Grenade attack at US Consulate in Mexico may have been cartel hit

Published 1 hour ago

Grenade attack at US Consulate in Mexico may have been cartel hit

By Hollie McKay | Fox News


Law enforcement authorities from both the United States and Mexico are investigating a grenade explosion targeting the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Friday evening.

It is believed two grenades were thrown, with one exploding on consular grounds around 7.30 Friday evening.

In a statement released Saturday, consular officials said they “were aware of a security incident that took place at the U.S. Consulate General” on Friday evening.

“The consulate was closed at the time and there were no injuries,” the statement continued. “U.S. and Mexican authorities are investigating. We will provide further information (including about consular operations) as it becomes available.”

While the investigation continues and there have been no culprits yet identified, the attack comes just a week after several videos were posted online showcasing an interrogation of a cartel “sicario”-- otherwise known as a hitman -- allegedly working for the dominant cartel in the area, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He claimed he had orders to attack U.S. embassies or consulates from its leader, Rubén Oseguera González, also known as "El Menchito.”

Derek Maltz, former special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Special Operations Division, told Fox News that there was some “unconfirmed information” circulating last week that El Mencho or members of the CJNG had threatened to bomb the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Mexico.

According to one Mexico-based law enforcement source, municipal police claimed Friday that there was a “false alarm” the previous day, and they found firecrackers.

“Sounds like a test run,” added the source, who was not authorized to speak in the record.

Maltz cautioned that Friday’s attack may have been carried out by a rival cartel as a means of further defaming the CJNG.

Nonetheless, El Mencho, as the leader of an up-and-coming cartel, is among the most wanted men in Mexico.

“CJNG is responsible for sending numerous tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl/heroin into the United States,” Maltz said. “Like the Sinaloa Cartel which was headed by Chapo Guzman, the CJNG operates around the world and has expanded operations beyond the U.S. to Europe, Australia and Asia.”

Menchito has been designated a kingpin under the U.S.Treasury Department designation and is a top fugitive. There is a $10 million dollar reward.

“The latest information is that the CJNG is extremely violent and also concerned they have lost money on the human smuggling business in Mexico recently due to the caravans,” Maltz added.

“When the migrants are moving in larger caravans being protected by government officials the cartels are losing money, which is causing some anxiety over lost revenue.”

https://www.foxnews.com/world/grenad...een-cartel-hit

Put Mexico and Central America on the TRAVEL BAN list.

They cannot come here!

Shut the border down.

No papers, no entry, NO rights!

Do not turn our country into Europe!

02 December 2018 - 00H21

Explosives attack at US consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico

https://scd.france24.com/en/files/im...cd591ef8de.jpg© AFP | The blast left a 40-centimeter (16-inch) hole in an exterior wall of the US consulate in Guadalajara, pictured here

GUADALAJARA (MEXICO) (AFP) - The US consulate in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, was attacked with explosives hours before a visit to the country by Vice President Mike Pence and first daughter Ivanka Trump, authorities said Saturday.

The explosion late Friday night damaged a wall but caused no injuries, they said.

"The investigation has been handed over to federal authorities, who will give information on developments in due time," the prosecutor's office for the western state of Jalisco, where Guadalajara is located, said on Twitter.

The attack ocurred just before Pence and President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka flew into Mexico City on Saturday morning at the head of a high-level US delegation attending the inauguration of Mexico's new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Prosecution sources said a person threw an explosive device at the building and ran away. The suspect was caught on film by security cameras but evaded authorities, despite the heavy security presence at the building.

Grenade fragments were found at the scene, according to investigation sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The blast left a 40-centimeter (16-inch) hole in an exterior wall.

In a video posted online in recent days, purportedly by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the powerful drug trafficking organization had threatened to attack the consulate.

The cartel, one of the largest and most violent in Mexico, is a top target for US anti-drug operations.

https://www.france24.com/en/20181202...alajara-mexico

https://mk0mexiconewsdam2uje.kinstac.../consulate.jpgThe US consulate in Guadalajara.
US offers $20,000 reward in Guadalajara consulate grenade attack

Jalisco New Generation Cartel suspected of releasing video that warned of an attack


Wednesday, December 5, 2018




The United States government is offering a US $20,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or group responsible for a grenade attack on the U.S. consulate in Guadalajara the night before the inauguration of President López Obrador.

A statement issued yesterday by the United States Embassy in Mexico said that “on November 30, 2018 at 10:48pm, an unidentified individual threw two grenades, which exploded on the United States Consulate compound in Guadalajara, Jalisco.”
The person who threw the grenades was caught on film by surveillance cameras.

A separate statement issued the day after the attack said that “no one was injured and there was minimal damage to the structure.”
It added: “Mexican and U.S. authorities are investigating and strengthening the security posture around the Consulate facility. U.S. government personnel are advised to review personal security measures.”

The consulate resumed normal business yesterday after limiting its operations on Monday.

The Jalisco Attorney General’s office said “the investigation has been handed over to federal authorities, who will give information on developments in due time.”

The timing of the attack, just 12 hours before Andrés Manuel López Obrador was sworn in as president, has caused alarm among officials and security experts who are questioning whether it was meant as a test for the new federal government, to provoke the United States administration, or both.

United States Vice-President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka were among a delegation of U.S. dignitaries who attended López Obrador’s inauguration.

“The situation in Mexico is a powder keg,” Arturo Fontes, a security consultant and former FBI agent who was once stationed in Guadalajara, told The Dallas Morning News.

“The timing and target are key: a presidential inauguration. Political transition. The Chapo trial, which threatens to expose names of corrupt officials, and the migrant caravan.”

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), considered Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization, is suspected of being responsible for the attack and two weeks ago allegedly posted a video online in which it threatened to attack the consulate.

However, The Dallas Morning News, which reported the contents of the video, said it couldn’t independently confirm its authenticity.

The recording shows a man with part of his face bandaged who appears to be under interrogation. He says he was ordered to attack the consulate and, with the help of municipal and state police, to kidnap Central American migrants and hold them for ransom to generate income to pay corrupt authorities to overlook criminal activity.

The planned attack on the Guadalajara consulate was designed to send a message to the United States to leave “Mencho alone,” the man said, referring to CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.

In October, the United States government doubled the reward being offered for information leading to Oseguera’s arrest to US $10 million.

Attacks on United States facilities and personnel in Mexico are rare but not unprecedented.

A U.S. consular official was shot in a Guadalajara shopping center in January 2017 , U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata was killed in San Luis Potosí in 2011 and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1985 on the orders of Guadalajara Cartel founder Miguel Ángel Felix Gallardo.

Gunmen also shot at the United States consulate in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in 2008 and threw a grenade at the building although it didn’t explode.

The attack on the Guadalajara consulate Friday serves as yet another reminder of the security crisis López Obrador inherits 12 years after the military was deployed to combat the nation’s notorious drug cartels.

There were more than 31,000 homicides last year, according to statistics institute Inegi, and 2018 could go down in history as an even bloodier year.

López Obrador, who made no mention of the consulate attack at his first daily press briefing Monday, announced last month that his administration intends to create a National Guard under the control of the army to combat high levels of violence.

The idea to create the new security force, a central element of a new national security plan, was criticized by a range of non-governmental organizations who said that it only perpetuates the unsuccessful militarization model.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-...sulate-attack/

LOL!! Someone thinks they're going to buy a snitch against the Mexican drug cartels for $20,000? That's funny. The FBI's latest joke on Americans.