12/12/2012

THE WAR ON THE RIO GRANDE: Re-posted and up dated

Big Bend  U.S. National Park Area of the Rio Grande

Editor's Notes 6/21/2014: Since this article was published the investigation of the acting Inspector General of the DHS has been completed and the Inspector General has been replaced. Some Coast Guard elements have finally been assigned to the Rio Grand, but hardly the "persistent presence"  that Texas had in mind. Some major ZETA figures have been caught and some killed. The "War" along the Rio Grande basically continues. 

Months ago we posted the articles below that described what amounts to a war in rural counties of Texas that border the Rio Grande. From the Mexican side a group called the Zetas, founded by deserters from the Mexican Army's special forces offer the bullet or the bribe to law enforcement officials including Federal officers and run unchecked through the country side. The evidence is that the Zetas are expanding the typical drug cartel business into other kinds of smuggling including human trafficking and extortion and armed robbery. They don't hesitate to guard their exit or cover their tracks by murder. One of our writers came to suspect that certain elements within the Department of Homeland Security apparently were well aware of the real situation in Texas and allegedly ceaselessly lied to the Congress of the United States. We now learn that the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General, the supposed watch dog of the system, is under investigation. Finally at least one professional journalist, Andrew Becker is following the issue. Here are some links to some of his recent coverage:   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-becker/homeland-security-office-_1_b_1497538.html
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-becker/homeland-security-office-_b_1408532.html
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-becker/house-subcommittee-plans-_b_1690677.html
  
  Below are reprints of our early coverage of the issue some of the first reports to be published outside of Texas. Its been nearly half a year since we first broke the subject. There are many angles to the story. There is the element of alleged corruption among certain federal law enforcement personnel. Then there is the current angle of Department of Homeland Security Investigative personnel in Texas allegedly falsifying records. Being an organization focused on maritime matters what we first picked up on was the request by Congress for a "persistent Coast Guard presence on the Rio Grande". Deadlines were set for reports and apparently the reports never left the DHS Secretary's desk. The Congress and Texas still wait for that "persistent Coast Guard presence" on an international waterway that forms the boundary between the United States and Mexico and which according to Texas law enforcement authorities heavily armed Zetas cross at will. 

 Into the breach the Texas Rangers, the Texas Highway Patrol, and the Texas State Guard have stepped. Recently Texas passed a nullification act. Basically a law asserting that Texas will not cooperate with the federal government on any measure the State disagrees with. There is an open succession movement. We think a major reason for the ill will between so many in Texas and Washington is the fact that Texas literally finds itself at war with a non state organization that bears all the marks of a military force, and operated out of what appears to be safe havens across an international boundary. Texas, as a state of the United States called for help and allegedly only received lies, excuses, and failure from the Federal Government of the United States. This is a story every American needs to know. We suggest starting by reading our original coverage posted below and then coming back up and clicking on the link to Mr.Becker's coverage of the on going investigation into the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's Office by the Justice Department. 

  Along every line of the multifaceted evolving story, every thread seems connected to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. And in the rural parts of that valley a literal "war" has been in progress for some time. A war that the Department of Homeland Security apparently hasn't acknowledged, worse at one point, the Secretary told the Congress that "Southwest Border has never been more secure".

 There are those in Texas who would call that a lie.  



 In my former job, among many other duties, I was charged with monitoring and reporting on Congressional hearings into maritime physical security issues. There seems to be a difference of opinion between the Department of Homeland Security of the United States and the Departments of Homeland Security and Public Safety of the State of Texas. The present Secretary of the DHS has stated in sworn testimony before Congress that "the Southwest Border has never been more secure." Later testimony by Texas State law enforcement and military department officials describe Texas counties bordering the Rio Grande as a "virtual war zone". When I wrote about this apparent difference in views between Congressional witnesses I was admonished to refrain from writing "unsolicited, lengthy missives". 

 The most violent enemy in this "war" unacknowledged by the DHS are known as the ZETAS. Click here for a short video explaining their origin, methodology and role, then click on the YouTube "back" arrow in the upper left hand corner to return here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB57jg48JmY

Here is the view of the Texas Rangers on border security along the Rio Grande: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmlolofoxzg

Our first presentation to the public about the problems on the Rio Grande, an international boundary water and the proper jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard was via a guest blog by Vic Socotra months ago. Our research indicates that the DHS is still in denial and nothing has materially changed. Below is Vic's unique view of the situation. You will be hearing more about this issue as time goes on here in cyber space. We'll try to avoid another charge of "unsolicited lengthy missives"by using more videos. But we have to warn you the truth is graphic and not for the feint of heart.

By Guest Blogger Vic Socotra

(A Littoral Combat Ship- this one the USS Independence fitting out. Navy Photo.)

It is easy to get my buddy Boats going. He is a crusty old Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate from the Hooligan Navy- the proud and ironic title used by member of the United States Coast Guard.

