Alerts say cartel may resort to deadly force

May. 6, 2009 12:00 AM
Los Angeles Times

SELLS - The reputed head of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel is threatening a more aggressive stance against U.S. law enforcement, instructing associates to use deadly force, if needed, to protect increasingly contested trafficking operations, authorities said.

Such a move by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted man, would mark a turn from the cartel's previous position of largely avoiding violent confrontations north of the border - either with American law-enforcement officers or fellow traffickers.

Local police and federal agents in Arizona said they recently have received at least two law-enforcement alerts focused on Guzman's reported orders that his smugglers should "use their weapons to defend their loads at all costs."

Guzman is believed to have delivered the message personally in early March, during a three-day gathering of his associates in Sonoita, a small Mexican town a few miles south of the Arizona border, according to confidential U.S. intelligence bulletins sent to several state and federal law-enforcement officials, who discussed them on the condition of anonymity.

The Sonoita meeting is one of several signs that Guzman is becoming more brazen even in the face of a Mexican government crackdown on his activities and continued turf rivalries with other traffickers.
Galaxy Reviewed by Galaxy on . Alerts say cartel may resort to deadly force Alerts say cartel may resort to deadly force May. 6, 2009 12:00 AM Los Angeles Times SELLS - The reputed head of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel is threatening a more aggressive stance against U.S. law enforcement, instructing associates to use deadly force, if needed, to protect increasingly contested trafficking operations, authorities said. Such a move by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted man, would mark a turn from the cartel's previous position of largely avoiding Rating: 5