Thanks for posting this!

Los Zetas drug cartel seizes 2 U.S. ranches in Texas

Two sources inside the Laredo Police Department confirmed the incident is unfolding and they would continue to coordinate with U.S. Border Patrol today. “We consider this an act of war,” said one police officer on the ground near the scene. There is a news blackout of this incident at this time and the sources inside Laredo PD spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The full story is here:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m7d24-Los-Zetas-drug-cartel-takes-control-2-US-ranches-in-Texas

Mutnojmet,

You trust a writer plagiarizing an article from a dubious news source, reprinting a blog entry, that cites anonymous sources in a law enforcement agency not even in the jurisdiction of the alleged event?

I have some oceanfront property for you...

I have been cautioning folks, be VERY careful in re-posting this story, NONE of the news services have it, no other source in Texas has it besides The Cypress News...

I called the Laredo Police and they said they have NO information and referred me to the Webb County Sheriffs Office, I called the Webb County S.O. and got NO answer...

I am NOT going to post this on MY blog, simply because one paper doesn't give enough citation of source... Especially when the paper says the Laredo PD is their source and the Laredo PD denies it...

Not so fast. Maybe yes, maybe no. I actually DID speak to the Webb County Sheriff's and they would not confirm or deny that any ranches had been seized. They pleaded agnosticism.

I just spoke to Kimberly Dvorak who I know and has been a source on ACORN and other stories for Breitbart's sites. Kimberly wrote this article on the situation this morning:

http://is.gd/dEXq0

Kimberly is adamantly standing by her story, and gave me the name of one of her three sources inside the Laredo Police Department and Webb County Sheriff's Department she says not only confirmed the story of the ranches being seized, but elaborated in great detail what was happening. She also has other sources on the ground, non-law enforcement. She is mid-stream in developing and further reporting the whole story, and she has reason reason to believe that law enforcement is in mid-operation on the ranches, and do not want their operation interrupted with publicity before they are finished.

Given the shootout that occurred on the 22nd, it would also make some sense that the ranches were simply "seized" by retreating Zeta gunman.

Kimberly has a very long record as a very credible journalist, with established sources inside the Mexican cartels themselves.

I have no idea what quite is or isn't going on here, but I say let's give ol' Kim the hours ahead to track all this, and flesh it out, one way or the other. She's asked for the rope, and I'm giving it to her.

As someone else likes to say:

Developing...

Well, she's going to twist on that rope Pat.

Let's look at one widely verifiable fact:

Google map the location the source claims the incident happened at.

The is NO "Minerales Annex Road" in or near Laredo TX. There's a Mines Road there but nothing else I can see.

Confused internets is confused.

I've talked to the Laredo PD and the Webb Co. Sheriff Dept? There is simply nothing happening.

Of course, the most obvious clue that this is entirely false is that every news van within 300 miles isn't closing in on these ranches at a breakneck pace. there is no way they'd miss the show... you know, if it was real.

When this is over, I have a sad feeling a lot of bloggers are going to lose their credibility because they were all too willing to repeat a fantastic rumor without doing any of the easily done legwork to see if it was remotely credible.

Google map the location the source claims the incident happened at.

The is NO "Minerales Annex Road" in or near Laredo TX. There's a Mines Road there but nothing else I can see.

Try googling "Minerales, Laredo, Texas"... there is indeed the location! And right next to Mines Road! Don't always trust Google either.

I stand by the story we broke this morning. I stand by Kim.

So much so, that I have written a follow-up:
Why The Los Zetas Ranch Story Matters - Confirmation And Why A Media Blackout?
http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/003440.html

You want to know why her story and mine match up? Some of my initial breaking story relied on some of her info and her info relied on the info I had put together earlier on the Los Zetas.

Everyone always thinks someone is trying to pull something over on them...

I stand corrected and withdraw my earlier assertiøn.

About the road. Why local police are denying and why no intense local news coverage still puzzles.

"When this is over, I have a sad feeling a lot of bloggers are going to lose their credibility because they were all too willing to repeat a fantastic rumor without doing any of the easily done legwork to see if it was remotely credible.
Posted by: Confederate Yankee"

Could be, but even the AP is reporting this as fact:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/24/gunbattles-paralyze-mexican-city-across-from-texas

Digger, that fact that you and Kim cite each other hardly builds our confidence. If anyhting, it sounds like a classic definition of the blind leading the blind.

