Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jun 2005
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2005 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Penny Cockerell, State Correspondent

JUAREZ DRUG CARTEL SENDS MESSAGE WITH SLAYINGS

Out of 53 arrest warrants issued by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
last fall, those for Jesus Manuel Torres and Carlos Roberto Salinas
were among the most wanted.

Pinpointed as mid-level drug traffickers who moved dope and money
between Mexico and Oklahoma, the elusive pair made sure shipments
arrived and payments were made.

Apparently, someone wanted them even more than the
police.

Last Thursday, Torres, 29, and Salinas, 27, became the 23rd and 24th
victims this year in a string of execution-style murders that are all
too common in the Mexican border town of Juarez City, where one wrong
move can turn a trafficker into a torture victim -- and a calling card
for anyone who considers crossing Juarez's powerful drug cartel.

Since then, there have three more executions.

Torres and Salinas were found dead near a hospital with duct tape
wrapped around their head, feet and hands. Their bodies were covered
in blankets. Authorities said they had been tortured.

"They're always discovered in a manner that says they're executed and
it says 'Don't mess with the big boys,'" said Lonnie Wright, the
narcotic bureau director. "They have a saying down there: you can take
the silver or you can take the lead."

"Down there" is Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican town across the border from
El Paso, Texas, where some 18,000 tractor-trailer rigs cross the
Bridge of the Americas daily. Mark Woodward, the bureau spokesman,
said the Juarez cartel controls all drug shipments and may send as
many as 10 trucks across each day, some carrying hidden loads worth
millions.

Oklahoma crossroads The shift from flying drugs into the state through
Florida to driving them in through Mexican cartels started in the
early 1990s. A network was established on both sides of the border to
ensure arrivals and payment, as well as to break large bundles into
smaller ones and ship them to smaller dealers.

Oklahoma is a prime location because of its interstates. Much of the
breakdown and distribution happens here, Woodward said.

After crossing the Mexican border into El Paso, drug traffickers head
out on Interstate 10, northeast to I-20 and then to I-35, where they
cross into Oklahoma. Oklahoma City has three major crossroads for
distributors to use: I-40 for east-west routes; I-35 for north-south
routes, and I-44 for routes to Chicago and other northern locations,
Woodward said.

These Mexican networks blend into society well -- and not just in the
cities. Many live in rural areas, where no one notices when a truck is
unloaded at midnight.

They're farmers, car dealers, restaurant and pottery shop owners, and
their lives are anything but lavish. Most are age 40 and younger and
are not addicts themselves. They get a percentage of the profits and
send the rest back to Mexico, Wright said.

"They're a very tight-knit group, often families," Woodward said. "A
lot of people we arrest are very scared to cooperate with us because
they fear retaliation to their families."

Torres and Salinas lived in Mexico but made frequent trips and calls
to Oklahoma to ensure money got back home. Though informants are often
targets for execution, they had not cooperated with drug
enforcement.

Some of their relatives had been arrested, but they also didn't
cooperate, Woodward said.

New focus on meth suppliers Learning their names was no small feat.
The voices of Torres and Salinas were identified through wiretaps set
up in a sting that resulted in 53 arrest warrants. The two spoke
Spanish and used code terms. It took nine months and countless hours
of translation to pinpoint them. Of the 53 warrants issued, 45 have
been arrested. Many are free on bond, Wright said.

Only recently have agents been able to pursue Mexican cartels with
vigor. The last several years were spent cracking methamphetamine labs.

Now the focus is to cut off the Mexican suppliers. But Wright said
they get little cooperation from Mexican authorities. Only when
suspects cross the border are they truly vulnerable to prosecution.
The other side, however, can be worse.

Torres and Salinas "were fully aware of the consequences," Wright
said. "They must've just done something wrong."
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