Thread: South Padre Island / Precinct One Corruption & Border Wa

South Padre Island, Texas

Travelers to Mexico have been warned about getting caught in drug war crossfires. Now it’s an earthquake. But getaway seekers can keep up to date about whatever's going on -- or find alternatives.

by KYW's Jay Lloyd

Forewarned is forearmed. The US State Department offers a valuable web site that provides specific warnings for Americans traveling to or living in foreign countries.

Mexico is very much in the picture because the low cost of a Mexican vacation, the weather, and tourist attractions make it one of the most popular destinations for Yankee travelers.

But there is a way to get the feeling and the fabled food of old Mexico while staying safe on the Texas side of the border, within 30 miles of Matamoros (which is on the warning list).Â* South Padre Island, Texas (above) offers a Mexican atmosphere, the beaches, restaurants, and the music that we find south of the border.

Some of our Canadian friends, now wrapping up their fourth winter on the island, report no incidents and a great time.

South Padre is an economical getaway, reached by connecting flights from Houston to Brownsville. Then drive or cab to the island, or simply walk across a short bridge to Mexico.

But if you take the walk, check out travel.state.gov before you go.

(Photo by KYW's Jay Lloyd)

http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/6750015.ph ... Id=5882770

In my opinion, South Padre Island has a Mexican feel because the vast majority of laborers don't speak English and are Mexicans--and there is no Middle Class--and it is a low wage place--and much of South Padre Island is owned by Mexican Nationals--or Israelis. . .

. . .which is kind of like. . .


. . .hummmmm. . .

. . .oh yea, and mostly it is only tourists and poor people who are prosecuted for breaking the laws--and more than once the police have been rumored to protect illegal gambling and drugs, which is kind of like . . .

. . .good old, that's right, MEXICO.

(Except for the Israeli part--they are only in every resort in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Eastern Seaboard to NYC--although they could also be in Mexico.)

The Carlos Cascos-John Wood bout in November is expected to be formidable.

Add to it their assistants, Chris Valadez and Carlos Cisneros, respectively, and the Cascos-Wood race also could be explosive.

Republican Cascos, the incumbent Cameron County judge, will square off against Democrat Wood, the sitting Pct. 2 county commissioner, in the November general election.

There’s plenty of history between the two candidates – and their assistants.

Wood and Cisneros blame Cascos and Valadez for the grand jury review in 2008 of Cisneros’ county timesheets, after it was learned that on at least 15 occasions in 2007, Cisneros, who also was a Brownsville city commissioner, was paid by the county while on city business, public records show.

As previously reported by The Brownsville Herald, Cisneros, although a non-hourly employee, signed his timesheets from the time Wood hired him in 2003 through December 2007. The timesheets were signed-off by Wood or on his behalf. Wood said in 2008 that filling out the timesheets had been an honest error. He also said Cisneros was on county business when he was out on city business, because Cisneros’ district in the city fell within the county’s Precinct 2.

Cisneros maintained he was set up because, as a city commissioner, he voted to replace Valadez on the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.

A grand jury no-billed Cisneros in 2008, finding that there was insufficient probable cause to indict him, according to the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office.

Valadez also unsuccessfully challenged Wood for the county commissioner post in 2006.

Wood says he would not be surprised if Cascos drags the timesheet matter into the race for county judge, given the negative campaign Cascos waged when he ran in 2006 against former County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa.

“He (Cascos) pushed it (the timesheet matter) real hard to take it to a grand jury,â€

Barely keepin' it legit enough to stay out of jail & double dippin'--do you really think we can trust the local Valley politicians with securing our border and protecting us against illegal immigrants?


Don't worry, both sides will plenty of cash to campaign--most likely some of it each side receives will probably be from the same folks, just guessing that's how the bad guys seem to be so powerful with their ability to control Cameron County.

The illegal gambling places, drugs, and immigrant smuggling has prospered under both these mens involvement with the government, whether or not they were personally involved I cannot say, but I hold both of their parties responsible and the public record speaks for itself.

