Mexican drug cartels remain low key in South Texas

July 13, 2011 9:37 PM
THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Officials believe members of the Gulf Cartel and Zeta organization are crossing back and forth across the border from Mexico to Brownsville but that the people crossing are low in the hierarchy of the groups.

Those making their way across the border are likely involved with smuggling and storage of drugs, authorities said. They are also likely to keep a low profile.

Although a "Zetas are here" sign appeared on a covered bus stop on FM 802 near Rivera High School, authorities believe it was the work of a copycat or "kids just trying to send out a message."

"I just doubt that these murderous groups would be out there advertising their existence here. It is going to put law enforcement on higher alert than they are at," Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said.

The sign has since been painted over.

The Zetas and Gulf Cartel have an ongoing power struggle to control Matamoros. Firefights between the groups happen often and have left many casualties.

Officials don’t believe the organizations would allow their gun battles to cross the Mexican border to the United States — at least they hope not.

"I think they have to be careful that they are not causing problems here," said Brownsville Police Chief Carlos Garcia. "If they are causing problems on the Mexican side and then they cause problems on this side, where are they going to run after that? Where are they going to hide?"

While authorities don’t believe any of the firefights have crossed over, at least one resident living on the rural side of the city believes she heard what might have some type of exchange of gunfire a week ago on Brownsville’s east side.

The woman, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said she was sitting in the front yard of her home when she heard gunfire.

"I heard pow, pow, pow, pow," the woman said, adding that it was not fireworks, even though the Fourth of July holiday had just passed. There was a pause in the gunfire and then it started again.

The woman said she became alarmed and covered her head, though she didn’t run inside her home. She also didn’t alert police or sheriff’s deputies because gunfire around the area is pretty common. She also didn’t want any problems.

"Cars past by here real fast at different times," she said.

Reports of black SUVs scurrying around the area could not be confirmed.

"I’m afraid that (the Mexican violence) might come over here. You never know what is going to happen," she said.

George W. Grayson, professor at the College of William and Mary and author of "Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State," said the cartels "don’t want American troops in Mexico."

"They don’t want U.S. boots on the ground there. They really haven’t targeted Americans. ... I don’t think the Zetas would be operating violently in the U.S., although of course they are here," he said.

Grayson has made at least 125 research trips to Latin America and lectures regularly for the U.S. State Department.

Cascos said he has not received any official reports that the Zetas are here but has heard there are concerns that some of the groups have managed to establish homes and are living here.

"Do I believe that some of these individuals are here? Yes, I do," Cascos said.

Garcia, the police chief, said while he has no information regarding any particular individual from either group being in the city, that "doesn’t mean they are not here. With us being on the border right across from Matamoros those things are possible."

He said much of the information the department receives on the cartels is "law enforcement sensitive" and the general public is not privy to it. However, he said if anything occurred that he felt would become a public safety issue, the necessary information would be released.

"I just don’t want at this point for people to start fearing just because they see the marking of the Zetas or the CDG (Gulfo de Cartel) that it means they are here and moving over on this side," Garcia said.

"Some of these people have lived here for years and some of these people are probably U.S. citizens for the most part,"Garcia said.

"It’s not like they came over. They were already here. Somehow through family, association or acquaintances of people that are actually part of the organization, now they are involved to some extent," he said.

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