Mexican drug cartels recruiting Texas children

[fatbuckRTO]

Mexican drug cartels recruiting Texas children

By Jim Forsyth | Reuters – 19 hrs ago


SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Texas law enforcement officials say several Mexican drug cartels are luring youngsters as young as 11 to work in their smuggling operations.

Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told Reuters the drug gangs have a chilling name for the young Texans lured into their operations.

"They call them 'the expendables,'" he said.

McCraw said his investigators have evidence six Mexican drug gangs -- including the violent Zetas -- have "command and control centers" in Texas actively recruiting children for their operations, attracting them with what appears to be "easy money" for doing simple tasks.

"Cartels would pay kids $50 just for them to move a vehicle from one position to another position, which allows the cartel to keep it under surveillance to see if law enforcement has it under surveillance," he said.

"Of course, once you're hooked up with them, there's consequences."

McCraw said 25 minors have been arrested in one Texas border county alone in the past year for running drugs, acting as lookouts, or doing other work for organized Mexican drug gangs. The cartels are now fanning out, he said, and have operations in all major Texas cities.

This month, "we made an arrest of a 12-year-old boy who was in a stolen pickup truck with 800 pounds of marijuana," he said. "So they do recruit our kids."

McCraw says the state of Texas is joining a program initiated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection called "Operation Detour," in which law enforcement officers meet with children and their parents in schools and at community centers to warn them about the dangers of what appears to be the easy money the Mexican drug gangs offer.

Law enforcement officers say children are less likely to be suspects than adults, are easily manipulated by relatively small sums of money, and face less severe penalties than adults if arrested.

Last month, Texas officials released a report indicating Mexico-based drug gangs are intent on creating a "sanitary zone" on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, and are "intimidating landowners" in south Texas into allowing them to use their property as "permanent bases" for drug smuggling activity.

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)


http://news.yahoo.com/mexican-drug-cartels-recruiting-texas-children-173402030.html

[fatbuckRTO]

I'm going to go ahead and file this one under "just a matter of time" and "probably been happening a lot longer than the press has been willing to acknowledge."

Last month, Texas officials released a report indicating Mexico-based drug gangs are intent on creating a "sanitary zone" on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, and are "intimidating landowners" in south Texas into allowing them to use their property as "permanent bases" for drug smuggling activity.Shocker.

Great job, US government. Why don't you go ahead and pre-emptively sue Texas for whatever it decides to do to protect its citizens from this invasion by foreign powers... worked in Arizona, right?

[Homeslice]

Americans who use drugs that weren't produced in the US (by legal citizens) are responsible.

[shmike]

Americans who use drugs that weren't produced in the US (by legal citizens) are responsible.

I know a guy in the marijuana retail distribution business.

All of his stuff is grown in local houses.

I doubt that his clients know (or care) where it comes from. :idk:

[anthonyk]

Americans who use drugs that weren't produced in the US (by legal citizens) are responsible.

It's early, but that is the weirdest thing I've read yet today.

[fatbuckRTO]

Americans who use drugs that weren't produced in the US (by legal citizens) are responsible.

I think they share responsibility, absolutely. But at what point do you (generic) as a drug dealer decide you've crossed the line? Is the "War on Drugs" really so effective that they need to involve kids in their crap? Of course, they've done worse. My point is that no one is forcing Mexicans to run drugs up here, or corrupt young kids, or cut people's heads off. These are individual choices they have made.

Cut off the demand and they wouldn't have that particular in-road to the country, sure. But they would still be worthless scum, and they would find some other way to hurt people. And it would still be spilling over the border, because the US government refuses to do anything to stop it.

[Tmall]

I wonder who is responsible for the zetas chainsaw decapitation video. Lumberjacks?

[tommymac]

I wonder who is responsible for the zetas chainsaw decapitation video. Lumberjacks?

They made a video of it or its just police footage of the aftermath/

[Tmall]

They made a video of it or its just police footage of the aftermath/



there is a video. "fucked" doesn,t begin to describe it.

[Homeslice]

I know a guy in the marijuana retail distribution business.

All of his stuff is grown in local houses.

I doubt that his clients know (or care) where it comes from. :idk:

Would you care? I would.

It's early, but that is the weirdest thing I've read yet today.

How so?

[Homeslice]

I think they share responsibility, absolutely. But at what point do you (generic) as a drug dealer decide you've crossed the line? Is the "War on Drugs" really so effective that they need to involve kids in their crap? Of course, they've done worse. My point is that no one is forcing Mexicans to run drugs up here, or corrupt young kids, or cut people's heads off. These are individual choices they have made.

