45 dead in attack on casino in northern Mexico

[johnnie]

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Two dozen gunmen burst into a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, doused it with gasoline and started a fire that trapped gamblers inside, killing at least 45 people and injuring a dozen more, authorities said.

The fire at the Casino Royale in Monterrey, a city that has seen a surge in drug cartel-related violence, represented one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment center in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.

http://news.yahoo.com/45-dead-attack-casino-northern-mexico-031828953.html



:(

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. damn.

:(

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Nothing like images

And I might add, this is the "success" of the war on drugs, really.

We had the shoot out outside the soccer stadium in Nuevo Leon on Saturday...

Yup the war is a ragin' success...

:sarcasm:

It pains me, but Mexico might be close to a collapse.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Update, 50 dead

http://www.redesdepoder.mx/portal/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=11152:atacan-casino-en-monterrey-hay-m%C3%A1s-de-50-muertos

They are expecting the number to go up

[Artie Bucco]

11. The shootout was in Torreon, Coahuila not nuevo Leon.

I don't know about collapse but this will must certainly tarnish the Governor. Word on the streets was that the casino was supposed to be closed but was still operating.

Also this happened earlier this year in the same casino
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/narco-blog-terror-at-casino-royale-in-monterrey/4428/

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. It does not look good, and you are right

still it was this saturday...

The arc of violence has really gone up to levels unprecedented even five years ago.

There are calls to demonstrate against this on September 15... that is... Independence day.

[Artie Bucco]

14. I am Mexican born in Nuevo Leon and I predicted it getting this bad...

to my family down there years ago. I told them circa 07, before Monterrey and it's metropolitan area got really bad, things like vigilante groups (or Narcos acting as said groups) and assassinations of mayors were going to happen. However, they didn't really believe even though I thought the writing on the wall was quite clear.

Personally I am tired of the whole "No mas sangre" movement which is just spearheaded by and large by a bunch of well to do upper class elites. There needs to be a systemic approach to removing corruption in all levels of government but it is nearly impossible to do with the amount of apathy in Mexico.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. I was born and raised in Mexico City

and I see the level of violence in San Diego starting the same uptick I did when I was a medic with the Red Cross in Tijuana... in fact, the arrest of the Chaldean gang in El Cajon is way too similar to some of the crap with the Arellanos. Let's put it this way... Traffic is mostly true.

As to the corruption... that is one of the problems... a serious one indeed, and one that I see here starting in a serious manner.

Cuidado Hermano, cuidado... esto espero no empeore.

[LooseWilly]

16. I noticed a detail in a Spanish version that I found interesting...

http://noticias.terra.com/internacional/narcoviolencia/sicarios-incendian-casino-en-norte-de-mexico-y-matan-a-mas-de-40-personas,54c989adaf302310VgnVCM4000009bf154d0RCRD.html

"El casino es propiedad del Grupo Royale, que posee establecimientos en las ciudades de Monterrey, Mazatlán, Los Cabos y Escobedo."

If Grupo Royale also has casinos in Mazatlan (Sinaloa), among other places, I can't help but wonder if it might be a "front" for some Sinaloense gang or other... which would make this a fight between gangs, rather than a scene of the battle between authorities and the gangs.

(Of course, it's liable to be a battle between gangs for control of territory resulting directly from the authorities arresting/killing a boss and the consequent battle among the lieutenants for control... in which case this could just be collateral damage of the drug wars, induced by the law of unintended consequences.)

Either way though, I wouldn't say Mexico is anywhere near "collapse"... though there might be a "change of thugs in power" liable to come somewhere down the road. I can't say I'd expect life or business for most Mexicans to change much though...

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Anecdotally, why you may very well be right,

the casino run by Hank Gonzales in Tijuana is partly a front for the Arellanos.

Of course the AG blew the case when they arrested him... and it helps to be well connected.

One of those lovely stories that takes all kinds of your attention and changes depending on what shit stirrer you turn on.

As to collapse, actually DOD has quietly warned about this... the two places most likely to collapse in the near future are the Pakis and Mexico... one of the lovely things one learns watching the Current programing. If you have it, they have an excellent, if now dated, program on the war on drugs. Anything older than six months is dated.