Karen, you need to discern the difference from Nuevo Laredo, the city in Mexico the AP article is about, and Laredo, the city in Texas.

Oh... and the local media is calling this story B.S. as well.

Too many things line up here, CY... I think we might not have been invaded like D-Day; but we sure have like Pancho Villa...

Not to mention the 12-30 million "document-challenged guest-workers," the victims of human trafficking, the ID thieves, and their baggage train... because 12 Million foreigners entering a country illegally is an invasion, even if they do mow lawns, pick cabbages, and cook donuts for cash under the table and don't commit Social Security Fraud, Income Tax Evasion, drive without a valid license or insurance, send their kids to school without the right shots, etc...

"Karen, you need to discern the difference from Nuevo Laredo, the city in Mexico the AP article is about, and Laredo, the city in Texas."

Yeah, I know, it's not as if Americans could die from ongoing gun battles across the street or something. The bullets stop at the border like in a WB cartoon, then the gunfire goes through customs.

Yes, there are gun battles in Nuevo Laredo. Yes, people could die from errant gunfire.

But Karen, you tried to claim that the article you linked supported the hoax of cartel members taking over a pair of ranches. It did nothing of the sort. Simply admit you made a mistake. We won't think any less of you for it.

From someone near the scene, who knows Kim Dvorak and is monitoring the situation: "RE: Laredo: I just spoke to Kimberly Dvorak who has been a source on ACORN stories for Breitbart, and wrote this article: http://is.gd/dEVcy. Kimberly is adamantly standing by her story, and gave me the name of one of her three sources inside the PD/Sherrif’s Dept., two of whom…she says not only confirmed the story of the ranches being seized, but elaborated in great detail what was happening. She also has other sources on the ground, non-law enforcement. She is mid-stream in developing and further reporting the whole story, and she has.. reason to believe that law enforcement is in mid-operation on the ranches, and do not want their operation interrupted with publicity before (23 minutes ago via web)

http://patriotresistance.com/DEFCOM-STATUS-PAGE-2.html

Furthermore, Breitbart is confirming:

http://bigpeace.com/stzu/2010/07/24/breaking-news-multiple-ranches-in-laredo-texas-taken-over-by-los-zetas/

Additional details, with a classic "we can neither confirm or deny" twist are here:

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2010/07/mexican-drug-cartel-seize-texas-ranches-laredo-police-we-cant-say-anything/

"Yes, people could die from errant gunfire."

Well, that's a good start at least.

But since there are conflicting reports, as commenters here have noted, it's wise to wait to see what's what when the dust settles.

Even assuming the facts of the story, it's still wrong on the law.

Under both international law and domestic law, the state of war can only exist between two nations.

Given that the Los Zetas drug cartel is a private organization, this is criminal activity, not casus belli.

Presumably, the quoted officer was speaking hyperbolically.

"a classic "we can neither confirm or deny" twist are here"

Yes, if there is an ongoing problem, e.g. hostages, home invasion, violence, it's not likely that a receptionist is going to give the details to a blogger who's ringing her up. However, there are valid reasons why, if this is an ongoing situation, they're not issuing an official flat out denial or confirmation statement. Instead we're just getting leaks from the PD and other sources.

Hey mutnodjmet, that was me on this comment thread and my website; man, it is funny and hard keeping track of fast-flying information on a breaking story of this size and nature, so perhaps we should all cut each other a little slack as we all do the best that we can, as honestly as we can.

After my post of this morning, and Bob's post here, both Michelle Malkin http://fwd4.me/YNe and Red State http://fwd4.me/YNd have now joined us in posting the story (clearly acknowledging here the very different editorial slants Bob and I have treated it with)

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. The Examiner seems pretty confident that it has and is occurring.

Mutnodjmet, Big Peace is "confirming" this by citing the same Examiner article that's been cross-fertilized with Digger's post. There's been no other confirmation independent of those posts. (And anonymous sources don't count.)

Until we see truly independent confirmation, I'm betting this is an Internet myth.

Kevin:

Yeah, that's the thing. You should've heard this broad who wrote the story for the Examiner when I was talking to her. She was swearing up and down that she had spoken to two serious cops who "spilled their guts" about the events at hand. And she's got a decent rep as a reporter. If she's that loony tunes crazy that's she's 1. lyin like that, period and 2. that good at it, I'll be a little suprised. Not entirely, but a little. The one issue that sticks out to me here, is that she DOES have the motive of covering her ass after-the-fact, given that she had already posted it before I spoke to her; however, she already laid her credibility on the line, big time, by writing the story, making the claims about her alleged police sources, in the first place.

