BajaNomad - Mexico Under Siege - Tecate

Mexico Under Siege - Tecate

elgatoloco - 9-7-2008 at 09:10 AM

http://tinyurl.com/6f44yx

In Mexico, a police victory against smuggling brings deadly revenge
Juan Jose Soriano, deputy commander of the Tecate Police Department, helped U.S. authorities find a drug-smuggling tunnel. The next morning, gunmen shot him 45 times in his bedroom.
By Richard Marosi
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 7, 2008

Tecate, Mexico

Adrug-sniffing dog pulled the U.S. Border Patrol agent to a rusty cargo container in the storage yard just north of the Mexican border. Peeking inside, he saw stacks of bundled marijuana and a man with a gun tucked in his waistband.

The officer and the man locked eyes for a moment before the smuggler scrambled down a hole and disappeared. By the time backup agents cast their flashlights into the opening, he was long gone, through a winding tunnel to Mexico.

U.S. authorities called a trusted friend on the other side, Juan Jose Soriano.

The deputy commander of the Tecate Police Department gathered the entire shift of 30 officers at the decrepit police headquarters on Avenida Benito Juarez. Soriano knew any of them might leak information to the tunnel's gangster operators. So he took their cellphones and sent them away on a ruse about a car chase near the border.

The veteran officer told only a few trusted aides about the tunnel. Later that day, the officers went into the U.S. and traversed the length of the passageway to an empty building, where they found computers, ledgers and other key evidence.

For U.S. authorities, it was an encouraging example of cross-border cooperation in the drug war. For Mexico's crime bosses, it was a police victory that could not go unpunished.

That night last December, while Soriano slept with his wife and baby daughter, two heavily armed men broke into his house and shot him 45 times. The 35-year-old father of three young daughters died in his bedroom. He had lasted two days as the second-in-command of the department.

The death of a police officer is generally greeted in Mexico with a knowing smirk. All too often, it is assumed the cop in question was playing for both sides in the raging drug war that has claimed at least 2,000 lives in Mexico this year.

But all indications, from U.S. and Mexican sources, suggestthat Soriano was among the good ones, poorly paid but somehow immune to the lure of big money and the threat of deadly firepower from Mexico's violent drug gangs.

Cooperation with U.S. law enforcement ranges from secretive intelligence sharing to high-profile raids and arrests. It is aggressive police work that runs the risk of death for honest cops.

An intense, soft-spoken man, Soriano struggled for years to clean up the troubled department. But his corruption-busting ways earned him only contempt from many cops. At the small shrine to fallen officers in the courtyard at police headquarters, Soriano's image is conspicuously absent.

"It's a shame," said Donald McDermott, a former Border Patrol assistant chief who worked with Soriano. "He was one of the good guys. . . . His untimely demise was a blow to border enforcement on both sides of the border."

A city of 120,000 tucked in the rugged mountains 40 miles east of Tijuana, Tecate is best known for its tree-lined plaza and beer brewery. But its tranquil veneer masks its reputation as a hub of organized crime groups that use the surrounding area of boulder-strewn peaks and remote valleys as a launching pad for smuggling drugs and humans.

The 200-member police department has long been suspected of functioning as an arm of the drug cartels, providing protection and ensuring that smuggling routes remain open along the 75 miles of border for which the department is responsible.

Soriano stood apart: an aggressive, disciplined lawman who aspired to become police chief, according to law enforcement sources on both sides of the border. Unlike most Mexican cops, he had a degree in police science. And he spent three years working for Grupo Beta, a federal immigrant-safety force with whom he once saved 65 immigrants in a snowstorm.

In 2003, Soriano took charge of Tecate's SWAT-like special response team. In a break from past practices, he reached out to U.S. agencies for training opportunities and cross-border crime fighting.

Soriano's officers arrested border bandits, disrupted smuggling operations and went where cops hadn't gone in years, say U.S. and Mexican sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation.

Soriano was a go-to source for the U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies and was a regular at binational meetings, where he shared information with his U.S. counterparts. "He wanted to do things the right way," said one Mexican law enforcement source. "But that was a problem for many people."

Police brass reassigned Soriano to a desk job in 2005. "They took away his wings. They weren't ready for where he was going," said one U.S. law enforcement source.

Late last year, Tecate's new mayor salvaged Soriano's career, asking him to take the No. 2 job at the department. Law enforcement contacts across the border applauded the move and didn't wait long to restore ties.

This time, though, the stakes were higher.

A well-concealed tunnel can generate tens of millions of dollars in drug profits for traffickers, who pay huge amounts of protection money to keep them open and threaten anyone who talks about their location.

