April 28, 2007, 1:27AM
Mexican cartels thought to be hoarding arms for turf war
Authorities seize caches of weapons, many believed to come from U.S.


By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
ARRESTS IN STANDOFF

Mexico's federal police said Friday they have arrested two drug smugglers who strained Mexico's relations with the United States by disguising themselves as Mexican soldiers and confronting Texas sheriff's deputies and state police. Oscar Alonso Candelaria Escajeda and Ivan Gandara Trejo, were detained Thursday in Ciudad Juarez, according to a news release.
—ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARLINGEN — The automatic pistol was adorned with gold-plated grips and the inscription ''El Jefe Supremo," or the ''supreme leader."
U.S. authorities believe the expensive handgun, confiscated in Mexico during one of four recent weapons seizures, was destined for a top boss of the notorious Gulf Cartel.

It's a sign that Mexican drug trafficking cartels are arming themselves for an escalating turf battle, using weapons obtained in Texas and other border states, authorities say.

''There's a war going on — a war for control of the border — and they need weapons," said William Newell, the agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regional office in Phoenix. ''That's why you're seeing these things (seizures)."

Mexican police and army troops found the pistol in a cache of weapons during an April 2 search in Tampico, a stronghold of the powerful Gulf Cartel, which has long controlled the smuggling of narcotics into South Texas and Houston. Besides 30 pistols and high-powered assault rifles, police seized a grenade launcher with 13 shells, 12,653 rounds of ammunition and dynamite.

In the last 60 days, the Mexican attorney general's office announced the confiscation of 117 guns, 23,000 rounds of ammunition, two armored SUVs, 19 grenades, scores of bullet-proof vests, radios and police uniforms. And since President Felipe Calderon launched a campaign against the drug gangs in December, the Mexican army has captured 1,627 weapons through April 22, according to the military's Web site.

However, one U.S. firearms agent noted that while Mexican authorities are confiscating weapons almost daily, the seizures are ''a drop in the bucket" compared to firearms smuggled into Mexico.

''Whatever they seized doesn't reflect the true amount of guns going to Mexico," said J.J. Ballesteros, agent in charge of the ATF office in Corpus Christi who was stationed in Mexico City.

The Gulf Cartel and their enforcers began acquiring ''hundreds" of weapons after imprisoned leader Osiel Cardenas was extradited to Houston in late January, said a U.S. agent who asked not to be identified.

Cardenas was captured in Matamoros in 2003, triggering an ongoing battle by a rival cartel to take over the Gulf Cartel's established trafficking routes.

The Gulf Cartel leadership, believed to number about 200 members, formed an enforcement arm by recruiting a core group of 31 Mexican military deserters, known as Zetas. These ex-commandos have since trained nearly 400 gunmen to work as transporters, collectors and hit men.

''Right after the extradition of Cardenas, the Zetas really stepped up the procurement of weapons and ammo because they felt the other cartels are going to smell blood," the agent said.

ATF officials say ''a high percentage" of weapons smuggled into Mexico are coming from Texas and other border states, despite more than a year of beefed up gun enforcement and a joint project with Arizona firearm dealers to halt illegal sales.

The Houston ATF division — which includes Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley — has opened 236 investigations of gun trafficking into Mexico during fiscal year 2004 to 2006. Trafficking cases are up 70 percent so far this fiscal year, after a 37 percent rise between 2005 and 2006, Houston officials said.

ATF authorities say there is little doubt most of the guns seized in Mexico were purchased in Texas and other states with liberal gun laws.

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