I wonder if Judge Cascos ever found enough money for beds and tampons for the women inmates under his care?

All of the above is only my opinion based on what I read in Valley newspapers--not facts--and I believe no matter who wins the election not
much will change.

[mobile edition]

Border Blotter: Pot, cash, cocaine seizures
April 24, 2010 - 6:45 AM
Valley Freedom Newspapers


Pot seizure in Progresso

Customs officers found nearly 100 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the tires of a vehicle headed into the United States on Tuesday.

Officers discovered 16 marijuana bundles distributed among the four tires of a 1997 Honda Passport SUV heading north across the Progreso International Bridge.

The driver, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen from Matamoros, was transferred to the custody of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorities did not identify the teen. The marijuana has an estimated street value of $71,000.

Â*

Falcon dam agents seize $200,000

Authorities seized more than $200,000 in cash Thursday morning at the Falcon Dam border crossing.

U.S. customs officers and Border Patrol agents found the money inside a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck that was traveling south toward Mexico. The male driver, a 66-year-old Mexican citizen from Pasadena, Texas, was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorities did not release his name.

ICE seized the 16 bundles of cash.

Falcon Dam is located on the Rio Grande in southern Starr County.

It is not illegal to carry more than $10,000 across the border, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency exceeding that amount.

Â*

7.5 pounds cocaine found in car battery

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers confiscated about $240,000 worth of cocaine hidden in the battery of a vehicle driven by a woman attempting to cross through a Brownsville port of entry.

Sanjuana S. Hernandez, 22, who resides in Houston, attempted to smuggle 7.5 pounds of cocaine in the black 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe she drove through the B&M International Bridge. But upon inspection, authorities found six packages of cocaine concealed within the vehicle’s battery, a criminal complaint states.

After the arrest of Hernandez, the case was referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents for further investigation.

Hernandez, who is a U.S. citizen, stated she was going to get paid $3,000 to deliver the load to Houston, according to court records.

Â*

Five detained for immigration violations

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers detained five people for allegedly attempting to enter the country illegally through a Brownsville ports of entry.

A 38-year-old female and a 41-year-old female were held Tuesday at the Veteran’s International Bridge for attempting to bring into the country a boy as a U.S. citizen, aCBP press release states. Authorities found discrepancies with the birth certificate the two adults presented for the child, and at secondary inspection, CBP officers determined the document was not the child’s. The child was safely returned to his mother in Mexico.

In a second case on the same day at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge a 29-year-old male allegedly presented a laser visa as an entry document that was not his own, according to the CBP press release. In the third case on Thursday at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge, a 39-year-old female allegedly presented a laser visa that had been issued to another person, according to CBP.

http://www.spislandbreeze.com/articles/ ... tires.html

Prisoners, Ex-Guard Claim Abuse at Hands of Cameron County Jailers
Reported by:Â*Will RipleyÂ*
Last Update: 12/28/2009 9:13 am
Print StoryÂ*|Â*ShareThis


OLMITO - A CHANNEL 5 NEWS investigation exposes allegations of abuse behind bars in Cameron County.

Inmates at Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center tell stories of violence, intimidation, and cover-ups.

Eric Gonzalez has served five months in jail for a parole violation. He claims some jail guards are abusing their authority.

"They don't have to explain to nobody, and they make that very clear to us," he says.

"I'm speaking out for every other inmate who never gets a chance to," Gonzalez explains. "They've abused me so much, they can't do nothing else to me."

His allegations include three or four officers attacking an inmate. He says they kicked him in the face, threw him on the ground, and punched him.

"They'll spray him with mace. They'll cuff him. And then they'll throw him in a room or a holding cell and leave him there for hours," says Gonzalez. "I'm talking about six, seven hours at a time. Cuffed and shackled, where they can't clean their face off."

A former jail guard corroborates allegations of trouble inside the jail.

"There's a lot of things that go on there that the sheriff don't even know about it," say the ex-guard.

He asked us to hide his face and change his name. We'll call him "Rick." He used to work as a Cameron County jail guard. After eight months, he was fired.

