January10, 2007:
At the end of 2006, Mexico's counter-drug war moved north toward the
U.S.-Mexico border. During the first week of January 3,300 Mexican Army troops
and federal police launched search and seizure operations against drug gangs
and suspected narcotics smugglers in Baja California Norte state. The city of
Tijuana as a specific target. The Mexican security personnel also went
into local police stations and seized the guns of some officers the government
suspects are dealing with narcotics traffickers. On January 3 several police
stations in the Tijuana area were searched. Local police reported that they
were receiving death threats from drug gangs and border press sources said that
some policemen quit patrol work after their guns were seized. Subsequently,
state and federal police appeared on the streets accompanying the local
policemen. Both Mexican and US observers have said the action in northern Baja
California demonstrates President Felipe Calderon's resolve to fulfill campaign
pledges to battle the drug gangs. Tijuana is a huge economic asset and is part
of a "dual" metropolitan area (Tijuana and San Diego). The move into Tijuana
confronts the gangs on what they have considered to be their "turf." It also
brings Mexico's drug war directly before the cameras and eyes of the US media.
January
8, 2007: Defeated PRD presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
announced he will start his own "late night TV show." Lopez Obrador believes
the Mexican media is "biased" against him. The statement provided no details on
the program, but it will without a doubt be a talk show.
January
5, 2007: The U.S. Border Patrol reported that a National Guard detachment
pulled out of an observation post near Sasabe, Arizona, when their position was
approached by "four to five" armed men, who apparently crossed the U.S.-Mexican
border. The report said the armed intruders were not aware of the National
Guard position. The incident took place at night on January 3. The guardsmen
were following Border Patrol operating procedures. The Border Patrol uses
National Guardsmen as observers who are to report illegal activities to federal
law enforcement agencies. A Border Patrol spokesman said that Border Patrols
agents arrived on the site "within minutes." The Border Patrol team said that
it followed tracks left by the intruders back "the Mexican border." National
Guard personnel can defend themselves if they are threatened. They are not
authorized, however, to apprehend illegal immigrants.
Mexican
authorities reported finding nine bodies in a mass grave in Michoacan State
(western Mexico). The grave site was not far from Uruapan. Michoacan State was
the center of a large-scale counter-drug operation by the Mexican Army in
December 2006. The Mexican police reported they found the bodies after an
"anonymous tip." The Mexican government reported that over five hundred murders
occurred in Michoacan state during 2006.