It was crucial to quickly find the opening of the tunnel discovered that December morning. U.S. authorities didn't want the operators to have time to clear out the drugs and other evidence. In other tunnel cases, Mexican authorities had been slow to respond, allowing crime bosses to abscond with drugs.

Soriano took immediate action. After confiscating the cops' cellphones, he dispatched them to the four-lane border crossing and told them to look out for a fugitive trying to flee from California authorities. Then he and several trusted officers started searching for the tunnel in homes and businesses near the border. He kept a close watch on crooked cops, who he feared would slip away to warn the tunnel operators.

The search failed. Someone would have to traverse the length of the passageway to find the opening.

Soriano volunteered seven officers. They crossed into the U.S. and descended into the tunnel while U.S. and Mexican authorities waited for them to surface in Mexico. About 45 minutes later, the Mexican team climbed up the 80-foot-deep shaft into a vacant two-story building a block south of the border.

A Virgin of Guadalupe picture hung near the opening. Nearby were computer monitors and scribbled ledgers. Soriano, alerted by a radio call from his team, arrived at the building just ahead of the crush of reporters and other police. Mexican federal agents took over the crime scene.

At about 2 a.m. the next morning, a convoy of vehicles drove down the deeply rutted dirt road leading to Soriano's modest house, which was decorated with a string of Christmas lights. Two men armed with AK-47s broke in. Soriano jumped out of bed, but the men stopped him before he could grab his weapons in the hallway.

Soriano seemed to recognize his attackers and begged them not to shoot, a source said. But the men opened fire, the spray of bullets coming within inches of Soriano's year-old daughter sleeping in the crib by his bed.

Since Soriano's death, relations between the Tecate Police Department and U.S. agencies have been almost nonexistent. The force doesn't have a liaison officer, and the border lands are more lawless than ever, Mexican sources say.

Soriano's slaying sent a message to other cops who would dare cooperate with U.S. authorities.

That was clear at Soriano's funeral, where many cops seemed to be celebrating his death, said one person who attended. Some laughed, while others chatted loudly in gestures of disrespect.

Mexican authorities suspect police were involved in the slaying, either as the triggermen or the lookouts for hit men. Nobody has been arrested in the case.

Meanwhile, the tunnel investigation has stalled. There have been no arrests, and it is unknown who was behind the construction and financing of the passageway.

On the day of the tunnel discovery, Soriano turned over a largely intact crime scene. But soon, dozens of soldiers, police, federal agents and reporters gathered to marvel at the sophisticated lighting and water pumping system. Other unidentified people seemed to linger for no apparent reason, said U.S. and Mexican sources.

The computers and other evidence had vanished.

Soriano once wrote on an employment evaluation that he wanted to be a police commander and lead a team of loyal, aggressive cops whom he would treat as friends. "I want to be surrounded by honest police who would never betray anyone."

[Edited on 9-7-2008 by elgatoloco]

David K - 9-7-2008 at 09:13 AM

:no:

JaraHurd - 9-7-2008 at 09:37 AM

Hopefully every wise-crackin' poster on Nomad who can't wait to bad-mouth Mexican law enforcement will read this post. It is so easy to talk caca from the safe sidelines wherein most of us reside, even those who live in Mexico. It must be exceedingly difficult to work in their system as an honest man or woman. I can't imagine not being able to trust your partner or boss. I, for one, could not fill Juan Jose Soriano's shoes. I salute him and hope for a better future for Mexico. I know there are more like him out there...

Mexitron - 9-7-2008 at 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JaraHurd
Hopefully every wise-crackin' poster on Nomad who can't wait to bad-mouth Mexican law enforcement will read this post. It is so easy to talk caca from the safe sidelines wherein most of us reside, even those who live in Mexico. It must be exceedingly difficult to work in their system as an honest man or woman. I can't imagine not being able to trust your partner or boss. I, for one, could not fill Juan Jose Soriano's shoes. I salute him and hope for a better future for Mexico. I know there are more like him out there...

Well said.

JaraHurd - 9-7-2008 at 10:50 AM

I don't blame the clock punchers. I know there are many dishonest cops in Mexico. I believe this from what I have heard and read but I, luckily, have never actually experienced it. My scant contact with Mexican cops have always been tolerable. I just want it noted that this man, in my opinion, did not die in vain. I suspect that he is in a much better place and being judged accordingly. I hope that when I leave someday that I will have done all that I can do to make this place a better place. He, and people like him, serve as a wake up call for all of us in our respective occupations (and lives), that we can do a little more.