Cut off the demand and they wouldn't have that particular in-road to the country, sure. But they would still be worthless scum, and they would find some other way to hurt people. And it would still be spilling over the border, because the US government refuses to do anything to stop it.

I disagree that the amount of violence would remain the same. US drug demand creates the lure of easy money. And anytime that lure exists, it causes people to move beyond the bounds of sanity, into the justification of murder. People don't just start murdering just for fun.

[tommymac]

I disagree that the amount of violence would remain the same. US drug demand creates the lure of easy money. And anytime that lure exists, it causes people to move beyond the bounds of sanity, into the justification of murder. People don't just start murdering just for fun.

Seems like these guys take their business very seriously with all the killings and how brutal/blatant they are about it.

[Tmall]

Seems like these guys take their business very seriously with all the killings and how brutal/blatant they are about it.

They kill anybody who have ties to the opposing cartel. If you're on the payroll, you have a target on your back.

[tommymac]

They kill anybody who have ties to the opposing cartel. If you're on the payroll, you have a target on your back.

They also take out police/judges/politicians that arent on their payroll too.

[Smittie61984]

there is a video. "fucked" doesn,t begin to describe it.

For sure. I didn't have the sound on because i was eating lunch in the cafeteria. The guys seemed pretty damn calm for knowing their head is about ot be chopped off in a horrible way. Personally I think I'd prefer the chainsaw over the knife.

Another reason to end the war on drugs. As "evil" as pharmacutical/businesses are, they in general don't set out to kill others. Let MIT chemists make the drugs and Harvard MBAs sell the drugs. They tend to not chop of heads nad kill others. Though unions are a different story.

[anthonyk]

How so?

I just can't figure out what the hell you meant. Is there some sort of "Smoke Local" movement out there, where one of the requirements is also that your pot must be grown by a US citizen?

[fatbuckRTO]

I disagree that the amount of violence would remain the same. US drug demand creates the lure of easy money. And anytime that lure exists, it causes people to move beyond the bounds of sanity, into the justification of murder. People don't just start murdering just for fun.
I would direct you to exhibit A, MS-13:

Prosecutors filed three counts of murder and other charges Thursday against Edwin Ramos, 21, of El Sobrante, an alleged street gang member who police say opened fire on the Bolognas after their car briefly blocked Ramos from completing a left turn down a narrow street.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/26/MNV711FT7I.DTL#ixzz1b9y17JXr

MS-13 members were recruited by Mexican cartels because of their brutality. The drug trade didn't make them violent, their violence got them a place in the drug trade. They and other gangs like them were essentially born from illegal immigration and the tendency of illegal immigrants to seek their own justice apart from legal authorities.

[Homeslice]

I just can't figure out what the hell you meant. Is there some sort of "Smoke Local" movement out there, where one of the requirements is also that your pot must be grown by a US citizen?
Sounds like you figured it out OK.

Why wouldn't you want it grown by a US citizen?

[Homeslice]

I would direct you to exhibit A, MS-13:



MS-13 members were recruited by Mexican cartels because of their brutality. The drug trade didn't make them violent, their violence got them a place in the drug trade. They and other gangs like them were essentially born from illegal immigration and the tendency of illegal immigrants to seek their own justice apart from legal authorities.

Large, well-organized gangs like MS-13 wouldn't exist if illegal trades such as the drug trade didn't exist. Instead, gangs would just stay small and local, i.e. simply for the purpose of brotherhood or for protecting their rinky-dink neighborhood.

[shmike]

Why wouldn't you want it grown by a US citizen?

Because BC Bud is the best bud.

[tommymac]

Large, well-organized gangs like MS-13 wouldn't exist if illegal trades such as the drug trade didn't exist. Instead, gangs would just stay small and local, i.e. simply for the purpose of brotherhood or for protecting their rinky-dink neighborhood.

They would still be criminal enterprises stealing cars or soem other stuff, but the drug money is so lucrative, gangs keep upping the ante to protect their turf. You get a few of these guys who are smart and/or good leaders and they can clean up while the soldiers do all the dirty work.

[Homeslice]

Because BC Bud is the best bud.

As long as BC bud is grown by legal Canadian citizens, who don't commit violent crime, I'm cool with it. I don't use pot, so I know nothing about how it works up there.

Down here in Cali though, a lot of it is grown by illegal aliens who set up shop in a national forest.

[shmike]

As long as BC bud is grown by legal Canadian citizens, who don't commit violent crime, I'm cool with it. I don't use pot, so I know nothing about how it works up there.

