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MORELIA, Mexico May 25, 2011 — Gunmen apparently from two rival drug gangs fought a ferocious gunbattle on a highway in a western Mexico state that killed 28 men Wednesday, authorities said.
The attorney general's office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit said the gunfight started about 5 p.m. near the town of Ruiz, 500 miles (805 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City.
Police initially responded to a citizen complaint of a kidnapping by a group of armed men in a nearby city who reportedly fled on the federal highway, the prosecutors office said. As the officers headed toward the scene, they heard a second report of a shootout involving the same men, it said.
Police found 28 men lying dead and four others wounded when they arrived. Ten vehicles were abandoned and bullet casings from high-powered weapons were scattered about.
Violence in Michoacan has increased in the last few days. On Tuesday, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a Mexican federal police helicopter, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down.
Federal police said the pilot of the partially armored helicopter decided to land after Tuesday's shooting "to avoid any accident." The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene near Apatzingan, a city that which is close to Buenavista.
The two officers suffered non-life-threatening wounds, police said.
rest of the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7581828.html
The cartels have proven more than willing to take on low-flying aircraft with MANPADS as well:
PHOENIX – Two Mexican nationals who negotiated with undercover DEA agents to trade pounds of meth and cash for high-grade military weaponry, including a Stinger anti-aircraft missile, have pleaded guilty to related charges, and a third has been found guilty by jury.
Over the next three months, Diaz-Sosa and his partners continued negotiations with undercover federal agents for the purchase of the following weapons:
A Dragon Fire anti-tank weapon; two AT-4s (an 84-mm unguided, portable, single-shot recoilless smoothbore weapon); an M47 Law Rocket (a Light Anti-Tank Weapon); a Stinger Missile (a portable infrared homing anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile); two Def Tech grenade launchers and a dozen 40 mm grenades; one M-60 machine gun; one .30 caliber machine gun; and three cases of hand grenades.
On February 17, 2010, Diaz-Sosa and DeJesus-Castenada went to an undercover warehouse maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to finalize the exchange of weapons for drugs and money. Both were arrested by federal agents – at the time of his arrest, DeJesus-Castenada had 11 pounds of methamphetamine on him.
http://borderissues.us/2011/05/10/cartel-members-caught-trading-meth-for-military-grade-weapons/
The cartels are also capable of using their own light air assets, including ultralights:
Flying at night with lights out, and zipping back across the border in minutes, ultralight aircraft sightings are rare, but often dramatic. At least two have been chased out of Arizona skies by Black Hawk Customs and Border Protection helicopters and F-16 jet fighters. Last month, a pair of visiting British helicopter pilots almost crashed into an ultralight during training exercises over the Imperial Valley.
The ultralights — lightweight planes typically used as recreational aircraft — are customized for smuggling purposes. All-terrain wheels are added for bumpy landings. Second seats are ripped out to add fuel capacity. Drugs are loaded onto metal baskets affixed to the bottom of the framing. From 150 to 250 pounds of marijuana are generally carried, depending on the weight of the pilot. Some ultralights are shrouded in black paint, with even the plastic tarp covers for the marijuana blackened for stealth entries.
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/05/ultralight-aircraft-now-ferrying-drugs.html
The attorney general's office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit said the gunfight started about 5 p.m. near the town of Ruiz, 500 miles (805 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City.
Police initially responded to a citizen complaint of a kidnapping by a group of armed men in a nearby city who reportedly fled on the federal highway, the prosecutors office said. As the officers headed toward the scene, they heard a second report of a shootout involving the same men, it said.
Police found 28 men lying dead and four others wounded when they arrived. Ten vehicles were abandoned and bullet casings from high-powered weapons were scattered about.
Violence in Michoacan has increased in the last few days. On Tuesday, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a Mexican federal police helicopter, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down.
Federal police said the pilot of the partially armored helicopter decided to land after Tuesday's shooting "to avoid any accident." The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene near Apatzingan, a city that which is close to Buenavista.
The two officers suffered non-life-threatening wounds, police said.
rest of the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7581828.html
The cartels have proven more than willing to take on low-flying aircraft with MANPADS as well:
PHOENIX – Two Mexican nationals who negotiated with undercover DEA agents to trade pounds of meth and cash for high-grade military weaponry, including a Stinger anti-aircraft missile, have pleaded guilty to related charges, and a third has been found guilty by jury.
Over the next three months, Diaz-Sosa and his partners continued negotiations with undercover federal agents for the purchase of the following weapons:
A Dragon Fire anti-tank weapon; two AT-4s (an 84-mm unguided, portable, single-shot recoilless smoothbore weapon); an M47 Law Rocket (a Light Anti-Tank Weapon); a Stinger Missile (a portable infrared homing anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile); two Def Tech grenade launchers and a dozen 40 mm grenades; one M-60 machine gun; one .30 caliber machine gun; and three cases of hand grenades.
On February 17, 2010, Diaz-Sosa and DeJesus-Castenada went to an undercover warehouse maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to finalize the exchange of weapons for drugs and money. Both were arrested by federal agents – at the time of his arrest, DeJesus-Castenada had 11 pounds of methamphetamine on him.
http://borderissues.us/2011/05/10/cartel-members-caught-trading-meth-for-military-grade-weapons/
The cartels are also capable of using their own light air assets, including ultralights:
Flying at night with lights out, and zipping back across the border in minutes, ultralight aircraft sightings are rare, but often dramatic. At least two have been chased out of Arizona skies by Black Hawk Customs and Border Protection helicopters and F-16 jet fighters. Last month, a pair of visiting British helicopter pilots almost crashed into an ultralight during training exercises over the Imperial Valley.
The ultralights — lightweight planes typically used as recreational aircraft — are customized for smuggling purposes. All-terrain wheels are added for bumpy landings. Second seats are ripped out to add fuel capacity. Drugs are loaded onto metal baskets affixed to the bottom of the framing. From 150 to 250 pounds of marijuana are generally carried, depending on the weight of the pilot. Some ultralights are shrouded in black paint, with even the plastic tarp covers for the marijuana blackened for stealth entries.
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/05/ultralight-aircraft-now-ferrying-drugs.html