He told me one time that the Marines and the Coast Guard work very well together, since the two Services operate (in wartime for the Coasties) as part of the Department of the Navy, who is the real enemy.

Increasingly, my old service is involved in real important things like commissioning ships in memory of the cantankerous Earmark King of Pennsylvania, Rep. John Murtha, labor activist and hero of La Raza, Cesar Chavez, and most recently, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

But don’t get me going on this. I will just say that the ship named for her Gabby will be the Navy’s 10th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), another good idea whose time may have passed. It is designed to bring the Navy fighting power into brown water coastal areas.  The first two ships in this class were called Freedom and Independence, but the conventional naming practice since has been to use American cities.

SECNAV Mabus said the naming is appropriate for “someone who has become synonymous with courage, who has inspired the nation with remarkable resiliency and showed the possibilities of the human spirit.”

That is all true, and the Congresswoman’s husband was a Naval Aviator and Astronaut, but c’mon. A victim of gun violence being honored with the legacy of a heavily-armed littoral combat ship? There are plenty of Medal of Honor winners whose names have not been used.

Just for the record, I want to say that I opposed the naming of the Nimitz-class carrier George H.W. Bush, the Seawolf-class submarine Jimmie Carter, or the Senator Richard C. Shelby Center for Missile and Space Analysis for that matter.

You are supposed to be dead to qualify for the honor, like the USS Gerald Ford. But like I said, this is a new world and all sorts of new fun.

So I was worked up anyway, and heard the news on CNN, and poked Boats about the Texas Navy. We had been talking about the largely moribund concept of state Naval Militias. Michigan doesn’t need one, at the moment, and the Coast Guard seems to take care of Florida in a fairly business-like manner.

But the word that the Texas Department of Public Safety will deploy the first of a fleet of six gunboats on the Rio Grande, the river that delineates the international frontier with our neighbor to the south.
  

(I don’t know what the name of this particular warship is, but note the machine gun on the foredeck. Photo Texas DPS.)

The 34-foot-long boats, each powered by three, 300-horsepower outboard engines that can operate in water as shallow as two feet. They will also be armored and tote six machine guns apiece, not unlike the river patrol boats the Navy used during the Vietnam War. In fact, the new boats are intended to augment two Swift Boats someone cobbled together from the war in SE Asia.

The six boats will be named after Texas state troopers killed in the line of duty. The first was DPS Jerry Don Davis, who was shot and killed in 1980. The second will be named in honor of trooper David Irvine Rucker, who was killed in 1981.

Boats wrote me back, clearly agitated. “What I predicted for over a year is coming true. The DHS has refused to protect Texas. The report that Congress demanded for January 2011 still sits on Secretary Napolitano’s desk. She promised a "persistent Coast Guard presence" on the Rio Grande that she has not been able to deliver.”

“There have been two "Swift Boats" operating on the big impoundments like Falcon Lake for about a year, where that couple was assaulted by druggies a while back. The six new ones are intended to patrol the lower river.”

“To support them, two heavily armed companies of Texas Rangers have been trained to act as RECON units. They have been in the valley for a year.”

“The real story isn't drug smuggling though the Zeta drug organization is at the heart of the problem. The problem has been military like attacks by the Zetas on the Texas side of the border against remote ranchers defending their property, private citizens and law enforcement personnel. As much as a year ago I was predicting that it would come to this and the eventual consequences.”

The Texas DPS wants to change the "rules of engagement" away from standard law enforcement practices to military-type rules based on the law of armed conflict. This would avoid the type of lunacy described before Congress by Sheriff Sigfried Gonzales where the Sheriff is supposed to stand in the road with his 38 cal. revolver facing a Zeta manned Humvee with a tripod mounted 50 cal. machine gun and ask them to stop so he can read them their Marinda rights. If Texas had received the change they asked for Texas Ranger Recon units could lay in ambush and open fire on known Zeta targets like that armed Humvee.”

“Texas wanted to avoid direct risk of confrontation between their own military and paramilitary forces like the Texas Rangers and Texas State Guard with the Mexican Military patrolling just a few hundred yards away on the other side of the river. This is why Texas asked for but was refused a "persistent Coast Guard presence on the Rio Grande." 

“So, now Texas State Gun boats and two companies of militarized Texas Rangers are in the area and the Texas State paramilitary presence is growing. Read your Texas history. Texas in the end always controls its borders and a main feature of that control has been a willingness, almost an enthusiasm, for crossing the river and eliminating any sanctuaries of the enemy.”

The problem today is that on the South side of the river the Mexican Army is on patrol looking for the same bad guys but would fire without hesitation on a Texas uniform. Due to DC based stupidity we are growing ever closer to the danger of exchanges of gunfire between governmental forces.”

“The situation screams for federal control but its not coming. Texas is on its own that's why it's building gunboats. In no time we will see at least nine Texas-owned machinegun mounted gunboats on this international river, and the valley will largely be protected by forces with a historical habit of eventually denying sanctuary to their enemy even if they must cross the Rio Grande to root them out.”

