UPDATE –No, Texas Hasn’t Been Invaded (outside of their city-limits) Ranches Taken Over By Mexican Drug Cartel

~ It is a border town, not IN TX per biggovernment…by Bob Owens

Twitter exploded a while ago about this story, which claims that heavily-armed Los Zetas gunmen of the Gulf Cartel have taken over ranches { on the U.S. side of the border.}

My curiosity got the better of me, and so I called the Laredo Police Department, and had a delightful chat with the acting watch commander, Sgt. Perez.

Sgt. Perez informed me that I was her seventh caller about this claim since she came on duty this afternoon. She stipulated two things that blows holes in the invasion claim.

1. The location of the alleged invasion is outside of their city-limits jurisdiction, so they would not be involved, and;
2. while they would not be involved in any law enforcement response outside of their jurisdiction, they work closely with the county sheriff’s office and would know if such an event is occurring.

She also provided me the number of the Sheriff’s Department. The deputy that answered the phone there was less bemused, having also dealt with this rumor multiple times in a short amount of time. She also told me that there was no invasion and no law enforcement siege, and that deputies were continuing normal operations.

Don’t believe the hype.

~WHAT hype is that Bob? That it is JUST on the outskirts of a TX town? By the time this is posted it ‘could’ be JUST THIS side of the border. Or gunfire, kidnapping or the myriad of things they do criminally crossing the line of the border. Thanks for clearing this up for us…I’m sure the residents of the most affected towns will rest better tonight .~ JP

/www.chandlerswatch.com http://tinyurl.com/28oggqm

MULTIPLE RANCHES IN LAREDO, TX TAKEN OVER BY LOS ZETAS

Story is now 100% confirmed by second source within the Laredo Police Department

The bloodbath continues along our southern border and now word is coming in that Los Zetas, the highly trained killers formerly with the Gulf Cartel, have crossed into the United States and taken over at least two ranches in the Laredo, Texas area. I am receiving word that the owners of the ranches have evacuated without being harmed. As of this hour I cannot confirm 100% on the situation (I am at around 90%) – though the source is law enforcement in the area.

Founder of the San Diego Minutemen Jeff Schwilk tipped me off to this story and passes along the following information on the location. The ranches are said to be “near Mines Rd. and Minerales Annex Rd about 10 miles NW of I-35″.

Update – Statement from Mr. Schwilk)

I can personally vouch that this info came in late last night from a reliable police source inside the Laredo PD. There is currently a standoff between the unknown size Zeta forces and U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement on two ranches on our side of the Rio Grande. The source tells us he considers this an “act of war” and that the military is needed on the border now!

Whether it is lone members or squads is not certain.

Anonymous sources in law enforcement in the Laredo area tonight have passed on word that US law enforcement agencies are in the area and are weighing their options regarding the ranches. The media has been silent on this incident and some law enforcement in the area says that they are furious that the media is not reporting the whole story of the continued violence along the border. Their frustrations are understandable because keeping the truth suppressed continues to hamper law enforcement from receiving the true support they need along the border.

The ranch assaults come on the heals of attacks in Nuevo Laredo that shut the city down as a gun-battle raged in the streets. Los Zetas blocked off intersections with vehicles and used fragmentation grenades to attack Mexican law enforcement. In the end 12 were killed and 21 injured in the assaults. Citizens in the area were told to stay in their homes and bullets whizzed all around.

Cypress Times

The U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo had posted warnings on its website hours before the gunfire was reported by Texas citizens, “We have received credible reports of widespread violence occurring now between narcotics-trafficking organizations and the Mexican army in Nuevo Laredo.”

The U.S. Consulate went on to say, “The consulate confirmed that fragmentation grenades were used in the attacks and that suspected drug-gang members had blocked several roads, adding that it advised ‘all U.S. citizens in Nuevo Laredo to remain indoors until the security situation improves.’”

US Citizens in Laredo called 911 after hearing gunfire and explosions just across the border. Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza deflected the concerns of citizens with what I see as utter contempt. He said there was no spillover violence onto the US side and “We were getting reports from people who live on the river’s edge that they could hear gunfire and explosions from the Mexico side,” Baeza said, “We didn’t have any incidents on the American side. It’s hard for people to understand who don’t live here … They’re not Vikings, they’re not going to invade us, it doesn’t work that way.”

This was said just a day before the reported breaking news on the ranches being taken above.

Violence has been on the rise along the border. In April 2010 a Border Patrol agent in Laredo shot and killed an lllegal alien drug smuggler near the Rio Grande

The Los Zetas are highly trained killers initially trained by United States Special Operations forces to combat the drug cartes within Mexico. As the drug war heated up the Zetas saw more money in working for the cartels and joined up with the Gulf Cartel.

In March, 2010 there was a fracture between the Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel when a Zetas leader was said to have been assassinated by the Gulf Cartel. They demanded that the killer be turned over to them. When the Gulf Cartel refused the Zetas captured 16 Gulf Cartel members.

Since March Los Zetas abandoned their stronghold in Reynosa and moved to Nuevo Laredo, just across from the border with Laredo, Texas. There are estimated to be over 1,000 Zeta members there. – DiggersRealm and The Cypress Times

Additional Sources:
Houston Chronicle
Borderland Beat

UPDATE 2: 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 both the Laredo Police and Webb County Sheriff’s Departments. She says two of those sources not only confirmed the story of the ranches being seized, but elaborated in great detail on 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 has reason reason to believe that law enforcement is in mid-operation on the ranches, and do not want that 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 occupied as safe havens by retreating Zeta gunman.

Kimberly has a record as a 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 of 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…

http://tinyurl.com/22wlude