MONTERREY LAW ENFORCEMENT UPDATE: JANUARY 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000095 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM KCOR KHLS KJUS PINS PGOV MX SUBJECT: MONTERREY LAW ENFORCEMENT UPDATE: JANUARY 2007 REF: A) MONTERREY 058, B) MONTERREY 073, C) MONTERREY 055, D) MONTERREY 067 MONTERREY 00000095 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Consulate continued its outreach efforts with state and local authorities as the level of violence and drug-related killings increased. In the month of January, five police officers were killed and three others wounded, prompting the resignation of over 300 local police officers and the installation of military check points in the state of Nuevo Leon. The Consul General met with a local police chief and regional military commander to discuss the situation and to offer the Consulate's support in fighting the wave of killings against security personnel. In addition, the CG helped facilitate the signing of an agreement between the Governor of Nuevo Leon and the American NGO Culture of Lawfulness to provide training for incoming police cadets on the rule-of-law. Consulate law enforcement agencies worked with local authorities to return an American fugitive back to the U.S., and worked with Mexican immigration authorities when eleven Iraqi nationals were detained in Monterrey on their way to the U.S. In response to local concern about the Overseas Security Advisory Council 2007 Crime and Safety report for Monterrey, the CG clarified the report in an interview with Monterrey's leading newspaper and reiterated the Consulate's primary obligation to protect U.S. citizens living in the consular district. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) After a 38-day stretch with no killings in Nuevo Leon, a State Public Security Department Commander was shot and killed and another was seriously wounded in Monterrey on January 8. On January 13, a local police commander from Santa Catarina, a suburb of Monterrey, was kidnapped, along with his brother-in-law. To date, neither the family nor local investigators have received proof-of-life from the commander's captors. Three days later on January 16, a group of armed assailants shot and injured two Santa Catarina police officers when they were headed to the work to begin their shift. Two additional on-duty Santa Catarina police officers were shot and killed while helping a stranded motorist on January 17, only hours after President Felipe Calderon spoke in Monterrey about the need to combat organized crime. On January 18, an off-duty local police officer was wounded during a shoot-out with unidentified armed gunmen in Cumbres, greater metropolitan Monterrey. The presumed target was a local lawyer who had allegedly been working for drug traffickers. Another three days later on January 21, a local police officer for San Pedro, the Monterrey suburb where all Consulate families reside, was shot and killed. He was guarding a traffic checkpoint near Consulate houses when gunmen opened fired with automatic rifles. Finally, a Nuevo Leon State Police Officer was killed in Monterrey on January 29 when gunmen opened fire on his pickup truck during rush hour while he was driving to work. Assailants opened fire with automatic rifles while the officer was driving on one of Monterrey's busiest avenues. Local newspapers have reported that the wave of police killings has prompted over 300 officers to resign from several municipal police forces in the state of Nuevo Leon (ref A). ¶3. (SBU) On January 24, the Consul General and RSO met with the San Pedro Chief of Police, Rogelio Lozano, to discuss the increase in targeted killings in the area and to offer the Consulate's support. Chief Lozano expressed his concern about the violence directed against police officers. The historically vocal police chief also confided to the CG that he intended to keep a lower profile because he felt threatened and did not want to be the next target of any high-level police assassination. Lozano said that he would no longer speak to the media about particular security incidents for fear of retribution by narco-traffickers, and asked for the Consulate's help in getting him "out of town for a little while". To this end, FBI Monterrey has secured a week long Police Survival training course in El Paso which Lozano will attend in March and the RSO is working on getting him into a State Department-sponsored Police Management training course in July 2007. ¶4. (SBU) The Mexican army set-up several checkpoints at key intersections in Monterrey's suburbs of San Pedro and Santa Catarina on January 25 in response to the recent killings of local policemen. The army units had 30-40 well-armed soldiers at each checkpoint and they pulled over and searched passing vehicles. This is the first time in a number of years that the military has established checkpoints in San Pedro, and even the San Pedro police do not know how long the checkpoints will continue. The Consul General met briefly with General Javier del Real Magallanes, commander of the 4th Military Region, who offered to share intelligence and work together with the Consulate's law enforcement agencies (ref B). ¶5. (U) On January 16, the Consul General, EconOff, and PAO attended the signing of an agreement between the state of Nuevo Leon, represented by the Prosecutor Luis Carlos Trevino MONTERREY 00000095 002.2 OF 002 Berchelmann and Secretary of Public Security Antonio Garza Garcia, and the Culture of Lawfulness NGO (COL),represented by its President Dr. Roy Godson. The parties agreed to present 60 hours of training to incoming police cadets and professionals in the state police and state prosecutor's office. The COL project is designed to foster the rule of law and engender a culture of legality by providing education, changing attitudes, and discussing real world cases whereby police learn the importance of the rule of law and serving as public examples of lawful behavior. The signed agreement culminates a year-long effort between the Consulate, the Nuevo Leon government, and the COL (ref C). ¶6. (U) DHS-ICE Monterrey coordinated closely with local authorities and Texas law enforcement agents to return an American fugitive back to the United States on January 18. The man was wanted on assault charges. ¶7. (U) On January 20, eleven Iraqi nationals attempted to gain entry into Mexico at Monterrey International Airport. They arrived in Monterrey on an Aero Mexico flight from Madrid and were en route to the U.S. The group, who traveled on false Cypriot and Polish passports, consisted of nine Iraqi men, one Iraqi woman, and one minor Iraqi child. Each claims to be a Chaldean Christian and none appears on a terrorist watch list. Mexico's Immigration authorities announced on January 31 that the government will not deport or repatriate the eleven Iraqis, and may grant them asylum in Mexico (ref D). ¶8. (U) On January 30, El Norte, Monterrey's leading newspaper, published an article about the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) 2007 Crime and Safety report for Monterrey which urged visitors to remain vigilant during their stay in the city. El Norte reported that OSAC outlined the increased killings in Monterrey over the last two years, while praising the San Pedro police department for its immediate and efficient response. On February 1, El Norte published an interview with the Consul General regarding the OSAC report. He said that while Monterrey is one of Mexico's safest cities with respect to common street crime, the reality is that organized crime executions, especially those targeting security forces, have increased in Nuevo Leon. The CG also reiterated the Consulate's primary obligation to protect U.S. citizens living in the consular district. MORENO