I'm about to hit her up on her cell phone again.

Kimberly Dvorak is the writer

Every blog on the 'net is using Digger and The Cypress Times as THE source, all they are doing is parroting each other...

One of my readers is claiming it's all because the LIBBER media is covering for Holder and Obama... I replied:

I don’t think the *liberal* media is keeping ANYTHING quiet… I am pretty sure that it’s a hoax…

I don’t give a da*n WHO the POTUS or AG is, this is HUGE if it’s real and there’s no way in hell even Olbermann and Tingles wouldn’t be all over it…

If it is real, and if there has been a *forced* media blackout, the Constitution just became a trash basket liner…

I believe you mean 'amused' not 'bemused'.

There has been no spillover of the current violence in Mexico into Texas so far. None. There are no reputably-sourced claims anywhere that contradict this.

It is, of course, theoretically possible for gunfire from a battle in Mexico to cross the Rio Grande and hit somebody in the U.S. There is, however, no record of that ever happening, ever.

You want something to get worked up about, go get worked up about the kidnappings in Phoenix, which definitely are real, definitely cartel-related, and definitely happening on U.S. soil. Not phantom invasions of Texas sourced to anonymous people in a law enforcement body that doesn't even have jurisdiction where the supposed invasion is happening.

Look, I live right here on the border. I can actually see into Mexico from my home. I've been keeping an eye on the situation ever since the cartel war broke out. But this sort wolf-crying is not helpful. If there really was a ranch invasion, there would be pictures by now, at least of officials turning away people trying to go over to the ranch and see. Even Texans have camera phones, you know?

A thought here, if as the story stated, families involved are safe, if might be even more beneficial to see how this unfolds. If it is a giant hoax, a better story might be found in who and why. If true then this White House again has egg on its face, rather them, than the bloggers involved. Trust is being attack by the administration, its our best weapon against them and they must destroy it. The fact that many here wish to be careful is in itself a telling truth of the distrust many Americans have in their Government.

I'm just glad the Obamas are on another vacation instead of working too hard on issues like this silly border invasion nonsense, and that so-yesterday economic stuff.

"If there really was a ranch invasion, there would be pictures by now, at least of officials turning away people trying to go over to the ranch and see."

It's not as if it were unheard of, Texan Conservative - May of 2009:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6432122.html

"FBI: Texas drug cell trains on own ranch
By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 19, 2009

Suspects identified as belonging to Los Zetas are presented to the media after an arrest in last month in Mexico City.

The FBI is advising law enforcement officers across the country that a Texas cell of Los Zetas — an increasingly powerful arm of the Mexican Gulf Cartel drug trafficking syndicate — has acquired a secluded ranch where it trains its members to “neutralize” competitors in the United States."

When there is such an ongoing situation I think it's likely that you're going to hear the details for obvious reasons.

It cannot happen here on our soil, and remember, this is Texas.

This hysteria is very reminiscent of colonial Massachusetts circa 1692.

We're looking for some credibility here. A fact? A single credible named source? Video? Digger, Kim and Cypress have put this out here and no one is corroborating, but credible sites are refuting....

This appears to be a very believable story, but without a credible source I'd be wary about posting this story anywhere. No major news network has picked it up yet and the Examiner...they're not known for their credibility. All news agencies in Laredo haven't even touched this yet, that alone should tell us all something. If local news isn't reporting it, it's probably fake.

So if the MSM doesn't report on something it's not real?

I'll keep that in mind...

'This appears to be a very believable story'

haah no it does not, yall are performing a smell test knee deep in yr own feces

"So if the MSM doesn't report on something it's not real?"

John Edwards just called to confirm that.

All news agencies in Laredo haven't even touched this yet.

[Posted by SD at July 24, 2010 11:22 PM]

Actually, CY updated with a Laredo story. They got nothing.

The Cypress Times now has a Publisher's Note attached to the top of the story:

"We are now receiving numerous conflicting reports regarding the veracity of this article. Numerous sources on the web (found via Google search) are picking up on this report, just as we did at The Cypress Times. The original writer for this article stands by his sources. If you wish to inquire about the sources, please visit the original story source URL listed in the article body below. I can tell you that as of now The Cypress Times has been unable to confirm the story. - John G. Winder, Publisher - The Cypress Times."

