A contact in Mexico told me this morning that according to his 2008 research, 67 "operational Zeta bases" were located on the Mexican border with Belize.
He went back in April 2009, and counted 78 operational bases that "specialized in criminal activity".
The border between Mexico and Belize is an underreported transit zone, one more likely to be used as the Guatemalan military works with the Mexicans to seal Guatemala's northern border in the Peten department (more on the Peten here, here and here).
Moving to Texas, a San Antonio paper reported today that the FBI is circulating to local and state authorities a report that gives a vague reference to the presence of a Zetas cell in Texas, complete with a ranch, inside Texas, where Zetas train others in the art of kidnapping, such as how to run a car off the road to kidnap the driver and/or passengers, surveillance, small groups tactics, etc.
The Zetas continue to evolve, and may even have become something of a criminal brand. It will be interesting to see how this news in Texas pans out.
We already know what will happen (or already has happened) in Belize - a new transshipment route from the Caribbean into southern Mexico...
2 comments:
Sam, it looks like Guatemala is finding Zetas training camps within its borders as well: http://borderviolenceanalysis.typepad.com/mexicos_drug_war/2009/03/guatemala-finds-mexico-drug-smuggler-training-camp.html. I'm not surprised about Los Zetas being in Texas. There's a LOT of wide open space there, and they (as well as the sound of guns firing) can blend in well.
Intriguing stuff you write about. Thinking of publishing any new feeds to your blog ?
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