on a motorboat in the Caribbean Sea. The boat was stopped off the
coast of the department of Antioquia, but the three crew members fled before they
could be apprehended, according to the navy. The navy made the seizure with the help
of counter-narcotics agents and the Administrative Security Department (DAS). It is
unclear who owned the cocaine, which had a street value of about US$28 million,
officials said. The bust, however, was yet another victory for President Juan Manuel
Santos, who has continued to wage a tough fight against narcotics trafficking – a
stance taken by his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe. Officials said they’ve seized about
21 tons of cocaine being transported via the Caribbean Sea so far this year,
according to the Colombian news website El Espectador.


Guatemala: Police confiscate 296 kilograms of cocaine


GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Counter-narcotics police seized 296
kilograms (651 pounds) of cocaine and two fishing boats and arrested an Ecuadoran
during an operation in the Pacific Ocean, Pablo Castillo, a police spokesman, said.
The narcotics, which were being shipped from Ecuador, were taken to the Pacific
Naval Base about 120 kilometers south of the nation’s capital. Officials did not
release the suspect’s name since they are in the process of verifying his
identification, according to the Guatemalan news website Hoy.com.
The operation is a success in President Álvaro Colom’s fight to keep Guatemala from
being a hub in the trafficking of narcotics from South America to the United States.

Brazil: Police seize more than two tons of marijuana


ENTRE RIOS DO OESTE, Brazil – Federal Police seized more than two tons
of marijuana near the border with Paraguay, in the city of Entre Rios do Oeste, in
the state of Paraná in southern Brazil, officials said. The maritime police (Depom)
confiscated 2,247 kilograms (4,953 pounds) aboard a boat on the waters of the Itaipu
dam on Sept. 10. The crew managed to flee before they could be taken into custody,
and officials said they haven’t determined the marijuana’s owner. Officials have
seized 46 tons of drugs along the nation’s border this year, according to the
Brazilian website Folha.com.


Brazil: Crack-filled car explodes


CURITIBANOS, Brazil – A car exploded while it fueled in a gas station,
spewing crack and marijuana into the street in the city of Curitibanos, in the
southern state of Santa Catarina this past weekend, officials said. Idesio Inácio
Albino Filho, 36, and Fabiana Maria Fanton, 24, were arrested after police seized
3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of drugs. They were travelling in a Ford Escort from
Paraguay to the city of Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina, police said, when
they stopped at a gas station. But the gas caused the crack, which was hidden in the
car’s cylinder, to explode, according to the Brazilian website
Folha.com. Filho and Fanton each suffered head injuries and
were taken by police to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to The
Associated Press.

Colombia: Police seize about US$24 million


BOGOTÁ, Colombia – National Police officers found $43 billion pesos
(US$24 million) they suspect belonged to narcotics traffickers in the western area
of the nation’s capital, police spokesmen and government officials said. The seizure
“is linked to a very large operation that we are conducting with authorities from
the United States,” Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera told Caracol
Radio. National Police Director Gen. Óscar Naranjo would not divulge
specific details of the operation because he didn’t want to “interrupt an ongoing
operation of the highest impact against Colombian organized crime,” according to
EFE. “In the next few weeks, U.S. authorities, Colombian
prosecutors and the police will be giving the final result of the operation,” he
said. The operation was at least the third major bust in the past three weeks in
Bogotá, as police discovered US$12 million in a vehicle on Aug. 30 and US$16 million
in another one on Sept. 1, officials said.