So if Bob calls local officials and names them but some blogger cites some reporter saying that she spoke to three officials (but no names!) and confirm it, it IS real because the MSM is denying it?

Digger himself, from somewhere far away, can only sputter when somebody who claims to be from the area calls him on it.

Like we need this. Thanks for being tools of the left, digger, et al. Olbermann will be mentioning you on Monday mocking us all.

When there are 51 dead men dumped in a Laredo TX garbage dump then I'll get excited.

Yeah, looks like a rumor that grew legs on Twitter and was reinforced by some "Militia" groups that seemed to want it to be true. It had me there for a couple of hours.

Hmmmm, with all the BS reporting from credible sources about the Macondo Well blowout and authorities who don't know anything about deepwater drilling (and nothing technical about any drilling) I am very leary of ANY claim on the net.

Just about every "credible" report was nothing but circle jerk reporting. Supposed conservative sites were playing a vid clip from a church that had a longtime card carrying communist pastor.

Even assuming the facts of the story, it's still wrong on the law.

Under both international law and domestic law, the state of war can only exist between two nations.

Given that the Los Zetas drug cartel is a private organization, this is criminal activity, not casus belli.

Presumably, the quoted officer was speaking hyperbolically.
Posted by: M at July 24, 2010 09:06 PM

******************************************

Tell that to Afghanistan!

al Qaeda is a "private organization" and yet, when they flew some airplanes into buildings it was seen as casus belli. Hell, we took out Iraq as well!

Mexico is out of control. It has no functioning government.

I don't think we need to invade Mexico .... yet .... but we can damned sure go down and secure our boarders.

Tell that to Afghanistan!

al Qaeda is a "private organization" and yet, when they flew some airplanes into buildings it was seen as casus belli. Hell, we took out Iraq as well!

Mexico is out of control. It has no functioning government.

I don't think we need to invade Mexico .... yet .... but we can damned sure go down and secure our boarders.
[Posted by Gary at July 25, 2010 12:37 AM]

The attack by Al Qaeda was not seen as a casus belli with Afghanistan. The casus belli was Afghanistan harboring them, ie, refusing to surrender Al Qaeda in Afghanistan to American authorities.

Iraq had arranged an armistice with the UN as a result of the Gulf War. There were stipulations associated with the armistice for it to be maintained. Iraq had violated them for, what 10 years? We, as a party to the armistice, canceled it.

This, if it did happen, and I doubt it, would not, in isolation, be a casus belli. There would need to be something more associated with it.

Laredo Times says nothing is happening.

http://www.lmtonline.com/articles/2010/07/24/front/news/doc4c4b6b53d2179200438464.txt

I was sure it was a hoax, and I'm glad it is. Although if it had turned out to be true, I would be one of many Texans running to protect our border right now; and I have LOTS of 7.62x39 ammo to spare.

Texas Conservative said "There has been no spillover of the current violence in Mexico into Texas so far. None. There are no reputably-sourced claims anywhere that contradict this."

there is plenty of drug violence in el paso. dismissing local drug violence as unrelated to the drug violence 100 yards away in mexico is unwise.

Texas Conservative also said "It is, of course, theoretically possible for gunfire from a battle in Mexico to cross the Rio Grande and hit somebody in the U.S. There is, however, no record of that ever happening, ever."

several stray bullets struck el paso city hall a few weeks ago. so yes, it is definitely possible.

as for this story, i can't figure out why these ranches would be taken over in the first place. not exactly a subtle or strategic use of mercenaries to send them to slaughter/arrest.

Well, would you believe someone who lives in Laredo?

There's nothing going on.

Local TV station (http://www.pro8news.com/): Nothing.

Local daily newspaper (lmtonline.com): Nothing.

Police department: Nothing.

Border Patrol: Nothing.

Watch commander: Nothing.

Sheriff's department: You can never say nothing is happening, but we'd have told you if anything was going on.

A friend of mine went down Mines Road a stretch and didn't see anything. No lights. Nothing. No roads blocked off. Nothing. Nothing to suggest anything had happened.

Nothing.

I always suspected Confederate Yankee was a Mexican, now we have the proof. BREITBART WILL UNCOVER THE TRUTH!

Mutjodnet writes "Breitbart is confirming"

Do I really need to add a punchline?