"Rick" says he did nothing wrong, and his supervisor had a problem with him.

"They can wash their hands of anybody they want," he tells us.

"Rick" says he saw guards treat inmates worse than animals.

"They can gang up on any inmate they want," he claims.

Like Gonzalez, "Rick" mentioned guards macing inmates.

"For as long as they're maced, it's burning. It's burning 'em, It's burning 'em, It's burning 'em," he says.

"It seemed like torture to me," he tells us.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS asked why someone would do that.

"To have fun I guess," says "Rick."

We spoke to a woman who says her son was one inmate maced by guards.

"They had maced him and they put the mask on his face," she tells us.

The inmate's sister recalls, "He thought he was gonna die. He thought he was gonna die that night."

The two women are hiding their faces for fear of retaliation.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS asked Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio for an explanation about the claims over a month ago.

He said, "No I'm not gonna say anything. Anything. I told you you don't have a story. And I'm not gonna make a story out of that."

He turned down our interview request and warned us not to go any further with our investigation.

In a phone call, he said, "Well, I'm sorry. You do that, Will, then you're gonna be in bad with my office."

His chief deputy Gus Reyna told us if we run the story, CHANNEL 5 NEWS will be stonewalled by the sheriff's office.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS' Will Ripley asked, "We're not gonna get anymore news from you guys?"

"No, you will not," said Reyna.

We showed our recorded phone calls to Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos.

"It never looks good when you don't wanna talk to the media about an issue like this, because right away someone's going to say, 'Well there must be something to hide,'" he says.

Just three days before our investigation aired, the sheriff agreed to answer our questions.

We asked the sheriff if beating, macing, and masking inmates is standard procedure.

"To my knowledge, that does not happen," says Lucio.

He tells us he will look into the claims.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS also asked about the alleged beating of Randal Bolivar. His mother, Mary Rey, says six jail guards and a sergeant brutally beat him.

"It's very difficult to talk about," she tells us.

She showed us Bolivar's medical records for September 19. The documents show Bolivar was "brought to the infirmary in a wheelchair… screaming and crying" after an "altercation."

An ambulance was called and Bolivar was taken to the hospital.

The medical records don't say what started the "fight" or who was involved.

The chief deputy tells us Bolivar assaulted two of his detention guards.

But Bolivar's mother suspects the attack on her son was unprovoked.

"Rick," the former jailer, agrees. He says Bolivar never assaulted anyone.

He was shackled. There's no way he could move. There's no way he could be combative like that," says "Rick."

The sheriff says he doesn't know what happened or why Bolivar ended up in the hospital.

"I don't have that information available," Lucio tells us.

The sheriff adds his staff did nothing wrong.

"We're not dealing with kids from the playground. We're dealing with sometimes hardened criminals," he says.

Bolivar is waiting to go on trial for murder, evading arrest, and causing an injury accident.

"I am well aware of what he's accused of," says Bolivar's mother. "However, he is a human being just like everybody else."

Rey called in a complaint to the Texas Rangers. The Texas Rangers told us they did investigate, but they closed the case without inspecting the jail or talking to any inmates.

They said Bolivar refused to cooperate.

Other allegations about the jail include substandard health care, inmates getting the wrong medication, and guards turning off the water for as long as 27 hours.

"Rick" says most of it is hidden from the sheriff.

"If it's something that is gonna look good on their behalf, it goes to the sheriff's office. If it's something that's gonna look bad on their behalf, it just gets thrown away," he tells us.

We asked Lucio if it's possible there are jail incidents he isn't aware of.

"When you ask possible, anything is possible," he replies.

Lucio adds if they look into an allegation and find something improper, they will file criminal charges.

Male inmates aren't the only ones making allegations of abuse. A former female inmate is also speaking out.

Donna Funke, a 70-year-old retired school teacher, was arrested and booked in Cameron County. She was accused of hitting someone with her golf cart.

Funke says it never happened. She's waiting to go to trial.

She claims she was abused and neglected during her time behind bars. She alleges inmates' medical needs were ignored.

