The Laredo paintball army might not be needed after all

On Sunday night, I engaged in high-quality investigative journalism and concluded that if Los Zetas drug forces had taken over two ranches near Laredo, Texas (as was reported by Diggers Realm early in the morning on July 24), the drug forces would be met by a withering barrage from paintballers in the area.

Well, it seems that the investigative journalism from Diggers Realm, and from the San Diego Minutemen guy, and from myself, was not quite what was needed to examine these claims fully. Nick Georgiou reported that even more extreme investigative journalistic actions were needed - like, actually going to the area and stuff. First, law enforcement officials went to the area.

“The public would be the first to know if anything was going on,” said Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar on Sunday afternoon. “Our deputies went out there and talked to ranch owners in the area and found nothing.”

Now obviously the Webb County sheriff's deputies can't be trusted, because they are under the obvious media blackout that has certainly been imposed on the area from the highest government sources. Bear in mind that it is exactly 666 miles from Laredo, Texas to Roswell, New Mexico (well, it is if you take this route and add a 12 mile detour).

But Georgiou also reported the following:

Late Saturday, no law enforcement activity was visible along Mines Road from I-35 to Las Penitas subdivision.

Yet Diggers Realm speculated that this might not be the case.

I believe there is a blackout because local law enforcement and the Border Patrol are waiting for backup and authorization from the Federal Government to make any moves. Something like this does have cross border and international impacts. Things like that generally are handled by the federal government, as that is the primary reason we have a federal government in the first place.

At a minimum, it appears that sufficient forces were present to keep Los Zetas on the ranches.

In an odd turn of events, Diggers Realm has not updated its website since July 24. One would think that Diggers Realm would continue to cover the situation. But the comments on this July 24 post are active. A couple of samples:

This story is a hoax! People on the ground there looked and nothing is going on! I've even spoken to the Garza family (the one's whose ranches were allegedly seized) and they say it is a hoax.

I just got off the phone with the PIO with Laredo's PD. He flatly denied that it being true. He even invited me down there to go out and see for myself that nothing is going on. That does not sound like a cover-up to me.

Please, tell all of the boards and contacts who are spreading this story that it is totally false.

Posted by: GPMinTexas on July 26, 2010 01:13 PM

But on the other hand:

Hey Digger, thanks for putting your neck out for this. It's funny to see Leftist operatives and their simplistic (and juvenile) calls for your head. I've read this thoroughly and it seems to me you've done nothing more than publish a potential incident and ask for confirmation.

If you were had, so too was the entire US media over the Gulf of Tonkin hoax and "I did not have sexual realtions with that woman, Miss Lewinssky".

However, Laredo is a sizable town. I'd find the local radio scanning enthusiast club and see what they heard on the dates in question. If genuine, the initial responses would have been in the clear although any present activity would no doubt be scrambled/encrypted.

Posted by: Joeofthemountain on July 26, 2010 10:14 AM

Oh, and the outside agitators might have another enemy on their hands - Texans:

coacoa Says:
July 25th, 2010 at 8:00 pm

Amazing that all these daily folk talk about going down to Texas and killing folk over a story on a website. There are a lot of us here on the border that will tell the readers here that talk is cheap. It is funny to me… tomorrow these same blow hards will be posting again on another topic… not one left home for Texas. I reckon that’s ok though… better you keep your insanity in your chair and away from us Texans. Blow your kiddie smoke and feel good about yourself… it is all you have....

coacoa Says:
July 25th, 2010 at 8:14 pm

That is part of my point, Jackie… If us border folk need you, we will call you… or you will see a huge battle on all the networks, mainstream and alternate. We have weapons, cell phones, and just as much love for country and family as anyone else in the world. The posters here need to chill, be reasonable. Trust me… if an invasion was in progress it will never be too late to “Get some”.

Oh, and by the way, the San Diego Minutemen site has a valid explanation for the lack of a Los Zetas presence - they had already left:

MEDIA ALERT

Jeff Schwilk, Founder SDMM, 760-525-1655


More Details about Armed Incursion near Laredo, TX, Friday, July 23
Information current as of 26 July 2010, 8:20 am PT.

SDMM received multiple tips and reports Sunday evening and Monday morning from border patrol, law enforcement, and civilian sources in the area indicating that the armed incursion that started on Minerales Annex Rd. in northwest of Laredo, TX near the Rio Grande sometime Friday ended Saturday evening when the Federal SWAT team went in to the area and found that the intruders had apparently escaped back across the river to Mexico.

Details are still sketchy, but a fairly major incident appears to have occurred and it started with a call to 911 or the Border Patrol by a rancher who lives on Minerales. The rancher saw and reported armed men on his property and then fled his ranch along with another rancher in the area.

Officially, BP, sheriffs, and Laredo PD would only say all weekend that they could neither confirm or deny the reports, which broke late Friday night starting with a phone call to a friend of mine from an on-duty Laredo Police officer who had just been briefed by his watch commander about the incident.

Off the record, numerous LE sources have confirmed to SDMM that something big was going on Saturday and that they were waiting for Federal response teams to arrive to deal with the armed men, reportedly Los Zetas Mexican paramilitary forces. The boots on the ground were very unhappy by the weekend media blackout and denials of this incident by officials at Border Patrol and local law enforcement.

These types of armed incursions in the Laredo area are happening far too often and sources there say they are frustrated by the lack of Federal response. One cop told us "we need the military on the border now".

####


UPDATE: 25 JULY, 8pm




A LE source near in the area said tonight (off the record) that the SWAT team arrived on scene Sat. night and that all or most of the bad guys had fled back across the river to Mexico. Another source has given similar information. They never closed down Mines Rd. so as not to attract unwanted attention. U.S. forces isolated Minerales Annex Rd. and kept the incident pretty low key there as they watched the area. Unless someone turned down Minerales, they wouldn't have seen anything. Unfortunately looks like no one ever tried to go to the scene on Saturday to get pictures or video. Huge opportunity lost.

Folks, source after source confirms that there was definitely a big incursion sometime Friday on Minerales Annex Rd. and that there was some kind of standoff for about 24 hours. Why the Feds and local LE continued to deny the incident throughout Sunday is unknown and frankly a little disturbing. There must be something about this story that the Obama Administration really doesn't want the public to know about. Or maybe its just the timing with the border/immigration debate simmering.

Some good reporters will push for official statements Monday. They will not let them keep this covered up. The public has a right to know about these armed incursions by possible deadly cartel members which are terrorizing ranchers on our side of the border.

More details should be released Monday. Thanks for pushing this story to your lists and getting a lot of Intel from people on the ground. I got a lot of great calls and emails over the past two days which helped confirm everything we were hearing from confidential LE sources. This worked out pretty good, despite the left wing internet smear attempt. Hopefully the story will be on MSM by tomorrow evening and reporters will keep demanding answers.

The one thing we heard repeatedly from the boots on the ground in the area is that the military is needed on the border now! They are angry and scared by the loss of control of the border there. LE is outgunned and they cannot handle the current threat along the border. What is Gov. Perry doing to protect the border towns from cartel invasions? Seems like not much. Definitely not enough.