Yes, Breitbart will uncover the truth. Then he will massage it, twist it, remove any stubborn facts that don't fit with his ideology, and release his piece of 'news' to the poor unsuspecting souls who still somehow consider him a credible source.

But whatever happens, it will be Obamas fault.

The cartels don't have to seize anybodies land. The Fed's are giving it away elsewhwere.
http/www.foxnews.com%2Fus%2F2010%2F06%2F16%2Fcloses-park-land-mexico-border-americans%2F&ei=vixMTILpF8T_lgfK56X2DQ&usg=AFQjCNGiXtRt-cETbYgSrmC1ehu7vMb9Mg

So, has this story been completely refudiated?

Yes he will, Rick.

Then the subject of said twisted report will keep flapping its piehole, proving that Breitbart was right all along.

And it will be Obama's fault.

state run media hiding the truth just like the hid the true and full reverend wright story to get the commie racist elected

just type in your browser " minerales,laredo,tx"
in the search bar of this site it takes you right there with a photo of cross roads mines rd & minerales-quite remote,barren area.
http://www.vpike.com/?place=minerales%2Claredo%2Ctx

Having lived in Laredo for 5 long years, and having a spouse in federal law enforcement, let me say that a lot happens down there that the local media and police (and Border Patrol chiefs) don't cover or admit. They know that they're part of 'occupied Texas,' but but they don't want to hurt the tourism for bargain seekers from Houston and San Antonio.Also, be sure to check out the history of local law enforcement in Laredo ( DA Rubio's family, the last police chief, etc..) before accepting their word as gospel.

I have no idea what's going on at the moment, but that area off Mines Road is quite remote, many parts require 4x4s (it can be driven to Del Rio is you have an off-road vehicle.I doubt the reporters went that far out) and the Sherrif's dept. isn't known going that far, either. The Border Patrol can drive through the ranches, but they don't check the buildings, etc....

I would like to thank the members of Journolist, among others, for making the news such a wonderful place for cranks, crackpots and rumor-mongers. Before you pubic lice happened on the scene, we thought we could at least trust people in the news to tell us the, you know, news. Whether it fit a 'narrative' or not.

You and your kind really screwed that up, Ezra Klein.

So kudos to you for getting your candidate, Barry, elected. And a hearty Foxtrot Uncle Charlie Kilo You for creating crapstorms like this.

The sad part about this story is that in the event that Mexican drug gangs did seize ranches --- there would be no reaction by our federal government and no reporting about the situation by big media.

In this case, you are forced on little bloggers to ferret out the truth, not the NYT or LAT. Any story that reinforces the fact that illegal immigration is harmful to citizens of the USA will utterly ignored as it harms the Democrat Party Amnesty Great Leap Forward.

I heard that the notorious drug cartel Los Lobos has taken over the American Airlines Center in Dallas. They have released a statement claiming to have a "bomba" of some sort, most likely a suitcase nuke.

Of course BARRY THE DEMORAT AMNESTY TRAITOR TERRORIST SOCIAMALIST COLORED PERSON is keeping it covered up because Glenn Beck says so.

Why dont one of you Texans take a ride out there and get us some eye witness reports.

James said just what I was thinking. Someone (or a group of people) ought to drive out to visit these ranches. If nothing is going on there should be no problem, if it's for real they should run across road blocks, if so get pictures and GPS coordinates as evidence.

Ooops, my mistake, the road runs to Eagle Pass, not to Del Rio. However, I have friends who have ranchitos out that way, and crossing, break ins, wire cutting have been rampant for years.
This would be in the sector patrolled by the Laredo North sector.
Paradoxically, it's just north of La Bota Ranch, and gated and barbed-wire fenced subdivision North of Laredo on Mines Road largely occupied by FBI, DEA, Border Patrol, and Customs agents who don't want to live in Laredo.
Did you hear the one about the Laredo district judge's son involved in an axe murder, and how the axe disappeared from the evidence room to be used to cut down a Christmas tree, this ruining the evidence? Laredo is a weird, weird place.

And to the commentators above who cry "whatever it is, it will be Obama's fault" Well of COURSE it will be, IT IS HIS WATCH. Good or bad or very bad, it IS his responsibility. Don't know what that strange R-word means and implies? Be careful, your socialism is showing....

The truth of this particular story has not been verified, but anyone who believes that there are no mexican drug gangs operating in the USA is not just in denial they are delusional.Even the msm reports arrests of illegal aliens for drug dealing.

