WikiLeaks Mexico cables, part II

Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star
December 3, 2010 10:52 am

The WikiLeaks documents from Mexico offer a behind-the-scenes look at the December 2009 killing of Mexican kingpin Arturo Beltran Levya and insight into U.S. officials wanted to about Calderon's leadership style as he faced adversity.

As you probably know by now, El Pais newspaper in Spain began to release State Department documents concerning Mexico’s drug war yesterday afternoon.

There are two stories the newspaper has posted in Spanish:

• El Gobierno mexicano admite que ha perdido el control de ciertas zonas (English translation: The Mexican government admits it's lost control of certain areas)

• México: un Ejército dividido incapaz de vencer a los narcos (English translation: Mexico: a divided army is incapable of defeating the narcos)

Throughout these articles, there are links to English cables from the U.S. State Department concerning Mexico. I posted a blog yesterday with some of the most interesting stuff from three cables I read through. (See "Related" box to the left to read the blog).

I read through two other interesting cables this morning, and here's some excerpts from those. The first provides great insight into what led to the Mexican Navy killing of drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva on Dec. 17, 2009 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and the second shows that U.S. officials wanted to know how President Felipe Calderon was holding up.

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How the U.S.-trained Mexican Navy took down Beltran Leyva

A cable dated Dec. 17, 2009 out of Mexico City starts with this matter-of-fact summary Mexican Navy’s killing of drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva on Dec. 17, 2009 in Cuernavaca, Mexico

“Mexican Navy forces acting on U.S. information killed Arturo Beltran Leyva in an operation on December 16, the highest-level takedown of a cartel figure under the Calderon administration. The operation is a clear victory for the Mexican Government and an example of excellent USG-GOM cooperation. The unit that conducted the operation had recieved extensive U.S. training. Arturo Beltran Leyva's death will not solve Mexico's drug problem, but it will hopefully generate the momentum necessary to make sustained progress against other drug trafficking organizations. . .

“At least three other cartel operatives were killed during the raid, with a fourth committing suicide. While it still has not been confirmed, Embassy officials believe the latter to be ABL's brother, Hector, which would mean that all Beltran Leyva brothers are either dead or in prison. Arturo Beltran Leyva has a long history of involvement in the Mexican drug trade, and worked with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his Sinaloa Cartel before splitting in 2008. The rivalry between the Sinaloa and Beltran Leyva organizations has been a key factor driving the escalating levels of narcotics-related violence in recent years. Born in Sinaloa, ABL has been key to the importation and distribution of cocaine and heroin in the United States, and also has extensive money laundering capabilities, corruption networks, and international contacts in Colombia and the U.S. “

The document says the U.S. embassy relayed detailed information abut Beltran’s location to the Mexican Navy about a week prior to his death. It also says that the Mexican Navy has been trained extensively by NORTHCOm over the past several years.

It highlights the great work being done by the Mexican Navy (referred to here as SEMAR) and it’s “emerging role as a key player in the counternarcotics fight. SEMAR is well-trained, well-equipped, and has shown itself capable of responding quickly to actionable intelligence.â€