Gail Hanson also reports problems with inmates getting medications. Hanson was a Cameron County jail minister for eight years.

"I always was distressed by the way the inmates were treated," she tells us.

Hanson says she told the sheriff about her concerns, which included a woman having a miscarriage and a woman having a seizure.

"He pretty much told me to mind my own business," she recalls.

"She tried to speak out and she's no longer allowed to go back," says Corinna Spencer-Scheurich, an attorney for the South Texas Civil Rights Project.

They're now suing to get Hanson access to the jail.

The sheriff won't comment about Hanson because of that pending lawsuit. In the past, he said he revoked Hanson's privileges because she was a threat to the safety and security of the jail.

He also said she was too personally involved with inmates.

As for the allegations about the infirmary, he says "I feel the infirmary is a top-notch infirmary."

"We run a professional jail here," he adds.

The county judge tells us he's concerned about allegations of abuse behind bars.

"They still have rights. And those rights must be defended," he tells us.

But he adds jailers also have a hard job.

"They get abused. They get spat on, kicked... And a lot of these jailers hold back quite a bit," he explains.

The sheriff says he has good people in place.

He says if he uncovers evidence his jailers are breaking the rules, he will not tolerate it.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS has learned the Texas Attorney General's Office is investigating at least one allegation of inmate abuse.

We also checked with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. They say routine jail inspections have turned up no major problems.


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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen ambushed two police vehicles at a busy intersection in Ciudad Juarez on Friday, killing seven officers and a 17-year-old boy who was passing by, authorities said.

Chihuahua state spokesman Enrique Torres Valadez said six of the police officers were federal, and one was a local police woman. Two local police officers remain in critical condition.

Authorities said the police officers had stopped to talk to a street vendor who had flagged them down for help when gunmen opened fire from behind their pickup patrol trucks. The assailants then fled in three vehicles.

Investigators said they don't know why the officers were shot, although they don't believe they were targeted because of any recent arrests they had made.

No one has been arrested but police said they have recovered two of the three cars used in the shooting.

Ciudad Juarez is one of the world's deadliest cities, and a two-year turf battle between drug cartels has left more than 5,000 people dead.

Elsewhere, police in Guerrero said they found the bodies of five men who had been shot to death lying on a dirt road near Chilpancingo, the capital of the Pacific coast state. Three of the men were brothers, all in their 20s.

The state has been a major battleground for warring cartels, including the Beltran Leyva gang, but it was not clear whether the shootings were part of the ongoing drug violence.

In Morelos state, federal police and the Mexican army raided two ranch homes and arrested 15 men near the town of Amacuzac. Those arrested were taken to Mexico City in a helicopter.

The men are suspected of working for Jose Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez, who was arrested in Mexico City on Wednesday, said Ramon Pequeno, the head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico's federal police.

Pequeno said the men provided security and carried out killings for Alvarez Vazquez and his partner Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a U.S.-born enforcer known as "La Barbie."

Authorities say Alvarez Vazquez and Valdez Villarreal are battling for control of the Beltran Leyva cartel.

In the western state of Michoacan, a mayor of a drug-plagued town arrested last year for alleged ties drug traffickers was released from prison late Friday.

Genaro Guisar Valencia, who was stripped by lawmakers of his post as mayor of Apatzingan because of his arrest, told reporters outside the prison in the state capital of Morelia that he would ask the state's legislature to revert its decision.

Guisar Valencia was among 12 Mexican mayors arrested last year in an unprecedented roundup of elected officials accused of protecting drug traffickers in the state of Michoacan.

He's the ninth mayor released for lack of evidence.

An estimated 22,700 people have been killed in Mexico's drug war since December 2006.

http://www.spislandbreeze.com/articles/ ... kills.html

A Rio Grande City science teacher has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy charges, two months after federal agents swept into his fifth-grade classroom and arrested him.

David Rey Ramirez, 31, admitted to running a large-scale narcotics smuggling operation that ran at least 38 tons of marijuana between Starr County and Houston from December 2006 to June 2007, as part of a plea agreement finalized last week with federal prosecutors in Laredo.