Down here in Cali though, a lot of it is grown by illegal aliens who set up shop in a national forest.

Are those illegal aliens Canadian or do you just hate brown people?

[fujimoh]

Wyatt Earp had the right idea and policy when it came to dealing with gangs

[fatbuckRTO]

Large, well-organized gangs like MS-13 wouldn't exist if illegal trades such as the drug trade didn't exist. Instead, gangs would just stay small and local, i.e. simply for the purpose of brotherhood or for protecting their rinky-dink neighborhood.That's a bold statement that flies in the face of my understanding of history. People always find a reason to kill each other, and smart opportunists always find a way to build empires from those conflicts.

But while we're on the subject, you said "such as the drug trade." This is a sentiment that illustrates my point: even if the drug trade didn't exist, criminal gangs would find something else to make money off of and kill people over. Illegal trades will always exist wherever there are laws.

So the question becomes, should we keep importing criminals or are the ones we have within our own borders enough? This is an open border issue. You can't bail out the floodwater until you plug the leak.

[anthonyk]

Sounds like you figured it out OK.

Why wouldn't you want it grown by a US citizen?

If I got it right, then it's definitely the weirdest thing I've read all morning.

Maybe things are different in medicinal-mj-California (I left almost a decade ago), but I don't remember any pot smoker I knew caring all that much about who specifically grew their pot.

You think all that produce at Whole Foods got harvested by US citizens?

[Smittie61984]

They would still be criminal enterprises stealing cars or soem other stuff...

And with cars all starting to come with on-star and gps programs where a company can shut down a car, it'll make stealing cars pretty worthless in the not to far future.

If drugs were legal, okay I hate saying legal because it implies the government has the ability to allow us to do what we want to our body, if the prohibition of drugs were repealed (from pot to heroine and Rx pills) then we'd benefit. The dead-beat junkie who can now get smack for $.10 a gallon will OD and die anyways. So no need to worry about them there. The pot head glued to the latest episode of ATHF while eating doritos can now go get a job selling his bubonic chronic and doritos (open from 8pm-3:30am). And the pill head can stop bugging doctors, clogging up ERs, and costing tax payers money for their visit when they can stop by Bubonic Chronics for the best lortabs that money can buy (for about $10 a bottle).

And as Tommymac said, they'd be stuck robbing college kids of their iPods or shooting each other for a graffitied wall or dusty villiage or villiago (however you say villiage in spanish)

[Homeslice]

If I got it right, then it's definitely the weirdest thing I've read all morning.

Maybe things are different in medicinal-mj-California (I left almost a decade ago), but I don't remember any pot smoker I knew caring all that much about who specifically grew their pot.

You think all that produce at Whole Foods got harvested by US citizens?

As I said, I don't do pot, nor do I pretend to know anything about the medical marijuana industry or anything of that nature. All of that is irrelevant anyway.

What's relevant is, who's producing the product, and is that person associated with an organization that kills people, or takes money from our economy and moves it elsewhere? And if they are, why wouldn't you at least PREFER to buy it from someone else, or make it yourself?

I'm struggling to understand why you think my opinion is so strange.

[Tmall]

As I said, I don't do pot, nor do I pretend to know anything about the medical marijuana industry or anything of that nature. All of that is irrelevant anyway.

What's relevant is, who's producing the product, and does that person harm me or others? And if they are, why wouldn't you buy it from someone else, or make it yourself?

I'm struggling to understand why you think my opinion is so strange.

I know it's not quite the same scale, but do you care that your Apple products were made in the conditions they were made in? They did have to install suicide nets at one of their chinese factories.

[Homeslice]

I know it's not quite the same scale, but do you care that your Apple products were made in the conditions they were made in? They did have to install suicide nets at one of their chinese factories.

You just proved that my argument isn't so strange. It's very similar to yours.

Tons of people also say we shouldn't buy products that employ child labor, or buy food from large farms that abuse animals or over-use pesticides. I don't see how my argument is all that different. The only question is whether someone cares about those issues. If they do, why not look for alternatives.

[Tmall]

But, I don't care if Apple used shitty labour practices...

[RedRider2k2]

I wonder who is responsible for the zetas chainsaw decapitation video. Lumberjacks?

I would have been perfectly content with never hearing about this video...

But once I know it exists...It must be watched.

"fucked" doesn,t begin to describe it.

Understatement :lol:

[tommymac]

I would have been perfectly content with never hearing about this video...

But once I know it exists...It must be watched.



Understatement :lol:

any links to it, I searched earlier and soem of what I found was blocked here.

[Smittie61984]

But, I don't care if Apple used shitty labour practices...