The best partner I have ever worked for, to date, was a person named Jose M. Jose grew up in Oaxaca, Mx. He was adopted and put to work selling fruit in Mexico City at the age of 8. He immigrated to the US at 12 years old. He went to school and later enlisted in the US Army. After serving (he is still a reserve) in the Army for a few years (during which he was shot in the face with an AK-47..and somehow survived that...) he joined the LAPD. He is now on the fast track to promoting after many hard-working years in the field. He is the HARDEST working person I have ever worked with. He is as humble as the day is long. EVERY time I have ever asked him for anything, including calling him off-duty to assist me on some emergency on-duty, his words are always the same, "Whatever you need partner." Trust me, most other people are too busy to assist....I won't get into that here.......

We need more people like these two, the are both cut from the same cloth..

DENNIS - 9-7-2008 at 10:51 AM

The link doesn't seem to work but, I thought this article sounded familiar. It should since it's nine months old.
Don't get me wrong...I'm all for keeping the flame burning. People have to know and shouldn't be allowed to forget. I'm only curious as to why it's being brought up today in the Times.

Neal Johns - 9-7-2008 at 11:33 AM

Jarahurd, thanks for your postings.

elgatoloco - 9-7-2008 at 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
The link doesn't seem to work but, I thought this article sounded familiar. It should since it's nine months old.
Don't get me wrong...I'm all for keeping the flame burning. People have to know and shouldn't be allowed to forget. I'm only curious as to why it's being brought up today in the Times.

The unfortunate incident happened in December 2007 and was likely discussed on this board. The story in today's paper recalls that tragedy and gives some additional background. Try this link?

http://tinyurl.com/6f44yx

ELINVESTIG8R - 9-7-2008 at 01:24 PM

jeans - 9-7-2008 at 01:44 PM

Chilling..and very, very sad :no:

Eugenio - 9-8-2008 at 09:40 AM

Grover - are you saying that corruption in the US - or the rest of the world - runs about the same level as in Mexico?

Crusoe - 9-8-2008 at 01:02 PM

Aug 22nd 08...SanFrancisco, Ca....United States Coast Gaurd Captain Michael Sullivan.... Pacific Areas Cheif of Resonse... in charge of all Coast Gaued Cutters involved in drug trafficking... arressted for possession of cocaine, wrongful use of cocaine and obstuction of justice. If convicted could spend 10 to 20 years in prison. This was never reported on any of our republican run major news networks. WTF.... :lol:

BajaGringo - 9-8-2008 at 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crusoe
Aug 22nd 08...SanFrancisco, Ca....United States Coast Gaurd Captain Michael Sullivan.... Pacific Areas Cheif of Resonse... in charge of all Coast Gaued Cutters involved in drug trafficking... arressted for possession of cocaine, wrongful use of cocaine and obstuction of justice. If convicted could spend 10 to 20 years in prison. This was never reported on any of our republican run major news networks. WTF.... :lol:

One of the dirty little secrets is that a percentage of what passes the border illegally (drugs / people) happens with border patrol agents looking the other way while pocketing cash that far exceeds their paycheck for said services. Even when they are caught, most of those stories never make the press...

TMW - 9-8-2008 at 06:25 PM

Quote:

I looked at several sources in a google search and I didn't see anything about him being involved with drug trafficing, the charge was for possession and use and was reported in many publications both military and civilian and on blogs. I don't think the major news networks would hold back on the story. If they didn't run it it would be that the story was not important enough on that day. The owners of the major news networks do not give a hoot about some CG captain. The news departments pretty much run themselves with the legal department providing the guidence that may involve a lawsuit. I don't think the president of Disney called the ABC news chief and said don't run the story about this captain. That in itself would cause a stir just like the 60 minutes story about tobacco did at CBS when Tisch's management team wouldn't let Mike Wallace name Jeffery Wiegand as their source on the first airing.

JaraHurd - 9-8-2008 at 07:12 PM

Why does it make the Dems/libs so happy when an American fighting Man or Woman falls? It's not like they are in line waiting to serve this country. Must like throwing rocks I guess..

greybaby - 9-8-2008 at 07:25 PM

When we lived in Cantu, across from the little police station there, I remember talking to one of our favorite policement, Miguel. He was moved to another location and came back to visit one day. He told me to be careful what we told the police because of the corruption. I'm sorry, and maybe I'm naive, but I doubt that any corruption in police departments in the US comes even close to what is experienced in Mexico. Are there honest police there? Definitely!! Are there corrupt cops here (US)? Indeed!! But it goes deep in Mexico and as someone who lived there for six years, we truly saw that it permeates every facet of the community. We were part of a little evangelical church of locals and an Ensenada policeman who attended occasionally was afraid to change his ways because of the bribes he would lose. How sad.

jeans - 9-8-2008 at 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JaraHurd
Why does it make the Dems/libs so happy when an American fighting Man or Woman falls? It's not like they are in line waiting to serve this country. Must like throwing rocks I guess..