[Artie Bucco]

19. Could be some truth in his theory particularly since

the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel are allies. It is also thought that Juan Jose Esparragosa Moreno "el Azul",a Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant, is thought to be the head of of La Nueva Federacion who have been operating in Nuevo Leon since late December.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. And of course there is always the rogue Zetas

:hi:

I admit, I only had to worry about the Arellanos...

[Artie Bucco]

23. I think it was the Zetas

I should have specified more in my post, I brought up El Azul to bring to light of the Sinaloa Cartel's alliance with the Gulf Cartel. Good post about the Gonzalezes and the Rohns ties to drug trafficking too . Also watch Top Chico prison there are a lot of mid and high-ranking Zetas in that prison and everyone on the streets knows that the Zetas are in cahoots with the prison guards. However, that has been changing; last December the piracy goods czar of the Zetas was murdered in that prison. The guy might not sound to important but he paid the Zetas $2 million a month in protection money and his death showed the Zetas in the prison that they did not have an iron grip on the prison guards. Combine this with a recent grenade attack on August 15 that left 4 people wounded and four guards arrested. I would bet smart money on more than a few Zetas guys sleeping very uneasily tonight after this attack.

The Gulf Cartel, the Nueva Federacion and the soldiers have been pulling on number on the the Zetas for almost a year so I think this could have been a direct attack on their rival cartel's finances. Couple this with information that indicates that what was left of the former Beltran-Leyva group have been breaking their alliance with the Zetas and joining la Nueva Federacion in large numbers the Zetas might not be in a too good of a spot.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. And they are wanted by the army for obvious reasons

[LooseWilly]

27. And I think the authorities recently caught a couple of high ranking Zetas...

Which is liable to have them looking "weak" in the eyes of the opposition...

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. That they did and the security tape shows a military like

operation... but all of them do that so that is evidence of nothing.

[Kurmudgeon]

4. If this doesn't trigger all out war on the drug cartels, then nothing will.

This is Holocaust type of crime, if it isn't dealt with, it'll only get worse.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. How much more of actual open warfare

do you want? No seriously...









Yes that is mexico right now...

If anything the war has really failed.

[Kurmudgeon]

25. Your pictures show troops, however, let us know when any actual mission begins.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Do you read Spanish? If you do

you might want to read the MEXICAN press.

And i will leave it at that...

:banghead:

I guess there is no mision unless it looks like this...

[Fumesucker]

12. The very best way to hurt the cartels is to legalize drugs..

Not decriminalization, out and out legalization, just like alcohol.

As long as drugs are illegal this sort of thing is going to continue, legalization is not a panacea, the cartels are so thoroughly entrenched now that they'e obviously branched out but their main business and primary income is due to the drug war.

[Kurmudgeon]

26. Agreed, however if a group thinks it can burn people alive with impunity, they need dealt with, NOW.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. I recommend you read the Mexican Press

[Enrique]

18. the all-out war started in 2006

it didn't work.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. That is HORRIBLE.

And what an awful way to die.

These stories just make me want to curl up and die...

[jannyk]

6. It's 53 dead per Reuters. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. The Mexican Authorities expect the numbers to go up

over the course of the night. Most are women too... since it was a place for women to meet for social events per mexican media. (For the record this does not surprise me either)

[DesertRat]

7. How terribly sad!

:cry:

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Rescue work has stopped after the second floor collapsed

due to damage from the fire

They have identified 35 dead women and ten men...

http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/testing/0249b7cd3a3d9540adb56c146b0b2d8b

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. 61 dead

InfoNarco BlogdelNarco
#CasinoRoyale #Monterrey Sin embargo los testigos señalan que fue un ataque armado. Hasta el momento se reporta la muerte de 61 personas.
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[kenny blankenship]

22. I wonder how it might have all been different if Lopez-Obrador had won instead of US stooge Calderon

But it's just wondering. I don't think I know it would have been different. Hard to imagine how it could have been worse, though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Some updates from the Mexican Press

the Army is moving up en force with troops, AGAIN.

The Investigation continues.

The people who survived are reported stable, most were released from hospitals within ten hours.

The Judge that issued the Amparo for the Casino to keep working has resigned.

Oh and the President has called this a terrorist attacks and three days of mourning have been declared