Do PD's routinely give out information to folks who call in with questions regarding the activities of organized criminals?

Is it likely the cop answering the phone would say "Er, yeah, they have been taking over ranches,looks like we've been falling down on the job"

Sorry Confederate Yankee, does not ring true.

Excellent investigative legwork, Bob. I linked your post.

Back in April, I blew up the "Special Army Unit" hoax with exactly the same number of phone calls--two.

Skepticism is not only a healthy thing, it's absolutely necessary these days. All the birfers, troofers and other nuts running around give the mainstream media far too many targets, which they gleefully use to paint Tea Party activists and conservatives as wackos.

We on the right need to completely disown these idiots. The "conservative examiner" is becomming more like Prison Planet and godlikeproductions every day. It's a junk news blog and nothing on it should be taken seriously.

"There has been no spillover of the current violence in Mexico into Texas so far."

Kidnappings don't count? Because I've seen reliable reports of that. Although if I recall correctly not in Texas. I think it was Arizona.

The Drug War violence and corruption have been moving steadily north for 30 years.

Mexico is now a narco state. And what is the next state North of Mexico? Let me find a map.

"The Latin American drug cartels have stretched their tentacles much deeper into our lives than most people believe. It's possible they are calling the shots at all levels of government."
- William Colby, former CIA Director, 1995

"When this is over, I have a sad feeling a lot of bloggers are going to lose their credibility because they were all too willing to repeat a fantastic rumor without doing any of the easily done legwork to see if it was remotely credible."

Why do otherwise reasonable men and women get taken in by this stuff? I have a theory--I believe that the Obama regime's unwillingness to protect the general welfare leads to people sincerely worrying that everything is coming apart. Anything that fits within that context--no matter how outrageous--is instantly more believable than it otherwise would be.

"Why dont one of you Texans take a ride out there and get us some eye witness reports."

I would do it for you, but I could get to Florida faster than I could get to Laredo.

Not trying to be snarky, but Texas is big. I live in NE Texas and could really be in Florida before I could be in Laredo. You would probably need someone in Laredo to do the looky-see, otherwise it would be an all day affair, not just a ride out there.

Karen S, a cartel buying a ranch and a cartel seizing a ranch by force are radically different situations. Yes, cartels buy property in the U.S. They even use it for illegal purposes. That's not the same as seizing a ranch by force of arms, any more than violence in Nuevo Laredo is the same as violence in Laredo.

dea ex machina, there is drug violence in El Paso, sure. But the city is reliably, year after year, one of the lowest-crime cities of over 500,000 population, and there has been no increase with the recent violence in Mexico.

M. Simon, read the last paragraph of my previous post and you'll see I specifically mentioned the kidnappings in Arizona as a real issue worthy of getting upset about. It just hasn't happened in Texas.

Examiner is just a blog site, you can write what you want there. There is no media blackout, no invasion, no act of war. Grow up and get over it, no you will not be acting out Red Dawn with mexican drug cartels. I am not saying it would not be fun, it's just not happing yet.

"Karen S, a cartel buying a ranch and a cartel seizing a ranch by force are radically different situations."

You're right, people would feel so much better if al-Qaida were also _buying_ such training camps. I mean, what could go wrong?

Truthers, birthers, ranchers...

Ok, even if you want to buy that there is a media black out, there are way too many people who live in the area that if this was happening, more than a couple of anonymous Laredo cops would be talking about it.
Google and other search engines makes it possible to see almost every little detail that's on blogs, fb, twitter, everything. If they were going to block out all discussion of this- why are the Examiner and the other articles not blocked out? If Kimberly was as credible as those who know her say she is, why is she not writing for Breitbart or a credible media site?
Why did the Minutemen pull the call for arms?
The fact that one guy was calling in minutemen as the very first source for this story is damning.

Even if drug cartels are doing it, Karen, buying land in Texas is not a violent crime, and neither is shooting practice. So my point — "there has been no spillover of the current violence in Mexico into Texas so far" — stands unrefuted by your link.

And, per your link, they aren't even training to fight Americans, but Mexicans. So the analogy would be more like a pre-ceasfire IRA training camp being set up in a rural part of the US, not Al Qaeda. It's not desirable, but neither is it a particular danger to Americans.

Your crying wolf does nothing to help protect anyone, Karen. All it does is make sure when something real happens, people will be more likely to dismiss it. Are you deliberately trying to make America vulnerable to cartel violence, by making a big stink over nonexistent threats in order to distract us from the actual cartel crime in Arizona, and discredit in advance possible future reports of actual cartel violence in Texas?

