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

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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

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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