According to court documents, Ramirez, who went by the nickname “Devil,â€

[mobile edition]

Three injured during Reynosa clash
April 24, 2010 - 6:33 AM
Valley Freedom Newspapers


Three gunmen were injured Friday afternoon during a clash with federal authorities on Reynosa's west side.

Authorities reported roadblocks via Twitter during the confrontation, which apparently took place during the early evening hours in the Fuentes area.

Travelers were urged to avoid the neighborhood, especially the area where Del Maestro Boulevard and Fuente de Diana Street intersect.

On Thursday, unknown gunmen targeted three municipal police stations in Reynosa — including one facility that apparently came under grenade attack, according to information posted on the state’s official website.

Thursday’s attacks occurred at substations located in the Canada and Pedro J. Mendez neighborhoods and the central police station in the Rodriguez subdivision. A grenade landed near the Rodriguez station but caused little to no damage to the building itself, Reynosa police Officer Julio Cavazos said Thursday night.

Also Thursday evening, a separate attempt was made on a satellite office of the Mexico attorney general in Miguel Alemán, across the border from Roma.

Federal authorities continue to investigate all four attacks and have released few details of their probe. They have not said whether they believe the incidents to be a coordinated strike.

Prior to Thursday’s flare-up, Reynosa had experienced about three weeks of relative calm after a spike in violence attributed to an ongoing fight between the Gulf Cartel and its former allies the Zetas that has played out in cities stretching from Matamoros to Monterrey.

The Zetas — a paramilitary organization founded by former members of Mexico’s special forces — have historically served as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel. But in recent years, their operations have grown more independent to the point that they are now warring with their old bosses for control of Tamaulipas’ valuable smuggling routes.

More than 22,700 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug war since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderón launched a crackdown on his country’s entrenched narcotics syndicates, according to government estimates.

http://www.spislandbreeze.com/articles/ ... unmen.html

My opinion follows this article:

SPARTANBURG, South Carolina (AP) — South Carolina's lieutenant governor said Friday that lazy residents who don't want to take jobs harvesting the state's crops are the root of its problems with illegal immigration.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's remarks came at the opening of a debate of Republican gubernatorial hopefuls. The candidates were asked about Arizona's new tough illegal immigration law and whether South Carolina should do more to fight the problem.

"The real problem is the workforce," Bauer said. State relief programs leave people unwilling to work the jobs in fields and orchards now filled with migrant workers, he said.

"The problem is we have a give-away system in this country and in this state that is so strong that people would rather sit home and do nothing than do these jobs. Laziness is not a disability," Bauer said. "There are lot of people that are flat out lazy and they are using up the goods and services that we have in this state."

Bauer has made a point throughout the race for the June 8 Republican nomination for governor of criticizing people who depend on the state for help. He drew criticism in January and made national headlines when he likened government assistance to the poor to feeding stray animals.

Bauer shared the stage Friday with U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, state Rep. Nikki Haley and Attorney General Henry McMaster.

McMaster and Haley said afterward that Bauer was wrong.

"I'm proud of the people of our state. I think we have enormous potential and you'll never hear me criticize or complain about or be anything but proud of the people of this state," McMaster said.

http://www.spislandbreeze.com/articles/ ... ician.html

I have hears the same excuse said about citizens on South Padre Island--the main obstacle between business owners and citizen workers is not a matter of laziness or an unwillingness to work, but the problem is business owners using illegal labor will not pay a livable wage at an American Citizen's standard of living.

The illegals are willing to live in ghetto conditions in the slum town of Laguna Heights, packed in like rats, to sustain working a low wage job on South Padre Island--forget about any benefits or health insurance, they use the subsidized health services in Brownsville.

The cause and effects of greed: A microcosmic glimpse of the erosion of the middle class--what American Citizen worker is willing to raise a family in poverty slum conditions to keep a job? What business owner dare ask a legal worker to labor for less than minimum wage?

This South Carolina Lt. Governor has spoken like a true collaborater--the cartel immigrant smugglers should send him a commission.