"Even if drug cartels are doing it, Karen, buying land in Texas is not a violent crime, and neither is shooting practice."

Hey, as long as you're okay with Islamic and/or Narco terrorists coming into the country and setting up training camps, then it's all good.

"Your crying wolf does nothing to help protect anyone"

LOL, had you read the Houston Chronicle story you would have known it was the FBI "crying wolf". Oy.

Every time TC dispels one of your points, you come up with another, different one, Karen. He points out the legal difference between cartels buying land and seizing land and how it is not a violent crime and you move to him being okay with terrorists setting up training camps in the country.
You even dispel your own statements...you say the violence in in Laredo, he says its in Nuevo Laredo, you say even if its not in Laredo, it could still harm those across the border-
Jeez, just stop it. You keep back peddling so far off the basic non-truth of this story, it's ridiculous.

"He points out the legal difference between cartels buying land and seizing land and how it is not a violent crime and you move to him being okay with terrorists setting up training camps in the country."

Another person who hasn't read the article about narco-terrorists setting up a training camp, according to the FBI. I didn't know reading had become so passe.

But, by all means, as long as any illegal, violent entity with enough cash shows their capitalist creds via _buying_ ranches for use as training camps, you're more than welcome to give your stamp of approval. I'm not stopping you from doing so. I'm as much for encouraging the free market as anyone, but for some strange reason, I'm just not as willing to give such *interesting* real estate transactions my blessing.

Stay on topic. This article and his and others comments are about Webb county. No one is denying that there are narco-terrorists buying ranches, but that has nothing to do with this particular rumor and just because we are trying to keep the two stories separate does not mean that we are supporting that behavior, just pointing out that it is not part of THIS particular story.

I have been reading militia blogs regarding this story since last night and they are waiting, literally, with their guns at their side for the go ahead to hit Webb county. They are waiting for further confirmation, and if this reported story keeps getting traction as it is- from 2 blogs yesterday to over 1000 today, then there could be a huge problem with people going off. You are not helping.

Re the matter of law. What do you call it if the states south of the border are "captured states" as discussed in a recent issue of the New Yorker?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/31/100531fa_fact_finnegan#ixzz0pwllQSXk

That particular article is talking about Michoacán and La Familia. I would assume since there are Mexican soldiers fighting in Nuevo Laredo, and one of the rumors is that Los Zetas (which are actually fighting against La Familia) fled from them into Webb County, that Mexico is still in control of Tamaulipas.
Again, these are just criminals. If the Mexican army came and took control of property on the US side of the border, under direction of the government of Mexico, THEN and ONLY then, would it be an act of war.
It would like if the minutemen decided to go into Nuevo Lareto and took control of the city, they would not represent the US Government, but if the border patrol did-again, under the direction of congress etc, then it would.
Yes, there is a war on drugs- but it is not, a war on the government of the countries supplying the drugs-only the drug dealers.

"Re the matter of law. What do you call it if the states south of the border are "captured states" -

Why that's just called the "free marketplace" at work, Ron, good ol' American (well....) enterprise! Just like the government-posted warnings about "no go" areas within the US. Not a problem, live and let live, it's just your everyday international real estate transactions. Give the narco-terrorists a break, they're just doing the home invasions, kidnappings and murders that Americans won't do.

I too live in Laredo, and can confirm *most* of what WT says, particularly about the inaccessibility of the area in question. There's no way to simply drive out there and check out the veracity of these reports without knowing more about the specific locations involved. These are large areas we're talking about -- and they're private property.

Also, I'm in the La Bota neighborhood WT mentions off of Mines Road, and I can say for *certain* that if something were happening out there, we'd be hearing helicopters, as we often do as BP patrols the area. Today, all's quiet.

Here's my take on this whole thing: Los Zetas running drugs around Mines Road is nothing new. They float it across the river, cut across the ranches, then up to Mines Road. They operate in one area until they're run off by BP, then they move on. Probably a couple of land owners called in to report suspicious activity -- they could have even been threatened -- BP came out to do their thing, some new agent shared the story, and it just got blown out of proportion.

If you aren't familiar with the way things operate on the border, hearing that ranches on the US side have been invaded and seized by roving, "bloodthirsty" Mexican gangs can sound frightening, and indeed, infuriating. I think that's a rather sensationalized description of reality. Border ranches are used by the cartels *all the time* -- some owners cooperate with the cartels, others don't, and most just turn a blind eye -- but really, this is nothing new for us.