“This time, though, the Mexican regular army is on the far side.  It is even possible that Texas DPS paramilitary forces independent of the Texas National Guard could conceivably defeat the Mexican Regulars. But remember, even if Texas wins, the U.S. loses in such a confrontation. It is time for that "persistent Coast Guard presence" asked for by Texas. It' s time for federal forces to cover the ground in the valley.”

I think that is perfectly reasonable; but I also don’t think that is going to happen. I wrote him back to say so. “We are ignoring a war in progress on our southern boarder that has killed more than 34,000 Mexicans, assassinated dozens of mayors and police, and killed a hundred American citizens, including federal agents.

Boats doesn’t think our government is going to step up to do anything about it. I have always believed defense of the borders was a Federal and not a State thing, and we ought to treat it that way.

The right thing is for the Hooligan Navy to be directed to do its job. In the meantime, he thinks people ought not to mess with Texas. The names of the ships in their little fleet send exactly that message. What on earth are we going to do it Texas goes to war again on its own?

 

Copyright 2012 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra.comThe "War" in Texas



NAVAL INTEREST:
The Continuing War on the Rio Grande

It's Not Just The Zeta Drug Lords, Terrorists Are Getting In

 Below is a hyperlink to an Atlanta television station news cast concerning the infiltration by terrorist along our Southwest Border. In the broad cast the local investigative journalists provide what they believe is proof that the Southwest Border is being used by terrorists to infiltrate the United States. Worse, the Journalists appear to indicate that the Department of Homeland Security is well aware of all of this and misrepresents whats going on to the general public. Amazingly, this sort of investigative journalism hardly ever gets air time on the national media.

 In our opinion, whats worse is that the Department of Homeland Security routinely is less than candid about the situation on the Southwest Border with Congress. Check out the story via the hyper-link below and then hit your return button to read about our previous coverage of this issue and why we believe the Department of Homeland Security is less than candid to Congress about the relative security along our Southwest Border.
   
  Click anywhere on the hyper link below to view the video:

https://usjf.net/2012/07/video-proof-that-terrorists-are-entering-u-s-from-mexican-border/?utm_source=USJF+List&utm_campaign=cc73cad669-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

 We first published on the Southern Border issue on March 2, 2012 when guest blogger Vic Sicotra published his post titles The Aye Ayes of Texas. We urge our readers to go back and reread this posting which describes the arrival of the first of a series of gun boats purchased and operated by the State of Texas to deal with problems posed by the very violent Zeta Drug Organization. As pointed out in the article Texas had asked Congress for a "persistent Coast Guard presence" on the Rio Grande to help combat violent incursions by the Zetas and the use by the Zetas of the Rio Grande as an avenue of transportation. There was already speculation at that point that the Zetas and other Drug cartels along the Rio Grande and along the desert Southwest Border had branched into the illegal human smuggling trade to include not only illegal migrant workers but terrorist operatives as well.

 When we look at the Congressional testimony of the Department of Homeland Security officials in the relevant time frame we see that no less than the Secretary of Homeland Security informed Congress that the U.S. Southwest Border had" never been more secure". In only weeks after this pronouncement was made a Texas State Department of Public Safety official and Texas Rio Grande Valley Sheriffs were before Congress declaring that they had the bullet holes in their squad cars and elsewhere to prove otherwise.

 The Coast Guard was ordered to report to Congress by January of 2011 with a plan to provide the "persistent Coast Guard presence" asked for by Texas. By June of 2011 the Coast Guard had still not provided the plan as requested. The Commandant of the Coast Guard found himself before a Congressional subcommittee and was asked where the report was. At first he tried to take the full blame for the non delivery but on severe cross examination he admitted that the report remained on the desk of the Secretary of Homeland Security where it was delivered in time for presentation to Congress within their requested time frame. By March of 2012 we still found no sign of the requested "persistent Coast Guard presence". In fact, quite the opposite, it appeared that Texas was on a virtual war footing in the Rio Grande Valley busily arming its only equivalent of a naval special boat unit or a Coast Guard Port Security Unit, along with Militarized Recon units of Texas Rangers. 

 Since we are not primarily a news organization we did not follow the story beyond March of 2012 simply because there was so little in the media, including the specialized maritime media that we closely follow. We bring you the news in the above hyper linked video simply because it is the first news we have had since March on the issue. It does not appear that the federal government has responded to the pleas of Texas.

 Obviously along the desert border as opposed to the river border they have captured real terrorists but don't feel that the citizens of the United States or the Congress need to know about this. We're glad that agencies of the DHS have collared some bad guys, but if the DHS is so blind to a virtual riverine war along the Texas border as it apparently is, what assurance do we have that they got all of the bad guys and have done anything to deter terrorists from considering infiltration via our Southwest Border? The international river of the Rio Grande and the Texas request for a "persistent Coast Guard presence" being of particular interest to us as a maritime organization. 

                                              
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