Neither do their followers who put Jobbs on a giant pedistal.

American's don't give a shit how our shit is made. Just that we get the shit.

I'm sure the fuckers who got their head chopped off weren't some innocent bystander and would have probably done the same to the other gang.

[anthonyk]

As I said, I don't do pot, nor do I pretend to know anything about the medical marijuana industry or anything of that nature. All of that is irrelevant anyway.

What's relevant is, who's producing the product, and is that person associated with an organization that kills people, or takes money from our economy and moves it elsewhere? And if they are, why wouldn't you at least PREFER to buy it from someone else, or make it yourself?

I'm struggling to understand why you think my opinion is so strange.

I don't think it's strange for you to have that opinion about your non-existent pot habit. Knock yourself out.

What is strange to me is that you didn't just leave it at "...who use drugs that aren't produced in the US." Or even at "...who smoke pot." To think that any significant portion of the pot-smoking community even considers the citizenship of the person growing their pot is what's really weird to me. I'm not sure why that's so hard to understand.




And jesus, do we have to develop some Godwin-like law that covers bringing up Apple in a thread?

[Homeslice]

I don't think it's strange for you to have that opinion about your non-existent pot habit. Knock yourself out.

What is strange to me is that you didn't just leave it at "...who use drugs that aren't produced in the US." Or even at "...who smoke pot." To think that any significant portion of the pot-smoking community even considers the citizenship of the person growing their pot is what's really weird to me. I'm not sure why that's so hard to understand.


I don't care what the "majority" of the pot-smoking community thinks......I only care about what I think. I'm smarter than the majority of people anyway.

What is the point of having borders and immigration process if they're not obeyed? And this whole "Oh, once they've snuck over here, they're cool, and they don't harm my country" attitude that the "majority" seems to have is retarded IMO.

[Smittie61984]

any links to it, I searched earlier and soem of what I found was blocked here.

google "mexican chainsaw execution". something with the name gore in it pops up and that's it.

[tommymac]

I was on that site for it yesterday but a different link took me there. WTF is up withthe pic on the top withthe chick on a bbq spicket

[Homeslice]

just google zetas chainsaw

[KSGregman]

I only care about what I think. I'm smarter than the majority of people anyway.

:rofl:

Sure....ok.

Tard, is that you?!

[OneSickPsycho]

Well that's pretty fucked up.

[tommymac]

I see they moved to skinning people before they kill them. crazy shit down there

[Homeslice]

:rofl:

Sure....ok.

Tard, is that you?!

Like being smarter than the average person is difficult?

Shit, the average person can't even form a sentence.

[shmike]

Like being smarter than the average person is difficult?

Shit, the average person can't even form a sentence.

Yes it is.

Being smarter than the average person would make you above average.

I know you think you are above average, but guess what: so does every other average person. :lol:

[Homeslice]

So in your view, it's difficult to be above-average? Even considering how lame the average is?

[shmike]

So in your view, it's difficult to be above-average? Even considering how lame the average is?

In my view, a lot of average people look at the lowest common denominator in society, decide that THAT is the average and then claim to be above average.

[Homeslice]

In my view, a lot of average people look at the lowest common denominator in society, decide that THAT is the average and then claim to be above average.

I'll give you that.

However, when I took an IQ test several years ago, it was something like 125 or 126, and while I realize that certainly isn't genius level, it's still above average. Also I have a grad degree redflip And yes I know education <> intelligence redflip

[Smittie61984]

I was on that site for it yesterday but a different link took me there. WTF is up withthe pic on the top withthe chick on a bbq spicket

I know. There was a BBQ link but I guess the site owner went into a tirade about getting emails and how he isn't going to reveal anything. Probably fake. Some fucked up shit on that website though.

[anthonyk]

I don't care what the "majority" of the pot-smoking community thinks......I only care about what I think. I'm smarter than the majority of people anyway.

:lol: Awesome.

How so?

Sorry, but when you ask why your statement is weird, you are showing interest in what others think. And from my side, being concerned about the citizenship of your pot grower is kind of odd. Seems fairly straightforward to me.

I'm starting to doubt the veracity of your last sentence up there. :lol:

[Homeslice]

So let's say you have a choice of 2 people to buy pot from. One is a regular citizen down the street. The other is an illegal alien, who, especially if he's from "down south", is more likely to be connected to, or at least feeding profits to, violent gangs.

But let's say he's not. Let's say he has no connection at all with the people committing all the murders in Mexico.