Here's something else to chew on: For the cartels, drug running is a business. And doing stupid things like seizing US ranches and drawing in a massive federal response is bad for business....

It's happening.
it's also the POLICY of the City of Laredo and the Police Department NOT TO GIVE INFORMATION to the public or the media.

how do I know? I had to say that over and over, for the last 3 days!

Where would we be if we told every overzealous paramilitary person that called what's going on?

Do you mean this article from the AP?
Read to the middle of the article....
This article is dated 7/22/10
In the middle of the article it stated that on wednesday the following typed above happened.
Same words & everything.
Wednesday would have been 7/21/10, 3 days before this 2 ranch laredo tx incident was reported.

forgot the link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100722/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

Heres another link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38361485/ns/world_news-americas/

"There's no way to simply drive out there and check out the veracity of these reports without knowing more about the specific locations involved.- Posted by: TAD"

If there were an incident, it's likely over by now. What doesn't help much trustwise is when there are incidents such as the dam bomb scare which was a secret for weeks -

"Agents feared Mexican drug cartel attack on border dam"

"An alleged plot by a Mexican drug cartel to blow up a dam along the Texas border — and unleash billions of gallons of water into a region with millions of civilians — sent American police, federal agents and disaster officials secretly scrambling last month to thwart such an attack, authorities confirmed Wednesday."

(Houston Chronicle, June 2010 article referring to an incident in May)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7033818.html

With all due respect, Yank, what number did Sgt Perez give you to call the Webb County Sheriff? I called the Webb County Sheriff because I already knew it was not a Laredo Police matter; however, the sheriff's office proper does not answer the phone on the weekends.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow whether there's any substance to this or not.

@Karen: You're making way too much of that incident, I think. That wasn't really bomb scare, it was just bravado. And it wasn't being kept from the public necessarily, it simply wasn't credible given all the facts.

Don't get me wrong: there's bad stuff happening down here and we need all the help we can get. I've heard (unsubstantiated) estimates that upwards of 20% of Laredo's population is involved in the drug trade at some level. Dopers live in our neighborhood; dopers shop next to us at the grocery; dopers' kids go to school with our kids. It can be scary. But unfortunately, the incidents that seem to be garnering the most attention are over-hyped, non-events. And they distract from the *real* threats posed by the persistent, daily criminal activities of the cartels.

Apparently Minerales is a colonia, or shantytown of Hispanic squatters. Google map.

As I said Sunday in the meeting in Selma, my theory is that some Zetas went there to collect some drug money, met opposition, and in a firefight withdrew and took refuge in a couple of nearby ranches. By the time anyone could respond, they had escaped the scene, everyone in the area cleaned up and shut up, and we have no evidence other than the words of a few people whose information was second-hand.

There have been other such violent encounters elsewhere, in Arizona, California, and New Mexico, that have followed a similar pattern, except some leave dead bodies. Almost everyone involved has a stake in covering it up.

I spoke to some people Sunday afternoon at a gun show who are attending to security for some ranchers who provided confirmation of gangsters oppressing ranchers in the area, to get them to allow passage across their land without interference. So that part seems to be happening, and has been for a long time.

If nothing else, this made a good start at a dry run, and we can learn some lessons from it, like who we can count on.

So it may not have been a "hoax", but a report that made it seem like something it wasn't, as a long-term seizure of territory, rather than as a transitory incident.

Actually, if you come to my neighborhood in Houston, you will know that Mexico has in fact invaded Texas.

To David L., I have found no confirmation of the story either, and since the original examiner article only claimed 2 anonymous sources, one should take it for what it's worth. Regarding the wider issue, there are numerous acknowledged facts and travel warnings from the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo MX. These would concern people who are travelling through Nuevo Laredo to the U.S. You can see these outlined here Updated warnings from the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico: possible violence & food shortages http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-27692-LA-County-Libertarian-Examiner~y2010m7d26-Updated-warnings-from-the-US-Consulate-in-Nuevo-Laredo-Mexico-possible-violence--food-shortages#

"Under both international law and domestic law, the state of war can only exist between two nations."

It's news to me that Gaza is a nation. Clearly a state of war exists between Gaza and Israel when Israel enforces a maritime blockade against Gaza.