You are wrong. I am a Democrat and that does not make me happy. What an ignorant thing to say.

BajaGringo - 9-8-2008 at 08:03 PM

I think it is funny that on the one hand some get so angry here that some piece of Baja negative news doesn't get out and accusations fly of "burying our heads in the sand". Yet when negative news comes out about north of the border the same talking heads come scurrying about to either downplay the news or accuse the poster of "bashing" the USA. You can't have it both ways.

The news is just... well, the news. Good, bad or ugly. We all have to deal with it.

JaraHurd - 9-8-2008 at 09:05 PM

BajaGringo I don't have all the answers. I mostly sit on the sidelines and read the posts. I truly think a lot of posters have little to no idea what they are talking about. I get tired of hearing all of the Baja Bashers. I get tired of the folks that only want the good then once something goes wrong, they flee or are very quick to judge. I understand that a greater percentage of law enforcement officials in Mexico are corrupt when compare to the U.S. ..but..I also believe that there are a lot more decent cops in Mexico than some believe. I am fairly certain you and I see eye-to-eye on this.

BajaGringo - 9-8-2008 at 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JaraHurdI understand that a greater percentage of law enforcement officials in Mexico are corrupt when compare to the U.S. ..but..I also believe that there are a lot more decent cops in Mexico than some believe. I am fairly certain you and I see eye-to-eye on this.

Very well stated. Glad to hear we are on the same page...

Eugenio - 9-9-2008 at 08:27 AM

Yes - well said JaraHurd - the article stands by itself - it has good elements - and bad - visavis corruption in Mexico - it's also anecdotal.

I guess my issue is with the (usual) pundits who throw out purely anecdotal events or experiences - and then (I guess) expect us to connect some dots and arrive at some "macro" conclusion or statement. I wish they would be more forthcoming on the macro part first - and then support it.

There are organizations (transparency.org amongst others) that try to survey/compare corruption internationally. But that's another theme.

Crusoe - 9-9-2008 at 08:54 AM

TW-You have completely misread and misinterpreted my post. Captain Michael Sullivan has been accused of possesion of cocaine, wrongful use of cocaine and obstruction of justice. Not drug trafficking. So...The moral question is.....If a person purchases cocaine from a drug dealer is he guilty of drug trafficking in any form?......And JuraHard.....Coast Gaurd Captain Michael Sullivan is very far from any kind of "Fighting Man".He lives in a climate controlled wheelhouse of a 400 ft. ship and is served and eats three meals meals a day of the best food that money can buy in the Officers Quarters, complete with all white linen and the finest of deserts.He hangs out and sleeps in his Captains Cabin drinking the finest of fine Cal. wines and doing "who else knows what" (blo)?His surperiors want to get rid of him. This is very obvious. Why else woud they rake him over the coals and throw him under the bus before he has even had a trial? Canadain radio stations and German newspapers are reporting and claiming that this is just the tip of the iceburg. He claims to have damaging evidence of higher ups and of prominent San Fran. businessmen and republican polticians. Iran Contra....Oliver North...Hello-Hello-Hello!!! ++C++ :tumble:

David K - 9-9-2008 at 09:06 AM

Crusoe, why did you inject the Sullivan story into egl's thread about the Tecate policeman's murder?

The Sullivan story is off topic, and not related to the murder of a Mexican law enforcement agent.

Just wondering what your motives were or how it connects, because I don't see it, other than a political thing as Jara Hurd mentioned...?

[Edited on 9-9-2008 by David K]

JaraHurd - 9-9-2008 at 12:04 PM

Crusoe..once again you have very little idea what you are talking about. I served five of my six years in the USCG on the USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719). It is exactly the same type of cutter/SHIP as the Morganthau (sp?) which this disgraced captain recently served on. EVERY Coast Guardsperson is a part of our military and as such is an AMERICAN FIGHTING PERSON. When I was in the Coast Guard, my job specialty was SONAR TECHNICIAN. We had six TORPEDO launchers on our ship (the sonar and torpedo tubes were later removed many years after I left service). Although they were not state of the art WEAPONS ..they were WEAPONS.