Fine, except that many illegal aliens send a substantial portion of their earnings back home to support family members. Taking it out of our economy. In fact many have no intention of staying here more than a couple years. This idea of the average illegal alien being some kind of saint who wants to stay here permanently and put his nose to the grindstone getting an education and climbing the ladder in his line of work is hogwash. That is true only for a minority of them, IMO.

[fujimoh]

Sometimes it is depressing when I think that 1 of every 2 people I meet is below average

[pauldun170]

Sometimes it is depressing when I think that 1 of every 2 people I meet is below average

Don't be so sad.
Penis size isn't everything. Maybe you can find something else about the person you like.

I say this because having skipped to the very last post in this thread without reading anything, including the original post....it seemed like the right thing to post up.

[fatbuckRTO]

Don't be so sad.
Penis size isn't everything.

:blah: :blah:

...it seemed like the right thing to post up.I found this funny because it's early in the morning. So lol. LOL.

[Tmall]

I see they moved to skinning people before they kill them. crazy shit down there

They've moved on to hanging people upside down and castrating before decapitation.

I couldn't watch that one.

[tommymac]

They've moved on to hanging people upside down and castrating before decapitation.

I couldn't watch that one.

I would say I would pass on that one too but my morbid curiosity always gets the best of me.

[Smittie61984]

I would say I would pass on that one too but my morbid curiosity always gets the best of me.

Pretty bad. This guy wasn't as calm as the other guys in the chainsaw one. Though with all of the drug money our druggies supply these fuckers, you'd think they'd get a better camera.

[Homeslice]

Yeah, isn't it a coincidence that the vast majority of these beheading videos were taken on a total POS camera manufactured 10 years ago. Same thing with the Iraq videos.........I'm sure some of them were real, but I wouldn't be surprised if others were faked, as psyop operations.

[tommymac]

Pretty bad. This guy wasn't as calm as the other guys in the chainsaw one. Though with all of the drug money our druggies supply these fuckers, you'd think they'd get a better camera.

The worst seems to be when they captured khadaffy it was like the guy filming was having a major seizure or something :lol: I will try to give it a look later tonight or when I go home, not sure if that gore site will open up at the hospital.

[Smittie61984]

Yeah, isn't it a coincidence that the vast majority of these beheading videos were taken on a total POS camera manufactured 10 years ago. Same thing with the Iraq videos.........I'm sure some of them were real, but I wouldn't be surprised if others were faked, as psyop operations.

Who knows, and yeah, wouldn't be suprising. It does seem like a lot of times when serious shit happens, there isn't a HD video anywhere. Even with the OWS macings you see people with professional cameras (probably $5000+), Iphones, and even personal HD cameras filming but that video never hits the interwebz. It's always the one that looks like it was filmed on a TI-84 that seem to make it to Youtube and Fox&Friends.

Haven't seent he Kaddafi (fuck the spelling) one yet but doesn't sound like it's worth checking out.

[tommymac]

Who knows, and yeah, wouldn't be suprising. It does seem like a lot of times when serious shit happens, there isn't a HD video anywhere. Even with the OWS macings you see people with professional cameras (probably $5000+), Iphones, and even personal HD cameras filming but that video never hits the interwebz. It's always the one that looks like it was filmed on a TI-84 that seem to make it to Youtube and Fox&Friends.

Haven't seent he Kaddafi (fuck the spelling) one yet but doesn't sound like it's worth checking out.

Dont waste your time on that one. There were soem better execution type vids on ogrish a while back. There was a beheadding of a soldier in chechnya that looked prety damned real. And given all this shit the mexicans are doing I would doubt the vids they have are fakes

[Smittie61984]

was a beheadding of a soldier in chechnya that looked prety damned real.

I remember that one. Is it where they are on some grass powerline looking road and they get that guy on his knees and cut his head off?

[tommymac]

I remember that one. Is it where they are on some grass powerline looking road and they get that guy on his knees and cut his head off?

I think hes laying on the ground on soem rocky terrain and a guy puts his boot on his head and starts cutting. I think the same guy was in soem other torture vids where thery shot his finger off and some other not so nice stuff.

[Tmall]

Chechclear.

[tommymac]

Just watched the beheadding/castration vid. Prety brutal, glad it wasnt that good of a quality video.

[OneSickPsycho]

I think hes laying on the ground on soem rocky terrain and a guy puts his boot on his head and starts cutting. I think the same guy was in soem other torture vids where thery shot his finger off and some other not so nice stuff.

Yep, remember that one...

[tommymac]

Yep, remember that one...

you can hear the gurggling noises and he bleeds has his windpipe severed.

[Amorok]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fidLXlNbBY