Do a little research on the following...Percentage-wise (per capita), guess which military service LOST more AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN during the Vietnam War? Yup, the USCG manned riverboats during that war and lost many many FIGHTING MEN during the war.

Although military officers generally have it easier than enlisted people, Coast Guard personnel are still subject to fighting during wartiime. I IN NO WAY am trying to say that this is the situation during the current war, just has been historically. Thus far the USCG has it far easier than the Army or Marine Corps.

The bottom line is this captain has disgraced the Coast Guard. It sucks and it hurts. But I will assert, as a person who actually served, that he is in the minority. And YES, I knew others who indulged in illicit narcotics use while I was in the service. But by the time I left in 1987, it was UNHEARD of or atleast very rare.

This is way off-topic but I felt needed to be addressed....

Additionally, I did not mean to offend anyone with my prior rude post...

ElFaro - 9-9-2008 at 12:41 PM

FYI...

I live out in the back country of San Diego...directly north of Tecate. A friend of ours told us that a Mexican lady friend of hers has moved up here out of Tecate. She told our friend it's getting difficult to live in Tecate of late. Somewhat dangerous to go out at night. Alot of robberies taking place. I'll try to get more info. from some other sources.

gnukid - 9-9-2008 at 02:35 PM

The Coasties have a very tough job, they are put in the line of fire of drug traffickers. In the course of events, they come into contact with cocaine, which can easily fall into their cuffs. They need to know the difference in the case of drugs, what is it, what path did it take and is it really cocaine. They get tested. The case of Captain Michael Sullivan is unclear, but it is minor in the big picture, and we do not know the results of his test nor of the investigation. There is every chance that a reasonable explanation exists, until we know more. In any case none of his actions reported thus far have done anything to discredit the efforts of the Coasties as a whole.

Neal Johns - 9-9-2008 at 03:23 PM

JaraHurd, don't let them pull your chain, Sonar Puke! Sez the old Navy Chief ET. :biggrin:

Crusoe - 9-9-2008 at 03:36 PM

JaraHurd--Sorry if I offeneded you. Did not mean to. I completely agree with every thing you have statedon in this thread.... But.... there is a huge drug war going on in our border towns with Mexican Cartels. And,when I read news of our most trusted and respected "pillars of military strength", possibly partaking and contributing to illegal acts,and involved and supporting this industry it sickens me to my core. Why do you think his higher ups are, hanging him out to dry,even before there has been any military trial? ++C++

CaboRon - 9-9-2008 at 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Crusoe, why did you inject the Sullivan story into egl's thread about the Tecate policeman's murder?

The Sullivan story is off topic, and not related to the murder of a Mexican law enforcement agent.

Just wondering what your motives were or how it connects, because I don't see it, other than a political thing as Jara Hurd mentioned...?

[Edited on 9-9-2008 by David K]

Excellent Point.

CaboRon

JaraHurd - 9-9-2008 at 06:15 PM

Mr Johns..U got me. Been called that many times. You guys were/are the big boys. More power to you. And I salute you as well!

Crusoe..no biggie. It is all good to discuss and see how we all feel. I promise that I don't take myself half as seriously as I sound! Everybody have they thing...

TMW - 9-10-2008 at 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crusoe
TW-You have completely misread and misinterpreted my post. Captain Michael Sullivan has been accused of possesion of cocaine, wrongful use of cocaine and obstruction of justice. Not drug trafficking. So...The moral question is.....If a person purchases cocaine from a drug dealer is he guilty of drug trafficking in any form?......

His surperiors want to get rid of him. This is very obvious. Why else woud they rake him over the coals and throw him under the bus before he has even had a trial?

Canadain radio stations and German newspapers are reporting and claiming that this is just the tip of the iceburg. He claims to have damaging evidence of higher ups and of prominent San Fran. businessmen and republican polticians.

The moral answer is more about what you believe, morally or legally if he was not selling or transporting more than a small amount, that being more than an individual would use, then he wan't transporting.

The military always relieves an officer of his command when under investigation for wrong doing just as they relieve a ships captain for running his ship aground. The Navy just relieved a commander in charge of the presidents communications when he travels for something unrelated to his job. It's been in the news lately. Maybe an affair or he exposed himself I don't know.

I don't think your going to find very many Republican politicians in San Francisco. If you haven't heard it's a left wing Democrat stronghold.

DENNIS - 9-10-2008 at 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
I don't think your going to find very many Republican politicians in San Francisco. If you haven't heard it's a left wing Democrat stronghold.

That SF is the cell of the Ninth District Court of Appeals, I'd say your assesment is lacking in color.....red.